Hungary - The Unwilling Satellite

HUNGARY'S SO- CALLED FEUDALISM

AN AMERICAN author and radio commentator recently explained to a friend of mine why the Russian occupation of Hungary was a very salutary event. "You know," he said, "Hungarian landowners are entitled to kill their serfs." This commentator had never set foot on Hungarian soil, but there was no doubt in his mind as to the truth of this statement. Stories about feudal Hungary were planted incessantly after the first World War in order to calm the world's conscience, which was a little troubled by the fact that in the name of national self- determination, more than three million Magyars had been put under Czech, Rumanian and Serbian rule. Now their feudal lords could no longer chop off their heads.

Feudalism is historically the medieval European system based on the relation of vassals and lords, arising from the holding of land in feud. Since feudalism is tied up with absolute monarchy, it is often forgotten that the crown and the lords were natural antagonists. The lords - or barons - could increase their prerogatives only at the expense of the crown. In the resulting struggle the crown often came to be allied with the common people against the nobility. Yet the net result was that the nobles were the champions of political liberties because the rights they won for themselves were afterward claimed by the common man. In the Holy Roman Empire the nobles were very successful in wresting concessions from the imperial crown. The Hungarian magnates never attained a similar position: In a small country the crown can assert itself more effectively. In the Holy Roman Empire the lords were for a long time the only politically vocal stratum of society; but the magnates in Hungary - - which never belonged to the Roman Empire - - were exposed to strong pressure from below, exerted by a very broad layer of minor nobles, the so- called gentry, which resembled the squirearchy of England and played a similar part in public affairs. Hence, unless we stretch political terms until they are completely disfigured, Hungary was never a feudal polity.

Hungary had a badly balanced distribution of its arable land. Many magnates owned large estates which were legally entailed and could neither be sold nor mortgaged. According to Hungarian official statements which I have usually found reliable, quoted by Victor Bator in the American Hungarian Observer of November 19, 1944, about three- quarters of all landholders owned in 1935 about one- tenth of the land. This sounds less startling when compared with Denmark, where "68% of all agricultural holdings under ten hectares (the hectare being equivalent to nearly two and a half acres) account for 11% of the land," and with Holland where "13.6% of the land is held by 61% of the proprietors." Bator writes: The true picture concerning big properties in Hungary is as follows: the arable area (including pasture land) is 13,142,122 yokes, that is 7,556,650 hectares. Out of this 1,225,325 hectares constitute the area of holdings of more than 575 hectares which are owned by private individuals and by the Church. This is 15.2 % of the arable land. . . . It is pure misrepresentation to state that half or more than one- third of the land is owned by a few hundred landowners. Actually the area of large estates in private ownership is 1,630,000 hectares, that is, 14% of the arable land.

These figures show that the term "feudal Hungary" is, to say the least, highly exaggerated. To them should be added the following reflections: Extravagant ownership of the soil by aristocratic families would render a country feudal only if that ownership involved economic and political power. It did in Hungary before World War I, because agricultural products could be sold at a profit within the customs barriers of the Austro- Hungarian Empire, and the Hapsburg kings of Hungary preferred the aristocrats - - often foreigners who had received their titles for service rendered to the dynasty - - to the gentry, or simple noblemen. Whereas the aristocrats very often were on the side of the dynasty against the national interest, the nobles, who were descendants of the original conquerors of Hungary, identified themselves with the national cause. All this changed after the first World War. The aristocrats had invested their money lavishly in war loans which were entirely worthless after the defeat. The ruthless dissection of the old empire deprived them of their markets. In addition, with the rest of agricultural Europe, Hungary suffered because of the low prices brought about by the mechanization of North and South American farming. The effect on the aristocratic landowners was worse than on their untitled fellow sufferers because they were unable to sell or mortgage their entailed property. No longer propped up by the crown, the aristocrats saw their political influence dwindle after the first World War. Furthermore, they lost their most traditional profession, that of service in the armed forces. Hungary was allowed only a token army and the proud Hussar regiments, which had covered themselves with military glory for five centuries, lay buried under the ruins of the old monarchy.

The gentry took possession of Hungary after the fall of the Hapsburgs. By the time I was appointed there, in July 1933, the aristocrats had little or no political importance. I do not consider that the transition from aristocratic leadership to gentry and civil service rule was necessarily a blessing for either Hungary or her neighbors. I have mentioned that the Hapsburgs preferred the magnates, or titled noblemen, to the gentry. Franz Josefknew that in a multiracial empire surrounded by hostile neighbors, the most valuable elements were those who, owing to their upbringing and international family connections, stood above nationalism. The gentry have had a double function in Hungarian history - - a positive one in keeping the nation alive and conscious of itself, and a negative one in being ultra-nationalistic. Thus they partly created the dangers against which they had to struggle.

