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Hungarian Jewish War Hero Commits Suicide over Anti-semitic Laws

July 10, 1940
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Laszlo Gosztony, prominent Jewish industrialist and a distinguished war veteran, committed suicide today in protest against the Hungarian anti-Jewish laws.

Gosztony, who was 52 and executive director of one of Hungary’s largest coal mining concerns, before taking his life wrote the following letter to friends, including high army officers, members of the Government and editors: “My dignity as a human being has for the first time been offended without the possibility of gaining satisfaction.”

When found, Gosztony was wearing his medals for distinctive service and valor. Friends expressed the opinion that he committed suicide when he found, upon responding to mobilization, that as a Jew he was required to serve as a private instead of his former rank of lieutenant.

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