Page 6 of The Righteous

THE FOLLOWING SATURDAY, Julia decided to drive down to Ann Arbor and have lunch with Theresa.

She had already called and told her about the conversation with Marcus and that he was going to keep his ears open for more information about Budapest. Julia didn’t have any further news, but she needed something to do.

The boredom was driving her crazy. Besides, it was a sunny day in December, no snow in the forecast, and the ride was easy.

Julia took a wicker basket filled with sandwiches her mother had made.

Theresa’s second-floor apartment was decorated with travel posters of Hungary: winding rivers, castles, mountains, vineyards.

It looked delightful. Theresa herself had a European flair; there was something about her.

She was tall, her posture was straight, her shoulders were square, and her waist was thin.

Her dark hair was held back in a bun. Her speech had a tinge of a Hungarian accent that added a bit of mystery to her bearing.

She brought out a bottle of wine and set it on the table.

Julia smiled. “I could sure use a bit of that,” she said. “I had a rough night.”

“Again?” Theresa said with a concerned look. She knew her friend well enough that her “rough night” meant she didn’t sleep at all. “What was it this time?” Theresa said. “Were you fleeing SS guards back in Amsterdam?”

Julia shook her head. “I don’t know where I was. It was in Europe somewhere. I think it might have been Hungary, although I have no idea what Hungary looks like. It was the same old story: trying to lead people away from the Nazis.”

“You should get some help.”

Julia nodded. “I know. Maybe when the war is all over, it will go away. Maybe one day, I’ll pick up a paper and read that Hitler has surrendered and that the Jewish communities are all rejoicing.”

“Try dreaming that instead; you’ll sleep better at night.”

Julia smiled. “I spoke with Teddy again yesterday. I can’t seem to stay away. I don’t have any further news,” Julia said regretfully. “He said he would report back to me if he learns anything.”

“I appreciate your effort,” Theresa said. “I look for information myself, but it’s all secondhand. The foreign students that I come across here at school are generally from Western Europe. As you may imagine, their stories are terrible, but they don’t seem to know anything about Eastern Europe.”

“I spent five years in Holland,” Julia mused, “and I heard more stories than you can believe. Most of them were from families applying for US visas at the Amsterdam consulate. The applicants were generally from Western European countries—Denmark, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany. They would tell us about the horrible conditions they endured, and they would beg for a visa. They would absolutely be entitled to one but for the fact that our hands were tied by the congressional quotas set on each country. Teddy tells me the restrictive quotas are the result of those in Congress and the State Department who don’t want any foreign immigrants.

But of all the stories I heard, I don’t remember any from Hungary.

Really, other than what Marcus told me, I don’t know very much about Hungary.

To tell you the truth, I don’t even know where Hungary is.

I mean, I know it’s in Europe, but if you showed me a map, I couldn’t point it out. Isn’t that embarrassing?”

“No, you probably didn’t hear much about refugees in Hungary, because it was so far from Amsterdam.

I doubt that Hungarian refugees would have been able to travel all the way across Europe to apply for a visa in Amsterdam.

I’m sure you and Teddy had a lot on your hands trying to get visas for Dutch Jews and, later on, trying to save them from deportation. ”

“True. Even if Hungarian Jews had made it to Holland, it probably wouldn’t have done them any good to apply for a visa,” Julia said.

“Though there are almost a million Jews in Hungary, the yearly quota for visas to the US is set at 869. That’s all.

If you came from Great Britain or Northern Ireland, there were 65,721 visas available.

Sounds crazy, but try to explain that to applicants.

That’s what we were dealing with in the Amsterdam consulate. ”

“That is crazy, but the main reason you didn’t interview many Hungarian Jews is that there weren’t that many Jews fleeing Hungary.

It has been comparatively safe for Jews.

The community is strong, they are financially well off, and there has been a vibrant Jewish community there for centuries.

Unless Miklós Horthy decided to turn his back on a million successful people, they wouldn’t have tried to move somewhere else. ”

“Marcus told me about Miklós Horthy. He is the admiral, right?”

Theresa started to laugh. “The admiral without a ship or a navy. Hungary has this magnificent history, going back fifteen hundred years, filled with emperors and empresses, kings and queens, and now we have Miklós Horthy, the admiral.”

“How did that happen? Was he elected?”

“By the people? No,” said Theresa firmly.

“He was appointed by the National Assembly. In 1919, when the Great War ended, it was clear that the victorious Allies would not accept a return of Blessed Charles, Charles IV, the fifty-sixth king of Hungary. He led Hungary into war, and the Allies wouldn’t allow him to rule again.

Admiral Horthy was a soldier. He fought bravely in the Great War and he was very popular, so the National Assembly appointed him as regent of the king in 1920. ”

“Why was Hungary allied with Germany in the Great War?”

“They were allies because they had a defense pact. As you know, countries make treaties to defend each other in the event of a military attack, and many are drawn into wars because of their defense pacts. Hungary was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and we had a mutual defense pact with Austria. Serbia had mutual defense pacts with Russia, who had a defense pact with France. France had a pact with England, and so on, and so on. The Austro-Hungarian Empire was allied with Germany, and they fought on the battlefield together. Thus, the Great World War.”

“I understand.”

“That doesn’t mean that Horthy is a friend of Hitler.

Hitler started the Second World War by invading Poland in 1939.

Hungary found itself caught in the middle.

It was physically positioned between Russia on the right and Germany on the left.

