Holocaust libel trials: The tragic case of Rudolph Kastner.

Rudolf Israel Kastner aka Rezső Kasztner, was a Jewish-Hungarian journalist and lawyer. He became known for having helped Jews escape from occupied Europe during the Holocaust. Kastner moved to Israel after the war, becoming a spokesman for the Ministry of Trade and Industry in 1952 In 1953 he was accused of having been a Nazi collaborator in a pamphlet self-published by Malchiel Gruenwald, a freelance writer. The allegation stemmed from his relationship with Eichmann and another SS officer, Kurt Becher. He was further brought into disreputefor having given positive character references after the war for Becher. This allowed Becher to escape prosecution for war crimes. The Israeli government sued Gruenwald for libel on Kastner's behalf, resulting in a trial that lasted 18 months. The court ruled in 1955 that Kastner had, in the words of Judge Benjamin Halevy, "sold his soul to the devil". On March 4, 1957, Kastner was shot as he arrived at his Tel Aviv home. The attack was carried out by a three-man squad from a group of veterans from the right-wing militia Lehi. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolf_... https://www.jewishhistory.org/the-kas...