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    "ocrText": "FDI\nJuly 21, 1949\nPERSONAL AND CONFIDENTIAL\nVIA LIAISON\nMajor General Harry Hawkins Vaughan\nMilitary Aide to the President\nThe White House\nWashington, D. C.\nDear General Vaughan:\nThere is enclosed for the information of the President and you\ncopy number 3 of a memorandum entitled \"Hungarian Activities in the United\nStates,\" dated July, 1949.\nThis memorandum concerns the extent of Hungarian influence and\nactivity in this country. It may be of interest in view of the attention\nwhich has been directed toward Hungary in recent months due to her Communist-\ndominated government and her much-publicized conviction of Cardinal Joszef\nMindszenty on charges of treason, espionage and black-marketeering.\nWith expressions of my highest esteem and best regards,\nSincerely yours,\nEnclosure\nHARRY S. TRUMAN LIBRARY\nDECLASSIFIED\nE.O. 12356, Sec. 3.3\nBy DEB NLT, Date 10-18-85 -\nFBI Guideline ,July 17,1984\nHUNGARIAN ACTIVITIES IN THE UNITED STATES\nJuly - 1949\nCONFIDENTIAL\nHARRY S. TRUMAN LIBRARY\nFEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION\nUNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE\nJ. Edgar Hoover, Director\nHUNGARIAN ACTIVITIES IN THE UNITED STATES\nJuly = 1949\n3\nHARRY S. TRUMAN LIBRARY\nHUNGARIAN ACTIVITIES IN THE UNITED STATES\nTABLE OF CONTENTS\nIntroduction\ni\nI. HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL BACKGROUND\n1\nII. UNITED STATES INTEREST IN HUNGARY\n3\nA. Louis Kossuth\n3\nB. Martin Koszta\n3\nC. Franz Ferdinand\n4\nD. Cardinal Joszef Mindszenty\n4\nIII. THE DIPLOMATIC ESTABLISHMENT IN THE UNITED\n6\nSTATES\nA. The Community\n6\nB. The Legation\n6\nC. The Consulate at Cleveland, Ohio\n7\nD. The Consulate at New York City\n8\nE. The Problem of Defections\n8\nAladar Szegedy-Maszak\n9\nRustem Vambery\n10\nAurel Alth\n10\nIvan G. Nagy\n11\nAnthony Winmer\n11\nFrancis Petri\n11\nArpad Kovacs\n11\nAndrew Sulyi\n11\nAdalbert Balassa\n11\nEugene Cserna\n12\nZoltan Cserna\n12\nGloria Mary Herold\n13\nAnna McDougall\n13\nPaul Marik\n14\nBela Lahocsinszky\n14\nIV. INTELLIGENCE OPERATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES\n14\nA. The Hungarian Intelligence and Security\n14\nServices\n1. The State Defense Department\n15\n2. The Military Political Department\n15\nHARRY S. TRUMAN LIBRARY\nB. Grace Buchanan Dineen\n16\nC. Esther Buzna\n16\nD. Gyorgy Heltai\n17\nE. John G. Florian\n18\nF. Professor Zoltan Bay\n19\nG. Margaret Odescalchi\n19\nV. HUNGARI AN_AMERICAN ORGANIZATIONS\n20\nA. Hungarians' World Federation\n20\nB. American-Hungarian Federation\n22\nC. Movement for an Independent Hungary\n23\nD. Hungarian National Commission\n24\nE. Hungarian Brotherhood - International\n26\nWorkers Order\nF. National Group Commission, Communist\n28\nParty - USA\nG. Hungarian-American Council for Democracy\n29\nH. National Council of Hungarian-American\n30\nTrade Unionists\nI. Action to Liberate Hungary\n30\nJ. Hungarian-American Centennial Committee\n30\nK. American-Hungarian Relief, Incorporated\n32\nL. American Federation of Democratic\n33\nHungarians\nM. American Committee of the New Democratic\n34\nHungary Movement\nNo Transylvania Society\n34\nO. Fraternal Societies\n35\nVerhovay Fraternal Insurance Association\n35\nHungarian Reformed Federation of America\n35\nRakoczi Aid Association\n36\nAmerican Sick Benefit and Life Insurance\n36\nAssociation\nAmerican Hungarian Catholic Society\n36\nVI. HUNGARIAN-AMERICAN PUBLICATIONS\n36\nA. Independent Dailies\n37\n1. Amerikai Magyar Nepszava\n37\n2. Szabadzag\n37\nB. Independent Weekly Papers\n38\n1. Az Ember\n38\n2. Otthon\n38\n3. Wisconsini Magyarsag\n39\nHARRY S. TRUMAN LIBRARY\n4. Kronika\n39\n5. A2 Iras\n39\n6. Other Papers\n39\nC. Fraternal Periodicals\n41\n1. Rakoczi Szemle\n41\n2. Testverisag\n41\n3. Verhovayak Lapja\n41\nD. Religious Publications\n41\n1. AJo Pasztor\n41\n2. A Mi Lapunk\n42\n3. Katolikus Magyarok Vasarnapja\n42\n4. Reformatusok Lapja\n42\nE. Marxist Line Publications\n42\n1. A Munkas\n42\n2. Bermunkas\n43\n3. Magyar Jovo\n43\n4. Nok Vilaga\n43\n5. Egyleti Elet\n44\n6. The Hungarian Bulletin\n44\nHARRY S. TRUMAN LIBRARY\nINTRODUCTION\nCommunist Hungary startled the western world when she arrested\nCardinal Joseph (Joszef) Mindszenty, Primate of Hungary, December 26, 1948\non charges of \"treason, attempting to overthrow the democratic regime,\nespionage and foreign currency abuses.\" This amazement was heightened\nfive weeks later by his confession in court to charges he had so vehemently\ndenied, this without exterior evidences of duress.\nHis sentence to life imprisonment brought forth well nigh universal\ndenunciation of Hungarian justice. It served more to reveal the ruthless\npower of Communism in action and to remind us more forcibly that this turbu-\nlent little European State remains after a thousand years a major storm center\nin world affairs; continues to demand attention and consideration far beyond\nits relative importance in the family of nations.\nIt is intended here to present briefly some of the highlights of\nHungarian influence and activity on the American scene.\nHARRY S. TRUMAN LIBRARY\n- i -\nI. HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL BACKGROUND\nBounded by Czechoslovakia on the north, Yugoslavia on the south,\nRumania on the east and Austria on the west, this country of some 9,000,000\npeople is an inland nation of primarily agricultural attainments. Beginning\nin the year 895 A.D. its territory was settled by a nucleus of Magyars\nwhose ruling dynasty began with Stephen I (later canonized St. Stephen) and\nlasted for three hundred years. Succeeding centuries saw her governed in\nthe main by kings of various foreign origins, until during the sixteenth\nand seventeenth the House of Hapsburg rose to power in spite of the intensely\nnationalistic character of the Hungarians.\nHer modern existence dates from the Revolution of 1848 led by the\npatriot Louis (Lajos) Kossuth. It likewise marks the beginning of Russian\nintervention in her affairs, for it was Czar Nicholas who assisted the\nAustrian Hapsburgs in driving Kossuth from power in 1849. The compromise\nof 1867 established the Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary. Each country\nwas declared independent of the other, had its own parliament and govern-\nment. A common head of state bore the title Emperor of Austria and Apostolic\nKing of Hungary, led a common army and navy, and directed a unified foreign\npolicy. The Dual Monarchy collapsed with its defeat in World War I, and upon\nthe abdication of King Charles IV in November 1918, Hungary became a republic\nunder President Michael (Mihaly) Karolyi. A soviet state, dominated by the\nCommunist, Bela Kun, appeared on March 22, 1919 only to be forced out by the\nRumanian Army on August 1, 1919. Returning to a monarchy under the regency\nof Admiral Nicholas (Miklos) Horthy, the excesses of the \"Red Terror\" of\nCommunism were followed by more excesses of the Horthy \"White Terror\" and\nthe chauvinistic \"Awakening Magyars\".\nThe Treaty of Trianon, June 4, 1920 curtailed her area by 67% and\nher population by 58% Transylvania went to Rumania, while new states of\nCzechoslovakia and Yugoslavia were carved on the north and south. To pro-\ntect their acquisitions, these countries formed the Little Entente. Their\nrecovery became an obsession with Hungary, which turned to Italy and later\nGermany in hopes of enlisting aid to that end. Germany did restore much of\nher lost area during the period 1938-1940, but in so doing, solidified its\nhold on Hungary and caused her entry into the Axis coalition of World War II.\nThe German occupation of March, 1944 brought a Nazi puppet government, which\ngave way in less than a year to a Provisional National Government formed at\nDebrecenin liberated Eastern Hungary under Soviet sponsorship. The armistice\nof January 20, 1945 with the United Nations relieved Hungary of her cherished\nland acquisitions from the Axis and returned them to her neighbors.\n- 1 -\nHARRY 8. truman LIBRARY\nThe Hungarian Republic was proclaimed by the National Assembly\nFebruary 1, 1946 with Zoltan Tildy, leader of the dominant Smallholders\nParty, as President and Ferenc Nagy, another prominent Smallholder, as\nPrime Minister. In spite of United States protests, Hungarian Communists,\nably abetted by Soviet occupation forces, systematically forced out Small-\nholders leaders on charges of conspiracy against the Republic and espionage\nagainst the Soviet Army. Premier Nagy yielded to Communist pressure and\nresigned May 29, 1947 from Switzerland on condition that his small son,\nLacika, be delivered to him at the border. He was succeeded by Louis\n(Lajos) Dinnyes, a pro-Communist Smallholder. The dominant figure, however,\nbecame Matyas Rakosi, Deputy Premier, a long-time Communist, Foreign Trade\nCommissar under Bela Kun, and Soviet citizen. The new cabinet pushed\nnationalization of banks, a three-year plan for socialization of industry,\nand collective farming.\nAn election was held August 31, 1947 amid United States charges\nthat a million anti-Communist voters had been disfranchized. The Communists\nemerged with five posts in a generally pro-Communist coalition cabinet. On\nMarch 8, 1948 the Social Democrats merged with the Communists to form the\nHungarian Workers Party, with Matyas Rakosi as Secretary General. President\nTildy resigned July 30, 1948 in favor of Arpad Szakasits, a nominal Socialist\nof Communist inclinations. On December 11, 1948 Istvan Dobi, another Small-\nholder, was appointed to succeed Dinnyes as Prime Minister. By the end of\n1948 \"the new Magyar Republic was securely in the Soviet camp\".\nIn April 1949 the Hungarian Parliament was dissolved on the\nrecommendation of the Hungarian People's Independence Front, a union of\nleftist political parties formed in February, 1949. An election was called\nfor May 15, to select a new one to meet June 8, 1949. Announced purposes\nwere to secure approval of the people for reforms effected thus far, for a\nnew Five Year Plan effective January 1, 1950, and for the \"peace policy\" of\nthe Hungarian People's Democracy. The Plan contemplates heavy industriali-\nzation, increased agricultural efficiency, higher educational benefits and\ndevelopment of the Army. The People's Front polled 95.6% of the votes cast\nin the election, thus assuring continued Communist control of the government.\nA small segment of those opposing the Communist regime in Hungary\nrallies around the Legitimist Party, which considers Archduke Otto of Hapsburg\nthe rightful heir to the Hungarian throne. Otto is the son of Charles IV,\nnephew of Emperor Francis Joseph, who reigned for two years and was driven\nout by the Austro-Hungarian Revolution of November, 1918. The House of\nHapsburg was dethroned by an act of the Hungarian Parliament on November 5,\n1921. Charles IV died shortly thereafter in exile on the Island of Madeira.\n- 2 -\nHARRY S. TRUMAN LIBRARY\nOtto has resided in recent years in Canada and the United States. His\naspirations are not considered serious by Hungarians.\nSeveral groups of Hungarians have ascribed to the ambitions of\nformer President Michael Karolyi, who succeeded Charles IV in 1918 only\nto give way to the Communists months later. Karolyi lived for a number\nof years in London, but recently has been a member of the Hungarian Foreign\nService until his reported resignation in the spring of 1949.\nOthers favor Admiral Nicholas Horthy, Regent of Hungary from 1919\nto 1944 who is presently living in Germany.\nThe most influential group seeking overthrow of the Hungarian\nCommunist government is the Hungarian National Commission in New York City.\nThis movement is guided by a group of Hungarian leaders who have been\nforced out of that country by events since World War II and is violently\nanti-Communist in sentiment.\nII. UNITED STATES INTEREST IN HUNGARY\nA. Louis Kossuth\nAmerican public opinion saw in the Hungarian revolution of 1848\nagainst the Hapsburgs a distinct parallel with its own war for independence.\nOverwhelming popular sympathy with the Kossuth program caused President\nZachary Taylor to dispatch a special representative to aid that struggle\nfor freedom. Daniel Webster, as Senator and Secretary of State, praised\nthe Magyar people. Austria promptly rejected all United States efforts at\nintervention.\nFollowing the Austrian victory, Kossuth and his followers fled\nto Turkey and were later taken from exile on a vessel provided jointly by\nthe United States and Great Britain. Kossuth toured this country in 1851\nand received an enthusiastic reception. A number of towns were named in\nhis honor, and several statues were erected. The one in New York City has\nsince served as a center for Hungarian commemorative meetings.\nB. Martin Koszta\nThe so-called \"Koszta Affair\" served to crystallize a point of\ninternational law which has provided a precedent for the United States in\nmany similar instances. Martin Koszta, a Hungarian revolutionist of 1848,\n-\n3 80 HARRY S. TRUMAN LIBRARY\nemigrated to the United States and formally declared his intention to\nbecome a citizen. While on personal business in Smyrna in 1853 he secured\nan American passport from the United States Consulate. The Austrian Con-\nsulate, however, caused him to be seized and detained on an Austrian war\nvessel. Soon afterward a U. S. war vessel under Captain Duncan N. Ingraham,\narrived and threatened to attack the Austrian vessel unless Koszta were\nreleased. As a compromise he was placed in the custody of the French Consul.\nWashington in replying to an Austrian protest of the \"outrage\", declared\nthat Koszta \"when seized and imprisoned was invested with the nationality\nof the United States,\" and had a right to the protection of its government.\nEventually he was released and returned to this country.