The humanitarian mission by Jewish Joint distribution committee in Hungary (1914-1921)

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National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine

The humanitarian mission by Jewish Joint distribution committee in Hungary (1914-1921)

Oleksandr Shevchuk, Yuliia Siekunova

Kyiv, Ukraine

Abstract

The purpose of the research paper is coverage of the process of deployment of the Jewish Joint Distribution Committee's humanitarian mission in Hungary, determination of its scope and addressees, evaluation of aid results.

The scientific novelty is lies in the fact that for the first time the JDC's humanitarian mission is shown in the Hungarian territories - during the First World War, as part of Austria-Hungary, after - as an independent State. The JDC's role in helping both Hungarian Jews and refugees from the territories who suffered from hostilities is shown. The volumes of assistance, its forms and the main addressers of its receipt are disclosed.

Conclusions. In spite of insurmountable difficulties during World War I and in the postWar years that followed it; in spite of the lack of unity and of many internal differences; in spite of negative attitudes from various governments - in spite of all these obstacles, American Jewry was able not only to deliver general organized relief to the starving European Jews (including Hungarian Jews), but also to assist in the organization of the machinery for the transmission of private relief. Indeed, on November 13, 1919, Dr. Bogen wrote in his report: "The most essential factor in this rehabilitation is the establishment of the necessary means to transmit the relief so generously proffered by American Jewry, the organization of the transmission system”.

JDC for the first time had brought together in the common task of mercy American Jews of all shades of opinion. The experience of these years had developed an organization and had recruited dedicated personnel. A small but adaptable staff of diverse background and experience brought together a corps of experts ready to take on additional assignments. A network of affiliated Jewish organizations was prepared to assume responsibility for reconstruction, but was also available in the event of unexpected crisis.

Aids for the Jews of Hungary was, though small, but very tangible. Local Jews, as well as refugees from neighboring territories (especially Galicia) received much-needed support. Participation in the program of the European Children's Fund saved tens of thousands of children and their families from death. At the same time, this program had its continuation in the future. All this created the basis for the transition to the stage of reconstruction, which, if possible, we will highlight in further studies.

Keywords: JDC, Hungary, Hungarian Jews, humanitarian mission, relief, ARA, European Children's Fund

Анотація

Гуманітарна місія “Джойнт" в Угорщині (1914-1921 роки)

Олександр Шевчук, Юлія Сєкунова

Національний університет біоресурсів і природокористування України (Київ, Україна)

Метою наукової роботи є висвітлення процесу розгортання гуманітарної місії «Джойнт» в Угорщині, визначення її масштабів та адресатів, оцінка результатів допомоги.

Наукова новизна полягає в тому, що вперше гуманітарна місія «Джойнта» показана на угорських територіях - під час Першої світової війни у складі Австро-Угорщини, після - як незалежної держави. Показано роль «Джойнта» у допомозі як угорським євреям, так і біженцям з територій, які постраждали від військових дій. Розкриваються обсяги допомоги, її форми та основні адресати її надходження.

Висновки. Незважаючи на непереборні труднощі під час Першої світової війни й у післявоєнні роки; відсутність єдності та багато внутрішніх відмінностей і на негативне ставлення з боку різних урядів - незважаючи на всі ці перешкоди, американське єврейство змогло не лише надати загальну організовану допомогу голодуючим європейським євреям (включаючи угорських євреїв), але й допомогти в організації механізму для передачі приватної допомоги. Так, 13 листопада 1919 р. д-р Боген написав у своїй доповіді: «Найважливішим фактором у цій допомозі є створення необхідних засобів для передачі допомоги, яку так щедро пропонує американське єврейство, організація системи передачі».

«Джойнт» вперше об'єднав спільну задачу милосердя американських євреїв усіх поглядів. Досвід цих років розвинув організацію та набрав відданий персонал. Невеликий, але здатний до адаптації персонал із різним досвідом об'єднав корпус експертів, готових виконувати додаткові завдання. Мережа афілійованих єврейських організацій була готова взяти на себе відповідальність за відбудову, що також була можлива у випадку несподіваної кризи.

Допомога для євреїв Угорщини була хоч і невеликою, але дуже відчутною. Місцеві євреї, а також біженці із сусідніх територій (особливо Галичини) отримали вкрай необхідну підтримку. Участь у програмі Європейського дитячого фонду врятувала від смерті десятки тисяч дітей та їх сімей. Водночас ця програма мала своє продовження і в майбутньому. Усе це створило підґрунтя для переходу до «етапу реконструкції», який, за можливості, висвітлимо у подальших дослідженнях.

