Béla Berend
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Béla Berend (born Presser; 12 January 1911 – 24 June 1987) was a
Hungarian Jewish The history of the Jews in Hungary dates back to at least the Kingdom of Hungary, with some records even predating the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin in 895 CE by over 600 years. Written sources prove that Jewish communities lived i ...
rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...
and right-wing
Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...
leader during the
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and
the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
. As a controversial member of the Jewish Council of Budapest (or Judenrat), he was accused of collaboration with
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during a Communist
show trial A show trial is a public trial in which the guilt (law), guilt or innocence of the defendant has already been determined. The purpose of holding a show trial is to present both accusation and verdict to the public, serving as an example and a d ...
following the war, but he was acquitted. He emigrated to the
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and took the name Albert Bruce Belton. His personality and activity remain the subject of much debate among historians.


Early life

Béla Presser was born as an eighth child as the son of Adolf Presser and Regina Máriás, into a poor
Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as literally revealed by God on Mount Sinai and faithfully tra ...
family in
Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
,
Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...
on 12 January 1911. His father, a
Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...
,
Tanakh The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. ''
Shulchan Aruch The ''Shulhan Arukh'' ( ),, often called "the Code of Jewish Law", is the most widely consulted of the various legal codes in Rabbinic Judaism. It was authored in the city of Safed in what is now Israel by Joseph Karo in 1563 and published in ...
'' scholar, held the honorary title of ''
Talmid Chakham ''Talmid Chakham'' is an honorific title that is given to a man who is well-versed in Jewish law, i.e., a Torah scholar. Originally ''Talmid Chakhamim'', lit., "student of sages", pl. ''talmidei chakhamim'', "students of sages"; inaccurate reco ...
''. Presser attended the
rabbinical seminary A Jewish seminary, better known as a rabbinical seminary or rabbinical school, is a Jewish educational institution for the purpose of training rabbis. (In some cases, a "Jewish seminary" may also refer to a cantorial school.) While rabbis have been ...
of Budapest from 1925 to 1930. Thereafter, he studied at the
Jewish Theological Seminary of Breslau The Jewish Theological Seminary of Breslau (official name: ) was an institution in Breslau for the training of rabbis, founded under the will of Jonah Frankel (businessman), Jonah Fränckel, and opened in 1854. It was the first modern rabbinical ...
between 1930 and 1931. Returning Hungary, he continued his studies in rabbinical seminary and simultaneously also attended the department of philosophy at the Royal Hungarian Pázmány Péter University. In the latter university, he earned a
Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...
degree in 1934. He was ordained a rabbi in 1936. He changed his last name from Presser to Berend in 1937.