Which side should it join? Horthy has always been a vehement anti-Communist, and he doesn’t like Russia at all, so he joined with Germany.

But Horthy is not made out of the same cloth as Hitler. At least not so far.”

Julia smiled. “My friend the history teacher.”

Theresa took a bow. “Your history teacher knows about the past pretty well, but not the present, and that’s what upsets me so. I’ve been in the dark about my homeland for well over a year.”

“I’m sure that Teddy and Marcus will keep their ears open, but they told me as much as they know. They think your people are safe back in Hungary,” Julia said. “At least for now.”

Theresa reached out and grabbed Julia’s arm. “I haven’t told anyone, but I have had some disturbing nightmares lately. I fall asleep, I have these terrible dreams, I wake up shaking, and then I can’t fall back asleep.”

“Oh, that’s awful. What do you dream about that keeps you up like that?”

Theresa shook her head. “Just terrible dreams. They’re scary.”

“About what? Is it about your family?”

Theresa nodded. “They are being attacked. They’re running for their lives. Sometimes they’re captured and put in railroad boxcars. Isn’t that bizarre?”

“Terri, those are scary dreams, all right, but they aren’t bizarre. That kind of thing really happened, and for all I know, it is still really happening to people overseas.”

Theresa nodded. “I know. I haven’t heard anything to make me believe that my parents are actually in danger, but the dreams come to me at night like someone is sending me a message.

And I want to talk to my parents to make sure they are safe, but I can’t.

I’ve got a bad feeling, Julie. A real bad feeling. ”

Julia reached over and held her best friend tightly while she wept. “Dreams don’t make it so, Terri,” Julia said gently. “That’s just your imagination talking.”

“I know, but I have been wondering, would it be possible for me to talk directly to either Mr. Hartigan or Mr. Hertzl?” Theresa said with hope in her eyes. “Maybe I can find out some information about the Jewish community in Budapest. If you could arrange it, I’d jump on a train tomorrow.”

“I don’t think that Mr. Hertzl will have the answers you seek, but I’ll give Teddy a call. Maybe there are other people that Teddy knows who are more familiar with Hungary.”

“We’re on winter break at the university now,” Theresa said. “If someone with information would meet with me, this would be a good time to go. Any day in the next three weeks would work for me. Do you think you could get me an appointment?”

“This is Theodore Hartigan.”

“It’s me again,” Julia said.

“Julie! It’s always good to hear your voice. What can I do for you?”

“My friend Theresa is on winter break, and she wants to come to Washington and talk to you or Marcus, or anyone who has knowledge about what’s happening in Hungary.

Her family is in Budapest, and she hasn’t heard from them in a long time.

Terri could also be a valuable asset for you and the Foreign Funds Control group if you want to know about Hungary.

She is very bright and extremely knowledgeable.

You wouldn’t believe how much Hungarian history she knows, and her family is very well connected.

You and Marcus could learn a lot from her. It might benefit all concerned.”

“Then I have two questions,” Teddy said. “First question concerns security. What sort of recommendation can she supply?”

“She’s been working at the University of Michigan for five years as a respected member of their faculty. I’m sure that people who know her would vouch for her. How about the head of the History Department or maybe an officer of the university?”

“Any of those would work. Can you get such an endorsement?”

“Probably not. She’s just an associate professor, but I’ve known her for ten years, and I trust her. Isn’t that good enough?”

“It is for me,” Teddy said. “See if she can get a recommendation from someone at the university, and I’ll do my best to make it happen. Second question: Are you going to come to Washington with her?”

There was a pause on the line while Julia pondered the question.

Thoughts swirled around in her head. She searched to find the right words, the ones that had been gnawing at her for days on end.

Though she was safe and secure with her family in Detroit, and though she promised herself that she would never return to the insanity of the world war, she never really left it.

It had occupied her mind during her waking hours and given her the shivers at night.

She stared at her telephone, tapped her fingers on the table, and squeezed the handset with all her might.

What should she say to Teddy? Should she open up the floodgate?

While she pondered her response, it slipped right out.

“Teddy, I’ll be happy to accompany Terri, but if I do come back to Washington, it’s only as Terri’s friend.

I’m willing to help her in any way I can, if you think I would add value to the discussion. ”

That was the Julia he knew. “You’re damn right you’d add to the discussion.

There are a lot of folks here who respect you very much.

Undersecretary Welles is one of them—he told me so.

When he transferred me over to Treasury, he asked me about you.

He wondered if you were going to transfer as well.

He was very impressed with the work you did for OSS back in Amsterdam. ”

“That’s nice to hear. Tell me something: Why did Sumner transfer you out of the State Department? Why didn’t he want to keep you there?”

“There are reasons. I can’t really talk about them on the telephone.

I’ll tell you when I see you in person. But I can tell you this: It was a great move for me.

Amazing things are about to explode here at the Treasury Department, and believe me, you want to be a part of it.

It’s a chance to make a difference, just the kind of thing that you were made for. ”

Julia sighed. “I’ll give it some thought. We’ll talk about it when I come to Washington with Terri. Can you give us an appointment?”

“The only appointment you ever need with me is to ring the doorbell. If Theresa can bring something, even a letter of recommendation from a fellow teacher at Michigan, bring it with you.”

“Are you available in two weeks? We could come on January 9.”

“It’s a date. Wait until I tell Sara. Won’t she be excited!”