\nC. Franz Ferdinand\nThe Austro-Hungarian Monarchy included such diverse ethnic groups\nas Germans, Magyars, Czechs, Slovaks, Ukranians, Poles, Slovenes, Serbs,\nItalians and Rumanians. Many nationality problems naturally resulted. This\nfriction culminated with the assassination of Crown Prince Franz Ferdinand\nof Hapsburg and his wife at Sarajevo, Bosnia, June 28, 1914. Austria charged\nSerbian complicity and declared war on her. World War I was touched off,\nultimately to envelop the United States.\nD. Cardinal Joszef Mindszenty\nPeasant-born Joseph Pehm came from German stock resident of\nHungary for three centuries. He became a Catholic priest, eventually\nadvanced to leadership of Hungary's six million Catholics and was made\na Cardinal. His first brush with Communism came in 1919 when he was jailed\nfor attacking Bela Kun in a pamphlet. In World War II he was arrested by\nHungarian Nazis, was released after Russian occupation. During that war\nhe magyarized his surname, taking it from Czehimendszenty, town of his\nbirth. Long known for steadfast refusal to compromise on principles, he\nopposed \"the secular church of International Communism\" in Hungary and\nbecame the last major hurdle to complete Communist domination.\nFailing to reach agreement with the church on Communist terms,\nHungary arrested Mindszenty's secretary for treason, watched the Cardinal\nduring November and December, 1948, and then on December 26 charged him\nwith treason, espionage and black-marketeering. He denied all charges,\nbut in February 1949 \"confessed\" in court and urged agreement between Church\nand State. His sentence to life imprisonment brought a statement from Pope\nPius XII in mid-February that \"The principal object of the trial was to\ndisrupt the Catholic Church in Hungary\". His six \"accomplices\" received\nprison terms varying from three years to life.\n- 4 CID HARRY S. TRUMAN LIBRARY\nOn January 8, 1949 the Hungarian Bulletin, Budapest government\npropaganda organ, detailed the Hungarian government's case against Cardinal\nMindszenty, Archbishop of Esztergom and Primate of Hungary. The Bulletin\nalleged that Mindszenty took the part of the old Hungarian ruling class in\nopposing land reforms and wanted \"to change the Catholic Church into an\nunderground political organization which rallies unsatisfied and opposition\nelements into its own camp\". It accused him of selling black market foreign\ncurrency to former Prince and landowner Pal Esterhazy in violation of a law\nproviding for sale of currency only to the National Bank. The transaction\nwas purportedly to finance the Hungarian royalist movement under Mindszenty\nwhich had as its object the restoration of the Hapsburg dynasty in Hungary\nembodied in Otto of Hapsburg, now in the United States. Mindszenty was\naccused of having conferred with Otto in Canada in June, 1947 on the\nroyalist movement's plans. It was pointed out that the Hapsburg dynasty\nwas dethroned by the Hungarian Assembly as long ago as November 5, 1921.\nCorrespondence between Mindszenty, the United States government\nand the Vatican was cited as showing an effort to have the Hungarian Holy\nCrown turned over by American Military Government to the Vatican rather\nthan the Hungarian Communist Government. This crown, used by the first\nHungarian King, St. Stephen, nine hundred years ago, had come through legal\npractice to embody the power of the State in addition to being a coronation\njewel. It was pointed out that the Hungarian Republic has discarded the\n\"Doctrine of the Holy Crown\" but does consider this relic \"a possession of\nthe Hungarian people and a monument of the past.\" Some of his correspondence\nwas interpreted as requesting United States interference in Hungarian\ndomestic affairs and reporting to a foreign government.\nThe Bulletin concluded:\n\" There is no country whose laws would not inflict\npunishment upon one of its erring sons, who submits\nregular reports to the envoy of a foreign power and\nurges the interference of a foreign power into the\ndomestic affairs of his country. Neither can it be\nconsidered a matter of religious concern when someone,\neven if he be the high-priest of the Catholic Church,\norganizes to overthrow a government established\nthrough parliamentary means, for the advantages of a\nfew people who wish to undo economic reforms.\"\nHARRY S. TRUMAN LIBRARY\na 5 8\nIII. THE DIPLOMATIC ESTABLISHMENT IN THE UNITED STATES\nA. The Community\nSubstantial Hungarian immigration into the United States began\nabout 1880 and reached a peak in 1911. The 1940 U.S. Census showed\n662,068 persons of Hungarian origin, of which 290,228 were Hungarian born,\nthe remainder having at least one parent born there. Settling originally\nin Connecticut and the coal mining regions of Ohio and Pennsylvania,\npresent Hungarian-American centers are New York with over 100,000; Cleve-\nland, the most important and active, with some 50,000; Chicago with over\n30,000 and Detroit with 25,000. By states, New York has over 150,000,\nOhio 115,000, Pennsylvania 91,000, New Jersey 80,000 and Michigan 48,000.\nContributions have been mainly in the industrial fields, but\nnames such as Joseph Pulitzer, Rabbi Stephen S. Wise, Eugene Ormandy and\nJoszef Szigeti attest to Hungarian-American talent in journalism, philosophy,\nand the arts, while they have also excelled in education and medicine.\nTo serve its interests in the United States Hungary maintains a\nLegation in Washington, D. C. and Consulates in Cleveland, Ohio and New\nYork City.\nB. The Legation\nThe Legation is headed by Minister Andrew (Endre) Sik, an avowed\nCommunist since the 1919 Soviet State in Hungary. Born in Budapest April 2,\n1891, and educated in Hungary, he served in her army from July, 1914 to\nNovember, 1915 when he became an allied prisoner. He went to Russia after\nthe fall of the Kun government and taught at the Russian Academy of Moscow.\nReturning with other Russian trained Communists in 1945, he entered the\nHungarian foreign ministry. Since March 5, 1946 he has been in Washington.\nHe has been described as \"academic and intellectual and neither interested\nin nor informed on economic matters.\"\nHis wife Katherine (Katja) Totsky, age 58, is Russian born, as\nare his two children. The daughter resides in Moscow with her Soviet\nArmy officer husband, while the son, Igor, age 22, is a student at Georgia\nTech. A brother is a Provincial of the Piarista order of monks in\nHungary.\n-\n6 HARRY - S. truman LIBRARY\nOther members of the staff are:\nCounsellor - Janos Katona. He arrived March 14, 1949, has a\nwife, Julia Kover, and son, Andras.\nAttache - George Kurti. His wife is Susan Kurti.\nConsular official - Ferenc Faust. He arrived March 14, 1949,\nhas a wife, Rozalia Gajdosi, and a daughter, Maria.\nClerk - Joszef Toke. He arrived March 14, 1949, is\nmarried and has one child.\nStenographer-clerks - Miss Vera Kolar\nMiss Edith Kolar\nStenographer - Vera (Bella) Kallai.\nVera Kolar was born April 20, 1924 in Kosice, Czechoslovakia,\nwas formerly a stenographer for Homoki Es Hegyvideki, Borternelo, Szovetkezet\nin Budapest, and came to the United States November 18, 1946. She filed\na declaration of intention to become a citizen in Chicago March 15, 1947.\nShe is a sister to Edith Kolar.\nVera Kallai was born February 22, 1898 in Hungary and came to\nthe United States November 22, 1948. She has been reported as a Communist\nof long standing sent to this country as confidential secretary to Minister\nSik and the Legation intelligence representative.\nSince June 15, 1948 the Legal Counsellor to the Legation as well\nas the New York Consulate has been Martin Popper of the New York law firm\nWolf, Popper, Ross and Wolf. Popper is an official of the National Lawyers'\nGuild, which was cited as a Communist front by the Special Committee on Un-\nAmerican Activities in Congress in its report of March 29, 1944.\nC. The Consulate at Cleveland, Ohio\nThe Consulate at Cleveland, Ohio is located in the Guardian Building.\nOfficials are:\nAttache of Legation Miklos Pataki, arrived March 14, 1949.\nConsular Clerk = Lida Bata, arrived March 14, 1949.\nClerk - Stephen (Istvan) Farkas.\nFarkas was born December 28, 1881 in Varpalota, Hungary, is married\nto Edith Czepanyi, and has two children. He was with the Cleveland Consulate\nprior to World War II, and during that war handled Hungarian affairs in the\nSwedish Consular office in Cleveland. He has been described as privately\nvery favorable to the United States.\n- 7 -\nHARRY S. TRUMAN LIBRARY\nD. The Consulate in New York City\nThe Consulate in New York City is at 37 Wall Street and has the\nfollowing Hungarian employees:\nConsul General - Stephen (Istvan) Romhanyi. He was born December\n22, 1911 at Kiskunfelegyhaza, Hungary, has a\nwife, Maria Orsi, and a minor son. They arrived\nMarch 23, 1949.\nDirector of Chancery - Louis (Lajos) Vaczek. He has a wife, Jane,\nand daughter, Joan.\nConsular Clerks - Eva Berka\nLaszlo Berka, his wife is Juliana Doktor.\nMargit Fazekes\nAll arrived March 14, 1949\nStenographer - Mrs. Zoltan Halasz. She is a widow whose son,\nGeorge, a mechanical engineer, is said to have\njoined the Communist Party in Hungary recently.\nMrs. Arpad Acs, nee Elizabeth Suveg, arrived in New York in early\nJune, 1949, with her minor daughter, Zsuzsanna. Although scheduled to become\nSecretary of the Legation in Washington, there were indications she would\nremain in New York as a. Vice-Consul. She is said to have been in the\nHungarian Foreign Service for a number of years.\nThe only United States citizen employed is Helen (Ilona) Suhajda,\na stenographer. She was born in Hungary about 1920, is a naturalized\ncitizen, and was married January 31, 1949, to Ralph Cariello, a citizen.\nAlthough Martin Popper is legal counsellor to the New York Con-\nsulate as well as the Legation, legal affairs in New York are actually\nhandled by his associate, Nicholas Phillips (Miklos Fulop). He was born\nin 1887 and admitted to the New York Bar in 1914. His name and address\nwere reliably reported in 1945 to have appeared on a list of prospective\nmembers of the Yorkville, New York, Communist Party in the possession of\nEmil Gardos, a prominent Communist now in Hungary.\nE. The Problem of Defections\nWhen the Soviet dominated government of Hungary was set up in\nJune 1947, Aladar Szegedy-Maszak, Minister in Washington, and seven of the\ntwelve members of his staff, resigned rather than submit to Communist\npolicies. His successor, Rustem Vambery, likewise found Communist policies\nand administration distasteful, and resigned on May 19, 1948. In quick\nsuccession Aurel Alth, Acting Consul General in New York, left on June 21,\n1948, and Ivan C. Nagy, First Secretary of the Legation, refused on August\n16, 1948 to return to Hungary on recall.\nHARRY S. TRUMAN LIBRARY\n- 8 -\nOn February 7 and 8, 1949, nine members of the diplomatic staffs\nin Washington, New York and Cleveland resigned in a mass protest against\nthe Communist orientation of the Hungarian government and deplored the\nconviction of Cardinal Joszef Mindszenty. These were:\nAnthony (Antal) Wimmer, Director of Chancery, Washington, D. C.\nFrancis Petri, Chancery Clerk, Washington, D. C.\nArpad Kovacs, Chief Clerk - Treasurer, Cleveland, Ohio\nAndrew (Endre) Sulyi, Clerk, Cleveland, Ohio\nAdalbert (Bela) Balassa, Acting Consul General, New York City\nEugene (Jeno) Cserna, Secretary of Consular Administration, New York City\nZoltan Cserna, Temporary Clerk, New York City\nGloria Mary Herold, Stenographer, New York City\nAnna (Mrs. Raymond) McDougall, Stenographer, New York City\nPaul Marik, Consul in Cleveland, resigned a few days later to\njoin this dissident group. Bela Lahocsinszky, who arrived March 14, 1949,\nto become Consular Administrative Counsellor in New York, likewise resigned\nMay 26, 1949, when recalled. All requested permission from the Department\nof State to remain in this country as political refugees. Additional\nbiographical data concerning these persons appears below.\nThese continued defections seriously impaired the efficiency and\nprestige of the Hungarian Foreign Service. To train new personnel and\nprovide replacements from more loyal Communist ranks, the Foreign Ministry\ninstituted a foreign service school in Budapest about July, 1948. The\nfirst graduates were expected to complete the course early in January, 1949,\nfollowing which most remaining holdovers from the pro-Communist regime were\nto be dismissed.\nAladar Szegedy-Maszak was born in Budapest November 19, 1903, and\neducated in the Werboczy Gymnasium of Budapest, the University of Budapest\n(1921-25), and the School of Political Sciences in Paris (1925-27). He was\nSecretary to the Hungarian Foreign Minister 1929-32, Secretary of the\nHungarian Legation in Berlin 1932-37, and a member and chief of the Political\nDivision of the Hungarian Foreign Ministry 1937-44. From March, 1944 to\nAugust, 1945, he was interned by the Germans at Dachau. He came to Washington,\nD. c., in January 1946 as Minister and resigned June 2, 1947. Since then he\nhas been a writer and lecturer.\nHis interests include the International Peasants Union,\nWashington, D. C., which fosters cooperation among democratic elements in\n- 9 - HARRY S. TRUMAN LIBRARY\nHungarian, Bulgarian, Polish, Slovak and Croat exile circles. In this\nhe has been associated closely with Ferenc Nagy, former Hungarian Prime\nMinister, now in this country. Intimates describe him as holding high\nideals of honesty, anti-Communist and pro-United States views.\nUpon his release from Dachau he was married to Hanna de Kornfeld,\nwhose father, Moritz, was a leading Hungarian industrialist and former\nmember of the upper house of the Hungarian Parliament.