Pre-occupation activities

Berend was elected
Neolog Neologs (, "Neolog faction") are one of the two large communal organizations among Hungarian Jewry. Socially, the liberal and modernist Neologs had been more inclined toward integration into Hungarian society since the Era of Emancipation in th ...
Chief Rabbi of
Szigetvár Szigetvár (; ; ) is a town in Baranya County in southern Hungary. The name is a compound word composed of ''Sziget'' (Island) + ''vár'' (castle).  In October 2011, the city received the title ''Civitas Invicta'' from the Hungarian Parliament. T ...
in
Somogy County Somogy (, ; ; , ) is an administrative county (Counties of Hungary, comitatus or ''vármegye'') in present Hungary, and also in the former Kingdom of Hungary. Somogy County lies in south-western Hungary, on the border with Croatia's Koprivnica- ...
in January 1937. The town had a population of approximately 300 Jews, but the communities of the 12 surrounding settlements also belonged to Berend's jurisdiction. Berend felt that this appointment was inferior, but "he had no choice". In his biography, Berend claimed that he had many difficulties in this position because he, a poor Zionist, was confronted with a community of rich assimilants, who were loyal to the right-wing rule of
Regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...
Miklós Horthy Miklós Horthy de Nagybánya (18 June 1868 – 9 February 1957) was a Hungarian admiral and statesman who was the Regent of Hungary, regent of the Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946), Kingdom of Hungary Hungary between the World Wars, during the ...
. Nevertheless, Berend was also a vocal supporter of the regent. In one of his speeches in 1940, commemorating the 20th anniversary of Horthy's election as regent, he exhorted his followers to patriotism and honor Miklós Horthy. His contemporaries described Berend as "idealistic", "impetuous" and somewhat "compulsive nonconformist". Ernő Munkácsi, secretary-general of the Central Jewish Council called him "revolutionary, anti-assimilant and anti-capitalist". József Katona, the rabbi of
Dohány Street Synagogue The Dohány Street Synagogue ( ; ; ), also known as the Great Synagogue () or Tabakgasse Synagogue (), is a Neolog Judaism, Neolog Judaism, Jewish congregation and synagogue, located on Dohány utca, Dohány Street in Erzsébetváros (VIIth dis ...
testified during the trial that Berend was a "hard-working, talented, utalmost careerist person who is too agitated". In his later biography, Berend claimed that while he was socially sensitive, the local Neolog elite did not financially support the local Jewish labor servicemen. However, contemporary documents (bills, accounting) do not support this, the local elite donated substantial sums to the religious community to buy food and clothing for the workers. Berend himself was also recruited into labour service at least from 1940. In that year, he sent a complaint to the
Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...
in which he spoke against the alleged preferential treatment of the rich converted Jews within the labour service system. The confrontation between the rabbi and prominent members of the congregation in Szigetvár escalated to such an extent that the latter tried to remove Berend from his position. The payment of Berend's service allowance was refused all along, for seven years. Berend gradually turned to Zionism in the early 1940s. In this capacity, he also established contacts with notorious
anti-Semitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
persons, as he believed this approach is able to "transform their passionate hatred of Jews by supporting the Zionist goals of the Jewish nation, as it would actually serve the interests of both sides: those of the unwanted "redundant" Jews and those of the host nations". Berend considered that the
Aliyah ''Aliyah'' (, ; ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel or the Palestine (region), Palestine region, which is today chiefly represented by the Israel ...
satisfies the anti-Semitic objective, thus the
Final Solution The Final Solution or the Final Solution to the Jewish Question was a plan orchestrated by Nazi Germany during World War II for the genocide of individuals they defined as Jews. The "Final Solution to the Jewish question" was the official ...
(i.e. extermination of Jews) can be avoided. Berend joined the right-wing Zionist organization Jewish Work Community (). In this capacity, he contacted with far-right and anti-Semitic figures such Domonkos Festetics, the Member of Parliament for Szigetvár, and Zoltán Bosnyák, director of the Jewish Question Institute. He was also involved in the
Betar The Betar Movement (), also spelled Beitar (), is a Revisionist Zionism, Revisionist Zionist youth movement founded in 1923 in Riga, Latvia, by Ze'ev Jabotinsky, Vladimir (Ze'ev) Jabotinsky. It was one of several right-wing youth movements tha ...
movement. During a meeting in 1941, its participants, including Berend, decided to contact leading far-right politicians and lawmakers in an effort to "Zionize" them. During this process, a close working relationship developed between Berend and Bosnyák since 1942.


