That being said,the emails between Drs. Kranzler and Zuroff illustrate the dangers of letting ideological biases influence
a historian’s product. That is probably why Holocaust education in all sectors of the Torah world operates from what one could
call the rehetoric of victimization without any objective analysis which seeks to understand the era in its political, cultural an
and economic antecedents and causes. Until we move out of the blame game and look at it from a Torah perspective, but one at
least informed by the history of the 19th and 20th Century and how we all failed to react , Holocaust education in the Torah
world will be exclusively “rebbishe maasehs” of spiritual reistance, despite the fact that some Gdolim supported and participated
in physical resistance and an attitude that precludes any discussion into the historical events that preceded the rise of the
Nazis, Yimach Shmam vZicram to power. We should be able to engage in a discussion of these issues without being precluded that such a dicsussion is violative of Daas Torah. After all, no less than Rebbitzen Farbstein has accomplished this-why can’t we ?

Re the Holocaust it is clear that mistakes were made by great Zaddikim and Gaonim-nobody is infallible. To be fair Zuroff does mention prominently in his book the march to the White House by Chareidi Rabbonim.
To a great extent I believe that the issue of what mistakes were made during the Holocaust and the reaction of trying to make great leaders into those who didn’t make mistakes one that is not productive and just likely to increase sinat chinam on both sides. A lot is in the packaging Zuroff points out that the Vaad Hazalah was run inefficiently until Mike Tress came to straighten thins out. In a Chareid biography it is pointed out how much Mike Tress did to improve efficincy in Agudah and Vaad Hazalah. Essential agreement on the facts-it is packaging that is different.
Although in general I don’t agree with R. Shimon Schwab ZT”L that History with its warts should not be taught-I am
tempted to agree when disputes about the Holocaust arise.

Actually, the Chareidim WERE right. In the end, Stalin did far more damage to Judaism than Hitler.

Incidentally, my degree in Library Science honed my skills in research and scholarly format, which gives me an edge in research and research tools on numerous subjects. Based on my academic achievements, I am the only (non chief) librarian in the City University to have attained the level of full professorship.

As a historian, I authored ten books on the Holocaust, mostly on rescue and rescue attempts during that tragic period. My first book, (Japanese, Nazis and Jews: the Jewish Refugee Community of Shanghai 1938-45. Yeshiva U. Press, 1976) was based on my dissertation. Two years ago, it was awarded the prize of inclusion “Among the 100,000 Most Significant Books (not only Jewish) Published from 1930 to 2000.” A more recent book, “The Man Who Stopped the Trains to Auschwitz,” (Syracuse U. Press, 2000), was awarded the “1998 Histadrut Prize for the Best Manuscript on the Holocaust.” Based on my scholarship, three years ago I was granted a Four Month Senior Research Fellowship at Yad Vashem. Prof. Yehuda Bauer, Dr. Zuroff’s mentor, and Israel’s foremost authority on the Holocaust, with whom I have disagreed on scholarly issues (never personally) for many years, gave his approval for this Fellowship. Ironically, in the Foreword to Dr. Zuroff’s book, it was Professor Bauer who noted “[Dr.] Efraim Zuroff follows in the footsteps of David Kranzler and other pioneers in this field.”

I’d be happy to debate with Dr. Zuroff, any aspect of rescue and Jewish organizations during the Holocaust, in any venue, in any place, whether in Israel or in the United States.

I would agree with Dr. Zuroff that the reader would be advised to see his article in “American Jewish History” where, in five pages, he is unable to contradict a single fact in my book “Thy Brother’s Blood”. What is interesting, however, is his concluding sentence, “What do you expect from the Charedim they know neither Hebrew nor history.”

One of Dr. Zuroff’s most recent egregious historical errors, is found in his article entitled “The Evolution of American Orthodox Relief and Rescue Efforts During the Holocaust: Two Documents,” found in the “Journal of Ecumenical Studies” (Fall, 2003), p. 456, where he cites Rabbi [Dr.] Wolf Gold as “President, Agudas [sic] Israel.” To clarify, Dr. Zuroff provides a footnote with a brief history of Agudas Israel. In reality, Rabbi Dr. Wolf Gold was a major Mizrahi leader and former president of Mizrahi of America and one of the founders of Mesivta Torah Vodaath. It was Rabbi Eliezer Silver who founded both the Vaad Hatzalah and Agudath Israel of America, in 1939, at the behest of his former teacher, Hagaon Rav Chaim Ozer Grodzinski, of Vilna.

But no one has pointed out that this transport was arranged as part of a deal between Eichman, the murderer of Hungarian Jewry, and Kastner, the representative of the zionists in Hungary.

According to the record of the Kastner trial in Israel, Eichman struck a deal with with Kastner as follows: Kastner would pacify Hungarian Jewry by telling them that the Nazis would not harm them. In exchange, Eichman would allow Kastner to select about 1500 prominent Jews for a special transport that would be allowed to go to freedom in Switzerland.