\nDr. Rustom Vambery was born in Budapest, a son of Armin Vambery,\ndistinguished geographer and explorer of Europe and Asia. He was educated\nat the Universities of Budapest, Halle and Geneva, and admitted to the Bar\nin 1896. For many years, as a member of the Hungarian Ministry of Justice,\na judge in the Hungarian courts, a professor of law at the University of\nBudapest, and a private practitioner, he was an acknowledged expert in\ncriminal law. In 1935 he was defense counsel in the Budapest treason trial\nof Matyas Rakosi, leading Hungarian Communist. In 1938 he came to New York\nand became instructor of Criminology at the New School for Social Research.\nHe was also active in Hungarian emigre political circles, notably the American\nFederation of Democratic Hungarians and the Committee for a New Democratic\nHungary. He was Hungarian Minister in Washington from June 1947 to May 19,\n1948 when he resigned following his recall. He was considered by contemporaries\nan intelligent and broadly cultured man, a follower of the Fabian concept\nof Marxism. He consistently denied recurrent charges that he was a Communist.\nDr. Vambery died October 24, 1948 on 8. New York subway at the age of seventy-\nseven.\nAurel Alth, was born in Bari, Italy July 26, 1908, the son of\nValdemar Alth, a career Hungarian diplomat now retired. Following a year\nin the Hungarian Army in 1932, he studied law at the University of Budapest\nuntil 1936. He entered the Foreign Office in late 1937 and was assigned\nto the Legation in Washington during April 1939. When Hungary declared war\non the United States in December, 1941 he was interned with other diplomats\nat White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia and repatriated May 8, 1942. He\nserved as Secretary to the Foreign Minister until his return to the Legation\nin Washington November 2, 1946. Made Acting Consul General in New York\nMay 2, 1947, he resigned June 21, 1948, stating that he felt freedom was\non the wane in Hungary. He was motivated also by what he termed meddling\nin visa affairs by John G. Florian of the Legation and Matyas Torok, New\nYork Hungarian Communist exporter and travel agent.\nAlth was married to Laura Gallegra-Silenzi in Rome, Italy June\n28, 1943. They have a son, George, born September 21, 1947 in New York.\n- 10 HARRY S. truman LIBRARY\nIvan G. Nagy was born in Budapest January 23, 1920, son of a\nsurgeon. His sister is married to a Budapest attorney. Nagy was educated\nin Budapest and at Cambridge University in England. After his arrival in\nthis country in January 1946 he served as Second and later First Secretary\nto the Legation. He resigned August 16, 1948 when recalled and expressed\na desire to aid the United States in combatting Communist influence in\nHungary. Charges that his defection was arranged by the Hungarian govern-\nment for the purpose of insinuating him into anti-Communist Hungarian groups\nhave not been substantiated.\nAnthony (Antal) Wimmer was born October 30, 1904 at Bruck, Austria,\nand graduated from the Commerical High School in Budapest in 1922. For the\nnext two years he was a bank clerk, the following four a clerk in a govern-\nment artificial limb factory. Since 1936 he has been with the Hungarian\nForeign Office. He came to Washington in September, 1947 as Director of\nChancery and held that post until his February, 1949 resignation. He is a\nSocial Democrat. His wife is Catherine (Katalin) Hanzo.\nFrancis Petri was born in Budapest July 18, 1890 and represented\nHungary in Cleveland, New York and Washington from June 18, 1937 to his\nresignation in February, 1949. His last position was Chancery Clerk at\nthe Legation.\nArpad Kovacs, Chief Clerk and Treasurer, at the Consulate in\nCleveland, who resigned February 8, 1949, is married to Ilona Tovolgyi\nand has two children.\nAndrew (Endre) Johan Sulyi was born February 16, 1910 at\nMagyarovar, Hungary. Graduating from high school in 1928, he engaged in\nprivate employment in Vienna, Austria, during the next seven years. He\nentered the Hungarian Foreign Service in 1936 and was assigned for two\nyears in the Consulate at Bratislava, Czechoslovakia. In 1938 he was\ntransferred to the Consulate in Cleveland, Ohio, where he remained until\nUnited States declaration of war against the Axis in December, 194 He\nwas repatriated in 1942 and assigned to the Hungarian Legation in Bratislava\nuntil 1945. Thereafter, he was a clerk in the Foreign Office in Budapest\nuntil assigned to the New York Consulate in late 1946. At the time of his\nresignation on February 8, 1949 he was a clerk in the Consulate at Cleveland.\nHe is married to Emily Lillian Mullner and has three children.\nAdalbert (Bela) Balassa was born November 22, 1899 in Budapest,\nson of Sigismund Balassa, a city employee, and Rose Borsos. After completing\nhigh school in Budapest, he attended the Royal Hungarian Merchant Marine\n- 11 -\nHARRY S. truman LIBRARY\nAcademy at Fiume until 1919, except for the period March, 1917 to December,\n1918 when, even though a student, he was part of the Austro-Hungarian Navy.\nThe peace treaty after World War I awarded the Merchant Marine and the city\nof Fiume to Italy, but Balassa remained in the service until 1926. He then\nentered the Hungarian Foreign Ministry and remained until his resignation\nFebruary 7, 1949. Assignments other than Budapest were at New York, 1929-30\nand 1946-48; Paris, 1935-41; and Bern, Switzerland, 1943. His career was\ninterrupted by several months military training in 1942, Army service March\nto November, 1944 and March to May, 1945, and work as interpreter for the\nMilitary Government of Austria May to July, 1945.\nBalassa was married to Ida Bogyor, a native of Transylvania, on\nSeptember 7, 1935. They have no children. He claims to have taken scant\ninterest in politics but favors social reform in Hungary through democratic\nprocesses. He considers that extremist Communist elements have abolished\nfree speech in Hungary.\nEugene (Jeno) Ceerna was born January 2, 1920 at Budapest, the\nson of John (Janos) Cserna and Illona Gombos. He attended the St. Benedictine\nRoman Catholic Gymnasium and the Royal Catholic Collegiate Gymnasium in\nBudapest, finishing in 1938. In 1943 he was awarded a Doctor of Political\nScience degree from Peter Pazmany University of Science in Budapest. Since\ncoming to the United States he has pursued studies in Geology at Hunter\nCollege and the Columbia University Graduate School, New York City, where\nhe is presently a candidate for a Masters Degree in that field.\nDuring 1938 and 1939 he was employed as a clerk by the Hungarian\nDiscount and Exchange Bank, Budapest. Since May, 1939 he has held positions\nwith the Hungarian Foreign Ministry in Budapest, Brassov, Rumania, Prague,\nCzechoslovakia and New York City. From May to October, 1945 during the\nconfused situation following the fall of Hungarian Nazism, he performed\nliaison functions for the Hungarian Red Cross in Prague. His New York assign-\nment began in October, 1946.\nAlthough professing to hold democratic beliefs and to oppose Com-\nmunism, he claims to have been completely inactive politically.\nZoltan Caerna, a brother of Eugene Cserna, was born March 3, 1928\nin Budapest. He graduated in 1946 from the Royal Catholic Collegiate\nGymnasium in Budapest, and studied law and political science briefly at\nPeter Pazmany University of Science until coming to this country with his\nbrother. He has since studied English, Architecture and Geology at New York\nUniversity, Hunter College and Columbia University.\n- 12 CD HARRY S. TRUMAN LIBRARY\nCserna was employed for a few months in 1944 as a secretary in\nthe government owned Hungarian Steel Works. From April 15, 1947 to February\n7, 1949 he was a temporary clerk in the New York Consulate. Technically,\nhe was discharged by Balassa, though his departure was voluntary and part\nof the protest against Hungarian Communism. He professes no political pref-\nerence but states he is thoroughly opposed to the present Hungarian regime.\nGloria Mary Herold was born February 5, 1926 in New York City,\ndaughter of Michael Herold and Elizabeth Barlavits. Her father, a naturalized\ncitizen, died in 1930, and two years later she and her mother moved to\nHungary. She was educated in the public schools of Budapest and Gyor, and\nin 1944 completed four years of commercial schooling. She then attended\nPeter Pazmany University in Budapest. She returned to New York in late 1947\nand has continued studies at Brooklyn and Hunter Colleges.\nIn 1943 she performed accounting work briefly for the City of Gyor.\nFrom September, 1945 to April, 1946 she was a typist for the American Mili-\ntary government in Bavaria. In New York she has done typing and bookkeeping\nfor H. O. Canfield Company, the Rain and Hail Insurance Company, and since\nJuly 1948 the Hungarian Consulate. She plans to remain here for the present\nbut has considered returning to her mother and step-father, Zoltan Plank,\nin Gyor, Hungary, if political conditions improve.\nMrs. Raymond McDougall was born Arma Hercegfalvi in Budapest May\n12, 1925, daughter of Gaspar Hercegfalvi and Maria Kovach. Her parents\nand two brothers now reside in Hungary, while a sister is in Regensberg,\nGermany. She received public school and stenographic training in Pestszenterzsbet,\nHungary until 1941, then became & typist for the Hungarian Government. She\nwas discharged in 1942 for refusal to pledge support of the nazi Szalassy\nregime, and spent much of the next four years in Germany with her sister.\nWhile there she met McDougall, & member of the U.S. Army. She returned to\nHungary in 1946 and worked for the Ministry of Agriculture until April, 1947,\nwhen she came to this country as a \"G.I. bride\". She was married at Lynn,\nMassachusetts, May 8, 1947. Her employment at the New York Consulate began\nJune 12, 1948.\nHer husband, a native of Massachusetts, served in the U.S. Army\nfrom 1942 to 1946. Subsequently he reenlisted for European duty and returned\nto Germany February 11, 1949. She expected to join him shortly upon receipt\nof her American citizenship, as she wishes to be near her mother and sister.\nShe professes no political preferences.\n- 13 -\nHARRY S. truman LIBRARY\nPaul Marik was born November 28, 1902, at Szolnok, Hungary. He\nattended the University of Economics and Political Science in Budapest and\nthe School of Economics and Political Science in London. He has been employed\nsince as follows: Secretary to Hungarian Delegation to British Clearing\nHouse, London, 1925-28; Hungarian Consulate, Winnipeg, Canada, 1928-32;\nJournalist for Vancouver Daily Province and Hungarian News, Winnipeg, 1932-\n35; Hungarian Consulate, Winnipeg 1936 to severance of relations with Canada\nin 1941; Hungarian Legation, Washington, Do C. until December, 1941; Press\nAttache, Hungarian Foreign Office, Budapest, 1942 to German occupation of\nHungary, March, 1944; Political Department of the Foreign Office, May to\nNovember, 1945; Hungarian Legation, Washington, D. C., 1945-January, 1948;\nHungarian Consul at Cleveland, March, 1948, to resignation March 13, 1949.\nReliable sources have described Marik as a strict opportunist who,\nhaving no political affiliations, will ally himself with whatever group\naffords greatest opportunity for personal advancement. He was not popular\nwith other personnel.\nBela Lahocsinszky was born in Zagreb, Yugoslavia, February 3, 1910.\nFollowing a public school education in Hungary, he studied scale mechanics\nat a Budapest technical school. He pursued this trade in Toronto, Canada\nand Budapest from 1925 to 1948, except for periods in 1933-34, 1938, 1939\nand 1941 when he served in the Hungarian Army. Captured by the Russians in\nAugust, 1941 and interned until September, 1946, he meanwhile attended Soviet\ncourses in Communist history, dialectics and propaganda. He was a member of\nthe Hungarian Communist Party in 1946 and 1948, allegedly as a matter of\nexpediency, since he claimed to be actually anti-Communist in his views. In\nDecember, 1948 he entered the Hungarian Ministry of Industry and in February,\n1949 was appointed to the New York Consulate. He resigned when recalled\nMay 18, 1949 fearing that his true anti-Communist attitude had been dis-\ncovered. He has a brother, Joseph Carl Linn of Cleveland, Ohio, who came to\nthis country in 1922 with the entire family but remained when the others\nreturned to Hungary in 1925.\nIV. INTELLIGENCE OPERATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES\nA. The Hungarian Intelligence and Security Services\nIntelligence operations of the Hungarian police state are primarily\nunder the State Defense Department (Allamvedlmi Osztaly - A.O.) of the Minis-\ntry of the Interior and the Military Political Department (Katonai Politikai\nOsztaly - K.P.O.) a virtually autonomous division of the Ministry of National\n- 14 -\nHARRY S. TRUMAN LIBRARY\nDefense. Generally, the A.O. is concerned with internal police control,\nwhile the greater part of external espionage is the responsibility of the\nK.P.O. However, certain branches of both operate outside Hungary, and\nthere is some overlapping of activity. Each is Communist controlled\nthroughout and follows a policy of close cooperation and liaison with Soviet\nIntelligence which has access to their files and the results of their work.\nLiaison between the A.C. and the K.P.O. is principally on a personal basis\nbetween the Directors of the two organizations.\n1. The State Defense Department - A.O.\nThe more efficient of the two, this organization as it now exists\ndates from the close of World War II and was charged originally with locating\nand arresting war criminals. Its operations were expanded shortly to in-\nclude identification of and reporting on elements resisting communization of\nHungary. Reorganized in 1946 under direction of the Soviet Ministry for\nInternal Affairs (M.V.D.), it continued to maintain close liaison and informa-\ntion exchange with that group and ecame staffed mainly with well-trained\npersonnel under Russian-tutored Communist officials. Its chief is Gabor\nPeter, a trusted but uneducated Communist. Since September, 1948 Peter has\nbeen Chief of the National Defense Authority of the Ministry of the Interior,\nwhich includes, in addition to the A.O., other alien, passport, border and\nair patrol functions.