Many people think that the existence of the Upper House the House of Magnates, was sufficient to warrant Hungary being called a feudal country. When I was in Budapest, the Upper Housewas composed of the four Hungarian Hapsburgs, the two Keepers of the Crown, the supreme judges, the prelates and supreme dignitaries of the churches, the president of the National Bank, thirty- eight high aristocrats elected by their peers, seventy- six men designated by the counties and municipal cities, thirty- six representatives of the chambers of agriculture, industry, commerce, lawyers, notaries, universities, Heroes' Order, Academy of Science and the stock exchange, forty lifelong members nominated by the Regent, one physician, one industrialist and one agriculturalist. It can be seen from this that the aristocrats were in the small minority. Great Britain retains the sediments of feudalism by preserving the right of the king to create new peerages on the advice of his government. In Hungary the Regent was not entitled to bestow nobilities and, therefore, the vanishing of aristocratic influence became quite patent. Count StephenBethlen, prime minister during the first decade without a king, had no estates and did not represent the supposed interests of his class. Count Teleki, though equally a member of one of the oldest families, was also estateless, a quiet, soft- spoken scientist, by no means fitting the pattern of feudal lordship.

All that was left of economic feudalism was in many cases a brilliant front which covered indebtedness, if not outright poverty. The attitude of the Hungarian toward money was that its only function is to be spent. Hungarian hospitality was something proverbial in Europe. The Hungarian gentleman generally lived beyond his income, but he always entertained some way or other, even if it meant coffee and roll dinners for him during the following week.

Thus palaces built in the great day of the nobles and magnates had been equipped with tremendous reception rooms and ballrooms on a par with those in the Waldorf Astoria. These were not, of course, permanent homes; when it came to bedrooms most of them had only one; but as the owner of one of them remarked, forty people could sleep in it. Likewise, they had only one bath, if any. The distribution of space between entertaining quarters and living quarters in these Budapest palaces is a true indication of the accent the average Hungarian puts on entertaining. There were, of course, a number of permanent homes, with lots of bedrooms, in Budapest; but most of the well- equipped homes were in the country.

Some of the Budapest palaces were still occupied by their owners while we were there, though most of them were for rent. No one could figure out how the servants in these palaces were paid. One nice thing about entertaining in Budapest was that you could get all the trained butlers and footmen you wanted, for despite their impoverishment noblemen always had more servants than they needed and were glad to offer their services.

The custom of tipping in Hungary far surpassed the American brand. For example, when you rode in the elevator of a building, you owed the operator twenty centimes. If by any chance you did not pay him, he would follow you out into the street, if necessary, to collect it. When you went into anyone's home and gave up your hat, you were supposed to pay a pengo to the maid for its return. If you were a dinner guest, you owed considerably more, depending on your financial status. You paid this money when you got your coat and hat to go home. The money thus received was split up by the household staff, everyone getting his particular share. It naturally followed that the most sought- after positions were in the homes of those who were continually entertaining. No one ever complained about the number of guests you had.

Labor conditions in Hungary have been badly misrepresented in America. Industrial labor was organized in Hungary preceding the first World War and had obtained by the time I arrived there a similar status to that of American labor gained through the New Deal. Nevertheless, relationships between management and labor, especially in smaller enterprises, had retained some of its paternal characteristics, which frankly I would not consider a disadvantage.

While industrial labor enjoyed in Hungary all the social security which a poor country could afford to provide, the situation was very different with agricultural labor. First of all, the major part of agricultural labor was not unionized and health and old- age insurance were granted them only to a very small degree. Real poverty could be observed among agricultural labor mainly because there were not enough jobs for them.

Accusations of Hungarian feudalism often arose abroad because these questions were handled in an antiquated paternal fashion leaving too much leeway to the individual landowner, who was considered responsible for agricultural labor within his domain. Agricultural labor usually concluded contracts with the landowners on a yearly basis, which gave them more security, but on the other hand their salaries were paid to a large extent in kind, which meant that in bad years they earned less than they would if working on a wage basis.

The general spirit of the Hungarian employer was certainly not anti- labor. When, after the conclusion of the Trianon Treaty, living conditions became bad and jobs hard to find, the landowners voluntarily put a considerable part of their agricultural machinery out of use in order to provide more jobs to manual labor. This rule prevailed while I was in Hungary. Although it was self- imposed with the idea of helping labor, it was a short sighted policy based upon a misapprehension - - common in America also - - that the more people who do the job the better.

The relationship between employer and employee differed from anything we know in America - - unless we hark back to early plantation life - - in that the employer had to supply everything in the way of clothes, laundry and payment of doctors' and dentists' bills, not only for the worker himself, but for his whole family. The employer was the banker. If anything happened and the worker's family needed money, he naturally came to his employer for help, and he got it - - with no strings attached.

If you hire anyone in the United States, no matter how many years he works for you, you are free to discharge him if he does something deserving such treatment. Not so in Hungary. It was a very difficult proposition to dismiss a worker in Hungary, no matter what he had done, without making some provision for his future. We had a gardener who did nothing but dress up and sit in front of the house. His wife did all the work. We complained vigorously to the landlord. Finally he got us another gardener - but he could not discharge the first one; he simply transferred him to his country estate.