Ключові слова: «Джойнт», Угорщина, угорські євреї, гуманітарна місія, допомога, АРА, Європейський дитячий фонд

Introduction

In the modern world, non-state humanitarian organizations are gaining an ever-increasing role. Today, non-governmental organizations deal with a wide range of issues, including the provision of humanitarian aid, protection of human rights and health, protection of childhood and others. The President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Cornelio Sommaruga, in his speech at the conference dedicated to humanitarian activities (Singapore, February 24-26, 1997) noted: “The goal of humanitarian activities is not to settle conflicts, but to protect human dignity and save human lifes” Соммаруга К. Гуманитарная деятельность и операции по поддержанию мира. Международный журнал Красного Креста. 1997. Апрель (№ 317). С. 57-65. С. 63..

The understanding of this high task in the consciousness of mankind was actualized during the First World War, which at that time was the largest conflict in the history of civilization. In the course of the war, a few humanitarian organizations, among which the ICRC was the most important, faced new humanitarian problems. Millions of war's prisoners, new methods of total war, destruction of civilian objects and property, long- range artillery fire, use of chemical weapons - everyday life of that unprecedented war horrified most citizens. The consequences of military actions were no less frightening - famine, epidemics, mass mortality, child homelessness, etc.

The progressive circles of the United States of America were among the first to approach the systematic solution of the stated consequences of military actions. In 1914, the rich Jewish community of the continent created a relief organization to support fellow tribesmen who suffered from the war - American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC). The range of humanitarian questions solved by the organization was quite wide: providing financial and material assistance to the needy, setting up canteens and medical centers, supplying clothes and underwear, organizing children's shelters and much others. In the proposed article, the authors focus their attention on the Joint humanitarian mission in Hungary in 1914-1921. Clarifying the process of deployment of the humanitarian mission in the country, determining its scope and addressees, and evaluating the results of relief constitute the research goal and tasks of this article.

Literature Review

The problem of humanitarian relief from American organizations received its first researchers quite early. This was due both to the scale of relief and to fairly good public reporting. Already during the humanitarian operation of the American Relief Organisation (ARA) in 1920, a reporting and analytical brochure was published on the work of the European Children's Fund in Hungary from November 2, 1919 to August 28, 1920. This was a division of the ARA that worked closely with the JDC BokayJohn & etc. The Work of the American Relief Administration, European Children's Fund in Hungary. 1919 Nov. 2 - 1920 Aug. 28. Budapest, 1920..

In 1940, Joseph C. Hyman published a substantial article dedicated to the 25^th anniversary of the JDC Hyman J.C. Twenty-Five Years of American Aid to Jews Overseas: A Record of the Joint Distribution Committee. The American Jewish Year Book. 1939. 41. P. 141-179.. The author only fragmentarily recalls the help to the Jews of Hungary, but quite fully reveals the history of the creation of the organization, the general situation of the Jews during the Great War and in the post-war period, shows the main directions of the organization's activities. Later, in 1964, Oscar Handlin, already by the 50^th anniversary, repeated the main thesis of his predecessor in a separate book Handlin Oscar. A Continuing Task. The Joint Distribution Committee 1914-1964. New York: Random House, 1964..

A well-known Jewish researcher Zosa Szajkowski devoted a several of articles to certain aspects of the JDC's activities. Of particular interest in the context of our research interest is his work on private relief to European Jews, which went through the JDC SzajkowskiZ. Private and Organized American Jewish Overseas Relief (1914-1938). American Jewish Historical Quarterly. 1967. Vol. 57 (1). P. 52-106; SzajkowskiZ. Private American Jewish Overseas Relief (1919-1938): Problems and Attempted Solutions. American Jewish Historical Quarterly. 1968. Vol. 57 (3). P. 285-350.. Again, like previous authors, Zosa Szajkowski does not pay attention to the Hungarian Jews, focusing on the Polish-Ukrainian territories. At the same time, the author provides quite interesting conclusions regarding the significance of private transfers in the total amount of relief to European Jewry.