\nAn effective tool for enforcing communist rule, it seeks to\nuncover and suppress anti-Communist and pro-Western influence. It has\ndispatched some espionage agents outside Hungary especially to control\nHungarian nationals and officials abroad. Of interest in connection with\nthe recent church trials in Hungary is the fact that Section III of the\nA.O., in charge of ecolesiastical matters, has worked for some time on an\nurgent priority to penetrate the Hungarian clergy, which has remained a\npowerful anti-Communist influence in Hungary.\n2. The Military Political Department - K.P.O.\nalso known as Military Political Group (Katonai\nPolitikai Csoport - K.P.C.S.)\nCreated in February, 1945 and weakened seriously by shortages of\nfunds and purges of non-Communist elements, the K.P.O. is nevertheless the\ndominant Hungarian intelligence agency and has gradually resumed some semblance\nof order and professional standing. Its Chief is Major General George Palffy-\nOesterreicher, an intelligent and ambitious Soviet-trained Communist. Since\na reorganization of June, 1946 its Offensive Division has operated underground\n- 15 -\nHARRY S. TRUMAN LIBRARY\nestablishing and expanding a network of agents throughout Western countries.\nIts primary objective is political espionage, military information being\nrated secondary. It performs occasional espionage tasks for the Soviet\nUnion. In its operations diplomatic covers have been avoided generally in\nfavor of penetration of science, business, literary and art fields as well\nas international societies. Students visiting foreign countries have been\nregarded assuitable agent material since their ability to leave the country\nis dependent upon the degree of cooperativeness with Hungarian authority.\nRecruitment of agents has been based upon both coercion and appeals to\npatriotism. Its forces are devoted to neutralization of all groups, foreign\nand domestic, which combat the Communist trend of events in Hungary.\nB. Grace Buchanan Dineen\nThe potentiality of Hungary as a satellite base for espionage\nagainst this country becomes apparent by reference to the World War II\nactivities of Grace Buchanan Dineen. Dineen, a French Canadian, was\nrecruited as a German agent in Budapest in May, 1941 and dispatched to\nthe United States in the Fall of that year. She was approached by Sari\nde Hajek, a Vassar-trained exchange student who had toured the United\nStates lecturing on Hungary, and her husband, Gyula Rozinek. He had also\nspent some time in this country and turned over to Dineen a list of his\ncontacts here. Her finances were to come from blocked United States funds\nof Oskar Renner, a Budapest businessman. Theresa Behrens, Hungarian-born\nSecretary of the International Center at the Detroit YMCA, was her principal\nAmerican contact. On March 25, 1944 in Detroit Federal Court Dineen was\nsentenced to ten years in prison, and Behrens to twenty years, on charges\nof conspiracy to violate war-time espionage statutes. Other members of the\nring likewise received prison terms.\nC. Esther Buzna\nIn 1946 United States authorities discovered that Esther Buzna,\nHungarian-born United States citizen employed as a clerk-receptionist by\nthe U.S. Military Mission in Budapest, was operating as a representative\nof the Hungarian Military Intelligence (K.P.O). Under threat of harm to\nher husband, Paul Buzna, and his Budapest law practice, she released de-\ntailed data about the mission and its personnel. Her Hungarian principals\nlearned that she was planning to return to this country and offered her a\nposition in one of their United States Consulates. This she refused. They\nthen gave her passwords and identification, indicating she would be contacted\nin America, presumably by intelligence agents. Since her arrival in New\nYork September 30, 1946, however, no attempt by foreign agents to effect a\nmeeting with her has been observed.\n- 16 -\nHARRY S. TRUMAN LIBRARY\nD. Gyorgy Heltai\nFrom May 29 to June 9, 1948 Gyorgy Heltai, Chief of the Political\nSection of the Hungarian Foreign Office, was in the United States inspecting\ntheir installations at Washington, Cleveland and New York. Born in Budapest\nSeptember 22, 1914, his background is somewhat obscure. He has worked in\nthe Foreign Office since the end of World War II, presided over the screening\nof Foreign Office employees, and is regarded as a Communist \"whip\".\nInformation in the possession of Heltai during his visit to this\ncountry disclosed that, in addition to the more mundane items of personnel,\nfunds and living allowances usual to an inspection, he was under instructions\nto explore several matters of possible intelligence interest. Among the\nmatters he had noted for discussion were the infrequency and inadequacy of\npolitical reports from the Legation and the lack of efficiency and organiza-\ntion in handling press and periodical coverage or the submission of clippings.\nHe observed that it was indispensable that means be devised whereby\nif circumstances demand, confidential reports could be sent to Hungary by\nnon-official channels. In this connection he suggested that from time to time\npolitical information on the one hand and political instructions on the other\nshould be transmitted to and from Hungary unofficially.\nHe indicated that it was an important political task to observe\nsystematically the local activities in the United States of escaped Hungarian\npoliticians as well as Hungarian citizens residing here with officially\nprescribed permits. Since the Legation was in no position to attend to this\ntask, it was recommended that a grant of funds be made for that purpose, to\nbe administered by the head of the Legation or another trusted officer.\nFailing that, it was considered indispensable that it be solved \"in another\nmanner\".\nA report in his possession described as \"intolerable\" the situation\nwhereby responsible and well known Hungarian citizens came to America in an\nofficial capacity, or at least with official permission, and remained for\nextended periods without the Legation knowing the nature of their assignments\nor the purpose of their visits. It consequently was embarrassed by not\nknowing what attitude to take toward them. It was asked that the Legation\nreceive proper information from appropriate forums in Budapest.\nOne of the items in the minutes of the Cleveland inspection of\nHeltai stated that \"no equipment or materials exist for secret work\".\nHARRY S. TRUMAN LIBRARY\n- 17 -\nIn New York he noted in connection with the strict new Hungarian\nvisa regulations that officials alleged it was not possible to control or\ninvestigate visa applicants properly in this large country. It was pointed\nout that there are no records of the so-called undesirable elements, both\nAmerican and Hungarian, and that such information should be prepared and\nforwarded from Budapest.\nE. John G. Florian, aka Laszlo Florien\nUntil February, 1949 when declared persona non grata by the\nAmerican State Department, John Florian was First Secretary of the Hungarian\nLegation in Washington. According to reliable reports he received intel-\nligence training from Soviet authorities and may be a representative of\nK.P.O., the principal Hungarian intelligence agency.\nFlorian is said to have been born May 15, 1920 in Budapest. After\ngraduation from high school he studied in France during 1938 and 1939. Upon\nthe outbreak of World War II he returned to Hungary and studied law at the\nUniversity of Budapest until 1941 when he was called for military service.\nHe deserted to the Allies in 1944 and fought as a partisan against the Axis.\nHe entered the Hungarian Foreign Service January 1, 1946, serving first in\nthe Press Section and later the Political Section. Reputedly he was assigned\nby K.P.O. Chief General Palffy-Oesterreicher to negotiate the abdication of\nPremier Ferenc Nagy at the Swiss border in May, 1947 in exchange for the\nrelease of his five-year old son.\nIn June, 1947 Florian became Second Secretary of the Legation in\nWashington, subsequently being promoted to First Secretary. Staff members\nhave asserted that he was in virtual charge of Legation affairs and appeared\nto be independent of the Ministers, whom he treated as equals or even\nsubordinates. He assumed responsibility for security measures at the\nLegation and had in his possession numerous papers reflecting an extensive\ninterest in general intelligence matters. He worked through pro-Communist\nimmigrant groups to promote the policies of the Soviet bloc in this country.\nHungarian visa matters in Canada and the United States were almost exclusively\nwithin his province, although he delegated much of this work to Matyas\nTorok, Communist Hungarian exporter and travel agent in New York.\nAt the time of the May, 1948 inspection of the Legation by Gyorgy\nHeltai the recall of Florian was considered because of a claim by the\nBudapest newspaper \"Kis Ujsag\", organ of the Smallholders Party, on March\n24, 1948 that he was the leader of a clique of black-market and exchange\nspeculators undermining the economic stability of Hungary. The Political\nSection of the Foreign Office, while deferring to the judgement of the\n- 18 -\nHARRY S. TRUMAN LIBRARY\nForeign Minister, recommended that in view of his excellent record and his\n\"leftist demeanor\" a simple recall should suffice rather than release from\nthe Service. The report of Heltai stated \"I propose the immediate dis-\npatching of a Second Secretary and release of Florian from Secretarial\nduties\". It is not clear whether he contemplated his replacement or his\nrelease from administrative work for more important duties. He departed\nfrom this country February 27, 1949.\nF. Professor Zoltan Bay\nIn late September, 1948 Professor Zoltan Bay came to Washington,\nD. C. with his family and joined the staff of the George Washington University\nPhysics Department. Hungarian scientific circles expressed the belief that\nBay, a prominent Hungarian nuclear scientist, had been sent to the United\nStates to obtain information concerning \"atom splitting\".\nBay was formerly Director of Tungsram Research Laboratories and\na member of the staff of the Joszef Nador Technical and Economic University\nin Budapest. In September, 1946 he was reportedly elected to the Steering\nCommittee of the Soviet-Hungarian Society, formed shortly after the Russian\noccupation of Hungary by Lajos Zilahy and Albert Szent-Gyorgi, a Nobel\nprize-winning biologist. By March, 1947 he claimed to have \"radared\" the\nmoon and to have received radar frequency signals from the sun. Later in\nthat year he spent two months in the United States attempting to procure\nemployment with California Institute of Technology. According to associates\nhe could have been Director of Hungarian nuclear research but for conduct\nwhich \"disappointed the Hungarian authorities\". Instead, he was said to\nhave been placed in charge of a group of Hungarian atomic scientists in\nthe Soviet Union.\nG. Margaret Odescalchi\nFrom November, 1948 to February, 1949 the Counsellor of the\nLegation in Washington was Margaret Odescalchi who was allegedly appointed\nat the personal request of Communist leader Matyas Rakosi. For eight\nmonths previous she had been Acting Chief of the Press Section of the\nForeign Office and a courier between Budapest and Moscow. Formerly known\nas a Princess and a member of one of the foremost aristocratic families\nof Hungary, she is reported to have held pro-Communist views for several\nyears and collaborated with the Russians during the occupation of Hungary\nafter World War II. Because of her social standing the belief was expressed\nthat she was sent to Washington with a view to gaining entree to high\nAmerican social circles.\nHARRY S. TRUMAN LIBRARY\n- 19 -\nMinister Andrew Sik complained in December, 1948 that she was\nunqualified and ignorant of Legation procedures. She was recalled in\nFebruary, 1949.\nV. HUNGARIAN - AMERICAN ORGANIZATIONS\nHungarian-American organizational life revolves around the churches\nand fraternal societies, which form the backbone of the Community and the\nprincipal sources of financial support. Most groups are local in scope and\nsocial in character, possessing little political significance. There was a\nnoticeable increase in activity during World War II directed toward freeing\nHungary of her Axis ties and restoring her to some form of \"democratic\"\ngovernment. By 1945 interest had shifted to furnishing relief to the\ndestitute of Hungary. Today they are occupied largely with condemnation\nor support of the Communist government and its policies.\nOn the one side nationally is the American-Hungarian Federation,\nrepresenting the anti-Communist majority and composed of elements advocating\nrestoration of the Hapsburg monarchy, the regime of Admiral Horthy, a\nDanubian Confederation incorporating the lands of the Trianon Treaty, or\nthe new Hungarian National Commission. On the other is the pro-Communist\ngroup, under the domination of the Hungarian Brotherhood of the Inter-\nnational Workers Order, which has in the past lent support to the aspira-\ntions of Count Michael Karolyi but now espouses the cause of the Hungarian\nCommunists.\nA. Hungarians' World Federation\n(Magyarok Vilagszovetsege)\nThis organization emerged from the Second Hungarian World Congress\nin Budapest August 16 to 19, 1938, called by propaganda minister Stephen\nAntal during the World Eucharistic Congress commemorating the eight hundredth\nanniversary of Hungarian acceptance of Christianity. Of 806 delegates to\nthe Congress, 283 were from the United States. Baron Szigmond Parenyi, a\nlarge landowner, became President and Dr. Karoly Nagy, Secretary. Its\npurpose, according to the by-laws, was:\n\"To support every endeavor tending to preserve and\ndevelop among Hungarians abroad the Hungarian language\nand culture; to nurture cooperation and strengthen the\nties between Hungarians in the mother country and those\nabroad; and constantly to observe with interest the life\nand achievements of Hungarians abroad.