Az Ember, 1943 (18. évfolyam, 25. éves jubíleumi szám)

1943-07-04 / 25. éves jubileumi szám

July 4, 1943.

Az Ember

5-ik oldal.

Három tábori pap képe áll előttem, amikor e sorokat irom. Az egyik Dr. Poling kedves barátomnak fia, akik néhány héttel ezelőtt a tengeren haltak hősi halált, amint a torpedó elsíilyesztette hajójukat. Zsidó, katholikus és református papok átadva mentőövüket a mellettük levő katonáknak: együttesen mondják hangosan a 23-dik zsoltárt: “Az Ur az én őriző pásztorom” . . . “lxa a halál árnyékának völgyében járok is” ... az Isten velem van. Elmosódott a felekezeti külömbség. Ma világbékéért harcolunk, hogy a vérzivatar eltűnése után! minden ember szabad legyen és a világ megszabaduljon a zsarnokoktól.

EN IS OTT VOLTAM!

Irta: KERTÉSZ MIHÁLY

Én is ott voltam huszonöt év előtt Pesten, a New York kávéházban, amikor megjelent “Az Ember” első száma. V ilágosan emlékszem, hogy annak idején mindnyájunkat megfogott annak az erőnek az egyszerűsége, amit az újság címlapján láttunk. Egy kemény, edzett férfi elszántan meredt kifelé a börtönrács mögül . , . Ha Göndör Ferenc abban az első számban nem is fejtette volna ki politikai és társadalmi programját, az a címlap minden cikknél ragyogóbban fejezte ki azt a célt, amit a szerkesztő maga elé tűzött. Mert az a ctmtap nemcsak a szabadság felé ággódó embert mutatta be, hanem láthatatlanul elénk hozta azt az emberi lelket is, ami a szabadság eszméje után sóvárog. És igg tudtuk meg, mi lesz a lapnak az iránya. Az a férfias elhatározás, amit Göndör Ferenciéi mindenki várt: kiszabadítani a börtönbe hurcolt embert, és a szabad eszme reményének lángját w gyújtani az emberi lélekben . . .

És én ott vöt ram Pécsben is, ahol Göndör megkezdte önkéntes száműzetését. Nem hunyászkodott meg a hatat monlevök előtt, nem kovácsolt magának hasznot az igazságtalanságok elhallgatásával, hanem “Az Ember” hasábjain keresztül folytatta azt a purifikátori munkát, amit Pesten kezdett meg. Harcolt a korrupció ellen, harcolt minden üldözött emberért, és harcolt azért, hogy a nyomtatott betűnek és az elhangzott szónak szabad terjesztési jogot biztosíthasson.

És én ott voltam Amerikáiban is, ahol Göndör Ferenc megint kiállt a porondra. Nem volt olyan igaz ügy, amiért ö ne harcolt volna, és nem akadt olyan üldözött, akit ö ne vett volna pártfogásába. Benne az igazságszeretet és az emberi testvériesség gondolata olyan megtisztult és megnemesedett fogalommá nőtt ki, ami félretolt minden önző, anyagi

KERTÉSZ MIHÁLY.

érdeket. Ö a becsületesség és az önzetlenség eszközeivel mindig síkra szállt — és tudom, hogy a jövőben is síkra fog szállni — azokért, akik az elnyomottak és szenvedők, akik nincstelenek és boldogtalanok, mert ő ezekkel mindig lelki közösséget tart fenn...

Politikusok és ügyvédek, akik bajbakerült embereken segítenek, rendszerint meg tudnak gazdagodni. Göndör Ferenc az ő önfeláldozó munkásságáért nem kap más jutalmat, mintegy kézszoritást vagy vállveregetést. Ö az igazság örök bajnoka! Egy nagyszerű ember, aki az igazságszeretetének az áldozata, mert életének legszebb huszonöt esztendejét arra fordította, hogy másokért verekedett.

Erősen hiszem, hogy Göndör Ferencet, akinek sohase jutott ideje a vagyongyűjtésre, az elkövetkező másik huszonöt esztendő alatt olvasói, hívei és barátai azzal a hálatelt elismeréssel fogják körülvenni, ami öt méltán megilleti. Szívből kívánok neki további sikert és kitartást az uj jubileumhoz . . .

Hollywood, 19'i3 június.

The Hungarian Garden Restaurant

1528 2nd Ave,, New York 79-80 St. közt. RE 4-9670' T. Kondor Mariska, a magyarsqg kedvence énekel és Horozsnyi Elemér zenekara játszik.

BAKÓ TESTVÉREK.

