Verhovayak Lapja, 1945 (28. évfolyam, 1-52. szám)
1945 / Verhovay Journal
VOL. XXVIII. JANUARY 10, 1945 NO. 2 THE SAD QUEEN OF THE DAN THE . . . At the middle of the broad and silvery stream of. the Danube is her throne. Comfortably she leans against the thickly wooded, deep—-green mountains at her back and lovingly she looks upon the endless plains to the. East. Steam-boats move lip and down the river . . . hundreds of rowboats dot its surface as they playfully rise and sink in the waves while ships pass by. Thousands of trees stand in, rows on both banks of the mighty river and in their cool shade the people of Budapest walk enjoying the unsurpassable beauty of the scenery. Six bridges connect Buda with Pest, each one a master-piece of the art of bridgebuilding . . . the people love to stop at the middle of these bridges and look down upon the river and wave at the ships as they pass the bridges. The promenades are clean, as a table. They are swept constantly and the benches under the trees are always freshly painted to match the deep green of the crowns of the trees that hover over them. The Hungarian Parliament Hi.-« reported to be hiding in Budapest, and warm support for the pro-Allied government by both Cathol ic and Protestant churches. The formation of the new Hungarian government was greeted with favor by the French radio which, in a recent broadcast, as relayed to OWI, emphasized the fact that “unlike governments of other liberated countries, the Hungarian government emerged as a result of secret elections/’ The broadcast also pointed out that the Debrecen government is composed of “new men who are in no way responsible for the calamities between the two wars, and who enjoy the full confidence of the Hungarian people.” f The Paris evening paper, Le Monde, headlined the formation of the Debrecen government. It gave details of the secretly held elections, the program of the National Assembly and gave special prominence to the plans of the provisional government concerning land reforms.” Serenely the Royal Palace and the Matthias Church look down from the hill upon the people and their city. Proudly they look down upon the Parliament, the mighty black and silver building with many fancy tpwers on the other side of the river. Proudly they look upon the endless rows of beautiful buildings, palaces' and hotels alongside both banks of the Danube. There isn’t a spot that would hurt the eyes, there isn’t a building that would spoil the harmony. A city of beauty, a city of culture, a city of peace . . . the Queen of the Danube. That is how I saw the Queen of Danube when I said farewell to her ten long years ago. The city where I grew up, the city where I went to school . . . Once more, and perhaps for the last time, my eyes looked up to the citadel . . . how many times I used to play as a boy under its mighty, ancient walls . . . how many times as a young man I used to look down. from there at the city which taught me to dream, to live and to love beauty! Once more I looked at the St. Matthias Church where. I heard the Masses of Liszt . . . once more I looked at St. Margaret’s Island, where I used to walk, hand in hand, with the girl of my heart . . . once more my tearful eyes wandered along the “korzó”, the promenade . . . and I never knew that the city I left will never be the same . . . 1 Never, never would I have believed that human power may turn that city of peace into a hell of hate . . . Never, never would I have believed that the people of Hungary will permit the city of beauty to become a battle-field . . . And I don’t believe it now. Hundreds of guns pound the Queen of the Danube, levelling its beautiful palaces in the ruins of which Nazi soldiers train their guns on the advancing armies of the avengers. The Queen of the Danube dies a thousand deaths and the people of Budapest suffer the agony of ages. For with every building something collapses in them too.... No small nation has ever built a city like Budapest every building of which breathes culture and noble traditions . . . The university where annually more than ten thousand young men and women prepared for the professions and arts . . . the scores of hospitals and clinics which were visited by scientists from all over the world because of their fame of advanced science . . . the Concert Halls and Parks where the world’s foremost orchestras played the classi^; compositions of great musicians to the musicloving, melody-hungry people of Budapest . . . the Academy of Music which gave the world Bartók, Kodály, Ormandy and many others ... the scores of theatres from which came Paul Lucas and who can tell how many others ... the Opera House that gave Marie Jeritza and so many others who have endeared themselves to the entire world . . . the libraries and museums with their priceless collections and