László Csatáry Explained

László Csatáry
Birth Date:1915 3, df=y
Birth Place:Mány, Austria-Hungary
Death Date:[1]
Death Place:Budapest, Hungary
Occupation:Art dealer
Known For:Alleged war crimes

László Csizsik Csatáry (in Hungarian ˈlaːsloː ˈt͡ʃɒtaːri/; 4 March 1915 – 10 August 2013) was a Hungarian citizen and was convicted and sentenced to death in absentia in 1948 by a Czechoslovak court as a Nazi war criminal. In 2012, his name was added to the Simon Wiesenthal Center's list of most wanted Nazi war criminals.[2]

Life

Csatáry was born in Mány in 1915.[3] In 1944 he was the Royal Hungarian Police assistant to the commander in the city of Kassa in Hungary (now Košice in Slovakia). He was accused of organizing the deportation of approximately 15,700 Jews to Auschwitz[2] [4] and of having inhumanely exercised his authority in a forced labor camp. He was also accused of brutalizing the inhabitants of the city.[5]

He was convicted in absentia for war crimes in Czechoslovakia in 1948 and sentenced to death. He fled to Canada in 1949, claiming to be a Yugoslav national and settled in Montreal, where he became an art dealer.[6] He became a Canadian citizen in 1955.[7] [8] In 1997, his Canadian citizenship was revoked by the federal Cabinet for lying on his citizenship application.[9] [10] He left the country two months later but was never charged with war crimes in Canada. An extensive criminal reference check was done on him with no evidence of war crimes there.

In 2012, Csatáry was located in Budapest, Hungary, based on a tip received by the Simon Wiesenthal Center in September 2011.[11] [12] [13]

His address was exposed by reporters from The Sun in July 2012.[12] [13] He was reportedly taken into custody on 18 July 2012 by the Hungarian authorities for questioning.[14]

On 30 July 2012, Slovak Justice Minister Tomáš Borec announced that Slovakia was ready to prosecute against Csatáry and asked Hungary to extradite him.[15]

A file prepared by the Simon Wiesenthal Center about Csatáry implicated him in the deportation of 300 people from Kassa in 1941. In August 2012 the Budapest Prosecutor's Office dropped the charges, saying Csatáry was not in Kassa at the time and lacked the rank to organize the transports. In January 2013 it was reported that Slovak police had found a witness to corroborate other charges relating to the deportation of 15,700 Jews from Kassa from May 1944.[16]

Czechoslovakia had abolished capital punishment in 1990. Accordingly, on 28 March 2013, the Slovak County Court in Košice changed the 1948 verdict in Csatáry's case from death to life imprisonment.[17]

War-crimes indictment

On 18 June 2013, Hungarian prosecutors charged Csatáry with war crimes, saying he had abused Jews and helped to deport Jews to Auschwitz during World War II. A spokesperson for the Budapest Chief Prosecutor's Office said, "He is charged with the unlawful execution and torture of people, (thus) committing war crimes partly as a perpetrator, partly as an accomplice."[18]

The Budapest higher court suspended his case on 8 July 2013, however, because "Csatáry had already been sentenced for the crimes included in the proceedings, in former Czechoslovakia in 1948". The court also added that it was necessary to examine how the 1948 death sentence could be applied to Hungarian legal practice.[19]

Reaction

Efraim Zuroff, director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, said about his finding:

Yishayahu Schachar, Jewish survivor who encountered Csatáry, said:[20]

László Karsai, a Hungarian Holocaust historian and the son of a Holocaust survivor, said:[21]

Death

Csatáry died on 10 August 2013 from pneumonia at a hospital in Budapest, aged 98. According to daily Bors, Csatáry had been hospitalized for a long time, where he caught pneumonia.[22]

Efraim Zuroff, director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center stated that he was "deeply disappointed" that Csatáry had died without facing trial.[23]

