History, remembrance, and a "useful past" in the public thought of Hungarian Jewry, 1938-1939

Despite the traditional patriotism of Hungarian Jews, events which took place shortly after World War I, particularly the political upheaval caused by Béla Kun and his Jewish supporters, brought about a rise in antisemitism. In 1920, Hungary was the first country to instate a numerus clausus, thereby beginning the cancellation of emancipation. Discusses the antisemitic views of Hungarian historians and politicians in the interwar period; they blamed the Jews for all of Hungary's problems and called for further restrictions on the Jews. The government criticized and reversed the 19th-century emancipation, and all Jewish attempts to counter this development failed. Relates reactions of Jewish writers to the anti-Jewish laws of 1938-39, including recourse to Hungarian history in attempts to explain the situation of the Jews.