Magyar News, 1998. szeptember-1999. augusztus (9. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)

1999-01-01 / 5. szám

November 8th, 1998 marks the 50th anniversary of the death of Dr. Antal Papp, a date significant for Hungarian Scouts, who remember him as President of the Scouts at the time when Count Pál Teleki was the Chief Scout. The date is significant for me as well, because he was my grandfather.

The life of Dr. Antal Papp (1875 to 1948) spanned the era of historic Hungary's disintegration. He was bom in Erzsébetváros, Transylvania, a town founded by Armenian immigrants at the end of the 17th century, who bought the land they settled on. Though his family origins were Armenian, evidenced only by his belonging to the Armenian rite Catholic Church, he was wholeheartedly a Hungarian.

His father, also called Antal Papp, dealt in tobacco, and in addition, took commissions for the transport and sale of wool, wheat and other products. Under circumstances that were never explained to Grandpa, the elder Antal Papp was diddled out of his modest possessions by his own relatives, while the children were still quite young.

The family then moved to Budapest in 1892, where Grandpa obtained a doctorate in law and signed up for his prescribed military service. He then obtained a job with the Treasury Department, and from his small salary contributed to the support of his parents. Grandpa managed to help his dad obtain a minor government post too, so that he no longer needed to help financially, and was then free to marry. In 1900, he married Hennin Negier, daughter of the wholesale hardware dealer Nándor Negier, by whom he had five children. My Dad, Rémig Papp, was the oldest.

Grandpa was made Director of the Inland Revenue Department of Kolozsvár, the capital of Transylvania. My Dad recalled fondly attending the Piarist Gymnasium (high school) and graduating from there.

Shortly thereafter, the Treaty of Trianon that ended World War I for Hungary, tore Transylvania away, and gave it to the newly created country of Romania. To remain in their posts, all civil servants had to take an oath of allegiance to the new Romanian government. No self-respecting Hungarian would do that, and no government employee could! Romanian retribution for non-compliance was harsh. To save his life, a doctor friend had my Grandpa admitted to the insane asylum, and the family was scattered among friends and relatives.

After some months. Grandpa managed to leave Transylvania and go to Budapest, where his family was able to join him.

In Hungary, Grandpa became Secretary of Financial Affairs, and was

by Erika Papp Faber

made Associate President of the Scout Association.

The first national Scouting camp was planned in Hungary in 1926, to be held on an island in the Danube. However, the Danube flooded the campsites shortly before the opening, and the decision was made to transfer the site to another location, My Dad, Rémig Papp, a civil engineer, was pressed into service to design the water supply for the camp which would house thousands of Scouts, all in 10 days' time!

It was in his capacity as Associate President of the Hungarian Scout Association that Grandpa attended the Scout Jamboree at Birkenhead, England in 1929. ("Scouting in Hungary", an excellent history written by the late Gábor Bodnár, has numerous photos of Grandpa attending Scouting events, including the laying of a wreath at the War Memorial in London and the opening of the Fifth World Jamboree in the Netherlands in 1937.) While in England, he received the news that he had become a grandfather for the first time. My brother's birth was announced with a oneword telegram: "Nagypapapappnnta/."

By the time the very successful Fourth World Jamboree was held at Gödöllő in 1933, Grandpa had become President of the Hungarian Scout Associatioa From 1939 until 1947, he was also a Member of the International Committee, although the war and its aftermath prevented him from taking much part in the Committee's work.

As a reserves officer, a lieutenant in the Hungarian army

I remember Sunday dinners at my grandparents' apartment in Budapest. After the family meals, which for special occasions even included angadzsabur (a wonderful tortellini soup made with the typical Armenian spice called churut, made from sour milk, parsley and celeiy), I was sometimes allowed into Grandpa's office. One glass case contained all kinds of fascinating Scouting memorabilia, including the "Silver Fox" given him in recognition by Lord Baden-Powell himself. I would study' them, while I sat quietly on a cushion so as not to disturb Grandpa at work.

Grandpa and Grandma survived the siege of Budapest, and despite his age (70 at the time), and despite an attack of pleurisy that went untreated during their 6 week stay in the air-raid shelter, Grandpa attempted to repair some of the major damage to the apartment caused by the bombardment.

About a year before his death, my Dad wrote Grandpa from Germany, asking him to provide data about the family tree, a request Grandpa welcomed, and meticulously documented. From the information he provided, Dad constructed our family tree going back to the 1700's.

Grandpa died on November 8, 1948, of a stroke. He was thus mercifully spared the “kitelepítés,” deportation to internal exile that, like so many thousands of others at the time, sent Grandma, his twin daughters and youngest son and his family to the Hortobágy shortly thereafter.

The notice of his death forwarded by the Boy Scouts International Bureau in England to the members of the International Committee recalled that "Hungarian Scouting, in its heyday, owed much to Dr. Papp's energy, vision and wise counsel." He will always be fondly remembered.

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