General Bandholtz and the Hungarians
by Emil Zerkowitz
HUNSOR publication
The following article appeared in the Pester Lloyd of January 31, 1919.,A.D.
Having fulfilled his Mission, Harry Hill Bandholtz, Brigadier General of the
United States Army, the leader of the American Military Mission, will
shortly leave Budapest and return to his country and to his home after an
absence of nearly two years. The noble-minded and brave General leaves us
after having done his work, and we must say that he could not have won a
nobler, a more uplifting and happier victory than the one he achieved in
Budapest. He conquered the hearts of millions, the love and gratitude and
appreciation of the Hungarian nation accompany him on his journey, and we
tie a wreath of victory for him out of the flowers of love.
When he arrived in our midst, in the dreary days of the month of August, the
country had hardly had time to regain consciousness from a stupor caused by
a period of terror when the darkness of renewed horrors covered our souls;
the Hungarian capital, occupied by foreign troops, was turned into a death
chamber. Armed guards were watching over the downtrodden and tortured
national conscience, on the eve of a frightful ordeal. We could not raise
cries loud enough, we could not speak openly, for even the winking of our
eyes was regarded with suspicion. How could the wide world, the foreign
nations nd the few friends that we had left and who still retained some
humane feeling after a war of five years, a chaotic compound made up from
mutual hatred, get to know in what plight we were and what fate was in store
for us?
But lo! the world was moved and with it the conscience of triumphant
victors. The great powers of the Entente delegated mission of Generals to
Budapest; American, British, Italian nd French Military Missions with a
general at the head of each of them, who met every day to discuss the
position of the occupied country. This was an essentially military function,
but it could not maintain its rigidly military character for long. In order
to investigate into the damages caused by Roumanian occupation, a Claim
Office was set up by the council of the four Generals and placed under the
control of the American Mission. In such manner, the American Mission
developed into a Mecca, as it were, of the suffering Hungarian pilgrims. It
must be admitted that this was a practice that had been adopted by the
sufferers long before the Claim Office was brought into being. They hurried
to the American Mission hoping for assistance.
Their hopes were not in vain. General Bandholtz, the hardy and brave
soldier, was a warm-hearted guardian of the sufferers, the impartial and
inexorable judge of injustice, whom nothing could keep from acting, if
something was to be done in the interest of a just cause. He persecuted all
excesses with unbounded energy and investigated all complaints with
inexorable impartiality. He rigorously combated injustice and relieved all
innocent sufferers with happy contentment.
He carried into practice all the principles of the much advertised modern
diplomacy. He made no secret of what was in his mind, but openly stated his
opinion. He was ever ready to discuss matters of importance, but, what is
more, he acted. His door was open to all; he received everyone and heard all
who wanted to speak to him. This is how he gained a deep insight into the
Hungarian soul. He did not limit himself to the study of books or of
historical documents, but he turned for information to the data supplied by
real life. He made the acquaintance of Count Albert Apponyi, the greatest of
our political leaders and often, after discussing with him for hours such
questions as were most intimately connected with our very existence, he
heard the complaints of some poor farmer, turned out of his property by the
troops of occupation. Having been at work all day, he hurried on one
occasion late at night to the National Museum to seal its doors with his own
hands, thus saving the most valuable treasures of the nation, the precious
memorials of its culture and civilization.
He knew us in our suffering and so became the true friend of our nation. It
is not mere pity that made him our friend. He proved, by persevering at our
side even in our direst catastrophe, a true friend who did not abandon us,
but who exhorted our nation to work, our only salvation and the only means
to forget. When doing so, he called to our memory our glorious past, and
taught us that this nation could not fall a victim to destruction, filled as
it is with a keen desire of life, this being the lesson taught by our
national history of a thousand years. This is what he said to many of our
statesmen and to many journalists who interviewed him, and whoever had an
opportunity to get in touch with General Bandholtz could see that his words
were prompted by sincere conviction. He will herald these ideas of his, even
when he has left the Hungarian capital and when he returns to independent
America, his country and the land of George Washington, its Father, of
Abraham Lincoln, the liberator of the slaves, and of Thomas Jefferson, the
advocate of true democracy. He returns to America, the country where Louis
Kossuth, the greatest son of oppressed Hungary, was received in 1851 more
warmly and more enthusiastically han any other foreign statesman before or
since. America is he country where nearly two million fellow countrymen of
ours have found work and a warm reception, the majority of whom have been
granted citizens' rights, and where the Magyar is being appreciated, not
only for his physical work, but also because of the true virtues of every
Hungarian. In America, where there is such a fertile soil for the love of
our country nd for sympathy, General Bandholtz is sure to become an advocate
of our true cause, of our desire to live, and of our faith in the future.
