Hungarian Envoy to USSR Promises to Secure Return of Jewish War Prisoners

Hungarian Minister to Moscow, Gyula Szegfue, has assured the Association of Hungarian Jews that upon his return to the USSR he will take up with Soviet authorities the question of Hungarian Jewish war prisoners who have not yet been repatriated. The Jews were members of forced labor battalions sent to the Russian front by the pro-Nazi Szalasi Government.

Following withdrawal of government objections to publication of a Zionist organ, the “Cause of Palestine,” a new magazine, made its first appearance here today. Its lead editorial criticizes the attitude of the Government and the press, which it charges have either refrained from dealing with the Jewish problem or have libeled Zionism. The periodical says that as a result anti-Semitic incidents, such as the recent pogrom at Kunmadaras, have occurred.

Count Michael Karolyt, who recently returned here after a 27-year exile, which followed the collapse of the government he headed for a brief period in 1919, issued a statement strongly condemning the attacks on Jews. At the same time, the Communist press urged that a program of education on racial and religious matters be carried on within the churches.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education has sent instructions to the heads of all secondary schools to begin a program designed to encourage racial tolerance and combat anti-Semitic propaganda. The Government has also arranged for the posting of placards condemning anti-Semitism in several provincial towns.

The defendants in the Kummadaras case are to go on trial before a special tribunal here this week, according to latest reports.