Interwar years History of the Jews in Hungary

winston churchill, july 11, 1944

in first few decades of 20th century jews of hungary numbered 5 percent of population. minority had managed achieve great commercial success, , jews disproportionately represented in professions, relative numbers.

in 1921 budapest, 88% of members of stock exchange , 91% of currency brokers jews, many of them ennobled. in interwar hungary, more half , perhaps as 90 percent of hungarian industry owned or operated few closely related jewish banking families.

a jewish hungarian country girl around 1930.



local customers in front of jewish grocery in berzence, around 1930.

jews represented one-fourth of university students , 43% percent @ budapest technological university. in 1920, 60 percent of hungarian doctors, 51 percent of lawyers, 39 percent of privately employed engineers , chemists, 34 percent of editors , journalists, , 29 percent of musicians identified jews religion.

resentment of jewish trend of success widespread: admiral horthy himself declared anti-semite , , remarked in letter 1 of prime ministers, have considered intolerable here in hungary everything, every factory, bank, large fortune, business, theater, press, commerce, etc. should in jewish hands, , jew should image reflected of hungary, abroad.

unfortunately jews had become, quirk of history, visible minority remaining in hungary; other large non-hungarian populations (including slovaks, slovenes, croats, , romanians, among others) had been abruptly excised hungarian population territorial losses @ trianon. left hungary s jews 1 ethnically separate group serve scapegoat nation s ills. scapegoating began quickly. in 1920, horthy s government passed numerus clausus , restricting jewish enrollment @ universities 5 percent or less, in order reflect jewish population percentage.

anti-jewish policies grew more repressive in interwar period hungary s leaders, remained committed regaining lost territories of greater hungary , chose align (albeit warily) fascist governments of germany , italy – international actors stand behind hungary s claims. inter-war years saw emergence of flourishing fascist groups, such hungarian national socialist party , arrow cross party.