His brave collaborators will assist him in his pioneer work. Colonel Loree,
who is an incredibly hard worker, an indefatigable, excellent man, who was
working for us day and night with love, willingness and self-denial, will be
at their head, and so will Colonel Sheldon, this soldier inspired by truly
humane ideals, the supporter of all needy people.
The Chief of the Military Mission surrenders his post to the Representative
of the American Foreign Department, the Chief of the American Mission, who
has just arrived, Mr. U. Grant-Smith. This excellent diplomatist, who worked
at Vienna in the service of diplomacy for a number of years, knows our
position thoroughly. While taking leave of General Bandholtz with feelings
of appreciation and of respect, the public of the country warmly welcomes
Mr. Grant- Smith, to whose future work the nation looks with fullest
confidence.
And yet our hearts are pained in parting from the General. It is with
painful feelings that we see him depart, him, the noble-hearted, excellent
gentleman, who, although a soldier, was the first man to make us forget that
nations faced each other with arms in hand, nations who used to be united by
the traditional feelings of brotherly love, by a community of souls, and by
the most glorious human ideals. We want to forget and we are going to
forget. But we cannot possibly forget all that we owe to the glorious and
noble work of General Bandholtz. On all his ways, our gratitude and undying
love will accompany him.
The following is a translation of an article that appeared in the National
Journal, Budapest, January 28, 1920:
"This forenoon the American High Commissioner, Mr. Grant-Smith, and General
Bandholtz, called on Prime Minister Huszár, who described to them the
political and economic situation of the country.
"At 1.30 o'clock General Bandholtz and his officers lunched at the Hotel
Pannonia as the guests of the Mayor of the City, Mr. Bódy.
"General Bandholtz and the American Military Mission will leave Budapest at
the will always gratefully remember General Bandholtz, because we have so
much to thank him for. During the Roumanian occupation, he protected us
against the Roumanians' injustice, nd it is mainly due to him that they
evacuated the country between the Danube and Tisza and also that they did
not rob our museums. The General himself sealed the National Museum and it
was the American Mission that prevented the Roumanians from delivering the
Bolshevists.
"It is General Bandholtz also who revived interest in charity work in
Hungary."
The following is a translation of an article which appeared in the Hungarian
newspaper Uj Nemzedék, January 29, 1920.
"The members of the American Military Mission and their chief, General
Bandholtz, are soon leaving our capital, probably about the fifteenth of
February. The affairs of the Mission
are now being handed over to the American High Commissioner. The Magyars
will always remember General Bandholtz with the feelings of deepest
gratitude, as there is such a lot we must be thankful for to him and to the
Mission. In the days of our profound sorrow, during the occupation of our
country by the Roumanians, it was he who stood up for our righteous cause,
and we don't know of any instance when he did not defend us. General
Bandholtz persuaded the Roumanians to evacuate Transdanubia and the
territories between the Danube and the Tisza, and it is owing to him that
the Roumanians did not pillage our museums. The General personally sealed e
entrance of our National Museum. Also we owe it to the energetic
intervention of the Mission, that the Roumanians' endless efforts to
liberate arrested Communists were frustrated. was General Bandholtz who
initiated the American actions of benevolence and hereby dried a sea of
tears on the Hungarian faces."
by Emil Zerkowitz
Source: the Pester Lloyd of January 31, 1919. A.D.
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