History/Political Science paper by Csunderlik, Péter
“The Red Sea of Judeo-Bolshevism” – The Hungarian Soviet Republic and the Theory of “Judeo-Bolshevik Conspiracy” during the Horthy Era (Accepted)
Type of Abstract (select):Abstract (max. 250 words):
The idea of the „Judeo-Bolshevik conspiracy” was not as firmly attached to any event in Hungarian history as it was to the Hungarian Soviet Republic proclaimed on 21 March 1919. In spite of the fact that the members of the Revolutionary Governing Council that led the dictatorship of proletariat – which lasted only 133 days – were atheist-internationalist politicians without no „Jewish” identity, according to the tradition of (right-wing) discourse consolidated after 1919, the dictatorship of proletariat was „Jewish dictatorship”. During the Horthy era, the topos of “Jewish dictatorship”, which was typically interpreted within the narrative of “Judeo-Bolshevism”, provided strong arguments for enacting anti-Semitic laws after 1919, in particular the so-called numerus clausus aimed at suppressing “Jewish intellectuals”. This lecture will provide an overview of the Anti-Semitic interpretations of the Hungarian Soviet Republic linked to the idea of “Judeo-Bolshevism” via analyzing pamphlets and memoirs, including the famous and infamous book of Cécile Tormay (Bujdosó könyv - An Outlaw’s Diary, 1920- 1921) and the brief memoir of Gyula Gömbös (Egy magyar vezérkari tiszt bíráló feljegyzései a forradalomról és ellenforradalomról - Critical Notes of a Hungarian Military Officer on Revolution and Counter-Revolution, 1920).
Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Péter Csunderlik, PhD, is the assistant professor at the Eötvös Loránd University and research fellow at the Institute of Political History in Budapest. He is interested in the history of left-wing radical movements, in the remembrance of the Hungarian Soviet Republic and in the theory of history. His academic monographs are the following: Radikálisok, szabadgondolkodók, ateisták – A Galilei Kör (1908–1919) története (Budapest, Napvilág, 2017); A „vörös farsangtól” a „vörös tatárjárásig” – A Tanácsköztársaság a korai Horthy-korszak pamflet- és visszaemlékezés-irodalmában (Budapest, Napvilág, 2019).