\"\n- 20 -\nHARRY S. TRUMAN LIBRARY\nActually, it has served as an adjunct of the Hungarian Ministries of Foreign\nAffairs and Foreign Trade.\nIts leaders are said to have exerted considerable influence upon\ncertain American delegates, notably Joseph Darago and Martin Himler, to\nestablish a United States branch. This never materialized, and the American-\nHungarian Federation denies that any connection ever existed between the two\nother than a friendly cooperation.\nDuring World War II it published a newspaper \"Nagymagyarorszag\"\n(Greater Hungary) which followed the then current Hungarian policy of avoiding\nconsideration of Hungary as an ordinary Nazi puppet and of labelling all\ndemocratic leaders as Communists.\nWith the rise of the present Communi st-dominated Hungarian govern-\nment it has continued as a propaganda medium for it, under the Presidency of\nJoseph Balogh. Its present address is V. Nador-utca 12 V. em (Fifth Floor),\nBudapest. Still claiming to be non-political and primarily cultural in its\noutlook, its correspondence with Hungarians in Canada and the United States\nin 1948 reflected the added purpose of acquainting them with the \"heroic\nstruggle of democratic Hungary in rebuilding the country, and in case of need\nto be of help to our countrymen abroad\". One such communication signed by\nPaul Macskasy, Secretary, clearly reflects the pro-Soviet orientation of\nthe Federation in this statement: \"Our achievements in reconstruction have\nbeen solely because of the leniency exercised by the Soviet Union in its\nclaim to reparations and our own desire to live, without recourse to foreign\nloans.\" The Federation has been engaged in a constant search for new names\nand addresses of influential persons to whom to address their literature;\nmuch of it directed against the United States, its government policies, its\ninstitutions, and its arts.\nNumerous notices have appeared from time to time in the pro-Communist\n\"Magyar Jovo\" of New York, offering the facilities of the Federation to\nHungarian-Americans desiring information about Hungary, in settling their\nminor legal problems, in establishing libraries, and in returning to the home\ncountry. The July 7, 1948 issue of \"Magyar Jovo\" pointed out that the Ministry\nof the Interior had abolished the Bureau handling immigration and repatriation\nmatters and placed them within the jurisdiction of the Federation. By way\nof inducement it stated that about half of the Hungarians in Canada were pre-\nparing to return to Hungary.\nHARRY S. TRUMAN LIBRARY\n- 21 =\nB. American Hungarian Federation\n(Amerikai Magyarok Szovetsege)\nThis Federation of Hungarian Fraternal groups, churches and\nnewspapers was incorporated in Ohio in July, 1907 under the guidance of\nleading churchmen and three major societies, namely, Verhovay Fraternal\nInsurance Association of Pittsburgh, Hungarian Reformed Federation of\nAmerica in Washington, D. C., and American Sick Benefit and Life Insurance\nAssociation of Bridgeport, Connecticut. The Verhovay Association has con-\ntinued to provide much of the impetus behind the Federation in spite of\nscattered efforts of individual branches to disassociate themselves.\nMajor stated purposes of the Federation were to organize and\ndirect American-Hungarian influence, further their cultural development,\ngive material and moral aid where needed, promote cordial relations be-\ntween the United States and Hungary, and defend her good name and reputa-\ntion against attack and defamation.\nAfter 1917 it became relatively dormant until the Hungarian\nJubilee of May 28-30, 1938 in Detroit. There a committee of one hundred\nprominent American-Hungarians was appointed to revitalize it under the\nguidance of Martin Himler, well known publisher. Several of the leading\nfigures attended the Hungarian World Congress at Budapest in the Summer\nof 1938 during which the Hungarian World Federation was created for the\npurpose of maintaining contact between the homeland and Hungarians abroad.\nOne of them, Joseph Darago of the Verhovay Association, was elected honorary\nPresident. Subsequent efforts of the World Federation to establish branches\nthroughout the world were not successful, at least as to the United States.\nAlthough the American and World Federation did collaborate, the American\ngroup has consistently denied any affiliation with the latter, in spite of\npro-Communist claims to the contrary.\nAs a result of criticism of the representation at the Detroit\nand Budapest meetings, a further conference was called in Pittsburgh\nNovember 8, 1938, during which the American-Hungarian Federation of today\nemerged. Since 1939 its headquarters have been located in Washington, D. C.,\nand it has been considered the most influential of American-Hungarian\ngroups.\nThe last National Convention of the Federation in Chicago, Novem-\nber 17-18, 1947 named Daniel (Deszo) Szantay, of the Chicago Szantay Corpora-\ntion President. Vice Presidents were Dr. Tibor Csolnoky of New York, Ignace\nLengyel of Pittsburgh and Stephen Gobozy of Cleveland. Reverend Stephen\n- 22 4201 HARRY S. TRUMAN LIBRARY\nCzernitzky, Reverend Nagy and Dr. Bela Marko were made Directors. All\nterms were to extend from 1948 to 1950. Key official of the Federation\nin recent years has been Dr. Tibor Kerekes, Executive Secretary, of\nWashington, D. C. Born in Budapest February 5, 1893 and educated at the\nUniversities of Budapest and Vienna, Kerekes came to the United States in\n1924. He joined the faculty of Georgetown University in Washington in 1929\nand has been head of its History Department since 1936.\nFinancial support of the Federation is derived from a one cent\nper member monthly assessment levied on member organizations. With over\n100,000 members it collects some $12,000 annually.\nThe Federation has constituted such a rallying point for anti-\nCommunist Hungarians in America that it has been a constant target for\nCommunist charges that it is reactionary and stands for the wealthy and\nlanded few rather than the good of the people of Hungary. Various elements\nof the Federation have been advocates of Hapsburg restoration, a return to\nthe Horthy regims, revision of the Trianon Treaty boundaries, or a Federa-\ntion of Danubian States. A small segment urges an independent Transylvania.\nOne of the few political movements indorsed by the Federation\nwas the Movement for an Independent Hungary of Tibor Eckhardt, former member\nof the Hungarian Parliament, which was active from 1941 to 1943 in attempting\nto free Hungary from Axis influence. It then engaged in little political\nactivity until the formation of the Hungarian National Commission in 1948.\nIt has supported this group of refugee Hungarian leaders in opposing the\npresent Hungarian Communist regime.\nC. Movement for an Independent Hungary\nThe Movement for an Independent Hungary was launched on a world-\nwide scale September 9, 1941 by Tibor Eckhardt, former leader of the\nSmallholders Party in the Hungarian Parliament, who had just arrived in the\nUnited States for the second time. He was aided by Reverend George Borshy-\nKerekes of the Hungarian Reformed Federation. Highly favorable to the\nHorthy Regime, the Movement nevertheless condemned Axis domination and ex-\npressed apprehension over the possibility of a swing to Communist control\nafter World War II. It claimed to be \"spokesman for the silenced Hungarian\npeople\".\nThe American Committee of that Movement, formed in November, 1941\nhad as its President Joseph Darago of the Verhovay Association, and as\nSecretaries Francis Deak and Tibor Kerekes. For almost two years\n- 23 -\nHARRY S. TRUMAN LIBRARY\nthe movement was the center of animated controversy, much of it directed\nat alleged monarchist and anti-Jewish tendencies of Eckhardt. On July 20,\n1943 he resigned as President of the Executive Committee, and a few days\nlater the movement suspended activity.\nEckhardt, born October 28, 1888 in Mako, Hungary, was long active\nin Hungarian politics under Nicholas Horthy and represented that government\nat the League of Nations. He came to the United States first in 1940 on\nbehalf of Horthy, and a second time on August 8, 1941 to remain as head of\nhis new movement.\nD. Hungarian National Commission\nBeginning about June, 1947 Hungarian leaders maneuvered out of\npower by the Communists began working in New York, under the direction of\nTibor Eckhardt, on plans for formation of a Hungarian National Commission.\nBy July, 1948 the organization had quietly taken form as the Hungarian\nNational Commission. Bela Varga, former President of the Hungarian Parlia-\nment, was selected as President on the theory that the Hungarian constitution\nprovided for his assumption of the Presidency should anything happen to the\nduly elected President. It was reasoned that precisely such a situation had\narisen due to the political impotence of President Zoltan Tildy in giving\nway to the Communists and Arpad Szakasits.\nA Joint Council, composed of the following eight committees, was\nproposed:\nCommittee of Internal Affairs\nPresident CD Dezso Sulyok\nVice President - Gustav Hennyey\nCommittee of National Defense\nPresident - Tibor Eckhardt\nVice President - Bela Teleki\nCommittee for External Affairs\nPresident - Gyorgy Bakacs Bessenyei\nVice President - Aladar Szegedy-Maszak\nEconomic Committee\nPresident - Ferenc Nagy\nEconomic Vice President - Paul Auer\nFinancial Vice President - Laszlo Acsay\n- 24 -\nHARRY S. truman LIBRARY\nLabor and Labor Union Committee\nPresident - Karoly Peyer\nVice President - Louis Hajdu Nemeth\nCommittee of Religion and Public Education\nPresident 123 Joseph Kozi Horvath\nVice President - Laszlo Vatay\nCommittee of Justice and Propaganda\nPresident - Zoltan Pfeiffer\nVice President 50 Imre Kovach\nSocial-Political Committee\nPresident - Bela Fabian\nVice President - Sandor Nyirjessy\nAcsay, Pfeiffer and Kalman Salata were recommended for a committee to work\nout the agenda and conference rules; Eckhardt, Horvath, Nagy, Peyer and\nSulyok for a committee on credentials and discipline. Bela Halter was pro-\nposed for Secretary of the National Commission as well as the Presidential\nCouncil.\nThe organization claims to have an army of 30,000 men inside Hungary,\nequipped with arms left by the fleeing Germans when the Russians entered\nHungary. The leaders of this dormant group have allegedly placed themselves\nunder the complete command of Tibor Eckhardt.\nThe National Commission has acquired the influential newspaper\n\"Amerikai Magyar Nepszava\" in New York as its press medium, and is favored\nby the American Hungarian Federation. Certain elements of Hungarian opinion,\nnotably the paper \"Az Ember\" (November 20, 1948), have complained that it\nmay be used by a band of irresponsible Hungarian opportunists and former\nmembers of the Arrowcross (Nazi) Party to gain ascendancy under the guise\nof fighting Communism. This may be possible, they claim, because of the\nactions of Hungarian Communists and Social Democrats in discrediting the\ncause of democracy and true liberalism.\nIn October 1948 it was reported that according to a usually reli-\nable source a group of 18 men and 4 women, members of the former Hungarian\nCommunist organization \"Rongyas Garda\", had been dispatched by the Hungarian\nSecret Service in August, 1948 on a mission to assassinate several members\nof the Hungarian National Commission. Those slated for liquidation were\nsaid to be Zoltan Pfeiffer, Ferenc Nagy, Tibor Eckhardt, Bela Varga, Deszo\nSulyok, Joszef Kozi Horvath and Paul Auer.\nHARRY S. TRUMAN LIBRARY\n- 25 -\nE. Hungarian Brotherhood (Testveriseg) -\nInternational Workers Order (I.W.O.)\nRanking first among Communist agencies reaching Hungarian-Americans\nis the Hungarian Brotherhood of the International Workers Order. A \"federa-\ntion of united nationality group societies\", representing fourteen nationalities,\nthe I.W.O. provides sick, disability and death benefits to some 185,000 persons\nin over 1750 lodges throughout the United States. A survey of its records\ncompleted in November, 1948 by the New York State Department of Insurance\ndisclosed that it was in very good financial condition.\nBut vastly more significant than its insurance activity is its\nconsistent position as a major organ of the Communist Party in spreading\npropaganda among its component nationality elements, recruiting Party\nmembers and augmenting Party funds.\nThe I.W.O. was chartered in the State of New York in April, 1930\nfollowing a conference March 30, 1930 of 157 left wing branches of the Work-\nmen's Circle and the Independent Workmen's Circle. Denouncing those groups\nas instruments of capitalism and \"the Bosses\", the new order openly dedicated\nitself to the furtherance of the revolutionary class struggle, the overthrow\nof the capitalist system, and support of the Communist Party and the Soviet\nUnion. The initial membership of 5,000 was abstracted mainly from Jewish\nFraternal Orders, but subsequently spread to include fourteen nationalities,\nnamely, Jewish, Ukranian, Russian, Slovak, Hungarian, Italian, Croatian,\nPolish, Carpatho-Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Rumanian, Greek, and Finnish.\nThe forerunner of the Hungarian Brotherhood was the \"General\nWorkers Sick Benefit Organization\", chartered in 1900, which in 1922\nbecame the Workingmen's Sick Benefit and Educational Federation. Occasionally,\nit was referred to also as the Hungarian Workers' Benevolent and Educational\nSociety. Its membership of 4,756 persons became the Hungarian Section of\nthe I.W.O. on April 11, 1932. At the Sixth National Convention of the I.W.O.