Some of the Hapsburgs themselves were impoverished by the claims of their employees. Archduke Frederick, who had been commander in chief of the Austro- Hungarian armies, was, before the first World War, the richest man in the Hapsburg realm. At the time I was in Hungary, he still had about forty thousand acres of land. When Austria and Czechoslovakia expropriated his huge palaces and estates and the famous art gallery which he owned in Vienna, they discharged all his employees. These went back to Hungary, where the archduke, very honorably, considered it his duty to support them. For this immense burden even his large estate could not earn enough. Yet in his will he bound his heirs to keep on supporting this mass of dependents, even though he must have known that they could only end in bankruptcy. Every diplomat had to take the Hapsburg archdukes in Hungary into consideration in the years preceding World War II when some of the powers were flirting with the idea of restoration. There was Archduke Joseph and his wife, Augusta who occupied a large palace across from the prime ministry and not far from the Royal Palace. Every chief of mission, after presenting his credentials, was expected to call on them and to entertain them at least once a year. It was quite an ordeal because Archduchess Augusta to put it quite frankly, did not know when to go home. If you had them for dinner, everybody planned to stay the night, because no one could leave until the archduke and archduchess left. They did not play bridge; they only played king and queen, and it was very boring. Most people entertained them for lunch; while you had to give up the afternoon to it, it was better than being up all night. Augustasmoked cigars. I discovered that she would never under any circumstances leave until she finished her cigar; offering small cigars and passing them only once had the effect of making her leave earlier. It was not considered fair to invite your diplomatic colleagues to a luncheon or a dinner for this royal pair without telling them in advance, and it was generally a matter of trading. If you stuck one of your diplomatic friends for a royal luncheon, he stuck you in return. One had to go to quite a few during the winter.

Joseph and Augustahad a son named Joseph Francis, who was not particularly bright, but his wife was a charming girl, the Princess Anna, also called Monica We liked to entertain young Joseph on account of his wife. We were not, however, compelled by etiquette to entertain them every year or at all; and since we had so much entertaining to do, we had them only now and then.

Albrecht the son of the Archduke Frederick, was very popular with Americans; we saved him for them and entertained him four or five times a year. He lived very simply and seemed to be more interested in carrying out his father's wishes than in pomp or ceremony. He had been brought up as an agriculturist and in this field he was somewhat of an expert. But there was some devil in him which always defeated him when he tried anything else. He was brilliant and as nice a person as you would want to meet socially, but absolutely eccentric and undisciplined. Whenever success seemed to be in his grasp he did something silly. In the end, after ups and downs in a campaign to make him king of Hungary, he sold himself to national socialist Germany - - probably with ideas of getting back some of his father's estates.

I never met his father, as he lived in a gamekeeper's house up in the little town of Moson, near the Austrian border. I saw him several times, dressed in peasant costume, standing in the doorway of his home which was right on the street, smoking a long pipe and probably waiting to talk to a passer- by . He was the most popular archduke of all with the protocol division of the Foreign Office because he never came to Budapest; but his death created the worst problem they had ever known. He had been a field marshal, a commander in chief, and an archduke. The funeral was attended by his nephew, the exiled King of Spain; by numerous archdukes; by all the surviving Austro- Hungarian field marshals; by personal representatives of Hitler; by members of the House of Savoy; by the diplomatic corps; by a son of the exiled German emperor; by representatives of the governments of Germany, Italy and Austria, and, of course, by the Regent of Hungary and his wife. In addition, there were members of the Hungarian government and delegates of the German and Austrian armies. Practically the whole Hungarian army was present.

The problem was taken over by István de Barczy chief of protocol of the prime ministry - - Mr. Protocol himself - - and he worked a miracle. Nobody felt slighted or neglected; everything went off just as if it had been rehearsed. It was really a great show, and I am sure that all the fuss would have amused the old man if he had seen it.

The setting was a tiny church in a small town. There had been snow, and the streets were very deep in slush. After the service, everybody formed in correct order behind the silver coffin. Frederick, due to one or all of his positions was by tradition entitled to have a knight in armor follow his coffin. He received his due. I was told that this presented quite a problem, because no suitable armor could be found until someone suggested the Budapest Opera. The knight who followed Frederick's coffin wore the armor of Lohengrin.

The whole regiment of cavalry rode out in front, and the horses did their best to transform the slush into a perfumed carpet. But where they marched, Madame Horthy and all the ladies in their little open shoes marched too.

While entertaining archdukes was quite a problem, it had its useful side. Hungarians have been brought up on royalty. They might make fun of the archdukes, but they still have respect for them. There were few Hungarians who were not delighted to be invited to the same luncheon which bored the diplomats so exceedingly. This was especially true of the many ministers and politicians who came in from the country. If you really wanted to make a friend of almost any of the cabinet ministers, an invitation to lunch or dinner with one of the archdukes never failed.

Hungary - The Unwilling Satellite