The HUNGARIAN MUDDLE

By LOUIS TOTH

The deplorable mess that the Horthy government has j made of Hungarian affairs in Europe is being made infinitely worse by the sharp division of opinion among Hungarians and Americans of Hungarian descent in the United States. To the average American even mildly interested in the fate of Hungary it seems incredible that I the sons and daughters of that country living here, supposedly imbued with the spirit of American democracy, can be so far apart in political opinions regarding their native country as they actually are. This is a situation that should be remedied, because of its effect on the American war effort, if for j no other reason.

TÓTH LAJOS ceptions for Otto of Haps. .In trying to find a remedy for a situation, the first step should be a clear analysis of all the factors. Because during the last few years I have had the privilege of discussing Hungarian affairs with leaders (and others) in political groups of all shades of opinion, I shall attempt in this article to make such an analysis.

I am fully aware that the classification of human beings into clearly definable groups is largely artificial. And yet, in an attempt at clarification of the Hungarian muddle, I must classify the Hungarians of this country, although I readily admit that there are many thousands of Hungarians ! here who fall between the j classes, agreeing with one on certain aspects of political life, and with another on certain other aspects.

For the sake of those who insist on exact terminology, I want to say here that in using the word “Hungarians” I am referring to men and women who were born in Hungary whether they are now citizens of that country, of the United States, or of some other country.

Now, then, in order to understand the Hungarian muddle, it is necessary to classify the Hungarians here in three groups, according to their opinions on the political aspects of the Hungarian question. Instead of trying to find names for these groups, I prefer to call them simply Group One, Group Two, and Group Three.

The nucleus of Group One is made up of “professional Hungarians,” men whose livelihood depends on Hungarians and Hungarian institutions. It is to their own financial interest to keep the Hungarians Hungarian, to retard — in so far as they are able—the natural process of Americanization. To keep their countrymen conscious of their Hungarianism in their business. This group includes

the men who arranged re\

burg when he arrived in this country, and paid him homage; men who have always resented angrily any criticism of the Horthy government at meetings of Hungarians here; men who voted down the motion to include the word “democratic” in the name of Free Hungary Movement; men who like to be received officially as “big shots” when they visit Hungary and, therefore, do not want to risk spoiling that chance for the future by denouncing the Horthy government, even in these days; Protestant ministers who cherish the possibility of returning to Hungary and taking over lucrative parishes when their congregations here get thoroughly Americanized; Catholic priests who believe that the passing of the semi-feudal system in Hungary, so well preserved by the Horthy government, would mean the loss of the large landed estates held by the Roman Catholic Church in that country and thus be harmful to their Church, forgetting that the prosperous and efficient organization of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States was built up without any financial assistance from feudal grants of large estates. This group also includes some Hungarian lawyers who have never been sufficiently successful here to acquire an average American practice, but have to rely on Hungarians for a living; men who were at one time of some importance in Hungary but are failures here, and therefore must play at being leaders in the only place where they are accepted or tolerated, among their countrymen; and last but not least, quite a few Hungarian newspapermen, afraid of incurring the displeasure of clergymen and officials of Hungarian institutions who control certain advertising budgets and a certain number of subscriptions. In short, the majority of the leaders of this group are men who live within

i their own little Hungarian circles, barely conscious of the American way of life that goes on around them.

The characteristic political beliefs of Group One are: That the Horthy government has been acting under duress and, therefore, it must not be criticized;

That we must not advocate democratic reforms for the Hungarian people because that would be interference in their internal affairs; (they forget that the majority of the Hungarian people have no right to vote through secret ballot and therefore could not decide for themselves);

j That the Hungarians in America must accept Tibor Eckhardt’s defunct Free Hungary Movement, or have no such movement at all;

That any Hungarian who makes an attempt to arrive at some friendly understanding with representatives of Hungary’s neighbor countries is a traitor;

] That any American of Hungarian descent who donates to the Russian War Relief, or who advocates democratic reforms for Hungary, or who condemns the Horthy government, or who accepts the cooperation in war activities of members of the International Workers Order, or who refuses to join the American Hungarian Federation — is a communist.

This Group One is rather vociferous in our Hungarianlanguage press but its voice hardly ever reaches our English-language papers. Its leaders boast of certain connections in Washington, particularly in the State Department. They claim to be political leaders of the majority of the Hungarians in this country. As to that, let me mention merely these facts: these men went rushing to receive Otto of Hapsburg as if he were their king, and called him “Your Majesty,” but when Otto was organizing his battalion and even when our War Department committed the colossal blunder of assigning to it Hungarians and others I born in the old Monarchy, these same loyal subjects of ‘His Majesty” did not dare advise the Hungarians to join. I the battalion or to remain in it.

Directly opposed to Group One in political thought is Group Three which consists of men bitterly opposed to the Horthy government and to everything that smacks of Fascism; the radical labor groups reputed to have some communists among their