\nin July, 1944 it received its present name. Reported membership in 1948\ntotalled 10,565, including 9,317 adults and 1,248 Junior members.\nSince 1944 the President of I.W.O. has been Rockwell Kent, Ausable\nFalls, New York, reliably reported as an active member of the Communist\nParty. At the Seventh National I.W.O. Convention in New York, June 16-18,\n1947 Arpad Fodor Nagy, Bronx, New York, was elected President of the Brother-\nhood, Joseph Ross of Cleveland, Ohio and Bertalan Szepessy of Newark, New\nJersey, Vice Presidents and Emery Komlos, Secretary. Komlos, a reported\nmember of the Communist Party and I.W.O. member since 1932, died October 18,\n- 26 B HARRY S. TRUMAN LIBRARY\n1948 and was succeeded by Alexander (Sandor) Rakosi. Rakosi was born 1907\nin Hungary and came to New York in December, 1923. Reputedly, his\noriginal name was Roth, which he changed to show his high regard for Matyas\nRakosi, Hungarian Communist leader.\nThe I.W.O. has adhered firmly to Communist Party policies and has\ndrawn a great majority of its national and local officials from Communist\nParty ranks. On November 24, 1947, it was declared by the Attorney General\nof the United States to be a Communist organization within the purview of\nExecutive Order #9835 pertaining to the loyalty of Government employees.\nThe Treasury Department also withdrew its status as a tax-exempt organiza-\ntion. Although it has fought both these decisions vigorously, its reputa-\ntion and membership have nevertheless suffered serious reverses. As of\nFebruary 1, 1949, it instituted an intensive drive for new recruits, with\nspecial emphasis upon Junior and women's groups.\nAs an integral part of the I.W.O. the affairs of the Hungarian\nBrotherhood have reflected strong Communist influence. At its last con-\nvention, held June 14-15, 1947 in Cleveland, Ohio, immediately preceding\nthe Seventh National I.W.O. Convention in New York, June 16-18, 1947, the\nBrotherhood condemned \"American Imperialism\", the Truman Doctrine and the\nRepublican Congress, and resolved to unite \"democratic forces to fight\nreaction\". Its program since then has called for:\n1. Strengthening and development of the \"new popular\ndemocratic states\" in Europe.\n2. Urging total racial and religious equality.\n3. Close cooperation with labor movements.\n4. Opposition to the government loyalty program, the\nMundt-Nixon Bill for outlawing the Communist Party,\nUniversal military training, the Taft-Hartley Act\n(Labor Management Relations Act), and Deportation\nof Aliens.\n5. Support of a national health program and increased\nsocial security benefits.\nPrincipal media utilized by the Brotherhood for furthering the\nI.W.O. program are the \"Fraternal Outlook\", I.W.O. official publication;\nMagyar Jovo (Hungarian Daily Journal), the Brotherhood's own semi-official\norgan in New York; and Nok Vilaga (Women's World), official women's publi-\ncation of the Brotherhood. Other smaller Hungarian papers have appeared\nsporadically in Hungarian centers with I.W.O. support. In each instance\nCommunist influence or control has been evident.\n- 27 -\nHARRY S. TRUMAN LIBRARY\nUse has likewise been made of Hungarian language radio broadcasts\nsuch as the Kossuth Hour presented each Sunday for a considerable period\nover WBYN, New York, for the benefit of Hungarians in New York and Pennsylvania.\nThe Brotherhood has complained, however, that recently radio stations have\nbeen most reluctant to accept their programs. Increasing recourse has been\nhad to circulation of pamphlets, speech outlines, one act plays, and films\nabout Hungary. Speakers and artists have been made available for local\nrallies, and celebrations have been arranged for commemoration of important\nHungarian holidays. The Brotherhood was active in the affairs of the now\ndefunct Hungarian-American Council for Democracy and has been a heavy\npromoter of the Hungarian-American Centennial Committee organised to plan\na pilgrimage to Hungary during the 1948-49 celebration of Hungarian\nIndependence in 1848.\nIn September, 1948 the I.W.O. announced that it had raised a fund\nof $20,534 to combat the decision of the United States Attorney General that\nthe Order is a Communist organization. $1,344 of this was contributed by\nthe Hungarian Brotherhood. By December, 1948 the I.W.O. had accumulated\n$4,198.40 in a Defense Fund for the twelve Communist Party leaders indicted\nin Federal Court on conspiracy charges. $91.70 of this had been provided\nby the Brotherhood.\nF. National Group Commission\nThe National Group Commission of the Communist Party - USA, working\nthrough various District, State and local Commissions, integrates and directs\nthe propaganda and membership activities of the Party among foreign nationality\nand minority groups in the United States. National Director is Arnold Johnson,\nwho replaced Steve Nelson in 1948.\nHungarian-American groups have been reached mainly through the\nHungarisn Brotherhood of the I.W.O. and have been handled largely on a\nnational scale. Centers of activity have been Hungarian communities in the\nvicinity of Buffalo, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Los Angeles, New York\nand Pittsburgh.\nCommunist Party foreign nationality work was redoubled following\nthe Fourteenth National Convention of August, 1948 and has recently been\nconcentrated along specific lines in an effort to increase its effectiveness.\nDuring 1948 it was directed toward recruiting support for the Wallace Third\nParty Movement. So far in 1949 the primary effort has been to recruit\nforeign language editorial and financial support for the defense of the\nHARRY S. TRUMAN LIBRARY\n- 28 -\ntwelve indicted members of the Communist Party National Board. Appeals\nare predicated on the Party's claim that it represents the interests of\nminorities against \"capitalist oppression\".\nG. Hungarian-American Council for Democracy\n(Magyar-Amerikai Demokratikus Taracs)\nIn February, 1943 pro-Communist elements withdrew their support\nfrom the American Federation of Democratic Hungarians and the Committee for\na New Democratic Hungary, champions of Count Michael Karolyi, and founded\nthe HACD in New York. In June, 1943 a branch was established in Chicago,\nfollowed shortly by others in Los Angeles, Cleveland, New Haven, Milwaukee\nand elsewhere. Count Karolyi was made honorary president, motion picture\nactor Bela Lugosi, President and Moses Simon, New York Communist, Secretary.\nIt urged a strong and independent Hungary under Karolyi, assistance to the\nunderground in Hungary, and unconditional Axis surrender.\nFrom the beginning it was a tool of the Hungarian Brotherhood,\nI.W.O. and the newspaper \"Magyar Jovo\", adhering closely to Communist Party\npolicies. Moses Simon, its moving force, was born in 1890 in Mukacevo,\nHungary, later Czechoslovakia. He had a successful law practice in\nCzechoslovakia prior to the German invasion and was legal adviser to the\nCommunist Party of Carpatho-Ukraine. Going to England in 1939, he became\naffiliated with Count Karolyi's Free Hungarian Movement in September, 1941.\nAfter his arrival inNew York in August, 1942 Simon was assistant editor of\nMagyar Jovo and most influential in Hungarian Communist affairs.\nAnother leader was John Gyetvai-Nagy, a press official of the Kun\nCommunist regime in Hungary, who entered the United States illegally in\n1924 and reentered legally in 1940. He attended the Lenin School in Mescow\nduring 1934. As Chief editor of Magyar Jovo, he also was active in Hungarian\nCommunist affairs.\nBecause of its strong Communist taint the Council was never generally\naccepted by Hungarian-Americans, and by 1946 its leaders began to lose interest.\nGyetvai-Nagy returned to Hungary in April, 1946 and remained to become\nGovernor of Baranya County. Simon followed in July, 1947 and became chief\nattorney for the Commerical Bank of Budapest. Affairs of the Council were\nleft in the hands of Mathew Torok, Secretary-Treasurer of Danubia Transport\nCompany, an export concern founded by Simon July 22, 1946 under I.W.O. sponsor-\nship.\nHARRY S. TRUMAN LIBRARY\n- 29 -\nIn November, 1947 the Council was declared a Communist organization\nby the Attorney General within the purview of the Loyalty Order. Since\nthen it has existed as a relatively inactive \"paper\" organization.\nH. National Council of Hungarian-American Trade Unionists;\nalso known as Hungarian-American Trade Union Council\nThis organization began December 5, 1943 in New York under the\nsponsorship of the Hungarian-American Council for Democracy. Honorary\nPresident was Julius Emspak of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine\nWorkers of America, CIO. James Lustig, also of the UERMWA, was made Chair-\nman of the Board and Frank Pecha, of the AFL Brotherhood of Painters,\nSecretary-Treasurer. The Board of Directors consisted of representatives\nfrom forty AFL, CIO and independent unions.\nThe council served only as a propaganda medium for the parent\ngroup among trade unionists and was not strongly supported by labor. Its\nactivities were limited mainly to participation in a few meetings and\ncelebrations. Within a year of its founding it was dormant.\nI. Action to Liberate Hungary\n(Mozgalom Magyarorsag Megmentesere)\nThis group was established on April 23, 1944 simultaneously at\nNew York and Los Angeles, with headquarters in New York. Although calcu-\nlated to secure non-Communist support for the aims and purposes of the\nHungarian-American Council for Democracy, it was so patently the same group\nunder a different name that it had no success and by the end of the year\nhad become inactive.\nJ. Hungarian-American Centennial Committee\nDuring 1948 and 1949 extensive plans were formulated by the\nHungarian government for celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of\nHungary's fight for independence which started in 1848. Highlights were\na speech by President Zoltan Tildy, January 1, 1948 at Kiskoros, birthplace\nof Alexander (Sandor) Petofi, Hungarian poet and revolutionary associate of\nKossuth; a major celebration on March 15, 1948 commemorating the founding\nof the Republic; an eulogy of the Hungarian Army in September 1948; a\nmemorial to the defeated martyrs of the revolution in October, 1948; and a\ncelebration at Debrecen on April 14, 1949 honoring the revolutionary\nparliament at that site and its act of dethroning the House of Hapsburg.\nHARRY S. truman LIBRARY\n- 30 -\nIt was anticipated that these celebrations would \"attract the\ninterest of all freedom loving peoples\", and that a large number of Hungarians\nin the United States and Canada would take the opportunity to visit the\nhome country. New York City was designated the exclusive clearing house\nfor Centennial visas for Canadian and United States visitors and Matyas\nTorok of the Danubia Transport Company was placed in charge under the\nguidance of John Florian, Hungarian Embassy Secretary in Washington, D. C.\nPlans for centennial publicity through the Hungarian American Council for\nDemocracy were dampened by action of the United States Attorney General\nin November, 1947 declaring that organization a Communist group within the\npurview of the loyalty order.\nOn December 14, 1947, upon the occasion of a reception at the Park\nCentral Hotel in New York in honor of the late Rustem Vambery, Hungarian\nMinister in Washington, an organizational meeting was held by \"representatives\nof the Hungarian-American churches, and societies and by outstanding Americans\nof Hungarian descent\" from which came the Centennial Committee. Leading\nfounders were Dr. Geza Takaro, First Hungarian Reformed Church of New York;\nReverend Emery Koosis, Hungarian Baptist Church; Dr. Emil Lengyel, New York\nUniversity; John Forbath, Chairman of the Hungarian Section, World Jewish\nCongress; Dr. Camille Cayley-Keresztury, physician; and George Stephen Revs\nColumbia University.\nDr. Takaro, reliably reported as a Communist sympathizer, was made\nPresident and Tibor Bartok, Hungarian-born journalist in this country since\n1930, Director of Public Relations.\nMoving spirit of the Committee, however, was Secretary Mathew\n(Matyas) Torok, true name, Alfred Aladar Neuwald. Torok is reliably reported\nas one of the most influential Hungarian Communists in the United States.\nThrough his efforts major publicity releases of the committee were channeled\nmainly to the Daily Worker, publication of the Communist Party, and Magyar\nJovo, pro=Communist Hungarian paper in New York. It was generally understood\nthat Centennial visas would be granted only to pro-Communist individuals.\nIt is known, however, that when Gyorgi Heltai, Hungarian Foreign Office\nInspector, visited New York in May, 1948, Torok complained that he had no\nfacilities for investigating or identifying \"undesirable\" visa applicants.\nFurthermore, the intense desire of the Hungarian Government that the Centennial\ncelebration be a numerical success and the financial gain to be had from\nincreased tourist trade, prevented the refusal of any appreciable number\nof visa requests.\nHARRY S. thuman LIBRARY\n- 31 -\nA considerable number of such applicants were elderly people\ndesiring to visit with relatives in Hungary. Others had friends and\nrelatives in official positions in the new Communist Government and wished\nto experience the pleasure of consorting in high places. Typical of the\nlatter were efforts of a group of visitors from Cleveland and New York\nMarch, 1948 to make capital of their former association with John Gyetvai\nNagy, one-time editor of Magyar Jovo, who is now governor of Barana County,\nHungary, residing in the City of Pecs.\nGeneral response was not as enthusiastic as expected, and it was\nonly after an urgent request from Budapest that a delegation was dispatched\non short notice to the March 15, 1948 celebration. However, during 1948\nseveral hundred persons did make the trip. In addition, the Committee arranged\nlocal celebrations in New York, Chicago, Cleveland and other Hungarian centers\nto coincide with the ones held in Hungary These were well supported in\nHungarian circles.