The Hungarian Government will tomorrow introduce in the Lower House of Parliament a bill providing drastic Limitation of Jewish participation in the economic, social and cultural life of the country, it was announced tonight.
The measure will establish a numerous clauses (proportional restriction) for Jews in employment in the press, cinema, stage, business enterprises and banks, Minister of Justice Ladislaus Mikecz told a Government Party conference called to consider a solution of “the Jewish problem.”
The purpose of the Government’s bill, M. Mikecz asserted, is to guarantee more efficient protection of the social order and to introduce a more equitable balance into the economic life of the country.
THE BILL PROVIDES FOR THE FOLLOWING:
1–Establishment of chambers for the press, stage and films in which Jewish membership will be limited to twenty per cent. Jewish war invalids, front-fighters and war pensioners will not be counted in determining the Jewish percentage.
2–In business enterprises and banks, only twenty per cent of the total wages and salaries can be paid by these concerns to Jews.
3–The twenty per cent proportion will be applicable in the future to new admissions to the legal, medical and engineering chambers.
4–Any undertaking employing fewer than ten workers is not permitted to discharge a Christian worker unless another Christian is employed to replace him.
Trade and industry are given five years to put these measures into effect, but the press, stage and films industries are given only one year. The textile industry is granted ten years.
It is reported that the Government will seek special powers from Parliament to solve the Jewish problem, and also that the new law will define a Christian as a person baptized before 1919. According to further reports, the Government intends to revise citizenships granted to Jews after July 1, 1914, and revise the ownership of real estate acquired after 1919, and also tobacco, cinema and liquor licenses.
The Government, it is understood, desires to introduce the planned changes in large enterprises gradually to avoid dislocation and upsetting of the country’s economy.
The first forecast of the proposed anti-Jewish measures was published this evening by Nemzet, the organ of the Independent Agrarian Party, which said that the Government commission appointed last week to consider a solution of the “Jewish problem” met this afternoon in the presence of Premier Koloman Daranyi. In addition to what was officially announced tonight, Nemzet had predicted that Jews would be dismissed from the State and public services.
According to the Havas News Agency, the meeting of the Government committee was told by Deputy Januz Makkai, in a report, that the Jews comprise five per cent of Hungary’s population, but that they constitute 36 per cent of all proprietors, directors and employees in industry and a similar percentage in banks and trading firms.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
