The Denver Jewish news. [volume] (Denver, Colo.) 1915-1925, 1920-03-24
American Girl Describes
Budapest Pogrom
HORROR LASTED DAYS, ALL JEW
ISH LOOKING INDIVIDUALS
SUFFERED. CONDITIONS OF
JEWS IN HUNGARY PITIFUL
BY ZELDA FEINBERG.

inter 1--we years VI tuTliiluk auNcutuie
in that whirlpool jof political cross
currents-five years Of adventure Of
war, Bolshevism, counter-revolution
and Roumanian occupation, Miss Mar
story--that the Jew is again bearing
the burden for the miseries of whole
people that every Jew in Hungary il
suffering for the misdeeds of few.
that the Jew Is ever the scapcs,at.
| ThruOut the ages the blame has Eeen
cast upon him for all the miSer,es of
| the nation in which he Glanced to re
side. II the crops did not grow--"Kill
the Jews; IL the babies died of any
childish ailment-the Jews We're re-
sponsible; If the troops of the enemy
| invaded the land and defeated the
country's forces-by all means Mas
| sacre the Jews for that; il the price
of food soared-search for the Jewish
profiteers and hang them; AMI ii by
any lurking chance one single Jew WAS
found to be remotely associated with
Ihc crime charced against his people
the whole race paid the penalty. So
| 1t was in Spain. so In Russia, so in
every country where the jew has rest
ed his head, and so it is in Hungary
today.
The whole Jewish population is ex-
plating the crimes of Bella Kun and
those who used his name to cloak their
atrocities. And this was the now old
story that Miss Gonda told me when
sh.. arrived in New York Just II few
days ago from Budapest.
Miss Gonda, an American of Hunsar-
ian Jewish parentage, Went to Hungary
in 1913 as representative of an Amer
ican bank. Unable to obtain 4 pass
port. this American girl lived thru the
whole. war with her country's encniit,s
and suffered thru the whole series of
swiftly moving events tlns began with
the advent Of Bella Kun and the So
vipts and illuminated In the Roumn nIa,i
invasion. She was an eyewitness to
the Budapest pOgrOm of August, 1Jlo
of which the outside wOtll knows little.
and of which even those who saw
r.vers of blood flow thru the streets.
wcre unable to estimate the toll. The
poprOms in Poland and Ukrainin have
been the subject of much newspaper
comment, but outside of brief cable
dispatch from Hungary very little so
far has leaked out concerning tn"
Budapest pogrom.
when Bella Kun, whose real name
was Kohn, came back -lrom Russia
where he had been pupil of Leon
Trotzky and had studied with tho
workings of the Soviet government
there. Bolshevism first lifted its head
in Hungary" Miss Gonda' said. .It
was some time in February 1918.
don't remember the exact date. when
the first clash occurred between the
Bolshevists and the Karolyi govern
ment. l was returning to my lodgings
with a party Of friends when rioting
began in the central streets. We took
refuge in a hotel. remaining there un-
! til early morning when the fighting
had ceased. Six policemen were shot
during that street battle and Bella Kun
arrested. When he emerged from Jail
it was noticed that his features were
perceptibly changed, as tho several
bones were broken in his face and not
properly reset. l later learned from
friend of Mrs. Bella Kun that when
her husband was in prison he had been
severely beaten by the companions OF
the slain policemen. My personal ac-
uuaintance with the family of Bella
Kun does not allow me to doubt that
he was sincere and well intentiOned.
Indeed, we had no quarrel with the
ideals Of the Bolshevists, but the actual
working out resulted in untold misery
to all Hungary and particularly to the
Jews. 1 may as well admit that Bella
Kun's supporters included many Jews
or rather many who were of Jewish
parentage. To call them Jews is to
libel the race.
During the war, the Jews had pros.
pered in Budapest. The population of
the city, believe, is nearly half Jew
;sh and a majority of these were
wealthy Jews. Bella Kun confiscated
their property as well as the property
Of Christians. He opened the shops
of Jewish tradesmen as well as
Christians and took away their stocks.
and the wealthy and middle-class Jews
became avowed enemies Of Bolshevism
SO 1t happened that just rs Jews were
leaders in the Bolshevist movement,