\nAs an aid to administration of the work of the Committee, Torok\nset up an information and ticket office in New York about March, 1948,\nknown as Travel to Hungary, Inc. and operated by A. S. Pinter, Jr. This\nfirm was advertised by Torok as an official agency of I.V.U.S.Z., travel\nbranch of the Hungarian State Railways. D. A. Barenyi, President of I.V.U.S.Z.,\ndenied any such connection. On September 8, 1948 it was dissolved and its\nwork taken over by Associated Hungarian Tour Operators, a company having no\nconnection with Torok. Pinter continued as its manager under Edmund J.\nHorvath, proprieter of Horvath Travel Agency in New York and an official of\nthe Hungarian Chamber of Commerce.\nCentennial affairs in Canada were placed under a Canadian-Hungarian\nCentennial Committee with headquarters in Toronto. Its head was Joseph\nMuller, Secretary of the Canadian Federation of Democratic Hungarians, who\nhas been in frequent contact with Torok and is apparently subordinate to\nTorok.\nK. American Hungarian Relief, Incorporated\nThis organization was incorporated in New York, September 23, 1944\nto aid the needy and suffering people of Hungary. Initial impetus came from\nthe American Hungarian Federation. To comply with the requirements of the\nPresident's War Relief Control Board the originators of the idea were com-\npelled to admit communist elements, principally the Hungarian American Council\nof Democracy, into participation. As a result six of thirty members of the\ndirectorate were members of the Communist Party. In addition, the associate\nHARRY S. TRUMAN LIBRARY\n- 32 -\nsecretary, Matyas Torok, had a considerable record of participation in\nHungarian Communist activities in Los Angeles and New York. Concerted\nefforts of the Communist elements to dominate relief policies were fruitless,\nexcept in the Los Angeles Chapter, and during the Spring of 1946 Communist\nofficials were prohibited from holding positions, while the position of\nTorok was discontinued. On June 19, 1948, the Executive Committee meeting\nin New York voted unanimously to cancel Chapter 10 in Los Angeles, for\npersistent failure to comply withregulations. This chapter, which was\nthoroughly Communist controlled, continued to operate independently as \"Los\nAngeles Hungarian Relief\".\nIn spite of differences among the widely divergent political\nideologies composing this heterogeneous organization, it was successful in\ncontributing materially to relief of the destitute in Hungary. Several\nhundred anousand dollars in cash and large quantities of goods and clothing\nwere collected. By late 1948 many services of American Hungarian Aid, Inc.\nhad been transferred to American Overseas Aid and it had become virtually\ninactive. Pro-Communist elements continued to send aid to Hungary on their\nown initiative.\nOutside the orbit of both the American-Hungarian Federation and\nthe Communist groups sponsored by the Hungarian Brotherhood, lie two\norganizations, now virtually inactive, which favored reestablishment of\nthe Karolyi government in Hungary or a democratic Danubian Confederation\nof States.\nL. American Federation of Democratic Hungarians\nOne, the American Federation of Democratic Hungarians, was\nestablished at Cleveland, Ohio, in 1941 under the leadership of Oscar Jaszi,\nan Oberlin College professor, now at Clark University. Jaszi taught\nPolitical Science at the University of Kolozsvar in Hungary from 1912 to\n1918, and following a short term at the University of Budapest, became\nMinister of National Minorities in the Karolyi cabinet. A Socialist, he\nwas forced to flee the country after the fall of the Communist Kun Govern-\nment, and came to the United States about 1921. He has been an American\ncitizen since 1931. His wife, Recha, is of Russian-German birth. He denies\nany Communist inclinations on the part of either.\n- 33 -\nHARRY S. truman LIBRARK\nM. American Committee of the New Democratic Hungary Movement,\nalso known as Committee for a New Democratic Hungary\nThe other, the American Committee of the New Democratic Hungary\nMovement, also known as the Committee for a New Democratic Hungary, was\nformed in New York in the Fall of 1941 in opposition to the Movement for\nan Independent Hungary of Tibor Eckhardt. Its chief sponsor was the late\nRustem Vambery, former Hungarian legal expert, aided by Jaszi. Other\nleaders were John Terebessy, son of a Slovakian Judge; Paul Keri, Press\nBureau Chief under Karolyi; and Ignac Schultz, former member of the\nCzechoslovakian Parliament. Keri and Laszlo Fenyes, also active in the\nCommittee, were co-defendants in a murder trial for the shooting of\nHungarian Prime Minister, Count Tisza, during the 1918 revolution. Keri\nwas convicted but his release was later arranged by the Soviet Union.\nUntil 1946 Vambery and Schultz published a small weekly paper\n\"Harc\" (Fight) for the group. Sporadic meetings in New York were its only\nother activity. It never received substantial support or exercised\nappreciable influence. The Communists who left it to form the Hungarian\nAmerican Council for Democracy continued to give it favorable publicity.\nIt also received aid from the Czechoslovakian Government in Exile in\nreturn for its advocacy of Czechoslovakian integrity. It virtually col-\nlapsed upon the return of Vambery to Hungary and his entry into its\ndiplomatic service.\nN. Transylvanian Society, also known as\nAmerican-Transylvanian Federation\nThis society arose after World War I as a result of the Treaty\nof Trianon, which took Transylvania from Hungary and made it part of\nRumania. A large number of Transylvanians felt that since the territory\ncontained both Rumanians and Hungarians in spite of its long history of\nHungarian culture and rule, it should be made an independent unit. Branches\nwere established in several United States cities, but soon became dormant.\nIn 1940 Hitler decreed a division of Transylvania between Hungary\nand Rumania. Then with the close of World War II, the entire area was\nreturned to Rumania. In the Spring of 1945 a group of Transylvanian descent\nreorganized the Federation and met in New York to prepare a petition for\nthe United Nations Conference in San Francisco again urging independence\nfor Transylvania. Leaders were Reverend Benedek Biro, of the Roman Catholic\nHungarian Church in Fairfield, Connecticut and Reverend Anthony (Antal)\nPeter of the Hungarian Reformed Church in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Present\nHARRY S. TRUMAN LIBRARY\n- 34 -\nday membership is drawn largely from the congregations of these two ministers\nand activities are mainly social and cultural.\nIn 1946 an offshoot of the Federation grew up in New York City\nunder the direction of Stephanie de Losonozy, her father Stephan, and\nAlexander Balogh, a clothing manufacturer. Known as the American-Hungarian\nTransylvanian Federation, or the Szekely Society, it urged that Transylvania\nbe made an integral part of Hungary. Aside from minor relief work, it is\nnow relatively inactive.\nO. Fraternal Societies\nConcentration of Hungarian-Americans in laboring, mining and\nindustrial fields, with attendant hazardous working conditions, was con-\nducive to development of fraternal societies calculated to assure financial\nprotection in event of illness, disability or death. The earliest of these\nwas the First Hungarian Sick Benefit Society of New York, founded in 1884.\nSince then hundreds of small individual groups have appeared only to collapse\ndue to weak financial structures. Nationally, there are six major groups,\nalthough numerous small independent societies exist. The Hungarian Brother-\nhood has already been discussed. The others are identified below.\n1. Verhovay Fraternal Insurance Association\nVerhovay Fraternal Insurance Association, largest and most\ninfluential of these, is a non-sectarian society founded in Pennsylvania\nFebruary 21, 1886. It has headquarters in Pittsburgh under Coleman (Kalman)\nRevesz, Executive Secretary, and some 60,000 members in several hundred\nlocal branches. Assets are about seven million dollars. Verhovay has\nbeen one of the strongest supporters of the American Hungarian Federation.\n2. Hungarian Reformed Federation of America\nThe Hungarian Reformed Federation of America began in 1896 at\nPittsburgh and consisted of members of Protestant Hungarian religious\ncongregations. It was chartered by the United States Congress in 1907.\nIts headquarters are in Washington, D. C. in a building erected by it for\ninvestment and rental purposes. Leading officials are Reverend Francis\nUjlaki of Toledo, President, Reverend George Borshy-Kerekes, Secretary,\nand Emery (Imre) Kiraly, Treasurer. It has some 25,000 members and two\nmillion dollars assets.\nHARRY S. TRUMAN LIBRARY\n- 35 -\n3. Rakoczi Aid Association\nThe Rakoczi Aid Association of Bridgeport, Connecticut originated\nin 1888, has over 23,000 members and some fifteen million dollars in assets.\nIt has, in general, refrained from political activity but has opposed the\ngrowth of Communism in Hungary. Stephen Varga is President.\n4. American Sick Benefit and Life Insurance\nalso known as Bridgeport Association\nThe American Sick Benefit and Life Insurance Association of\nBridgeport, Connecticut, also known as the Bridgeport Association was the\nresult of a merger in 1892 of small New England fraternal societies. It\nhas a membership of about 16,000 and assets of over two million dollars.\n5. American Hungarian Catholic Society\nThe American Hungarian Catholic Society was established in\nCleveland, Ohio in 1942 by a merger of small Catholic fraternal orders.\nIt has over 3,200 members and a half million dollars in funds.\nVI. HUNGARIAN-AMERI CAN PUBLICATIONS\nThe Hungarian-language press in the United States is considered\none of the largest and most effective, in relation to the size of the\ncommunity, of any foreign nationality group. There are over forty publica-\ntions, with a combined circulation estimated at 245,000. Editorially they\ninclude monarchist organs favoring restoration of Otto of Hapsburg, others\nespousing the causes of Ex-Regent Horthy, former President Karolyi or the\nnew Hungarian National Commission, and still others frankly approving the\npresent Communist regime. Revision of Hungarian boundaries as set by the\nTrianon Treaty has long been urged by several papers.\nReader support is the principal means of financing the American-\nHungarian press, although the fraternal aid societies and churches subsidize\n8. substantial bloc. Odd job printing is a source of income to many of the\nindependent papers.\nEfforts to expand from the press into radio and allied fields have\nmet with only sporadic success. The pro-Communist \"Magyar Jovo\" for a time\nsponsored a radio program known as \"Radio Kossuth\" and directed at Hungarian\ncolonies in New York and Pennsylvania. In late 1948 it supported a lecture\nHARRY S. TRUMAN LIBRARY\n- 36 -\ntour by Louis Weinstock, Hungarian Communist, exhibiting motion picture\nfilm dealing with conditions in present-day Hungary.\nThe only substantial undertakings of this sort now in operation\nare the Budapest Government propaganda radio stations One and Two, changed\nin February, 1949, to Radio Kossuth and Radio Petofi. These stations\nspecialize in musical programs and newscasts in six languages \"enjoyable\nfor foreigners\".\nA. Independent Dailies\n1. Amerikai Magyar Nepszava\n(American-Hungarian People's Voice)\nAmerikai Magyar Nepszava (American-Hungarian People's Voice) was\nfounded in 1899 as a weekly and became a daily four years later. It is one\nof the oldest Hungarian language dailies in the United States and the only\none having a Sunday edition. Declared circulation is 24,782. Until 1944\nit was owned by Maximilian F. Wegrzynek, who sold out to Max Kaufman, the\nmanaging editor. In June, 1948 it was acquired by Victor Bator, attorney\nand former director of the Hungarian Commercial Bank, and Louis Szanto, of\nWheeling, West Virginia. Zoltan Pfeiffer, former head of the Hungarian\nIndependence Party and Undersecretary of the Ministry of Justice, became\nEditor. Co-editors are Paul Auer; Tibor Eckhardt, former head of the\nHungarian Smallholders Party; Ferenc Nagy, former Hungarian Prime Minister;\nKaroly Peyer, former leader of the Hungarian Social Democrats; Dezso Sulyok,\nformer leader of the Hungarian Freedom Party; and Bela Varga, former Presi-\ndent of the Hungarian Parliament. Chairman of the Board is John F. Montgomery,\nUnited States Minister to Hungary from 1933 to 1941.\nNepszava has been a long and bitter foe of liberal and left-wing\nfactions in the Hungarian-American community. It has favored the Atlantic\nCharter and promotes revision of the Trianon boundaries of Hungary. Once\nan apologist for Regent Miklos Horthy, it is now the organ of the Hungarian\nNational Commission. Its circulation in Hungary has been prohibited by\nthe Ministry of the Interior.\n2. Szabadzag (Liberty)\nSzabadzag (Liberty), considered until recently the largest\nHungarian language newspaper in the United States, appears evenings, except\nSunday, in Cleveland and has a circulation of 21,248. Zoltan Gombos, a\nTransylvanian who came to this country in 1924, is editor and publisher.\n- 37 - HARRY S. TRUMAN LIBRARY\nIt was established as a weekly in 1891, became a daily in ten years, and\nwas acquired by Gombos in 1933 after two financial crises in the 1930's.\nIts present financial status is excellent and it ranks as one of the best\nforeign language papers. While emphasizing the American aspects of\nHungarian community life, its policy is nevertheless definitely anti-\nCommunist and anti-Czechoslovakian. Formerly a supporter of Michael\nKarolyi and later Nicholas Horthy, it no longer favors either.