Hungarians Magyarize Names of Jewish Olympic Players

Six Jewish football players are among the eleven football champions chosen to represent Hungary at the Olympic games, which are to be held in Paris.

These Jewish football players presented a problem to the Arrangements Committee of the Hungarian sports association, who found it undesirable that Hungary should be represented at the international meet by six Jews. The committee, however, found it equally undesirable to eliminate from its representatives, six of Hungary’s best players. A compromise was achieved by the registration of the Jewish foot ball players under Hungarian names. Mendel was registered as Mandi; Gross as Nagy; Blum as Virag; Guttmann as Gardos; Braun as Barma; and Weiss as Vertes.

It will be recalled in this connection that according to an ordinance now in force in Hungary, Jews are forbidden to Magyarize their names.

An interesting episode occurred in connection with the choosing of fencers for the Olympic games. Dr. Eugene Fuchs, a Hungarian Jew, who on two occasions won the fencing championship at the Olympic games in London and Stockholm was refused permission to join the Hungarian team of fencers on account of his race. Dr. Fuchs then declared that he would proceed to Paris and center the games independently, at which the sports association capitulated and included him in the fencing team. Dr. Fuchs was the City Attorney of Budapest, but was dismissed from that post when the anti-Semitic regime started.