The globe-independent. (Hagerstown, Md.) 1943-19??, 1952-09-25
Ior many years a Central figure in

in Clear Spring, Charles DeBarcza
gave the members of the Kiwanis
Club, at their regular weekly lunch
con meeting at the Hotel Alexander
on Thursday, a dramatic word
picture of the rise and fall of his ma
tive land. Mr.. DeBarcza was intro
duced by Guy Angle, chairman of
the Agricultural Committee, which
arranged the program.
The meeting was presided over by
president Albert M. Long, and there
were number of guests present.
| Mr.. DeBarcza opened his address
with brief summation of the his
tory of Hungary, which was the bull
wark of resistance against the Turks
who tried to invade Europe, and stat
ed that after the defeat of the Hun
garian army by the Turks in 1926,
Hungary then went through $50
years of Turkish occupation.
In 1867, the speaker said, Emper-
or Franz Joseph of Austria made an
agreement with the Hungarian ma
ton and was crowned King of Hun
gary and, as a result of this, the ma
ton regained its independence as an
equal partner in an Austria-Hungary
dual monarchy.
He then told his audience of the
rebirth of Hungary under this new
freedom, that resulted in the expan-
sion of both its industries and its
farming, in which the speakers
father, who was large land owner,
took a prominent part.
Speaking of the farming element
of the nations growth, Mr. DeBarcza
stated that they soon learned that, in
order to produce in quantities large
enough to permit the export of their
farm products in exchange for the
importing of needed machinery and
other products they were not pro-
ducing themselves, it was necessary
to farm on large scale.
In this connection he pointed out
that the 10000 acre farm that he OPP
Grated was producing nearly twice
as much as it would have produced
if it had been divided into a number
of much smaller farms, no matter
how successful the small farmer
might be-
( AS an illustration of the great eco
nomic progress under the dual Mon
archy administration, Mr.. DeBarcza
stated that, in 1905 his father had an
income of 100000, on which he only
paid $500 in taxes.
Mr.. DeBarcza, who in addition to
being a successful land owner and
farmer, was also manager of a large
sugar factory and, on top of this, was
prominent in the Resistance Move
ment in his nation, then told the
story of the over-running of Hung
airy, first by the Nazis under Hitler
and later by Russia = and it was
not a pretty story.
Mr.. DeBarcza, because of his po-
litical prominence, was arrested by
the Gestapo the day after they enter
ed Budapest, the capital Of Hungary
The speaker told of being awakened
in the morning by shouting in the
streets. He said he jumped out Of
bed, looked out the window, saw
boards of German soldiers in the
public square and knew that his ma
ton had been occupied.
Mr. DeBarcza, because of the
leading part he took in the Resist
ance Movement against the Nazis
had number of secret papers at his
home and his first act, after leaving
the window, was to rush to his files
and burn every scrap of paper. This
he said, was accomplished in a hall
of hour and shortly after that 6
member of the Gestapo walked into
his home and placed him under ar
rest.
He then told of the brutal treat.
ment by the Gestapo and the days
and days of Imprisonment, with it;
ever present fear of torture and pos.
sible death, until he finally was re.
leased.
From then on, until the Russians
took over the country, he struggled
as best he could to help his beloved
country in its hour of darkness, but
when the Communists took over, the
last shread of hope was gone. He
told how the Russian government
took over all the farms of all lane
owners on the pretense of dividing
them among peasant farmers, but
actually keeping half of them under
| government ownership.
| The Communists, the speaker stat
! ed, hoped by this ruse to bring the
peasant around to the communis
way of thinking, but when the frs
Russian-controlled election was held
only II per cent voted the communis