Verhovayak Lapja, 1944 (27. évfolyam, 1-52. szám)
1944 / Verhovay Journal
VOL. XXVII. APRIL 13, 1944 NO. 15 HUNGARY’S DARKEST HOUR as a reward for assisting Hitler, hovay Journal. The data revealed following facts:For the first time in the present conflict Budapest, the fair capital of Hungary, has been bombed, twice in succession. On April 3rd, 1944, Italian-based American bombers plastered the war-industries and rail-road yards of Budapest with bombs and on the same night RAF Wellingtons and Liberators hit again leaving great fires burning. Thus the war has reached Hungary and turned the sky over Budapest into a giant battlefield where 26 enemy planes were destroyed and 13 Allied craft lost. Hungary has rendered military assistance to the Nazis on the battlefields of Russia, but now for the first time the war has come to Hungary and the population of Budapest experiences all the horrors of aerial warfare. It will not be the last time. Now that Hitler overrun Hungary and took full possession of all of its facilities, this little country has become a helpless but useful tool in the hands of the war-monger. It must be rendered useless—for Hitler and therefore it will have to endure all the horrors of continuous bombing that had to be visited upon Norvégia, Denmark, Belgium, France and Greece; countries that have never submitted to the iron-rule of Nazism, yet, overpowered as they were, they had to serve the war-efforts of Hitler. What is the role of Hungary in this conflict? This is an important question for all Americans of Hungarian extraction. Naturally, as loyal American citizens, we would like to see Hungary among the United Nations and We should welcome every report that indicates that Hungary did not act differently from Czecho- Slivakia, Norvégia or Holland: it submitted because there was no other choice; a small nation with a population of only seven million people, ill-armed, unprepared, eou'ri not be expected to successfully resist a German invasion. Hungarian immigrants who came to this country many years ago, always claimed that Hungarians were a freedom-loving people who would never submit to the iron-rule of any dictatorship. They had ample proof for their claim in the history of Hungary which is an endless chain of wars which this nation has fought against enemy aggressors. And they have also another proof: they brought up their children in a conscious appreciation of American liberty. On the other hand we can’t help but notice the constant attacks aimed at Hungary by some American as well as Hungarian newspapers. It is claimed by many waiters that Hungary willingly submitted to the Nazis and that the Hungarian government fully agreed with the plans of Hitler. They accuse Hungary with having joined the Nazi camp in the hope that it will receive a large share in the spoils of war What is the truth? This is an important question for those American-born sons and daughters of Hungarian immigrants who see their parents worry and sorrow7 for their relatives who are left behind in the “old-country.” Undoubtedly, Hungary’s darkest hour has arrived. Should we feel pity or scorn towards this nation? That depends on the answer to one question only: did Hungary willingly submit to the Nazis or does she join in the world-wide revolt against the oppressors? The AMERICAN HUNGARIAN FEDERATION issued a most important statement which has direct bearing upon this question. The statement is addressed to the American citizens of Hungarian Origin and was published in full in last week’s issue of the Ver-The basic principle, underlying the American system and the American way of life, has found a happy expression in these five words, taken from the Declaration of Independence. We don’t know of any other nation on earth that would be able to express as briefly the fundamental principle of its Constitution and, in fact, of its entire national set-up, as the people of the United States of America Our entire judiciary and legislative system, and our educational system, are based upon this one fundamental principle. It has, therefore, become the most widely quoted creed, the expression of a doctrine which has been applied to almost every problem that has arisen in our national life. This principle has been called by the forefathers, who signed the declaration, “a self-evident truth” which, however, in spite of being self-evident, has found no recognition in any other nation comparable to what it has been given by the people of the United States. No wonder that this basic doctrine was always the one, that has most appealed to the immigrants who came to this country from other countries in Europe, No wonder that it attracted the Hungarian immigrants, who have suffered so keenly from the class-consciousness that was always one of the curses of Hungarian national life. No wonder that, as soon as they learned it, they tried to apply it to their own organizations and attempted to realize in their midst the equality of all men. Thus the Constitution of the Verhovay Fraternal Insurance association as well as its entire system is based upon the same “self-evident truth” that “all men are created equal.” On the other hand, one can’t help but notice how many times in that statement are based upon most reliable, first-hand information, gathered from confidential sources. There can be no reasonable doubt as to the truth of the facts set forth in that statement since its contents are in full harmony with the data revealed by Mr. Elmer Davis, director of the Office of War Information, in his recent open letter to the Washington Post. We feel that the contents of the statement of the Hungarian American Federation should be published for the benefit of the second and third generation of Hungarian immigrants, in order that they may be able to form their own unbiased judgment concerning the situation of Hungary. The Federation states that on the basis of reliable information it is in the position to reveal the this principle has been misinterpreted, misunderstood and misapplied in the history of our nation. Atrocities have been committed, innocent blood has been shed and all sorts of violations of justice have been perpetrated under the disguise of the illused