During the Holocaust


During the deportations

Germany invaded and occupied Hungary on 19 March 1944, establishing a Nazi-puppet government in the country. Days after the invasion, Berend sent numerous letters to Bosnyák and Secretary of State for Interior
László Endre László Endre (January 1, 1895 – March 29, 1946) was a Hungarian right-wing politician and collaborator with the Nazis during the Second World War. Early years Born into a wealthy Abony family, Endre obtained a degree in political science af ...
, a leading figure of the deportations, in which he propagated the emigration of Jews to
Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...
. In his letters, dated in April and May 1944, Berend claimed that he intended to create a Jewish council whose operation would be legitimized by the Hungarian authorities and not under the control of the
Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...
, in the form in which it was established the day after the invasion, under the leadership of Samu Stern. Berend did not receive an answer to his drafts. Bosnyák forwarded the document for study and assured Berend that he would also be included in a new council as a representative of rural Jews. According to the draft written by Bosnyák and Berend, the new Zionist-dominated organization would have been a 10-member council (5 religious and 5 lay) called the "Communal Organization of the Jews of Hungary" (; MAZSIOSZ) with Berend's role as secretary-general, who would have been responsible for daily operation. Berend explained the continuous contact with the perpetrators of the Holocaust with that "it is clear that in times of trials, those concerned about the lives of our people must find a way to those exercising power. And to apply the methods of the Lipótmező treatment sylumto fanatical, obsessed lunatics, that is, to leave it up to »
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
« that he really is Napoleon, to the »
Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...
« that he is the emperor, and so on, and to extort concessions, gain time, postponement from them". At the same time, deportations in countryside were already in full swing. The Jews of Szigetvár were interned to the
Barcs Barcs (; ; or ) is a border town in Somogy County, Hungary, and the seat of Barcs District. The Drava River marks the southern boundary of the settlement. Geography Located at the Croatian border and the River Drava, the town is surrounded by ...
internment (collection) camp on 26 April 1944. In order to obtain the valuables of rich Jews, the gendarmes used brutal methods to extract confessions. Prior to that, Berend was arrested by the Gestapo on 17 April 1944, allegedly for listening the
BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...
. He was held captive in
Pécs Pécs ( , ; ; Slovak language, Slovak: ''Päťkostolie''; also known by #Name, alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the fifth largest city in Hungary, on the slopes of the Mecsek mountains in the c ...
. A ministerial decree of
Andor Jaross Andor Jaross (23 May 1896 – 11 April 1946) was an ethnic Hungarian politician most active in interwar Czechoslovakia and later in Hungary during World War II. He also notably collaborated with the Nazis. Born in Komáromcsehi, in the Kom ...
on 22 April 1944 re-organized the Central Jewish Council as the nine-member Association of Hungarian Jews Provisional Executive Committee () with the effect of 8 May 1944 (but, this council itself ''de facto'' came to exist already on 1 May). Berend was freed soon, because he was delegated to the council upon the intervention of Zoltán Bosnyák. He was granted a railway travel permit from the Gestapo. Randolph L. Braham considered that Berend's inclusion in the council was apparently decided already before the promulgation of the decree. He was appointed formally on 8 May 1944 too.


