Verhovayak Lapja, 1946 (29. évfolyam, 1-52. szám)

1946 / Verhovay Journal

10’ 1946________________________Verhovay Journal

Let’s Found an American Institute in Hungary

Page 7

The Verhovay Album of Branch Managers

COLMAN MÁTYÁS — BR. 524 — LOS ANGELES, CA

The first branch of the Verhovay in the state of California, 524, was organized in May, 1945. The news of the birth of this new branch was greeted with enthusiasm by the membership of the Association. Since that time,

Branch 524 made substantial progress. With a membership of 125, it was represented at the Sixtieth Anniversary celebrations by former manager Mrs. Helen Lovas, one of the hundred grandprize winning contestants.

Her successor, C o 1 m a n Matyas, elected in January,

1946, did not enter his duties without experience, either. He joined the Verhovay at Branch 58, Detroit, Mich., in August, 1939. After serving for half a year as local organizer in 1941, he was elected branch-manager in January, 1942 and re-elected in 1943. The following year he moved to California. Mr. Matyas is a building constructor and resides at 4795 Templeton Str., Los Angeles, Calif..

He was born at Szilagyballa, Hungary, on February 25th, 1912. He came to America at the age of 17, in April 1929. He married the former Lidia Fanchal on December 7, 1940. They have no children.

Mr. Matyas, a trustee of the Immanuel Hungarian Baptist congregation in Los Angeles, Cal., should prove a highly efficient officer to Branch 524. As local organizer and branch-manager he secured 65 new members for the Verhovay, while in Detroit. We are sincerely hopeful that he will follow up his former record by promoting Branch 524 in Los Angeles. Since moving to California, he has succeeded in capturing the confidence of the Hungarian colony in that great city. Public esteem is the key tc success in fraternal work. Branch 524 cannot fail to develop under the leadership of a man’ of Mr. Matyas’ caliber.

(Continued from Page 6)

He was not the only one disappointed with the system prevailing at that time in Hungary. His bitter feelings were shared by his father who decided to return to America. His early death, due to heart failure, however, put an end to this plan.

Eugene became an apprentice to a photographer and continued his studies at high school. He passed the 7th and 8th grade and the so-called maturity examination within a year. Then he enlisted as volunteer, served for a year as prescribed by law, and following his discharge, enrolled at the Pázmány University of Budapest, taking English and German as his subjects. After five years of earning his living by giving English lessons at the Berlitz School of Languages, he was finally appointed teacher at the high school in Csurgó, at the Yugoslavian border.

In 1942 he was sent by the Secretary of Education to Sárospatak, to substitute for the interned masters of English citizenship. The College of Sárospatak is by far the most famous school in Hungary, founded in 1531, a few years after the national catastrophe at Mohács. It was the home, for many years, of Comenius, the most famous pedagogue of those times in Europe. The patron of the school was Susanna Lorantfy, wife of George Rakoczy.

This college has the only English institute of its kind in Hungary, where students begin the English language in the first form. ..Its High School Npws, published in English, was widely acclaimed not only throughout Hungary, but even in the United States, for instance by Columbia University.

English -work was started by Prof. Révai already when teaching at Csurgó. He writes: “I have also organized an English Glee Club. I intend to get on the air with my daughty band of jsingers in spring, if the political atmosphere clears up by then.’’ But it didn’t, as his letter from February 1, 1946, indicates: “Sorry to say, the glee club I brought to life in Csurgó, ended by my going to Sárospatak. We almost got on the air with English, American, Scotch, Irish and Negro songs in June 1940, but the unfortunate political circumstances prevented our radio programme from materializing. This is the only ambition of my life: to serve Hungary, my poor, down-trodden country, and, at the same time, the powerful United States of America. Never will 1 have a more favorable opportunity than at this time, the daybreak of Democracy in Hungary.”