principle of equality. Many a time, unprincipled adventurers, gangsters and rotten politicians abused this doctrine to help them gain unfair advantages to the detriment of others. The same thing has often happened in the organizations of the naturalized citizens of this country, when unscrupulous individuals, claiming their rights under the doctrine of equality, demanded that the majority submit to their proposals which were to serve only their own advantage, but not that of the entire membership. It is always the loudest proclaimer of the doctrine of equality, who demands that the public adhere to his wishes and listen to his angry criticisms and approve of his ill-advised proposals, thereby putting himself not on an equal footing with the rest of the membership but above the rest of the group. There is a very fine distinction between the different interpretation of the basis principle of equality, which has been ably stated by Mr. A. N. Mitchell, president of the Canada Life Assurance Co.; “Men and women are born equal only in respect to their fundamental rights; not in regard to their natural endowments. With such varying needs, desires and abilities as exist among members of the human family such wide variations in our individual contributions to the common weal, humanity may never attain a social system that provides perfect justice for all. Whatever form of organization human society may eventually adopt, the mainspring of human enterprise, so long as human na-| After the debacle of the German army in Russia Hitler insisted that Hungary send out a new army to replace those Hungarian divisions which have been recalled by the Hungarian Government early in spring, in 1943. He demanded that 250,000 Hungarian workers immediately leave for Germany and that Hungary should immediately surrender to Germany all of its food supplies and war materials. The Hungarian government rejected these demands! On March 14th, 1944 a new communication was received from Hitler, in which he demanded that Hungary deliver to Germany 25,000 Jews weekly. Hungary has a Jewish population of one Million: naturally the Nazis felt that such a concentration of Jewish population might effectively enture remains what it is, will always be a just reward for a job well done. A society .that continued to ignore this fundamental principle would disintegrate.” (Best’s Insurance News, April 1, 1944.) Now Jefferson’s declaration does indeed express a self-evident truth. So does the statement of Mr. Mitchell. The letter’s explanation draws the line within which the self-evident truth of the equality of all men remains valid. It cannot be questioned that there will always be a difference between equal men according to their abilities and contributions to the common weal. We may even narrow down the explanation of Mr. Mitchell and say that the main difference between equal men is represented by the difference in their contributions. Very able men may often lack in contributions while men of little ability may make up for the lack of it by their enthusiasm and honest efforts directed towards the promotion of the common weal. Indeed, fraternal life as such has received more from men of enthusiasm who gave faithful service, than from men of great ability who more often than not in the past, have kept themselves aloof from the organizations of the immigrants. In fraternal life, therefore, we should correctly interpret the meaning of the principle that “all members are created equal” and, while we recognize the selfevident truth of this doctrine without reservations, we should at the same time always recognize the difference that exists between the members of the organizations as far as their contributions towards the weal of fraternal life are concerned. We should consistently refuse to let members attempt to run the branch, or the organization, who have contributed little or noth(Continued on Page 2) danger the German war effort. Hence the demand, which was, however, unanimously rejected by the Hungarian government. Two days later Hitler invited Horthy to a conference in Germany. Horthy accepted the invitation, but, suspecting foul play, instructed the members of the government before his departure to resist all German demands and, in case of an invasion, to resist the German army. Then he left for Germany and—has not been heard of since. On the very night of Horthy’s arrival in Germany, the Nazi army, assisted by the Germanspeaking minority group within the country, invaded Hungary. All air-fields, post-offices, railway stations and radio-stations were taken over by the Nazis on the first night. The resistance of the small Hungarian army was shortly overcome and the members of the government as well as the representatives were arrested and jailed. On the 22nd of March Hitler formed a Nazi government, consisting mostly of members of the German minority group. The Hungarian constitution has been suspended. There is no freedom. Government orders regulate everything. Young men are dragged away to serve on the Russian front. Workers are taken to Germany by force to work in the factories for the Nazis. Wherever possible, the Hungarian people resist. Constant fighting is going on in the Karpathian mountains and in the woods of the bakonyer hills. This are the facts as gathered and presented by the American Hungarian Federation. In view of these facts the Federation declares that the present Hungarian puppet-government has no legal right to rule over the Hungarian people. It is the duty of every Hungarian to resist every order of this illegal government. Plans are in the making to assist the Hungarian people in their heroic fight against the Nazi oppressor. Until the time arrives that effective assistance can be rendered, the Hungarian people must carry on alone. But we trust that the Hungarian people will carry on, true to the glorious traditions of its one thousand year old history. CORRECTION An error appeared in the English Section of the Verhovay Journal in the March 30th issue. ELISABETH was published under The Ladies’ Page—this story should have been under the heading—THE CHILDREN’S PAGE, conducted by Amelia Nyers. ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL...