Council member

Berend traveled to Budapest on 16 May 1944, receiving an exemption certificate from the Jewish Council two days later. Berend's appointment to the council created general distrust between him and Stern's circle. On the orders of latter, some confidential documents had to be destroyed, because it was known that "Berend had entered the Jewish Council as a traitor". In his memoir, Stern described Berend as the "confidant of László Endre and Zoltán Bosnyák", who also maintained good relations with representatives of the Gestapo and secret police. According to Braham, Berend aimed to represent the poorer and "little unprotected" Jewish strata within the central council, against the leading triumvirate of Samu Stern and his two colleagues, Károly Wilhelm and Ernő Pető. Berend himself also stated in his memoir that his reception was "openly hostile" in the Jewish Council. Among its members, there were rumors that Berend was appointed to the body on the wishes of László Endre. Shortly after his arrival, Berend and his wife were arrested on 27 May 1944, accusing them of using false documents to free their relatives from the internment camps. They were transferred to
Sátoraljaújhely Sátoraljaújhely (German language, German: ''Neustadt am Zeltberg''; Slovak language, Slovak: ''Nové Mesto pod Šiatrom;'' Yiddish: ''איהעל'') is a border town located in Borsod–Abaúj–Zemplén County, Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County, Hu ...
then Munkács (present-day Mukachevo, Ukraine). Soon, they were freed on 2 June, after an alleged torture, at the intercession of
Adolf Eichmann Otto Adolf Eichmann ( ;"Eichmann"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; 19 March 1906 – 1 Ju ...
. In his memoir, Berend accused Stern that he reported him to the Gestapo, that Berend violates German interests, opposes extraditions and puts obstacles in the way of smooth cooperation. some post-war testimony seems to confirm that Stern and his circle were involved in Berend's arrest, even if perhaps not in relation to these charges. In the coming months, Berend frequently met Zoltán Bosnyák, but his requests and submissions were not really considered. Through him, Berend had an entry permit to the Ministry of the Interior, where he negotiated with department heads Albert Takáts and Zsigmond Székely-Molnár, subordinates to Endre. In order to stop the deportations, Berend submitted various drafts that encouraged the use of Jews as a workforce in Hungary, relying on various military economic data. However, Berend did nothing to reduce the suspicions surrounding him, he did not seek cooperation with the other members of the council, he did not initiate them into his plans, he acted independently of them, acting on his own initiative, which thus maintained the distrust between him and Stern. However, due to his relationship with Bosnyák and the other officials, Berend managed to acquire special permits for the other members of the council to visit the Ministry of the Interior during the course of their rescue efforts. According to modern historiography, The Jewish Council of Budapest played a prominent role in that process at the end of which Miklós Horthy decided to stop the deportation of Jews at the beginning of July 1944, thus saving a significant part of Budapest's Jews. Through Bosnyák, Béla Berend liaised László Ferenczy with members of the council in order to implement the plan, the so-called Koszorús campaign. During their trial, Ferenczy and his deputy Leó László Lulay recalled that Berend collected anti-German materials and sent a copy of the Auschwitz Protocols to the regent through them. When Eichmann carried out the deportations in
Kistarcsa Kistarcsa () is a town in Pest County, Budapest metropolitan area, Hungary. A site of the Kistarcsa concentration camp during the Holocaust. Later an internment camp of State Protection Authority for political prisoners during the 1950s. Histo ...
, despite Horthy's order, Berend led a three-member delegation of the council to Ferenczy, asking to prevent it. Throughout August and September, a mock plan was drawn up by Ferenczy, with the cooperation of the Jewish council, that the Jews of Budapest are gathered in internment camps beyond the city limits. The plan served to bide time until the
Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...
crossed the country's border. Stern later dissuaded the regent from this plan, because concentrating the Jews in one place would have made it easier for the Gestapo to deport or annihilate them, as Ernő Pető and Stern himself remembered. According to Béla Berend, general distrust between the council and Horthy's staff (mainly the gendarmes Ferenczy and Lulay) ended this project. As a council member, Berend strongly opposed the conversion of Jews to either form of
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
. Several thousand people converted from Judaism in Budapest throughout in 1944. Berend accused the Christian Jewish Council, among others, for this phenomenon. Berend even gave an anonymous, and later controversial interview to a far-right newspaper ''Harc!'' (the official journal of Zoltán Bosnyák's institute) on the subject, in which he emphasized that it is not possible to leave Judaism, "one can only be born a non-Jew, but with baptism, never". Berend claimed the purpose of these conversions is only to rescue assets, and "Christian churches become asset-saving asylums, because of the many frightened Israelites, who are running away from standing, struggling with inhibitions, refusing their blood".