The English institute was visited once by Lord Rothermere, and another time, by the British Cultural Attachee in Budapest. “We gave them a nice little performance in English, having the lower forms play most. They visited my English arithmetic class and were amazed at the results. Little village chaps, hardly able to do their arithmetic in Hungarian, building up numbers into the hundreds of millions, adding, subtracting and multiplying with numbers from 2 to 9. Mrs. Riegate, the secretary, said that even her daughter of 12 couldn’t do any better. Then we let them hear our singing “God Save the King” (they know the text of “My Country," too), Rock-a-bye Baby, Jingle

Bells, Jack and Jill, Old MacDonald Had a Farm, etc.”

HOW HUNGARIANS “SERVED” HITLER

As Prof. Revai’s letter speaks for itself, we quote parts of his communications without comment:

“I was drafted for military service in May, 1944 and served as commander of a working company at several air-fields in Hungary. Saw thousands of American Flying Fortresses above us daily and became passive participant of countless air fights. At the end of October, 1944, I hurried home to Sárospatak, wanting to know where my family had been taken to. I had told my wife not to leave Sárospatak, but, of course, in case of a forced evacuation there was no telling what may have happened. Thank God, I found the family at home with some Germans living in one of our rooms. Two of them were Frenchmen from Strassbourg, who were forced to join the Germany army. Their wives were held as hostages at home, so that—no matter how much they wanted to take 'French leave,’ they didn’t dare to do so, for then not only their wives but also their relatives would have suffered in consequence of their desertion. You should have heard them talking about Hitler—even in the presence of their third companion, a Berlin Prussian - boy! They always greeted each other and me with arms outstretched in the direction of the .earth with the words: “Heil, Hitlerchen!”

“I didn’t return to the airfield. My decision was based on two facts: frist of all, the airfield was in German hands, with German' personnel, and I did not have the least desire to migrate with them towards Germany . . . Secondly, the Russians were so near to Sárospatak, that their shells were exploding in the vicinity, in fact, everybody thought they would occupy the town three days before I arrived. You can imagine how glad my wife was when I arrived late at night on Nov. 4th, and whistled to her from the outside while getting out of the German motorcycle that had brought me the last 40 kilometers. I brought with me a Jewish boy from the labor-camp ... I had treated them well, there were no inhuman beatings or anything of that kind under my command. In fact, I allowed many of them to Visit their families in Budapest and other cities. Do you knpw What a risk I incurred by doing this? I’d have been shot by the ‘nyilas’ gangsters without even a trial. This boy stayed at my place for three months. It cost me a lot of money, for the fellow was poor, but I did not go bankrupt, thank the good Lord.”

THE NIGHTMARE

“The most terrible day was when the railway tracks and the bridge over the Bodrog River were blown up. This is Hungary’s greatest tragedy! All of our bridges are gone, as you probably know, even the beautiful bridges of Budapest. Well, at last our troops skeedaddled and the liberators came in. But they were NOT Russians as we had thought, but Rumanians. Well, the first night was a nightmare. I had quite a harem of girls in my house, for all the virginity of the neighborhood sought protection at our home. I put out a sign that I was an American. To the first Rumanián patrol that came in, I showed, in lien of anything better, my railroad identification card and it sufficed. But, as I say, that first night! The scream of girls, women and husbands, filled the air, as they were dragged out of their houses by the* foraging Rumanians. Many husbands were shot for trying to protect their wives. My wife and I sat in the kitchen, not daring to go to sleep (we couldn’t have fallen asleep anyhow, as you can imagine).

From a neighboring house four girls had been dragged away at once. Eventually, all were let back in the morning ... In the next street, there were two helpless girls, living alone, their parents having died not long before. After the .atrocity, they committed suicide. Both of them. . .

As soon as life began, the Russians appeared. Our town had a very good commander, called Jegorov. The political parties were soon formed. I became the president of the local Social Democratic Party, the editor of the local newspaper, member of the “Investigation” and the “National” Committees, etc. And a little of a teacher, too, at the side. I’ve chucked a few of these positions, but I still retain roost of them, in spite of the fact that they are all honorary positions.”

