My family roots are in Hungary. Your articles on the Roma, along with the Auschwitz imagery and accompanying quotations, “acknowledgement of mistakes of the past” and “Whoever saves one life saves the whole world” prompted me to do some soul searching.
A little bit about my background. Before I turned three years old my family and I were lined up to be executed. Thank God that the last minutes actions of my three and half year old brother spared our lives. Both my wife’s family and mine suffered losses in the two world wars. Our family experiences and the Soviet rule in Hungary are the primary reasons that we have been living in Canada since 1975. We are immensely grateful to God and to our adoptive country that we have been able to raise our four children in peace and without fear.
I have a few concerns about the two articles. The label “Eastern Europe” was used to express that during the Soviet rule Hungary was part of the Eastern Soviet block. Neither geographically nor politically is the current usage of the same expression correct.
The three photos of Auschwitz speak louder than a thousand words. For anyone who attended Canadian high schools in the last twenty-five years (including my own children) and listened to Holocaust survivors the connection is immediate. During the Soviet years, historians told us over and over again that we Hungarians were the last satellite government that served Hitler and were thus all guilty.
Let’s see some historical facts:
• In September 1939 after the invasion of Poland, Hungary opened the borders to accept refugees. More than 100,000 Polish refugees were accepted in that and the following years. According to records “no Jewish refugees” came to Hungary because all of them were registered as Christians by government orders.
• Systematic Deportations of Jews, Polish and the Roma did not occur in Hungary until the German occupation of the country in 1944 when Eichmann was stationed there. (Dr. J. Antal, secretary of state, responsible for the refugee program was arrested by the Germans).
• Regent Admiral Horthy (he was a practicing Presbyterian) was credited with saving an estimated 150-200,000 lives by delaying the mass deportations and as a token of gratitude, two wealthy Jewish families supplied an annual stipend for him and his family from about 1945 until his death in 1957.
• Respected holocaust researcher L. Karsai estimates that from the hundreds of thousands who marched to the death camps in 1944/45, the number of Roma are “under but maximum 1,000.
• Both Catholic and Presbyterian churches were instrumental in saving lives during those terrible years. Rev. Dr. Pungur from Edmonton remembers that his father, as a minister, baptised Jews and gave out baptismal certificates to spare their lives which was often practiced at the time.
• Hans von Dohnanyi collaborator of Dietrich Bonhoeffer in the failed assassination attempt of Hitler was the son of Hungarian concert pianist, composer Ernest von Dohnanyi. He was hanged by the Gestapo with piano chords. His father became still a persona no grata in Hungary after 1948.
Were there atrocities committed by Hungarians at that time? Unfortunately there were as is the case in the majority of wartime situations. We are aware of those too.
Now let’s return to the present. According to the International Monetary Fund the”…economic downturn of 2008 hit this region harder that the western world…”. Most had to be bailed out. The complexity of the issue in a nutshell: for twelve ruling years the Socialist (ex communists) governments of the past twenty years had systematically borrowed money and financially helped the multinationals (and themselves). The direct result is that one third of the population falls below the poverty line, regardless of ethnic origin. After the 2010 landslide victory of the present center right government (similar to our Conservative Canadian government) their first acts were to refuse to call off any more funds from the International Monetary Fund, refuse to increase the taxes of the average population any more (“they have been taxed to the limits”), lower personal taxes and increase the taxes of the banks and multinationals.
Did these acts create tension? Of course they did. It is self explanatory as to who liked it and who did not. How is this related to the emergence of the neo-fascist anti-Semitic anti-Roma group mentioned in the article? There are (“currently?) several legal procedures for fraud in the Hungarian court system where the names of businessmen who happen to be Jewish have been openly published. (among the convicted is well known philanthropist G. Soros Investment Fund for undermining the value of the largest bank in central Europe in 2008 October)
Furthermore, there are several openly published criminal cases where the Roma have been convicted, from stealing to murder; as a result there is a high percentage who are in the prison system. The frustration of slow dealings with similar issues in the recent past has created fertile ground for the ultra right groups which emerged and called themselves “protectors of traditional values”.