Kastner kept his part of the bargain. He travelled around Hungary assuring everyone that they were being sent to labor camps–not Auschwitz. This was a lie, and Kastner knew it.

Eichman kept his part of the deal, too.

The Satmar Rebbe got a spot on the train as a result of bribery by his Chassidim. The train was supposed to be for zionist officials only.

I believe Kastner himself had a hand in selling out the Hungarian Jews…

What Alex Grobman forgets to mention in his post is that this is all in his book, Battling for Souls, which came out a couple of years ago to settle the Krazler/Zuroff debate once and for all. He got kudos from both the Agudah and the JDC for finally setting the record straight. As for who told who to stay behind and not go to the Yishuv, I can think of the Satmar Rebbe, who blamed the Zionists for the Holocaust, yet took the Kastner transport out with a Palestine Certificate and went to the Yishuv before he came to Williamsburgh. My uncle was vilifed by his father-in-law, the Minchas Elazar, who also said that the Zionists caused the Holocaust and that everyone should stay put. My uncle the Admor, Baruch Yearchmeil Yehoshua Rabinowich, was trying to get people out to Mandate Palestine, including his sister, my Polish mother–who also landed on the Kastner transport–after he sent her to Freudiger. The Kastner transport would never have left the station if not for the Vaad–but it did and I am here to write this post and tell you all to read Battling for Souls and get the full picture.

Jeanette Friedman

It is also known that none less than R E Wasserman ZTL, HaShem Yimkam Damo, also discouraged Talmidim of his from accepting visas that would have provided them with entry to the USA as RY in RIETS and Skokie ( HTC) on the grounds that Europe presented physical danger and the US visas would have placed them in a place of spiritual danger. This is quoted explicitly in the ArtScroll bio of REW. While this was REW’s position, it is also known that many Charedi RY gave shiurim in RIETS in the 1920s and 1930s, including R Shimon Shkopp ZTL and many others. Obviously, they differed with REW’s assessment of RIETS.

A special Beth Din was convened by his Chassidim to force him to return to Poland.

Now you know the rest of the story!

What probably happened, if this is true, was that at a cetain early point they didn’t advise them to leave, but as the situation got worse later on, it was obvious that everyone should get out. The accusation, I would say, is a half truth.

First and foremost, I find the comments attributing my somewhat critical appraisal of the Vaad’s activities to my grandfather’s position as head of the Central Orthodox Committee to be utterly ridiculous. For the record, my grandfather z”l passed away when I was less than fourteen years old. He NEVER discussed the subject of the VH with me, so I never heard his views on the topic nor was any effort made subsequently to inform or “enlighten” me about this issue. The problem with my critics is, apparently, that they cannot accept the fact that an Orthodox Jew might be publically critical of a group headed by rabbis. That might be the reality in the haredi world, but it is certainly not my reality. My research shows that the Vaad did some very good things as well as some highly-questionable things, and that is what I have ben saying for the last five years.

Second, I did NOT “boycott” the evening because David Kranzler was scheduled to speak. In fact, I had originally agreed to speak knowing that he was going to speak as well( but not on VH). The reason I pulled out was because I found out that he was going to be HONORED at the event, which is something which-given his unmitigated efforts to besmirsch my research and impugn my integrity-I did not feel that I could be part of.

I’ve heard this many times, but I’ve never seen any solid examples. Can you please provide some?

Sir, - Contrary to “Wiesenthal director boycotts Holocaust event” (January 18), which claimed that I boycotted an evening to honor individuals who rescued Jews during the Holocaust because David Kranzler was among the scheduled speakers, I want to make clear that the reason I changed my original decision to speak was that I found out the organizers planned to honor Kranzler at the event.

Post readers who have followed the ongoing attempts by Kranzler et Rosenblum to portray me as a charlatan willing to falsify my own research in order to increase book sales by lying about the rescue efforts of American Orthodox activists during the Shoah - while presenting their own seriously-flawed and ideologically-based account of those activities - no doubt understand why I could under no circumstances participate in any event at which such a person was honored for his “historical research.”

Those brave individuals who did so much to save Jews during the Holocaust indeed deserve recognition and gratitude, but honoring hagiographers who lack all objectivity and mold their conclusions based on ideological affinity as opposed to accurate research of the historical events hardly contributes something positive to that goal.

EFRAIM ZUROFF
Director
Simon Wiesenthal CenterIsrael Office
Jerusalem

(b) Sir, - As opposed to what Efraim Zuroff claims, Prof. David Kranzler did not accuse Zuroff of falsifying research on the Va’ad Hatzala to increase sales of his book on the Va’ad. Rather, Zuroff was accused of falsely representing the contents of his own book in a series of inflammatory interviews in order to hype sales.
For a full account of the dispute see “Anatomy of a Slander” http://www.jewishmediaresources.org

JONATHAN ROSENBLUM
Jerusalem