PBS aired a documentary tonight called Escape From Auschwitz as part of its Secrets of the Dead series.
It presents another view of Rudolph Kasztner, one far more charitable than…
…the Ben Hecht / Perfidy line, but not as charitable as Anna Porter's new book.
Porter's book is much better researched than the PBS documentary and, to me, far more persuasive, even though the PBS documentary includes interviews with historian Sir Martin Gilbert and a living member of the wartime Hungarian Jewish community council.
The documentary focuses on Verba and Wetzner's escape from Auschwitz and their report on the mass killings there that eventually helped stop the killings.
One of the points made by the documentary is that Verba – Wetzner report on Auschwitz was sent by the Pope to the Jewish community of Switzerland, from where it was sent to the Red Cross and to the Allies. (Also, twice during the escape, Poles helped Verba and Wetzner survive and get to freedom.)
The entire PBS documentary is online and can be viewed with a click of your mouse.