Toman: Knave or Hero

Directed By: Larry Steven Price / 61 Minutes
Israel, USA / 2019 / English (English Subtitles)
Documentary / Biography
Territory Rights: WORLD-WIDE
Exhibition Format: Prores/QT

Original Title: Toman: Knave or Hero

Synopsis

Short synopsis
Between 1945-48 Zoltan Toman, Czech deputy Minister of the Interior made certain the border was kept open so the hundreds of thousands of Jews could cross to the West and safety. And that Israel would receive weapons to fight the War of Independence.
Long synopsis
World War II has just ended. Europe is in turmoil. Hundreds of thousands of Jewish refugees
are on the roads. Most stuck on the Polish/Czech border. One man was determined to keep that border open. His name was Zoltan Toman, and he was the deputy Interior Minister of Czechoslovakia. And, according to the JDC Toman was responsible for saving hundreds of thousands of lives. Toman, a devout Communist, ran a black-market operation to help the communist party take over Czechoslovakia. And kept a fortune for himself. Zoltan Toman was Jewish. He said he was also key to the Czech arms sale to Israel that helped win the 1948 War of Independence. Which is true? Was he a knave? Or a hero?