This week's visit by Hungarian
Prime Minister Gordon Banjai is an excellent opportunity to focus
on one of the most important and interesting cases of a Nazi war
criminal who can still be brought to justice. I am referring to Dr.
Sandor Kepiro, who served as a gendarmerie officer during World War
II and was among the key organizers of the mass murder of at least
1,250, but probably as many as 3,000 men, women and children (mostly
Jews, but also Serbs and Gypsies) in the Serbian city of Novi Sad
on January 23, 1942.
Until now, Israel has done relatively little to press Hungary to
prosecute Kepiro, so Banjai's visit might well be the last opportunity
of its kind for the government to send a clear-cut message to the
Hungarians that their failure to bring Kepiro to justice is incomprehensible
and unacceptable.
The Kepiro case has special significance for several reasons. First
and foremost is the scope of the massacre in Novi Sad, which was
the largest single action of its kind against Jews in Serbia during
the Holocaust, and besides the murders carried out by Hungarian troops
in Kamenetz-Podolsk, was the worst case of the mass murder of civilians
carried out by Hungarian forces during World War II. Another important
point is that if Kepiro is brought to trial in Budapest, he will
almost certainly be the first Hungarian Nazi collaborator to be prosecuted
since the country became a democracy. Like all the post-communist
states of Eastern Europe, Hungary conducted many trials of Nazi collaborators
in the immediate aftermath of World War II, but none since the transition
to democracy. This would be particularly significant in a country
like Hungary, which is only beginning to honestly confront its crimes
during the Holocaust, which included mass murder.
THERE ARE ALSO several unique aspects to the Kepiro case which add
to its significance. To the best of my knowledge, it is the only
case of Holocaust crimes carried out by the forces of a country allied
with Nazi Germany, in which the perpetrators were actually prosecuted
by their own government in the course of World War II. In December
1943, the 15 officers who organized and carried out the mass murder
in Novi Sad were put on trial in Budapest. Not for murder, but rather
for violating the code of honor of the Hungarian forces, since the
operations they carried out in the Voivodina province had not been
approved by their superiors. All of them, including Kepiro, were
convicted and sentenced either to death or to lengthy prison terms.
The convicted officers, however, never served their sentences since
shortly after the end of the trial and before they could be implemented,
Nazi Germany occupied Hungary and pressured the Hungarians to cancel
the convictions and the punishments. Thus Kepiro's identity and participation
are not in doubt, having already been duly confirmed by a Hungarian
court. In fact, Kepiro himself admits his participation in the Novi
Sad operation, but simply denies having committed any "war crimes."
In that context, a fascinating aspect of Kepiro's behavior in Novi
Sad came to light during his 1944 trial. When Kepiro was briefed
on his assignment before the roundups and murder took place, he asked
for the orders in writing. Already a lawyer, he apparently immediately
recognized their immorality and consequent illegality. His superior
responded, however, that orders of this kind were only transmitted
verbally, and Kepiro carried them out loyally.
Ironically, this behavior prompted the Hungarian court to reduce
his jail sentence, but in theory they should have done the opposite,
since Kepiro was, in essence, the worst type of Holocaust perpetrator,
an intelligent and educated professional who clearly understood that
what he had been told to do was totally reprehensible, yet did it
anyway. He was obviously a person who was more concerned about his
alibi than about the fate of his innocent victims, and thus someone
undeserving of any sympathy.
ON AUGUST 1, it will be three years since I initially notified the
Hungarian authorities that Kepiro was alive and living in Budapest.
(After the war, he had escaped to Austria and from there to Argentina,
where he lived for 48 years.) At that time, the prosecutors assured
me that if he had committed war crimes (which obviously was the case),
they would immediately implement his original sentence, but six months
later I was informed that this was not possible since a Hungarian
court had cancelled his conviction.
Instead, prosecutors launched a new investigation against Kepiro,
which in theory should have long ago resulted in a trial. But the
wheels of justice for a Hungarian Nazi war criminal turn incredibly
slowly and without external pressure it appears very doubtful whether
Kepiro will ever be punished for his crimes. In the meantime, he
is conducting an active legal battle against his prosecution and
giving numerous interviews in which he protests his innocence, while
admitting his presence in Novi Sad on January 23, 1942.
In these days in which the nationalist extremist Magyar Garda march
in the streets of Hungary in black uniforms with symbols reminiscent
of the wartime fascist Arrow Cross, and the racist and anti-Semitic
Jobbik party garnered 15 percent of the votes in the recent elections
for the European Parliament, the fate of an elderly Hungarian Nazi
war criminal may not seem particularly pressing. The fact is, however,
that precisely by mustering sufficient political will to bring to
justice people like Kepiro, the government will be sending an unequivocal
and necessary message to Hungarian society and especially to the
ultranationalists that the days of Arrow cross terror, anti-Semitism
and racism are long gone never to return and that democratic Hungary
will not countenance their revival.
Now if only Prime Minister Banjai's hosts in Jerusalem will make
sure to deliver the message loud and clear.
jpost.com
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