The Criminalization of Jewish Observance in Stalinist Hungary: The 1953 "Anti-Zionist" Purges

• In Event: Soviet Jewish Identity in Modern History

Abstract

My paper examines the criminalization of Jewish observance in Stalinist Hungary, focusing on the "anti-Zionist" purges of 1953. A key feature of this political campaign was the prosecution of Gábor Péter, the head of the State Security, along with over one hundred predominantly Jewish individuals – including party functionaries, Jewish leaders, as well as ordinary community members. This diverse group was falsely accused of conspiring to overthrow the Communist government through Zionist espionage. This series of political trials is another example of the broader Eastern Bloc "campaign against cosmopolitanism and Zionism" since the late 1940s.

I will situate the 1953 purges within the geopolitical struggle of the Cold War, as well as the broader context of Hungarian nation-building and Jewish emancipation. Many returning Communist leaders of Jewish origin were viewed by segments of Hungarian society as agents of hostile foreign influence. Thus, to consolidate power and gain legitimacy in an increasingly ethnically homogeneous post-1945 Hungary, the Communist leadership had to maneuver both the party's multiethnic base and the population's chauvinist and antisemitic resentments. At the same time, Hungary retained one of the largest Jewish populations in the Eastern Bloc, which suffered disproportionately from political repression and economic discrimination, but also had to be integrated into the new system.

I will pay particular attention to how Orthodox Jews – already marginalized by Communist policies – were further scapegoated for their observance and adherence to a traditional way of life. Using the interrogation protocols of the Hungarian secret service as an example, it will reconstruct how these accusations were used to fabricate the larger picture of a spy organization. The example of the Orthodox teacher Ervin Slómo Groszberg is used to illustrate why and how organizations such as the non-Zionist Agudat Israel were accused of being "enemies of socialism" because their leaders recognized the utility of a Jewish state and of emigration out of the increasing pressure on their community members. By analyzing the ideological tools used to portray synagogues, community centers, and schools as centers of espionage, this study will show how Jewish observance was redefined as a counterrevolutionary activity by the Hungarian authorities.

Author

• Alexandra Bandl, Leibniz Institute for Jewish History and Culture