Page 5 of The Righteous

JULIA WAS BUSY gift-wrapping a sweater for a customer in her father’s store when she was informed that there was a telephone call for her.

She stepped into the back room and lifted the receiver.

“This is Marcus Hertzl,” the caller said.

“I’m a friend of Teddy Hartigan. I work with him here at Treasury.

He asked me to call you because I know a thing or two about Hungary. Your mom gave me this phone number.”

“Thank you so very much for calling, Marcus. Do you have a few minutes?”

“Sure. Teddy told me all about you, and I am in awe of your heroic work in the Netherlands.”

“No more so than Teddy,” Julia said. “He was the real hero. Anyway, I called him because I have a very close friend at the University of Michigan, a Hungarian girl named Theresa Weissbach. She and I were friends in college. I would see her parents when they came to drop her off or pick her up in Ann Arbor. I saw Theresa just the other day. She teaches history at the university. She’s an associate professor. ”

“Congratulations to her. That’s a prestigious posting.”

“Yes, she’s very smart. Anyway, she is extremely worried about her family back in Budapest. She hasn’t been able to reach them in a long time, and she doesn’t know what is going on. It’s the middle of Nazi Europe, and there isn’t any news coming out of Hungary.”

“That’s understandable,” Marcus said. “Long-distance calls to or from Budapest are nonexistent. As you know from experience, news of the Nazi atrocities gets buried here in the State Department. There’s really no way for ordinary folks to know what’s happening or to communicate with families back in Hungary. ”

“Well, what makes it even more concerning for Theresa is that she and her family are Jewish,” Julia replied. “I hope you can understand.”

“I certainly can. I am Jewish as well.”

“Can you tell me what is happening to the Jewish community in Budapest? Theresa knows how things were when she left for college, but she’s been gone for ten years.

Are they mistreating Jews? Are they being persecuted?

Theresa said that she heard that some laws were passed in 1938 putting restrictions on Jews, but she doesn’t know to what extent.

She believes that Miklós Horthy is not sending Jews to concentration camps or—”

“All right, all right, hold on,” Marcus said. “Let’s back up. She told you about Miklós Horthy, the admiral without a boat, the regent without a king?”

“Yes, the admiral. She said that he was the regent and the head of Hungary, that Hungary was a member of the Axis powers, but Horthy wasn’t the same kind of wicked person as Hitler. He was not antisemitic.”

“Hmm,” Marcus said. “Well, she’s not entirely correct.

He’s not a fan of Jews, because he’s envious of their success and privileges in Hungary.

He says they own everything. He is quoted as saying, ‘I have considered it intolerable that here in Hungary everything, every factory, bank, large fortune, business, theater, press, commerce, et cetera should be in Jewish hands, and that the Jew should be the image reflected of Hungary, especially abroad.’”

“Well, that sure sounds antisemitic.”

“True, but despite his covetous attitude, the steps he’s taken against the community are comparatively minor.

He certainly hasn’t taken any of their property or imprisoned them.

He’s far more anti-Communist than he is antisemitic.

In fact, in recent conversations, Horthy has been heard to be critical of Hitler and his Nazi policies.

He’s trying to create a distance between Germany and Hungary. ”

“He doesn’t follow Hitler’s orders?”

“He is a regent and an Axis member, and Hitler is the head of Europe, so he doesn’t have a lot of choice.

However, Hitler hasn’t made social or religious demands on Horthy.

Most of the orders are military. Two years ago, Hungary was compelled to contribute troops to Germany’s attack on Russia because Hungary was a member of the Axis powers and because Hitler demanded it.

Hungary contributed two hundred thousand men to the Russian Front.

So far, the military campaign has turned out to be a disaster.

During the Battle of Stalingrad, the Hungarian Second Army suffered terrible losses.

Russia’s advance through the Don River hit the Hungarian troops directly.

Last January, during the Battle of Voronezh, Russia was advancing, crushing the Second Army, and the Hungarians were trying to retreat when Hitler sent orders to Horthy demanding that the Hungarian troops ‘stand and fight to the death.’ The troops were undermanned, ill equipped, lacking in anti-tank weapons, and facing another brutal Soviet winter.

So, they ignored Hitler’s orders and retreated to Hungary.

Many were taken prisoner by the Red Army.

Of the casualties, Hungary lost one hundred forty thousand men.

That was a turning point for Horthy, who began to back away from Hitler. ”

“What did he do to back away?” asked Julia.

“This is confidential. Horthy’s prime minister, Miklós Kállay, reached out to the Allies. He tried to initiate peace negotiations with both the United States and Great Britain. We have also received intelligence reports that Horthy has offered to enter into a peace treaty with Russia.”

“That would be wonderful news,” Julia said.

“I’m sure that Theresa will be overjoyed to learn that Hungary is pulling away from Germany.

She is so worried about her family and her Jewish community.

The fact that they are still safe and unharmed, and that Horthy and his prime minister are turning away from Hitler and his murderous ways, is such good news. ”

“Not so fast. You’re jumping to conclusions. It hasn’t happened yet, and considering Hitler’s power, it is not likely to happen. The fact is, he could take over Hungary in the bat of an eyelid if he wanted to. But so far, the community is safe and unharmed.”

“So, as far as you know, Jews aren’t being harmed or sent to prison camps?” Julia asked. “Is that so?”

“That’s right, they’re not, and I don’t think Horthy would ever choose to do that. Nevertheless, tell your friend to keep her fingers crossed that Hitler doesn’t decide that Hungary is not loyal enough and he moves to conquer it.”

“One more thing,” Julia said. “Theresa’s father is Dr. Benjamin Weissbach.”

“I don’t think I know him.”

“He’s a surgeon, and he is on the board of a well-known hospital in Budapest.” Julia looked at her notes. “It’s called Semmelweis University Hospital.”

“That’s well-known, all right. Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis founded the hospital. It’s definitely one of the best hospitals in Budapest. Maybe even all of Europe. Dr. Semmelweis is a legend.”

“Does he still work there?”

“Ha! If he does, he’d be one hundred twenty years old.”

As soon as Julia hung up the phone, she called Theresa. Most of what Marcus said was calming to Theresa. Marcus’s impression of Horthy and Kállay as antisemitic was troubling, but she had heard that before. Julia agreed to call again if she received more information about Theresa’s family.