Hungary Apparently Returns to Days of Anti-jewish Terror

(By Our Budapest Correspondent)

It has been the pride of every civilized government that its judges were independent of the political organs of the government. Not so in Hungary.

In the era of the White Terror and the so-called “Christlicher Kurs” in Hungary, the Jewish population of the country had its first taste of Hungary’s departure from the accepted customs of civilization in respect to courts of justice. In those days it became apparent that a Jew could find no legal protection in any court against physical or moral attacks. Anti-Semites learned to their delight that they could with absolute immunity assault Jews, rob them, insult them and even murder them. The verdict of every court where Jews appeared was always in favor of the anti-Semites.

Later on, however, the Hungarian courts began to make an effort to free themselves from the rabidly anti-Semitic atmosphere and began to strive to dispense justice to the Jew as well as to the non-Jew. Long before the government and political circles started to show signs of slackening somewhat in their outspoken policy of aggressive anti-Semitism, the courts began to refuse to abide by the dictates of the “Christlicher Kurs.” As a matter of fact it was the judges in the courts that took the first definite step against anti-Semitism, actually compelling the political organs and political parties to follow suit when they realized that the courts were determined to mete out heavy sentences to the perpetrators of anti-Jewish excesses whenever these were arrested and brought before the bar. The courts had decided obviously that criminals who directed their acts against Jews could not be allowed to enjoy immunity at the hands of the law.

THE HOPES OF THE JEWS

This development which had its direct effect on the political circles of the country naturally gave rise to new hopes on the part of the Jewish population that a democratic and liberal epoch was about to begin in Hungary. These hopes were encouraged by certain statements subject to dual interpretation uttered by officials high in the government regarding a more liberal political tendency. The consequence of these statements by political leaders was that thousands of Jews cast their votes for the so-called liberal government candidates.

But no sooner did the question of the modification of the numerus clausus arise, a question which the government continually declared it brought up unwillingly under pressure from the League of Nations and the complaints of Jewish organizations abroad, than a wave of anti-Semitic excesses in all Hungarian colleges and universities broke out. And strangely this outburst on the part of the students seemed to be accompanied by a simultaneous regression in the Hungarian courts of justice. The first two or three verdicts were regarded as mere episodes, but when the number of these light sentences for the anti-Semitic perpetrators kept on growing, the feeling was unavoidable that the courts were again slipping back into the anti-Semitic swamp of the unfortunate days of the White Terror. And this became apparent not so much in the verdicts themselves as in the anti-Semitic motivation of the verdicts which revealed dangerous symptoms.

A REMARKABLE ACQUITTAL

The year 1927 closed with a remarkable acquittal of an officer who confessed in court that in the days of the White Terror he tortured Jews in the cellers of the officer’s quarters. The court based its acquittal on the ground that it was well known that in the period of the White Terror robbing and torturing Jews was done on orders from “higher up.”

A few days ago another remarkable incident occurred. A certain professor, Andreas Yurassa, published a history to be used as a text book in Hungarian public and high schools. This book, replete with poisonous utterances against the Jews, provoked an article in one of the Budapest papers written by a young journalist who pointed out the dangerous effects the statements contained in the book would have on the Hungarian youth and urged the Jews to take action against them. Whereupon the author of the book filed suit against the journalist. Julius Aboniu charging him with libel. The court sentenced the journalist to fourteen days in prison, a fine of four thousand penge and three thousand penge as damages to the professor. The verdict explains that “undoubtedly the text book contains very severe and undeserved utterances regarding the Jews.” and secondly, that “in handing down the sentence, the court took into consideration as extenuating circumstances the defendant’s youth and his apparent (that is, Jewish) confessional attachment.

It is needless to say what an impression this verdict made, especially sice the court admitted that the book in question undoubtedly contained severe and undeserved anti-Semitic statements. Apparently the spirit that prevailed in the unhappy days of the White Terror has come back It is difficult to interpret such incidents as those cited here as other than indications of the renewed influence of the political spheres over the courts of justice.