The Kastner Trial: Why a Jew who saved many was put on trial for working with the Nazis

All the complexity and pain of the Kastner story, bundled into two sentences: “He sold Jews” and “He’s a hero.” Can both things be true at once? And do any of us have the right or the ability to place any kind of moral judgment on people who lived through the unimaginable?

Big Ideas

1. In the early years of modern Israel, many Holocaust survivors were looked down upon due to the myth that they didn’t fight back and as a result didn’t conform to the image of the new Jew.
2. Do not judge others unless you’ve been in their shoes as it’s difficult to ascertain somebody’s situation from the outside.

Essential Questions

1. Do we have the right to judge Rudolf Kastner and the circumstances he faced?
2. What was the impact of silencing conversation about the Holocaust during the early years of the fledgling country? What effect did this have in shaping the idea of the new Israeli?