In recent years, researchers of the problems of the philanthropic history have pleased with two serious books. In 2021, Jaclyn Granick's book was published, which is a study on humanitarian relief to Jews in different territories: Galicia, Ukraine, Palestine, Poland, Romania, Lithuania, etc. Unfortunately, the author only indirectly recalled the aids to the Jewish population of Hungary, but created a general picture of the philanthropy of American Jews for their brethren in Europe GranickJ. International Jewish Humanitarianism in the Age of the Great War (Human Rights in History). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2021. DOI: 10.1017/9781108860697.

In 2022, the book Friederike Kind-Kovacz was published, covering the humanitarian mission of various international organizations that provided relief to Hungarian children in the post-war period Kind-Kovacz Friederike. Budapest's Children. Humanitarian Relief in the Aftermath of the Great War. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2022.. F. Kind-Kovacs explores the ways in which migration, famine, and destitution affected children's lives, casting light on children's particular vulnerability in times of distress. The research to investigates the dynamic interplay between local Hungarian organizations, international humanitarian donors, and the child relief recipients. The scientific work is interesting due to the depth of disclosure of the problem, a wide source base and geographical reference. Unfortunately, the role of the JDC is considered only indirectly.

The lack of a holistic study on the stated topic prompted the author's interest in the history of the humanitarian mission of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) in Hungary during the war and in the first post-war years.

The socio-economic and political situation of Hungary in 1918-1921

The First World War, against the backdrop of deepening economic ruin, exacerbated social and national contradictions in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The country was in a state of ruin and poverty. Agriculture fell into decline. The able-bodied male population of the village was in the army, there were few workers left. Cultivation areas have been sharply reduced. Continuous requisitions of grain, fodder and livestock completed the ruin of the village. There was not enough food even for domestic needs, and it was still taken to Germany.

In January 1918, in large cities, 100 grams of bread per day per adult were issued on ration cards, and in June the grain ration was further reduced; in small towns there was no rationed supply of bread at all. Famine gripped most parts of the country. Speculation has reached monstrous proportions. Industrial enterprises were militarized, the working day was extended, workers were deprived of the elementary rights of self-defense, wages did not provide them and their families with a living wage. humanitarian mission hungary joint

The soldiers were also starving. The working population also experienced an acute shortage of shoes, clothing, soap, kerosene and other essentials. Food prices increased by 300-700%, clothing and footwear - by 900-1000%. The difficult economic situation of the country (famine, poverty, epidemics, speculation) caused unrest in the army and the growth of discontent among the working masses, there were unrest, demonstrations, attacks on food shops and warehouses. Many letters to soldiers from relatives and friends described pictures of the plight of the working people; they reported on the continuous requisitions carried out by the Austro-Hungarian authorities, on famine and mass epidemic diseases. In 1918, the requisitioning detachments took away even the seeds intended for sowing. The colossal increase in the cost of providing the army with industrial and food products led the country to starvation. Local authorities in the province increasingly reported this to Budapest. All this aggravated the political crisis Минц И.И. (ред.). Всемирная история. В 10 т. Т. 8. Москва: Издательство социально

экономической литературы, 1961. С. 150; Пушкаш А.И. (ред.). История Венгрии. В 3 т. Т. 3. Москва: Издательство «Наука», 1972. С. 17-19, 32-35..

After the general political strike in January 1918, and the February uprising of military sailors in Kotor (Kattaro), the revolutionary movement in Austria-Hungary began to grow at an accelerated pace. On June 18, in connection with the decision of the government to reduce the grain ration, a general strike broke out again in Austria, which spread to Hungary. In October 1918, the revolutionary movement flared up with renewed vigour and led to the collapse of the Empire.

In Hungary, on October 25, 1918, the democratic opposition led by Mihaly Karolyi formed the Hungary National Council (Magyar Nemzeti Tanacs), which actually began to play the role of a parallel parliament. On November 11, 1918, the Kaiser of Austria and the King of Hungary Charles I (for Hungary as King Karl IV) declared his self-removal from the reign over Austria, and on November 13 over Hungary. On November 16, 1918, the National Assembly abolished the monarchy and proclaimed the Hungarian People's Republic (Magyar Nepkoztarsasag), which was headed by President Mihaly Karolyi Pamlenyi Ervin (Ed.). A History of Hungary. Budapest: Corvina Press, 1973. P. 415-423..

