A protest against the attempt to associate the Hatvany case with the Jewish question in Hungary was voiced by Anton Kaufman, writing in the Newark “Jewish Chronicle.” Mr. Kaufman, who is of Hungarian birth, declares:
“There is at present functioning in the United States an organization known as the Anti-Horthy League, which is trying to create the impression that the recent sentencing of Baron Ludwig von Hatvany in Hungary is an example of anti-Semitism.
“This attitude is absolutely false, as I can prove, and is fostered for the self-advertisement of a few men.
“The most obvious reason why Baron von Hatvany is not persecuted as a Jew is that he is no longer one, and is, in fact, as determined an anti-Semite as any one could be.
“He was converted after the death of his father, Alexander von Deutsch de Hatvany, with several of his brothers, all of whom, with the exception of one, Charles, have returned to Judaism.
“In addition, Baron von Hatvany has written three books in which he attacks the Jews viciously. These books, published in 1924, 1925 and 1926, contain the biography of his family, and are called ‘Sigmund in the Family,’ ‘Sigmund’s Rise’ and ‘Sigmund in Business.’
“In one place, the baron says that the ‘Jews never worked or produced anything,’ and that ‘for the last 2,000 years they have lived on usury.’
“Certainly no one who publishes such statements after having been brought up in the home of a man who was president of the executive board of the Francis Joseph Rabbinical Seminary of Budapest, and was generally active in Jewish affairs, can be regarded now as the victim of anti-Semitic prejudices.
“His father was a great enough man to be an example to him. His father was made a noble with the title of Hatvany in 1885 and a member of the House of Magnates because of his establishment of the sugar industry in Hungary.
“It was during the Karolyi revolution in 1920 that the younger Hatvany, a radical in his college days, took an active part in political affairs. He went to Vienna afterwards and from there wrote articles against Hungary.
“He was found guilty not only by the Government, as the general impression is, but by an independent tribunal of justice.
“Such a man, it can readily be seen, is falsely presented when he is depicted as a martyr for the Jewish cause.”
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