See also

Notes and References

  1. [:File:Csatáry L. halotti akiv 2013..jpg|Extract from the Register of Deaths]
  2. News: Three new names on Wiesenthal Center's most-wanted Nazi list have Canadian links. 5 May 2012. The Times of Israel. 22 April 2012. 23 April 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120423225521/http://www.timesofisrael.com/three-new-names-on-wiesenthal-centers-most-wanted-nazi-list-have-canadian-links/. live.
  3. News: Csatáry a betegeket is felrugdosta a vagonba. 23 July 2012. Népszava. 17 July 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120721021052/http://nepszava.com/2012/07/magyarorszag/csatary-a-betegeket-is-felrugdosta-a-vagonba.html. 21 July 2012. dead.
  4. Book: SWC Annual Status Report on the Worldwide Investigation and Prosecution of Nazi War Criminals. 2012. Simon Wiesenthal Centre. 2012-05-05. 2018-10-04. https://web.archive.org/web/20181004071633/http://www.wiesenthal.com/atf/cf/%7B54d385e6-f1b9-4e9f-8e94-890c3e6dd277%7D/ANNUAL%20STATUS%20REPORT%20ON%20THE%20WORLDWIDE%20INVESTIGATION%20AND%20PROSECUTION%20OF%20NAZI%20WAR%20CRIMINALS.PDF. dead.
  5. Web site: Csatáry judge in Slovakia. Slovak. 25 July 2012. delet.sk. Michael. Szatmary. 26 July 2012. 30 July 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120730094946/http://www.delet.sk/spravy-a-politika/slovensko/uzzno-csataryho-sudte-na-slovensku. dead.
  6. News: Nazi war crimes suspect Laszlo Csatary dies. 12 August 2013. BBC News. 12 August 2013. 12 August 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130812232120/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23664226. live.
  7. News: Vienneau. David. Ottawa launches court bid to deport 2 new alleged Nazis. https://archive.today/20130111081243/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/18836593.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Nov+01,+1996&author=By+David+Vienneau+Toronto+Star&pub=Toronto+Star&desc=Ottawa+launches+court+bid+to+deport+2+new+alleged+Nazis&pqatl=google. dead. January 11, 2013. 5 May 2012. Toronto Star. 1 November 1996.
  8. News: Macivor. Carol. Hungary: Alleged Nazi Collaborator Leaves Canada. 5 May 2012. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 9 October 1997. 20 July 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120720002616/http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1086962.html. live.
  9. Book: Singer, David. American Jewish Year Book 1998. 1988. American Jewish Committee. 0874951135. 199.
  10. News: Federal Government Names New Alleged Nazi War Criminals. 5 May 2012. B'nai Brith Canada (press release). 31 October 1996. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20101208200429/http://bnaibrith.ca/press0/pr-961031-26.htm. 8 December 2010.
  11. Book: Zuroff, Efraim. Operaatio viimeinen mahdollisuus. Operation Last Change. Epilogue to Finnish edition. 268. June 2012. Helsinki. Finnish Anti-Fascist Committee. Finnish. 9789525412550.
  12. News: Officials: Alleged Nazi war criminal found in Hungary. Ashley Hayes. CNN. 16 July 2012. 16 July 2012. 23 July 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120723072846/http://edition.cnn.com/2012/07/16/world/europe/hungary-suspected-nazi/index.html. live.
  13. Web site: 'Nazi' tracked down in Budapest. Arne Lichtenberg. 16 July 2012. Deutsche Welle. 17 July 2012. 21 August 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120821203232/http://www.dw.de/dw/article/0,,16101343,00.html. live.
  14. News: Laszlo Csatary detained. BBC News Europe. 18 July 2012. 18 July 2012. 18 July 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120718101337/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-18884106. live.
  15. Web site: Budapest court to rule on war crime suspect Csatáry's extradition to Slovakia. politics.hu. 30 July 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20140607000833/http://www.politics.hu/20120731/budapest-court-to-rule-on-war-crime-suspect-csatarys-extradition-to-slovakia/. 7 June 2014. dead.
  16. Web site: Liphshiz. Cnaan. Witness found in trial of Hungarian war criminal Csatary. Jta.org. 10 January 2013. 13 August 2013. 13 January 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130113032114/http://www.jta.org/news/article/2013/01/10/3116506/witness-found-in-trial-of-hungarian-war-criminal-csatary. live.
  17. Web site: Csatárymu zmenili trest smrti na doživotie. Kosice.korzar.sme.sk. 21 December 2016. 4 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304023457/http://kosice.korzar.sme.sk/c/6749156/csatarymu-zmenili-trest-smrti-na-dozivotie.html. live.
  18. Web site: Hungarian man, 98, charged with World War II crimes: prosecutors. Yahoo News. 18 June 2013. 8 September 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130908143355/http://news.yahoo.com/hungarian-man-98-charged-world-war-ii-crimes-080153598.html. live.
  19. Web site: Court suspends case of war crimes suspect Csatary. Politics.hu. 8 July 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131008102806/http://www.politics.hu/20130708/court-suspends-case-of-war-crimes-suspect-csatary/. 8 October 2013. dead.
  20. News: Nail No1 Nazi. July 16, 2012. The Sun. July 16, 2012. London. Ryan. Parry. Brian. Flynn. December 21, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191221124601/https://www.thesun.co.uk/archives/news/763645/nail-no1-nazi/. live.
  21. News: Laszlo Csatary: Is Hungary's Nazi suspect worth pursuing?. 18 July 2012. BBC. 17 July 2012. 19 July 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120719184558/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-18876847. live.
  22. Web site: Nazi-era war-crimes suspect Csatáry dies aged 98. Politics.hu. 13 August 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131009015612/http://www.politics.hu/20130812/nazi-era-war-crimes-suspect-csatary-dies-aged-98/. 9 October 2013. dead.
  23. News: Nazi war crimes suspect Laszlo Csatary dies. BBC News. 12 August 2013. 12 August 2013. 12 August 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130812232120/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23664226. live.

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