As difficult as it is to accept, the rivalries between various Jewish aid organizations really did complicate matters significantly in 1944. It wasn’t just everybody versus the Bergsons. It was the Orthodox versus the non-Orthodox. It was the Zionists versus the non-Zionists. It was those who privileged religious rescue versus those who did not have a preference whether rescued children went to Palestine or the United States.
The arguments were religious, philosophical, and about the future of Judaism as a people and as a religion. But it was also about money. In this letter, Mitchell Luftman of the United Hungarian Jews told Leon Kubowitzki of the World Jewish Congress about a meeting in his offices by the Vaad Hahatzala, the leading Orthodox organization. The Vaad had recently received a request for one million dollars, and were being told by their representatives that so many people could be saved if only they had the proper funds. So they came to the United Hungarian Jews (and others) to try to convince them to donate money to them, rather than to the World Jewish Congress or some other organization. These rivalries carried overseas as well, and in Switzerland, Portugal, and Turkey, representatives caused problems while fighting for “their” organization to take charge or get credit.