The Karolyi government was unable to take real measures to eliminate the post-war economic ruin and to improve the food situation in the country. Many enterprises did not work in Budapest and other industrial centers, and the workers thrown out into the street were left without a livelihood. Inflation grew rapidly, usurers and speculators enriched themselves uncontrollably. Rents, prices for food, commodities, and fuel rose rapidly. Compared to 1914, bread, butter, sugar, potatoes rose in price by 1918/19 on average by 400-600%, fuel by 700-800%, etc. In the famine winter of 1918/19, the working people experienced great hardships. All this increased the discontent of the masses Минц И.И. (ред.). Указ. соч. С. 156..

In overcoming a humanitarian catastrophe Hungary government attached great hopes to the two missions of the Entente Powers (in actual fact of the United States) - economic mission headed by A.E. Taylor and the political mission under A.C. Coolidge, and for this very reason the government through its representatives made contact with them even before they reached Budapest. It was hoped that as a consequence of direct negotiations with the representatives of the Entente, Hungary would be included among the beneficiaries of the American Relief Administration which, under the direction of Herbert Hoover, had been extended to Central and Eastern Europe. They were also confident that the attitude of the Allied Powers towards Hungary would soften, and they would support the government in its difficult foreign and domestic situation.

The heads of the two missions gave recommendations for the lifting of the blockade, coupled with economic aid and political support for the country, primarily in order to consolidate the position of Karolyi and the bourgeois democratic regime. These recommendations were given a good chance of acceptance, for the Great Powers at the Paris Conference regarded the disarming of revolutionary aspirations in countries neighbouring on Soviet Russia as their paramount task. Ultimately none of the missions' recommendations were implemented, although a member of Hoover's staff, Captain T.T.C. Gregory of the United States, made efforts to send food and coal supplies to Hungary Pamlenyi Ervin (Ed.). Op. cit. P. 428..

On March 21, 1919, the Social Democratic Party and Communist Party of Hungary united, as a result of which more than half of the seats in the Budapest Workers' and Soldiers' Soviet came under its control, which on the same day abolished the Governing Council and the Hungary National Council, took power into its own hands and proclaimed the Hungarian Soviet Republic, which lasted until August 1, 1919 Hajdu Tibor. The Hungarian Soviet Republic. Budapest: Akademiai Kiado, 1979. P. 7-22..

The Communist government nationalized industrial and commercial enterprises and socialized housing, transport, banking, medicine, cultural institutions, and all landholdings of more than 40 hectares. Public support for the Communists was also heavily dependent on their promise of restoring Hungary's former borders. The government took steps toward normalizing foreign relations with the Triple Entente powers in an effort to gain back some of the lands that Hungary was set to lose in the post-war negotiations. The Communists remained bitterly unpopular in the Hungarian countryside, where the authority of that government was often nonexistent. The Communist party and their policies had real popular support among only the proletarian masses of large industrial centers, especially in Budapest, where the working class represented a high proportion of the inhabitants Lukacs John. Budapest 1900: A Historical Portrait of a City and Its Culture. New York, Grove Press, 1990. P. 212; Okey Robin. Eastern Europe 1740-1985: Feudalism to Communism. London & New York: Harper Collins Academic, 1986. P. 162..

The United States of America, Britain, France and their allies refused to recognize Soviet Hungary and establish diplomatic relations with it. At the same time, the Entente began organizing military intervention against Hungary. On April 16, 1919, military intervention began. It was attended by colonial French troops, as well as troops from Romania and Czechoslovakia.

By order of the allied command, all trade with Hungary was prohibited, which subjected Hungary to an economic blockade. The import of iron ore, coal, oil, industrial raw materials and even bread, which the population lacked, was stopped. The American Relief Organization refused to send food to Hungary. Hungary's refusal to help was due to the complete rejection of the ideas of Bolshevism by the head of the ARA, Herbert Hoover, who announced that he would not supply the Soviets with bread Минц И.И. (ред.). Указ. соч. С. 164-165..

On August 6, 1919, the Hungarian Soviet Republic government fell under the blows of the Romanian royal troops, and its leaders fled to Austria. In an atmosphere of chaos and anarchy on the Hungarian territory not occupied by Romanian troops, the Hungarian National Army was created under the command of Admiral Miklos Horthy. His troops brutally cracked down on the disorganized communist forces and entered Budapest on November 16, 1919.

