For Hungarian Jews, the last year of World War II was the most difficult. Tivadar Soros, father of the famous businessman and social activist George Soros, tells the story of his family at that time. A cheerful disposition, World War I military experience and natural cunning made Tivadar and his entire immediate family - including George, 14 at the time - alive.
I really liked the Jewish sense of humor. These anecdotes are witty, sensible and deeply thoughtful. Sometimes they whip people's ineptitude, but they always amuse. I can't help but be tempted to tell a few. The sky was still cloudless and anti-Semitism was dormant when I heard this anecdote:
The Jew is put on trial. The judge asks:
- Do you want to make your last wish?
- Yes, old-fashioned judgment please.
- I don't understand - says the judge - what these words mean.
- I'll explain - replies Jew. - In the past, when the court was deliberating, it was said: "He's a Jew, but he's right." And now it says, 'He's right, but this is a Jew' .
Another anecdote related to the rumor that Jews who have abandoned their religion are treated especially:
Two brothers decided to get baptized. The elder is the first to undergo the ceremony. The other one is outside. After a long while, the older one leaves and the younger one asks him:
- How was it?
The older one looks at him from top to bottom and says contemptuously:
- I'm not talking to a fetid Jew - and he leaves.
A cheerful disposition, World War I military experience and natural cunning made Tivadar and his entire immediate family - including George, 14 at the time - alive. Hundreds of thousands of Hungarian Jews murdered in Auschwitz were not so lucky.
Another anecdote testifies to the boundless optimism of the Jews.
Hitler has already conquered the world. He has just arrived in the capital of Japan - Tokyo. All over the world, Jews have already been exterminated , only two remained alive, in Japanese masks, mingling with the celebrating crowd. Great ceremony, great illuminations. A cute little girl hands the Führer a bouquet of flowers. At this point, one Jew whispers to another:- You'll see, he'll break his neck here!
Opposition to injustice
Apart from witty anecdotes, literature also influenced the shaping of my character. I remember that I liked all the novels in which the characters were extremely stubborn about their views, such as Stubborn Keraban Jules Verne. The hero traveled an additional thousand kilometers because he did not want to pay the unlawfully requested border tax on the Bosphorus.
I also really liked Michael Kohlhaas Heinrich von Kleist, where the protagonist rebelled throughout Germany and took jurisdiction into his own hands because he did not obtain a fair sentence from the tribunal on some minor matter. In Tolstoy's novel Resurrection Prince Niechludov gives up everything he has, from property, social and social position, because he wants to make amends for his youthful sin, to seduce a young servant.
The text is an excerpt from the book by Tivadar Soros, 'Masquerade around death. The Nazi World in Hungary ”, which has just been released by Novae Res.
These heroes were role models for me. The slightest injustice or any act of arrogance by the bureaucrats took my peace and drove me crazy. Because of my temperament, I should spend half my life in prison . Only this saved me that I remembered well the clue:"A Jew must first of all be reasonable."
Sensitivity of the bureaucrat
I was a young attorney when the Minister of Finance refused to return money wrongfully collected by officials. All treatments were in vain. Promised but not returned. Outraged, I protested by registered letter, asking politely but firmly for the matter to be dealt with immediately, otherwise I would take the necessary legal steps.
I knew very well that there were no "legal steps" that would be effective against the highest administrative bodies. At most, I could go to the salt office, as it is common in our country to wisely advise on hopeless matters. And yet my letter turned out to be effective. It launched the bureaucracy, though not in the direction I expected.
In Hungary, persecution of the Jews increased gradually throughout the war. Created i.a. Jewish houses where whole families were pressed in single rooms.
The Ministry denounced me to the Bar Association, accusing me that I wanted to "threaten" force the settlement of a case . It was suggested that I be punished through a disciplinary trial. The chairman of this committee knew very well that I was not threatening anyone at all, but he was very keen to convince me that I should express my "regret" about the letter.
It is said that this was required by the good relations between the bar and the minister. (The attorneys had tax privileges). I remained adamant because I felt that my client had been badly hurt and I was not inclined to feel sorry for the sensitivity of bureaucrats.
Life's rules
The situation was different in 1939. Several traders from my hometown visited me. They complained about unjustified tax increases and penalties. If they appeal, the higher authority will double the sentence instead of softening it. The head of the department, a skinny blonde with a bigger than average Adam's apple, received me very politely. I was not surprised by this, after all, politeness is essential in the ministry. After my report, he asked me why I hadn't approached Director Toth, the head of finance at Nyiregyhaz.
- To Director Toth? - I repeated. - This is the director who is making decisions that are unfair to Jews.
My replica turned out to be accurate. I was surprised to see that he wanted to say something but opened his mouth in vain. He lost his voice. And then he just gibberish too. I must confess that I am usually embarrassed when someone stutters. I am simply embarrassed by someone's disability .
Officials were making decisions unfavorable to Jews on a tape.
Now, too, I acted as if I hadn't noticed his stuttering because I wanted to help him, save him from an embarrassing situation. So I started talking about something else, about his field of activity. After a while, he, too, began to speak without difficulty. And then I heard something that made me not believe my ears:
- Your last remark, Counselor, I would like to include in the minutes.
This unfortunate stutterer wanted to write a protocol accusing me - me when I helped him!
- Wait a minute, sir! I don't have time for a protocol now! And without waiting for an answer, I took my briefcase and left quickly. Already at the door, casually waving my hand, I said:- Hello!
Such a protocol at the time could have been the basis for a sentence of one or two years in prison.
As you can see, more than once I had to use unconventional methods to avoid the consequences of my attitude in these increasingly reactionary times. To sum up:my rules of life were shaped by the houses of my grandfather and father, several times at the suggestion of a professor, but mainly by my reading.
Source
The text is an excerpt from the book by Tivadar Soros, 'Masquerade around death. The Nazi World in Hungary ”, which has just been released by Novae Res.