In the Budapest Ghetto

Following the
Arrow Cross Party The Arrow Cross Party (, , abbreviated NYKP) was a far-right Hungarian ultranationalist party led by Ferenc Szálasi, which formed a government in Hungary they named the Government of National Unity. They were in power from 15 October 1944 to ...
coup and Horthy's arrest and removal (15–16 October 1944), the members of the triumvirate, Stern, Wilhelm and Pető went into hiding, while Ferenczy was commissioned to establish a new Jewish council, of which Berend remained a member. The
Ferenc Szálasi Ferenc Szálasi (; 6 January 1897 – 12 March 1946) was a Hungarian military officer, politician, Nazi sympathizer and founder of the far-right Arrow Cross Party who List of prime ministers of Hungary, headed the government of Hungary duri ...
government decided to establish the
Budapest Ghetto The Budapest Ghetto was a Nazi ghetto set up in Budapest, Hungary, where Jews were forced to relocate by a decree of the Government of National Unity led by the fascist Arrow Cross Party during the final stages of World War II. The ghetto existed ...
on 29 November 1944. Berend was an active leader during the existence of the ghetto, headquartered at Síp utca 12. Under his guidance, the Zionists established an document forgery plant there in order to declare many Jews as non-Jews by the Arrow Cross Party authorities so they could live outside the ghetto. Meanwhile, the arriving Soviets began to besiege Budapest. All council members had contacts and liaison officers from the Arrow Cross Party. In this capacity, Berend maintained contact with József Sarlósi, head of the party's infamous headquarters (the "House of Vengeance") at
Szent István Boulevard Nagykörút, also Grand Boulevard or Great Boulevard (also called "Big Ring Road", "Grand Ring Road", "Great Ring Road"), is one of the most central and busiest parts of Budapest, a major thoroughfare built by 1896, Hungary's Millennium. I ...
. Berend also tried to correspond with the Arrow Cross Party leadership, emphasizing his Zionist ideas, thus a common point of interest. In mid-December 1944, he urged the leaders of the party to prevent robberies and murders and protect the ghetto area with disciplined party members. At the end of the letter, he promised that after the war all Jews will leave Hungary. A
Jewish ghetto police The Jewish Police Service (), commonly known as Jewish Ghetto Police (), also called the Jewish Police by Jews, were auxiliary police units organized within the Nazi ghettos by local '' Judenrat'' (Jewish councils). Overview Members of the ...
was established within the Budapest Ghetto, and the number of its personnel varied between 700–900 during the ghetto's one and a half-month existence. Berend exercised supervisory authority over the board, according to the surviving documents, he also gave instructions to its leaders Miklós Szirt then Ernő Szalkai. Through Berend and Lajos Gottesman, the Zionists were overrepresented in the management of the ghetto police. Alongside Miksa Domonkos, Berend was the most active member of the council, who tried to improve the living conditions of the Jews within the ghetto. He dealt with the Arrow Cross Party authorities for the release of Jews or the supplying of the ghetto, and consoled the ill and the hungry. Berend usually left the ghetto in Catholic guise to visit shelters and celebrate services. During one of his trips, he acquired a thousand certificate of baptism form for printing and for the Zionists' document factory. Through these, they were able to smuggle patients out of the ghettos and place them in hospitals. Berend also performed ritual services at the mass graves of the ghetto, especially the Klauzál Square.


Post-war trial

Shortly after the Red Army liberated the ghetto on 17 January 1945, Berend left Budapest and moved to Sátoraljaújhely to the surviving relatives of his second wife, Ilona Windt. Within days, he was arrested on accusation of fascist collaboration by
NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...
