Brothers for Resistance and Rescue 1 - CENDO

Slovakia and Poland.
After the German occupation of Hungary on 19.3.1944, Moshe was a
prominent activist in the Organization for the protection and rescue of
Jews. In the argument among the different movements on the issue of
the building of bunkers, he expressed his opposition, arguing that in light
of the reality in fascist Hungary the bunkers would be deadly traps for
their occupants. Moshe dealt with the return-tiyul in view of a period of
relative calm there, as well as the tiyul. He often traveled to the border
himself.
Moshe represented his movement in various forums of the underground
and of Hungarian Jewry.
After 15.10.1944, when the Arrow Cross Party formed the government,
Pil was mainly engaged in rescuing people serving in forced labor units
and Budapest Jews. He took part in the establishment of children’s
houses where thousands of Jewish children, many of whom orphans,
found a shelter.
In December 1944 Moshe was the soul and organizer of the liberation
strategy of members of the Zionist youth movements underground from
the central military prison on Margit Boulevard. After the liberation, in
January 1945, he engaged in the rehabilitation of the movement and in
helping those returning from concentration and extermination camps.
Moshe was active in the organization of the illegal aliya within the
framework of Aliyah Bet.
In 1946 he made aliya with his wife, Tova Diamant, an underground
activist, and joined Kibbutz Ha’ogen.
At first Moshe worked in the fields and later became the manager of the
kibbutz rubber factory. Between 1958 and 1974 he was a member of the
“Koor” (the umbrella organization of the Histadrut industry enterprises)
directorate. In the same period, in 1962, he went to London where he
studied economics.
From 1965 to 1967 he served as the Israeli attaché for Economics Affairs
in East Africa. From 1974 Pil was an independent consultant in the fields
of industry and economics.
In recent years he has served as the chairman of the Museum for the
Heritage of Hungarian Speaking Jewry and a member of the directory of
the Society for the Research of the History of Zionist Youth Movements in
Hungary. He was a resident of Kfar Saba.
Moshe Alpan is the author of the book: Be'en Hasa'ara ( Weathering the
Storm ), published by'The Society for the Research of the History of the
Zionist Youth Movement in Hungary'. Israel. 2001 ( Hebrew )
His literary work translated to Hungarian - Mose Alpan: A viharban (
Weathering the Storm ) Makkabea Kiadó. Budapest, 2004.
Brothers for Resistance and Rescue 36