Accused Nazi Concentration Camp Leader Dies Before Trial in Hungary · Global Voices
Tamara Gocmanac

Top news these days among Hungarian and European netizens is the death of László Csizsik-Csatáry, one of the most wanted Nazi war criminals  who died on Saturday, August 10 while awaiting trial in Hungary.
The 98-year-old Hungarian native who topped the dwindling list of surviving Nazi war crime suspects died in a hospital as his trial for allegedly sending nearly 16,000 Jews to death camps neared. The announcement of Csatáry's death was made by officials on Monday, August 12 in Budapest.
His lawyer stated that the Nazi war crime suspect died in the hospital over the weekend after contracting pneumonia. His death came as a setback for Holocaust survivors still seeking some justice.
A file that the Simon Wiesenthal Center had prepared on Csatáry implicated him in the deportation of 300 people from Kassa (Kosice) in 1941. In August 2012, the Budapest Prosecutor’s Office dropped these 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 deportations of 15,700 Jews from Kassa from May 1944.
A group of Jewish men, women and children being led to a concentration camp during WW II; photo provided by by the German Federal Archives, used under Creative Commons 3.0 license.
Hungarian authorities have said Csatáry was the chief of an internment camp for Jews in 1944 in Kosice, a Slovak city then part of Hungary, beating inmates with his bare hands and a dog whip. He had also been charged with assisting in the deportation of thousands of Jews to Auschwitz and other Nazi death camps. He denied the charges.
Csatáry was sentenced to death in absentia in Czechoslovakia in 1948 for similar war crimes. A Budapest court in July suspended the case against Csatáry citing double jeopardy, as the charges filed by Hungarian prosecutors were similar to those in his 1948 conviction. Hungarian prosecutors appealed against the decision and a ruling was pending.
Csatáry's case and his whereabouts were revealed in 2012 by the Simon Wiesenthal Centre, a Jewish organisation which hunts Nazis who have yet to be brought to justice.
Most netizens from around the globe couldn't hide their disappointment regarding his death.
Twitter user Richard S. said:
Most wanted #Nazi suspect Laszlo #Csatary dies aged 98 awaiting trial http://t.co/w00u9CiXfg He escaped justice for too long. #Wiesenthal
— Richard S (@rhs718) August 13, 2013
Political scientist Siniša Bundalo from Serbia wrote:
Kad vidim kako je prošao ovaj madjarski fašista #Csatáry nešto ne vjerujem u ono “pravda je spora ali…”!
— Siniša Bundalo (@Sinisa_B) August 12, 2013
When I see how this Hungarian fascist #Csatáry got away with it I don't quite believe the saying “justice is slow but…”!
— Siniša Bundalo (@Sinisa_B) August 12, 2013
Jan Nemecek, a Twitter user from Slovakia, noted:
#Csatary died and some hungarians think that he is a hero. What a shame.
— Jan Nemecek (@nemecekjano) August 12, 2013
Hans Meijer, a communications advisor at Gemeente Hilversum in the Netherlands, shared the news:
Hungarian #Csatary charged with Nazi-era war crimes dies http://t.co/aPBx063DIr pic.twitter.com/khjhlX48Z5
— Hansie (@jcmmeijer) August 12, 2013
Andrew Yurkovsky, a U.S. journalist covering Central and Eastern Europe, tweeted:
Accused concentration camp leader Laszlo #Csatary dies before trial; case highlighted #Hungary‘s role in WWII http://t.co/zGwUhkbLLh
— Andrew Yurkovsky (@AndrewYurkovsky) August 12, 2013
Another Twitter user echoed what many were saying online:
#Nazi War Criminal #Csatary Dies at 98 (That's in any case 73 years too late) – #Israel National News http://t.co/8cuTjrziYp
— Guus (@Guus666) August 12, 2013
In response to the media announcement of his death, people from around the world responded with calls for justice:
@radiomitre #Csatary Pues ahora enfrentara el peor de los juicios y sin abogados.
— jose luis lopez (@jossephuss) August 13, 2013
@radiomitre #Csatary Well now he will face the worst of justices and without lawyers.
— jose luis lopez (@jossephuss) August 13, 2013
A year ago Csatáry's unknown location was discovered by reporters for British paper “The Sun”, who knocked on his door for statements. Csatáry's trial was scheduled to begin next month.