The impact of these problems on the Roma are enormous. According to Romano Racz Sandor, writer, sociologist and Roma activist during the Soviet rule in Hungary, the forceful integration of the Roma had almost succeeded when the change came in 1989. The unemployment hit them hard. “This type of democracy is not designed for our bodies…”. They feel that the laws of the land (and Europe) “are forced on them” and do not relate to their own. It was a mixed bag according to Romano Racz that “anti-Semitism and Roma hatred was thrown into the same hat”.
One of the two institutions dealing with Roma issues is the “Phralipe Independent Gypsy Organization” which is financed by the Soros foundation. Are these questions and Canadian immigrations issues new? Or do they just happen to be emphasized especially mostly in the left-leaning international liberal media when the cosmopolitan, international big capital friendly so called socialist (ex communist) governments are not in power? Before I am also labelled as a “right wing activist”, here are a few of my connections with the Hungarian Roma. Actions speak more than words.
• My first trumpet student was a Roma who could not make the audition requirements to the conservatory for years. I have volunteered to prepare him and later he earned his living by playing music. I have lived with ethnic Roma students for eight years in dormitories and have been friends with them since. I have played in gypsy bands and was the principal of a music school where we had Roma students. Their ethnic origin was a non-issue. Returning for a visit to my old country in 1994 I visited some of them with my whole family.
• In the late nineties I received a phone call from J. M. who introduced himself and asked for help. He said he was a gypsy and needs work. He used to be a labourer/construction worker. I promised to help; he immediately asked for help for his son as well and then for more people. It turned out there were twelve of them. He told me he escaped Hungary to avoid persecution. I asked who persecuted them. “The Hungarians”. I introduced them to the local Presbyterian Church, found work for all of them and asked the Hon. David Kilgour, M.P. to help with their immigration.
• From my old school around the same time I was approached to give a guarantee for someone to visit Vancouver whose daughter was claiming to be a “refugee” and had a baby. I had accepted full responsibility, including financial responsibility towards the Canadian government for the time of the visit. Both of these families returned to Hungary after the 2002 elections when a “socialist” government was formed again. I quote Mr. J. M. at the time of departure “gypsies have tremendous opportunities, boom and prosperity now. We are returning and not even waiting for immigration’s final decision” which had been due in two months. He explained to me now that he was the head of one of the departments of the ministries during the Soviet communist years and that “I used to have a chauffeur and was provided a government limousine”.
Returning again to present day Hungary, just a few short random facts. Priority was given to the economy and the integration of the Roma after the new government was installed in 2010. Zoltan Balog, secretary of state for Roma Affairs (used to be a Presbyterian minister) grew up as a child seeing how the churches tried to help the Roma with their lives. Since his appointment (not even a year), he has already visited Canada to discuss the immigration issues here which he said often “tend to be in the hands of criminals”. The present ruling party in Hungary has the first Roma M.P. in the European Parliament. As the rotating presidency in the European Parliament falls on Hungary from 1 Jan. 2011 Prime Minister Mr. Orban has emphasized two principal concerns in Brussels: the economy and the situation of the Roma which he considers a Europe-wide issue. Mr. Orban also recently consulted Hungarian church leaders and asked for their help and participation on the Roma issue. European religious organizations have been running programs in Hungary for years with the intention of helping integrate the Roma. (please see the recent article in the Der Spiegel on the subject)
I feel very strongly that balanced reporting is crucial for mutual understanding. To separate “them” (Roma and Jews) as victims and “us” Hungarians with the gate “Arbeit Macht Frei” does not help reconciliation but rather furthers division. In the past 1,000 years Hungary has had a history of integrating all kinds of minorities into their own society, including the aforementioned two. With the help of God, I believe deeper understanding and an open discussion of these issues should result sustained opportunities and a better life for all involved.
Kalman Kovacs
Music director for more than 33 years for Strathcona Presbyterian Church in Edmonton, Alta.
