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Hungary honors WWII leader who passed anti-Jewish laws
By The Associated Press
BALATONBOGLAR, Hungary - Hundreds of people watched the unveiling Saturday of a statue honoring a controversial World War II prime minister who passed several anti-Jewish laws.
Supporters say the laws introduced by Count Pal Teleki, which banned J*WS from certain professions and university studies, helped save thousands of Hungarian J*WS by delaying the Nazi invasion of Hungary.
But Teleki is controversial enough that Budapest officials earlier this year denied permission to erect the statue near the office of Hungary's president, following complaints from Je
ish groups.
Instead, the statue was placed in the courtyard of a Catholic church in the resort town of Balatonboglar - on the shores of Lake Balaton, 140 kilometers southwest of Budapest, on the 63r
d a
niversary of Teleki's death.
Members of a
memorial committee that commissioned the statue insist that Teleki deserves to be recognized.
"The fact that Germany's occupation of Hungary only lasted a year... saved half of Hungary's J*WS," said Istvan Csicsery-Ronay, the president of the committee. "He managed to uphold Hungary's independence, which shielded the J*WS."
Csicsery-Ronay argued that the anti-Jewish laws introduced by Teleki appeased the Nazi regime enough to delay the invasion without endangering the lives of Hungarian J*WS.
Teleki was prime minister for nine months in 1920-21 and from February 1939 until his suicide on April 3, 1941.
Teleki committed suicide after Germany asked for Hungary's assistance in its inv
asion of Yugoslavia. Many Hungarians regard his suicide as a heroic act of defiance against Germany's attempts to control Hungary.
Earlier, Teleki had also refused German requests for he
lp i
n invading
Poland. By the early 1940s, Hungary had passed three sets of "Jewish laws" discriminating aga
inst the country's Jewish population.
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/411991.html
Originally found on National Vanguard
By The Associated Press
BALATONBOGLAR, Hungary - Hundreds of people watched the unveiling Saturday of a statue honoring a controversial World War II prime minister who passed several anti-Jewish laws.
Supporters say the laws introduced by Count Pal Teleki, which banned J*WS from certain professions and university studies, helped save thousands of Hungarian J*WS by delaying the Nazi invasion of Hungary.
But Teleki is controversial enough that Budapest officials earlier this year denied permission to erect the statue near the office of Hungary's president, following complaints from Je
ish groups.
Instead, the statue was placed in the courtyard of a Catholic church in the resort town of Balatonboglar - on the shores of Lake Balaton, 140 kilometers southwest of Budapest, on the 63r
d a
niversary of Teleki's death.
Members of a
memorial committee that commissioned the statue insist that Teleki deserves to be recognized.
"The fact that Germany's occupation of Hungary only lasted a year... saved half of Hungary's J*WS," said Istvan Csicsery-Ronay, the president of the committee. "He managed to uphold Hungary's independence, which shielded the J*WS."
Csicsery-Ronay argued that the anti-Jewish laws introduced by Teleki appeased the Nazi regime enough to delay the invasion without endangering the lives of Hungarian J*WS.
Teleki was prime minister for nine months in 1920-21 and from February 1939 until his suicide on April 3, 1941.
Teleki committed suicide after Germany asked for Hungary's assistance in its inv
asion of Yugoslavia. Many Hungarians regard his suicide as a heroic act of defiance against Germany's attempts to control Hungary.
Earlier, Teleki had also refused German requests for he
lp i
n invading
Poland. By the early 1940s, Hungary had passed three sets of "Jewish laws" discriminating aga
inst the country's Jewish population.
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/411991.html
Originally found on National Vanguard