on 23 January, but he was released soon. He was arrested again and transferred to Budapest in late April 1945. He was taken into custody on 18 May 1945. According to the accusations, he was an informant of the Gestapo during the Holocaust. Under violent interrogations and tortures in the headquarters of the Budapest Department of State Political Police (PRO) in May–June 1945, Berend testified that he gave the property of the deported Jews of Szigetvár to the gendarmes, reported the activities of the other members of the Jewish Council of Budapest to the Nazi authorities, raped numerous women during the German occupation and kept Jewish property seized himself. PRO used the letters of Berend to László Endre, in which he argued for the emigration of the Jews, as evidences. However, the war criminal Endre testified in his own trial that he never answered these letters, and Berend was never his spy nor a participant of the deportations in Szigetvár. Simultaneously with the interrogations, the pro-Communist newspapers (e.g. ''
Magyar Nemzet ''Magyar Nemzet'' ('', '') is a major Hungarian newspaper published in Hungary, and styled itself as "close to the current Hungarian government led by Viktor Orbán" as of 2019. History and profile ''Magyar Nemzet'', a moderate conservative d ...
'', ''Reggel'', ''
Szabad Szó Szabad may refer to: *György Szabad, Hungarian politician and historian * Cemach Szabad, Lithuanian doctor and activist Newspapers *Szabad Föld ''Szabad Föld'' (, ) is a weekly newspaper published in Budapest, Hungary. The paper has been in c ...
'', '' Ludas Matyi'') launched a series of disparaging campaigns against Berend, calling him a "Nazi-puppet rabbi" and the "informant of the Gestapo". The press mentioned his friendship with the notorious anti-Semite Zoltán Bosnyák. Allegedly, Berend watched the deportations in Szigetvár while reading a far-right newspaper (''Magyarság'') and laughing, which became a widely spread topos about his person. In one of its caricatures, ''Ludas Matyi'' depicted Berend wearing SS uniform and prayer scarf. Prosecutor Mihály Rhosóczy of the People's Prosecutor's Office of Budapest submitted his indictment against Berend to the People's Tribunal of Budapest on 4 July 1946. Berend was accused of war crimes and acts against the people. According to the indictment, Berend was an informant of the gendarmes, the Arrow Cross Party and the Gestapo regarding the whereabouts of the Jewish wealth and also took part in a raid to the International Ghetto (Pozsonyi út) in January 1945. He collaborated with Bosnyák to transfer Jewish ritual artifacts and books to the Jewish Question Institute. He expropriated jewelry taken from the dead in the Budapest Ghetto, abusing his authority. Berend's aforementioned interview to the far-right journal ''Harc!'' was a significant point of the accusation. Berend's trial began on 2 August 1946, which was heard for another four days in October–November 1946. His defense lawyer was Károly Dietz. Berend denied all charges and spoke of torture occurred in the building of PRO. He argued that he supported Zionism and thus the migration of Jews to Palestine, because this would have saved the lives of a significant part of the Jewry, and in this matter he tried to influence the anti-Semitic politicians. He denied that he had provided benefits to women in Szigetvár or the ghetto for sexual services. Regarding his interview, all his former colleagues (Munkácsi, Hahn) defended the content of the article. The trial highlighted the personal conflict between Stern and Berend in the previous years. Former leading members of the Jewish council appeared as witnesses, and all of them spoke positively of Berend's activities during the Holocaust. According to István Földes, Berend in many cases personally handled the internees' case. Munkácsi testified that Berend helped "many people" by obtaining false documents. Domonkos praised him that, in the last weeks of the ghetto, Berend took care of the pastoral duties almost single-handedly. Nevertheless, Berend had influential connections with the authorities. For instance, József Nagy was granted access to the Ministry of the Interior for his intercession. Other testimonies emphasized that he procured medicines, hid runaway forced labour workers and maintained a counterfeiting operation in his office. On 23 November 1946, the People's Tribunal found Berend guilty on two counts of the indictment and sentenced him to ten-year imprisonment. Senior judge István Gálfalvy formulated a dissenting opinion, in which he wrote that Berend can only be condemned for his aforementioned interview alone. In April 1947, the NOT acquitted Berend of all charges. Contemporary press (''Szabad Nép'') was not satisfied with the verdict and continued to see him as a Nazi collaborator.