\nB. Independent Weekly Papers\n1. Az Ember (The Man)\nAz Ember (The Man) appears each Saturday in New York under the\nclose journalistic guidance of Ferenc Gondor. Circulation is among Hungarian-\nAmerican intelligentsia and amounts to about 1,000. Gondor was born Nathan\nKrausz, December 7, 1885 in Bihardioszeg, Hungary, to Rose Brenner and Benjamin\nKrausz. A Social Democrat, his ability as a journalist came to light after\nWorld War I when he edited the party organ Nepszava. He was prominent under\nthe regime of Michael Karolyi and remained during the Communist Kun Govern-\nment as Chairman of the Journalistic Trade Union. Allegedly because of\narticles criticising Kun, he was accused of extortion, and about the time\nthat government collapsed he fled to Vienna, Austria. In 1922 he organized\n\"Az Ember\", through whose columns he eulogized Karolyi and blasted both\nCommunism and the Horthy Regency in Hungary. Gondor moved to New York in\nFebruary, 1933 and has operated his paper from that point since. He became\na citizen of the United States in 1938. He claims to liberal motivated\nby an independent sense of justice rather than political expediency. He\nhas supported such widely varying groups as Tibor Eckhardt's Movement for\nan Independent Hungary on the one hand and the pro-Communist Hungarian-\nAmerican Council for Democracy on the other. He has consorted with Com-\nmunists and even spoke at a rally for Earl Browder in New York March 6,\n1942. Communists have, nevertheless, been critical of him, and his paper\nhas been banned by the Soviet oriented Hungarian Government.\n2. Otthon (Home)\nOtthon (Home) is published each Friday in Chicago by the Elk\nPress. Estimated circulation is 16,000 and Ernest Kunstadt is Editor.\nThe paper egan about 1908 under Alexander Dessowffy and was purchased\nfrom his estate in 1940 by Sandor John Kalman, independent Hungarian pub-\nlisher in the United States since 1912. Management has been under his\nsons Emery and Boris Kalman. Editorial policy has been violently anti-\nCommunist and has favored restoration to Hungary of lands lost by the\n- 38 -\nHARRY S. TRUMAN LIBRARK\nTreaty of Trianon or formation of a Danubian Confederation of these areas\nunder Archduke Otto of Hapsburg.\n3. Wisconsini Magyarsag (Wisconsin Hungarian News)\nWisconsini Magyarsag (Wisconsin Hungarian News) of Milwaukee is\nthe same paper as Otthon except for masthead and local news items. Its\ncirculation is about 18,800, principally in Southeast Wisconsin. Charles\nKlein is Editor.\n4. Kronika (Chronicle)\nKronika (Chronicle) appears monthy in New York City advocating\nthe restoration of the Hapsburg dynasty in Hungary. It is printed for\nAlexander Tarcz, formerly of the business staff of Amerikai Magyar Nepszava,\nand distributed by the Metropolitan News Company. Its mailing address is the\nFifth Avenue Public Service Bureau, New York City. It began in 1944 and\nhas an estimated circulation of 5,000.\n5. Az Iras (The Written Word)\nAz Iras (The \"ritten Word) appears Fridays in Chicago with a\ncirculation of 5,900. Edited by Ignac Izsak, it was founded in 1924 and\nmerged in 1944 with Magyar Tribun, another Chicago weekly dating to 1914.\nIzsak was one of the founders of the Chicago branch of the Hungarian-\nAmerican Council for Democracy, has been accused of pro-Communist views\nbut claims to be non-partizan.\n6. Other Independent Papers\nOne group of weeklies having considerable local influence was\nowned until 1943 by Martin Himler, prominent leader in the American-Hungarian\nFederation, and known as Associated Hungarian Weeklies. These papers, now\nindividually operated for the most part, are:\nMagyar Banyaszlap (Hungarian Herald), Detroit, John P. Keleman,\nPublisher; Usjag (News), Detroit, Bela L. Kolos, Editor, Julius Fodor,\nPublisher, founded 1910; Fuggetlenseg (Independence), Trenton, New Jersey,\nMrs. Anthony J. Orosz, Editor and Publisher, founded 1913, estimated\ncirculation 2,800; Hirado (Herald), Buffalo, New York, Joseph Szely, Editor\nand publisher, founded 1919; Hirado (Herald) - Bethlehem, Pennsylvania,\nfounded 1923, circulation 4,860; Magyar Banyaszlap (Hungarian Herald),\n8 39 -\nHARRY S. TRUMAN LIBRARY\nPittsburgh, Andrew Fay Fisher, Editor and Publisher, founded 1913, estimated\ncirculation 1,600. Fisher is a nephew of Himler, and this paper has long\nacted as a Journal for Miners in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio.\nOther weeklies are briefly identified as follows:\nCalifornia Magyarsag. - Los Angeles, Z. V. Sabados, Editor and\nPublisher, founded 1922.\nVarosi Elet (City Life) - South Bend, Indiana, E. S. Pataky,\nEditor, founded 1919, estimated circulation 12,552.\nDetroit Magyarsag - Detroit, Ernest Palos, Editor, founded 1932,\ncirculation 4,021.\nVideke - Saint Louis, Coloman Kaldor, Editor, founded 1913,\nestimated circulation 5,900.\nHirlap - Newark, Paul Acs, Editor and Publisher, founded 1928,\nestimated circulation 2,500.\nMagyar Herald - New Brunswick, New Jersey, Hugo Kormos, Editor,\nfounded 1909, estimated circulation 5,000.\nMagyar Hirlap - New Brunswick, New Jersey, L. I. Dienes, Editor\nand Publisher, founded 1933, estimated circulation 3,900.\nSzabad-Sajto - Passaic, New Jersey, N. N. Karl, Editor and\nPublisher, founded 1908.\nHirado (Herald) - Perth Amboy, New Jersey, estimated circulation\n4,600.\nJersey Hirado (Herald) - Trenton, New Jersey, N. D. Gerenday,\nEditor, M. Gerenday, Publisher, founded 1919.\nAkroni Magyar Hirlap - Akron, A. Tarnocy, Editor and Publisher,\nfounded 1912.\nAs Usjag (The News) - Cleveland, Mary Tarcai, Editor, founded\n1920, estimated circulation 1,375.\nLorain es Videke - Lorain, Ohio, Mrs. Rosa Barta, Editor and\nPublisher, founded 1913, declared circulation 1,320.\n-- 40 -\nHARRY S. TRUMAN LIBRARK\nToledo - Toledo, Ohio, Dr. Geza Farkas, Editor and Publisher,\nfounded 1891.\nFuggetlenseg - Philadelphia, Dr. Aurel Aczel, Editor and Publisher,\nfounded 1923.\nMagyarsag - Pittsburgh, Albert Fiok, Editor, founded 1925.\nC. Fraternal Periodicals\n1. Rakoczi Szemle (Rakoczi Review)\nRakoczi Szemle (Rakoczi Review) was founded in 1923 as the monthly\norgan of the Rakoczi Aid Association of Bridgeport, Connecticut. Its circula-\ntion is estimated at 8,500. Policy is non partizan, and contents are devoted\nstrictly to fraternal news.\n2. Testveriseg (Brotherhood)\nTestveriseg (Brotherhood) is the monthly publication of the Hungarian\nReformed Federation of America, composed primarily of members of the Hungarian\nReformed Church. Headquarters are Washington, D. C. and circulation is\nestimated at 14,000. It was founded in 1921. Leaning mainly toward religious\nmatters, it also is a supporter of the American Hungarian Federation.\n3. Verhovayak Lapja (Verhovay Journal)\nVerhovayak Lapja (Verhovay Journal) began in 1917 as a publication\nof the erhovay Fraternal Insurance Association, Pittsburgh, now appears\nmonthly, and has a circulation of 19,000. Editors are John Bencze and Coloman\nRevesz. An English supplement called the Verhovay Journal was added in 1941\nand goes to 18,000 persons. Its editor is John Sabo. The Association and\nits papers are the heaviest supporters of the American-Hungarian Federation.\nTheir circulation was banned in Hungary about April, 1947.\nD. Religious Publications\n1. A Jo Pasztor (The Good Shepherd)\nA Jo Pasztor (The Good Shepherd) is published each Friday in Cleveland\nby Geza Perey. Circulation is about 10,300 mainly among Roman and Greek\nCatholics. It is anti-Communist and semi-clerical in character, claiming to\nbe religious but lacking the official sanction of the Cleveland clergy. It\n- 41 -\nHARRY S. TRUMAN LIBRARK\nbegan in Pittsburgh in 1920 as a legitimate Catholic weekly, was purchased\nin 1922 by Bela T. Tarkanyi. Proving unsuccessful, it was moved to New\nYork and then to Cleveland about August, 1933. Due to ill health of Tarkanyi\nit was sold in 1944 to Stephen Hujber.\n2. A Mi Lapunk (Our Paper)\nA Mi Lapunk (Our Paper) is published each Saturday in Bridgeport,\nConnecticut as the official organ of the Hungarian Churches of New England.\nEstimated circulation is 1,100. Reverend Stephen F. Chernitsky, aged\npastor of one of the largest Hungarian Catholic Churches in America, is\nEditor. It was founded in December, 1942 when a Committee of Cabholic priests\nand ministers of the Hungarian Reformed Church purchased the property of the\nbankrupt pro-Nazi paper Egyetertes. Editorial policy is intensely national-\nistic and anti-Soviet.\n3. Katolikus Magyarok Vasarnapja (Catholic Hungarians' Weekly)\nKatolikus Magyarok Vasarnapja (Catholic Hungarians' Weekly) was\nestablished in 1895 at Cleveland for the purpose of \"promoting Catholic\nwelfare\". Now published by the Catholic Press, Incorporated, its circula-\ntion is 5,326. It has favored Hapsburg restoration in Hungary and was\nearly in warning against the \"growing ascendancy\" of Communism in Europe.\nIts circulation has been banned in Hungary since 1947.\n4. Reformatusok Lapja\nReformatusok Lapja, semi-monthly Journal of the Reformed Hungarian\nChurch in America, was founded in 1900 and goes to less than 2,000 subscribers.\nDr. Alexander Toth is Editor and Publisher, with headquarters in Pittsburgh.\nE. Marxist Line Publications\n1. A Munkas (The Worker)\nA Munkas (The Worker), official organ of the Hungarian Federation of\nthe Socialist Labor Party, appears in New York each Saturday, has a few\nhundred circulation. It began publication in 1910 and is edited by Alexander\nKudlik, National Secretary of the Party. The Socialist Labor Party has some\n30,000 members and regards itself as the only revolutionary Marxist group,\nlooking down on all others from Socialists to Communists. It hopes to achieve\na bloodless revolution by mass organization of all workers into revolutionary\nindustrial unions. Its strength lies chiefly among foreign language groups.\n- 42 -\nHARRY S. TRUMAN LIBRARY\n2. Bermunkas (Wage Worker)\nBermunkas (Wage Worker), is published each Thursday in Cleveland\nas the official Hungarian organ of the Industrial Workers of the World. It\nwas founded in 1912, has as its editor Joseph Geub, and has a declared\ncirculation of 2,630. The I.W.W. is a Marxist American labor group founded\nin 1912 for the purpose of welding the entire working class into one big\nunion. Basically it is syndicalist, confining the revolutionary class\nstruggle, to the economic field and ignoring the State. Its fundamental tactic\nis the general strike. Present influence is small and confined to a few\ncities including Cleveland and Chicago, its headquarters.\n3. Magyar Jovo (Hungarian Daily Journal)\nMagyar Jovo (Hungarian Daily Journal) is published daily except\nSunday and certain holidays in New York City with a circulation of 18,562.\nFounded in 1901 as Elore (Forward), it became Uj Elore (New Forward) in\n1921 and assumed its present name in 1938. The paper calls itself \"progres-\nsive\" but secures most of its material from Communist sources and is the\nsemi-official organ of the Communist-inspired Hungarian Brotherhood of\nthe International Workers Order. It is spoken of by the Nationality\nGroups Commission of the Communist Party as \"Our Press\". Editor is Zoltan\nDeak, Manager Alex Rosner, Circulation manager Eugene Prager, all reported\nmembers of the Communist Party. Deak, also known as Morton Grad, was\nborn in Debrecen, Hungary, May 24, 1904, is now a United States citizen.\nHe has been connected with the paper for over ten years. Several former\nofficials of the paper are now leading Communists in Hungary. Notable\namong these are Moses Simon, atterney for the Commerical Bank of Budapest;\nJohn Gyetvai-Nagy, Governor of Baranya County; Emil Gardos, Director of\nthe Chemical Research Institution; and Anton Bukrics, Chief of Printing\nMaterials and Lumber branch of the Ministry of Industry. There have been\nindications that financial aid for the paper may have been forthcoming\nfrom the Communist Hungarian Government.\n4. Nok Vilaga (Women's World)\nNok Vilaga (Women's World) published at the same place as Magyar\nJovo, is the women's monthly paper of the Hungarian Brotherhood of the I.W.O.\nand is likewise Communist in orientation. It began in 1934 and has an esti-\nmated 10,200 circulation.\nHARRY S. TRUMAN LIBRARY\n- 43 -\n5. Egylete Elet (Organization Life)\nEgylete Elet (Organization Life), a weekly published in New York\nsince 1922, has a declared circulation of 12,800 and is said to be devoted\nmainly to the activities of Hungarian-American leftist organizations. Ernest\nMandel is Editor, Charles Brown, Publisher.\n6. Hungarian Bulletin\nThe Hungarian Bulletin, semi-monthly English language propaganda\npublication of the Hungarian Government, is also of interest in considering\nthe Hungarian-American press. Andrew (Endre) Hevesi is Editor, with\noffices at Petofi-ter 3, Budapest. The Bulletin is circulated free to\nConsulates and Legations of Hungary and to interested persons, schools,\npapers and libraries. Particular efforts have been made to reach prominent\nreporters, columnists and commentators.\nEarly issues claimed that it was a \"weekly information service\nfor the foreign press, published by the Uj Magyarorszag, 8. Hungarian non-\nparty weekly of world politics and Hungarian intellectual life\". With\nissue #29, June 29, 1948 this was altered to the terse phrase \"Information\nservice for the foreign press\".\nThe Bulletin features speeches and pronouncements of Communist\nofficials, the program of the Communist government, and praise of the\nSoviet Union. Much space has been devoted to the discussion of relations\nbetween the Hungarian church and state, since this touchy question has\nprovoked cutting criticism of Hungarian policy and the church remains the\nmost powerful element preventing complete Communist domination. Its\ndiscussions of the Cardinal Mindszenty case have provided the ground work\nfor articles in the American Communist press attempting to justify\nHungary's action.\n- 44 -"
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