Economic and Social Anti-semitism Impel Many Jews in Budapest to Become Converted

During the year 1928, up to the beginning of November, 316 Jews in Budapest have changed their faith, according to the Budapest correspondent of the Berlin “Neue Welt.” All of them have at the same time gone through baptism, by means of which they have gained entrance into Christian churches. Most of the converts have accepted the Catholic faith.

Dr. Sigmund Grossman, who as director of the Budapest Rabbinical Board, comes into contact with all these converts, since according to the Hungarian law they must first report to the Rabbinical Board their desire to be taken off the list of Jewish community members, reports that the great majority of those who have become converted within recent months have taken this step because of the bitter economic and social anti-Semitism that is to be found today in Hungary. With tears in their eyes, Jewish men and women have told Dr. Grossman that it is only their great poverty which drove them to take this step and the promise of influential Christians to get them good positions after their baptism.

The correspondent cites many cases of Jewish workers and professional people who were told that unless they embraced Christianity they could not get any positions. Very often, he says, the convert is at a loss as to which Christian faith to adopt. His Christian friends only tell him that in order to get work he must cease being a Jew. Outside of Budapest, the situation in Hungary is not much better; the Jews in the provinces do not suffer so badly in this regard simply because the Jewish workers there have long ago been forced to emigrate from the provinces.