Later life

Berend emigrated to the United States in September 1947, becoming a rabbi of a religious community in
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
. His wife remained in Hungary. He adopted the name Albert Bruce Belton, which was legalized in June 1954. Berend served as rabbi of various communities: in
Dubuque, Iowa Dubuque (, ) is a city in Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. The population was 59,667 at the 2020 United States census. The city lies along the Mississippi River at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a region ...
(1950–1953),
Ardmore, Oklahoma Ardmore is the county seat of Carter County, Oklahoma, Carter County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 24,725 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, a 1.8% increase over the 2010 census figure of 24,283. The Ardmo ...
(1953–1959), then
Clearwater, Florida Clearwater is a city and the county seat of Pinellas County, Florida, United States, west of Tampa, Florida, Tampa and north of St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg. To the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and to the southeast lies T ...
(around 1963) and
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. During his services, he fabricated various cover stories for himself. According to his memoir, he was always forced to leave his posts in a short time as a result of "irresponsible and defamatory rumours". Contrary to his earlier Zionist views, Berend also worked as a librarian at the
Reform Jewish Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its ethical aspects to its ceremonial ones, and belief in a continuous rev ...
and
anti-Zionist Anti-Zionism is opposition to Zionism. Although anti-Zionism is a heterogeneous phenomenon, all its proponents agree that the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, and the movement to create a sovereign Jewish state in the Palestine (region) ...
American Council for Judaism The American Council for Judaism (ACJ) is a religious organization of American Jews committed to the proposition that Jews are not a national but a religious group, adhering to the original stated principles of Reform Judaism, as articulated in t ...
(ACJ) from 1956 to 1959, but he was also affiliated with the
New York Board of Rabbis The New York Board of Rabbis is an organization of Orthodox, Reform, Conservative and Reconstructionist rabbis in New York State and the surrounding portions of Connecticut and New Jersey. The roots of the New York Board of Rabbis date to 1881 wi ...
at the same time. Berend intended to return to Hungary in 1957 and 1973, but the Hungarian Jewish leaders in their correspondence did not advise him to do so. During his American exile, Berend was oriented towards a much more liberal position. For instance, he performed rabbinical weddings for couples of mixed religions too. After the
assassination of John F. Kennedy John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963. Kennedy was in the vehicle with his wife Jacqueline Kennedy Onas ...
, he bid farewell to the
president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
with a Catholic prayer. He also spoke in favor of the
civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...
of
African Americans African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa ...
. He even celebrated at ecumenical services with representatives of other religions. In many cases he sent telegrams to politicians and public figures calling for maximum support for
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
, especially during the
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. During his years of emigration, Berend was not satisfied with the acquittal, but wanted recognition and praise for his actions during the Holocaust. Therefore, he sent the supporting documents created during the trial to several institutes (e.g.
Yad Vashem Yad Vashem (; ) is Israel's official memorial institution to the victims of Holocaust, the Holocaust known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (). It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; echoing the stories of the ...
). At the
Eichmann trial The Eichmann trial was the 1961 trial of major Holocaust perpetrator Adolf Eichmann who was Operation Eichmann, captured in Argentina by Israeli agents and brought to Israel to stand trial. Eichmann was a senior Nazi party member and served at t ...
in 1961, a witness Pinchas Freudiger, also a former member of the Jewish Council of Budapest, called Berend as a "Nazi informer". As a result, Berend sent a complaint letter to deputy prosecutor Gabriel Bach demanding that his name be removed from the case file and referred to "Baron" Freudiger's alleged "friendship" with
Dieter Wisliceny Dietrich "Dieter" Wisliceny (13 January 1911 – 4 May 1948) was a member of the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) and one of the deputies of Adolf Eichmann, helping to organise and coordinate the large-scale deportations of the Jews across Europe during t ...
.
György Moldova György Moldova (12 March 1934 – 4 June 2022) was the author of more than seventy books in Hungary that have collectively sold more than 13 million copies, more than any other Hungarian writer. He is best known for his richly detailed sociolo ...
published autobiographically inspired series of writings called ''Szent Imre-induló'' in a journal ''Kortárs'' in 1975. In the work, Berend appears as a fat and evil collaborator, and the well-known topos regarding the Szigetvár deportations (see above) is also repeated. Berend sued the journal ''Kortárs'' for defamation. The court rejected the lawsuit at first and second instance, because although Berend was acquitted by the People's Tribunal, "in the given situation, he deserved disapproval from a social or religious point of view". During the trial, historian experts – Jenő Lévai and Elek Karsai – did not consider Moldova's opinion about Berend's collaboration to be unfounded. The Supreme Court approved that Berend can be called a "traitor" because it indicates an "evaluative statement" and not a statement of facts. Nevertheless, when ''Szent Imre-induló'' was published as a novel by
Magvető Magvető is a Hungarian book publishing company based in Budapest. It primarily publishes domestic and international works of literary fiction. History Magvető was established in 1955 as a publisher of the Magyar Írók Szövetsége (now the ...
in the same year, Moldova changed Berend's name to Béla Bárány in the text. Berend was embroiled into conflict with the famous Holocaust historian Randolph L. Braham too. The scholar contacted with him in 1972, and their relationship was initially cooperative, the rabbi shared important documents with Braham to aid his research. Braham published and translated such reminiscences from Stern and Freudiger that condemned Berend. Therefore, the rabbi filed a lawsuit against Braham in December 1973. After a series of postponements, the
New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the superior court in the Judiciary of New York. It is vested with unlimited civil and criminal jurisdiction, although in many counties outside New York City it acts primarily as a court of civil ju ...
heard the case in February 1979, rejecting Berend's claim for multi-million
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damages. According to the judge, Braham merely collected historical sources and made no malicious claims. Berend appealed several times, but both the
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and the
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ruled against him. Berend last sued Braham in 1984, to no avail. Béla Berend died in New York City on 24 June 1987.


References


Sources

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Berend, Bela 1911 births 1987 deaths 20th-century Hungarian rabbis Rabbis from Budapest Hungarian Zionists Members of the Jewish Council of Budapest Hungarian emigrants to the United States American people of Hungarian-Jewish descent 20th-century American rabbis