Revolution History of the Jews in Hungary

more 10,000 jews died , thousands wounded , disabled fighting hungary in world war i. these sacrifices patriotic hungarian jews may have been outweighed chaotic events following war s end.

with defeat , dissolution of austro-hungarian empire, hungary forced allies adhere treaty of trianon, ceded neighboring nations two-thirds of hungary s imperial territory , 2 thirds of population, including third of ethnically magyar citizens , many jews. these losses provoked deep anger , hostility in remaining hungarian population.

the first post-war government led mihály károlyi, , first modern effort @ liberal democratic government in hungary. cut short in spasm of communist revolution, have serious implications manner in hungarian jews viewed fellow-countrymen.

in march 1919, communist , social democrat members of coalition government ousted karolyi; after (21 march), communists take power social democrat colleagues willing neither accept nor refuse vix note cede significant part of great plains romania , communists took control of hungary s governing institutions. while popular @ first, so-called hungarian soviet republic fared poorly in of aims, particularly efforts regain territories occupied slovakia (although achieving transitional success here) , romania. less palatable excesses of communist uprisings in evidence during these months, particularly formation of squads of brutal young men practicing called revolutionary terror intimidate , suppress dissident views. 1 sándor garbai, revolution s leaders, including béla kun, tibor szamuely, , jenő landler – of jewish ancestry. in other countries communism viewed immediate threat, presence of ethnic jews in positions of revolutionary leadership helped foster notion of jewish-bolshevik conspiracy.

kun s regime crushed after 4 , half months when romanian army entered budapest; followed reactionary forces under command of former austro-hungarian admiral, miklós horthy.

the sufferings endured during brief revolution, , exploitation fascist , ultra-nationalist movements, helped generate stronger suspicions among non-jewish hungarians, , undergirded pre-existing anti-semitic views.

beginning in july 1919, officers of horthy s national army engaged in brutal string of counter-reprisals against hungarian communists , allies, real or imagined. series of pogroms directed @ jews, progressives, peasants , others known white terror. horthy s personal role in these reprisals still subject of debate (in memoirs refused disavow violence, saying iron broom have swept country clean). tallying numbers of victims of different terror campaigns in period still matter of political dispute white terror considered have claimed more lives repressions of kun regime order of magnitude, thousands vs hundreds.