After the withdrawal of the occupying Romanian troops, on February 29, 1920, a coalition of right-wing political forces united and returned the constitutional monarchy to Hungary - the Kingdom of Hungary (Magyar Kiralysag). The choice of a new king was delayed due to the civil war and so the decision was made to elect a regent. On March 1, 1920, the former Admiral of the Austro-Hungarian Navy Miklos Horthy was elected regent and remained so until the fall of the state in 1944.

In 1920, the country fell into a period of civil conflict, with Hungarian anti-communists and monarchists violently purging the nation of communists, leftist intellectuals, and others whom they felt threatened by, especially Jews. This period was known as the White Terror (autumn 1919 - summer 1920), including anti-Jewish massacres The Bolshevik Revolution and the failed Communist takeover in Hungary under Bela Kun (1886-1938) further strengthened the stereotype of Judeo-Bolshevism and revived the myth of a Jewish conspiracy for world domination, endowing the Protocols of the Elders of Zion with an aura of prophecy fulfilled.. Then the regime embarked on a fight against Jewish economic “domination”. Traditional antiSemitism continued to grow: Hungarian Jews were accused of sabotaging military service, cowardice, black marketeering, and fraud in military deliveries.

Only a small fraction of Hungarian Jews participated in the revolutions; the majority, who were middle class, opposed the Commune from its very first days and some actively supported counterrevolutionary activities. Nevertheless, anti-Semitism flared up in wide- ranging sectors of Hungarian society to an even greater extent than before. Anticommunist and anti-Jewish atrocities in the central region of the country and the towns and villages of Transdanubia accompanied the establishment of the regime in August 1919. The anti-Semitic acts were meant as retribution for the “Red Terror” that in reality had had many more Jewish than non-Jewish victims (the number of Jews was estimated to be about 3,000).

There were several reasons for this “new” anti-Semitism: the search for a scapegoat to blame for the defeat in World War I; negative sentiments raised by difficulties experienced by Hungarian refugees from successor states; economic competition; the prominence of Jews in economic and cultural life; and the role some Jews -- or those perceived to be Jewish -- played in the revolutions. The most vital ingredient of anti- Jewish sentiment was the manner in which Hungary was established anew following the loss of national territories: national integration was now based on ethnic principles.

After the stabilization of the political situation in 1921, violent anti-Semitic acts subsided but Hungarian society continued to be characterized by nationalistic, right-wing and anti-Jewish attitudes. The new government's policy - contrary to the earlier pre-war liberal period - remained openly anti-Semitic. The Horthy regime tried simultaneously to consolidate and repress Hungarian Jewry as much as possible. One of the means of achieving this was to limit Jewish access to higher education.

In 1920, influenced by anti-Semitic student movements and conservative Christian circles, the National Assembly passed the first “Jewish Law” in post-World War I Europe, the so-called numerus clausus law (Article XXV; 1920). While Jews were not mentioned explicitly and the law employed categories of nationality and race, it was aimed principally at Jews (who until then had never been defined legally in such terms). The numerus clausus placed a ceiling of 6 percent (corresponding to the percentage of Jews in the general population) on the percentage of Jewish students allowed in institutes of higher education. This law, silently designating Hungarian Jewry as a racial - national minority, posed a great blow for proassimilation Jews who had proclaimed their loyalty to the Hungarian nation. It came despite the fact that official representatives of the Hungarian Jewish Community - at the request of the government - refrained from turning to the League of Nations for help; they did not ask them to pressure the Hungarian government to withdraw this measure, and even went so far as to distance themselves from such initiatives by some international Jewish organizations Haraszti G. Hungary: Hungary from 1918 to 1945. YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe (2010, August 26). URL: https://yivoencyclopeclia.org/article.aspx/Hungary/Hungary from 1918 to 1945: Volovici L. Antisemitic Parties and Movements. YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe (2017, July 25). URL: https://yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/Antisemitic Parties and Movements.

Thus, the difficult economic situation caused by the First World War and the revolutionary events in Hungary, the military defeat and intervention, as well as the pronounced anti-Semitism of the period 1918-1921 and later, explain the special interest in the country on the part of the American Jewish Distribution Committee. On the other hand, the desire of the United States to finally free itself from Hungarian Bolshevism by supporting the restored Kingdom of Hungary is also explained by the beginning of work in the country at the end of 1919 the American Relief Administration, which became an intermediary in providing relief from the JDC.

JDC and Hungary in World War period (1914-1918)