exhibits of art . .. And now that guns and planes bomb the city and one building after the other collapses, all that seems to be wiped out ... all the people have loved and cherished ... all they have worked for . . . all they have sacrificed for to build and keep . . . For let there be no mistake about it: nly people who love art and appreciate science will make sacrifices great enough to build them a city, and that is Budapest for you: the city of art, the city of science, the Queen of the Danube. The Nazis decided otherwise. They decided to blow up the palaces of art and the temples of science and make pillboxes and fortresses of their ruins to cover their withdrawal. They decided that art and science and beauty are luxuries in the grim business of bloodshed . . . Budapest a battlefield ... its tree-lined streets lanes of agony... its ruined buildings treacherous hiding places for snipers ... its churches powder magazines . . . its schools hospitals for the wounded . . . The Nazis have the guns . . . the people of Hungary have nothing but tears . . . and perhaps even their tears have died in the agony of seeing the ruin of all they loved and lived for. Crushed and humiliated beyond description, impoverished and emaciated, the proud people of a proud city .sink into their grave with the ruins of their life-work. No one can destroy the endless plains of Hungary, they will resurrect after the war is over, wheat and corn and wine will grow again . . . But it is different matter with a city which has absorbed and perpetuated the culture of centuries ... If it will ever live again, it must start from scratch, and the city that is going to be rebuilt, will be different from what it was... it may be- modern, streamlined, busy . . but its spirit will never live again . . . Or will it? There are signs that -the will to live will be stronger in the people of Hungary than resignation. There was no possibility for them to organize resistance... the Gestapo and the Nazi army saw to that . . . Even if here and there an attempt was made to weaken the powerful grip of the Nazis, that attempt was broken soon in Budapest just like in Warsaw. The two cities have an almost identical tale ... With the Russian armies at their gates they were still powerless against the enemy within their gates.... And there is little possibility for an unarmed population to take action when bombs are raining down upon a shaking city . . . But outside of the city, where the power of the Nazis has been broken, the Hungarian will to overcome defeat becomes apparent again. Resolute Hungarian generals, officers and soldiers have found ways to extricate themselves from the grip of the Nazis and went over to the Russians, in order to fight with them against the Nazis . . . And just recently a new government has been formed with the approval of the Soviet authorities. The OFFICE OF WAR INFORMATION issued the following release concerning these developments: “It is reported from Hungary that the establishment of the Béla Miklós government will not meet serious obstacles, because the Szálasi regime transplanted to German territory cannot be regarded as legal, said the ‘Svenska Dagbladet’ in a recent article. The article ventured to predict an important part in the new government’s legislation for former Premier Kallay, “The Soviet Army paper Red Star said in an artice relayed to the OWI: Prominent representatives of Hungarian military circles, public and scientific personages, and also representatives of Democratic parties of Hungary make up the provisional government. This composition is by no means accidental. It reflects the desire of various social groups and political parties of Hungary to take into account errors of the past and to create national unity on a firm and democratic basis. No doubt, the Hungarian government will be supported by the overwhelming majority of the Hungarian people. The appeal of the provisional government to mobilize all forces against the Germans and the Szalasi clique will undoubtedly be realized in practice — the Soviet army paper observed — as the Hungarian people desire the speedy expulsion of the Germans and the complete liberation of their country, together joith a speedy armistice with the Soviet Union and the western democracies.” “The article pointed out that during the war Germany had drained the country of its agricultural resources and concluded that the land reform and other measures as planned by the provisional government will bring about the renaissance of a democratic Hungary.” This report, coming from authentic sources, raises new hopes as far as the people of Hungary and their future is concerned. The new program of the provisional government may well serve to eliminate the tragic mistakes of the past that have lead to the present catas(Continued on Page 4)
