The Hungarian anti-Jewish laws and relations between Hungary and Germany

In post-war Hungary, the Jewish question was already part of the political debate, especially after the collapse of the Communist regime of Béla Kun, when a series of reprisals against Hungarian Jewry occurred during the so-called White Terror. In 1920, Prime Minister Pál Teleki introduced the Numerus Clausus but anti-Semitism remained marginal until 1938. Between that year and 1941, the Hungarian Parliament approved three different anti-Jewish laws. The third anti-Jewish law represented a decisive step towards an acceptance of anti-Semitic and nationalistic demands, opening a serious debate in the Hungarian Parliament about the Jewish question. It was discussed in the summer of 1941 between heated debates at the Upper House, upon opposition by the Catholic clergy and the Calvinists. Notwithstanding, these oppositions were often released from moral motivations, revealing elements of a more complex balance of power within the Hungarian society. In that sense, Nazi Germany was a main actor, and Berlin’s influence was dramatically evident after 1940. This paper will focus on the key role played by Germany in encouraging Hungarian racial legislation and its overall attitude toward the Jewish issue between 1940 and 1944.