HUNGARIAN NAZIS

“By coming home, I probably saved my wife’s life, for she would not have survived a rough handling. At the same time she did the same for me when she kept me in hiding . . . There was a Hungarian Nazi commander in Sárospatak, who would soon have put me to the wall and shot. This was Hungary’s greatest tragedy, these ‘nyilas’ commanders who prevented Horthy from surrendering at the last moment, on October 15th. They let the Germans drive away, in fact, they encouraged and abetted thethrowing of 14-15 year old boys into" the front lines, and eventually driving the survivors to Germany.”

AMERICAN INSTITUTE IN HUNGARY

And now we come to the original topic of this article. The preceding story was told mainly in order to give our readers the back-ground of the man with whom the idea, to outlined in the following, originated. Again, we let the letters of Prof. Révai speak for themselves:

“It occured to me to try to start an American Institute somewhat along the same lines as the English Institute here. The last time, I was in Budapest, I took up connections with the American Mission, but no one there being of authority to discuss matters with, I was merely given advice. America, as such, they said, cannot support the plan politically, but it would be best to materialize the project THROUGH THE AMERICAN HUNGARIANS. Not bad advice, as far as that goes, altcugh T don’t see why America couldn’t have a finger in the pie, too, if Britain was abie to support and held the founding of the English Institute in Sárospatak.

Now, Steve, here’s where you come in, you and your doughty

band of American Hungarians. Let’s do something bigk both in creating an American Institute in Hungary and, through this, to strengthen the ties between the Hungarians in the U.S.A., and in Hungary.

Don’t be afraid, I certainly won’t rush the American Hungarians for financial aid as long as the whole country needs it. I shall probably fake up connections with Stuyvesant High School, too, asking her to be our sister Institute in the U.S.A. No doubt, she will be proud to be cur sponsor, as this creates an unprecedented event in the history ©f schools in the U.S.A., and Hungary. I shall also try to get American pedagogues to come aver to Hungary, to teach for at least a year in Hungary. Of course, pedagogues of Hungarian extraction could collaborate with us as long as they wish to stay at our school. Don’t forget that much stronger ties can be formed with the U.S.A., on account of so many Hungarians living there.

It will not be easy to build an institute now, because of the lack of material means, and we shall probably have to be content with simply starting morally as an American Institute, requiring all the first grade students to take English . . .-In the far future I see the shape of an indoor swimming pool, and even before that, the graceful outlines of an American Bearding School . . . For all this I need material help, but by that time, no doubt, our connections will be streng enough to materialize all this. For the present, the most important point of the program is, to get the permission to found the Institute.”

MORAL SUPPORT NEEDED

Prof. Revai’s letters convincingly demonstrate the invincibility of the Hungarian spirit. At the same time, his idea* of the founding of an American Institute in Hungary, is in complete agreement with the reeducational program by which the United States plans to counteract the harmful influence of Nazism upon the future generations of the people of Europe. It is for this reason that the American delegation in Budapest received the plans of Prof. Révai with the greatest sympathy and encouragement. It is understood that the importing of American democracy to Hungary would benefit the Hungarian people to a very great extent. We want the Hungarian people to survive the horrors of tjre war, but, then, we would like to see them rebuild their national life on the basis of democratic principles as they are realized in the United States. Therein lies the future safety of Central Europe and the hope for a lasting peace.

For the time being, moral support is needed for the excellent plan of Prof. Révai. Naturally, that should be an organized affair and, this editor believes, no other organization is better suited to take up this matter than the American Hungarian Federation. For Hungary’^ sake we hope that the idea of the American Institute in Hungary will capture the imagination of American Hungarian andthat they will request the American Hungarian Federation to take up this matter in behalf of American citizens of Hungarian descent who are interested in the future political, cultural and spiritual development of the new Hungarian Republic. -