Symbol of the regime’s attack on Hungary’s Jews
After World War II, Zionist organisations re-emerged in Hungary, aiming to support emigration to Palestine and later Israel. As the Communist Party consolidated power, it increasingly viewed these groups as “bourgeois nationalist” threats. By 1949, Zionist activities were banned, while the secret police, Államvédelmi Hatóság (ÁVH) infiltrated Jewish institutions, monitored religious leaders, and planted informers to report pro-Israeli sentiment.
A notable event was the trial of Tibor Engländer and his associates in 1953. Engländer, a prominent Zionist leader, was accused of espionage and organising illegal emigration. The trial was emblematic of the regime’s efforts to dismantle Zionist networks and served as a warning to others involved in similar activities. The trial was characterised by coerced confessions and predetermined verdicts, typical of the show trials of the period.
“In the end, I was sentenced to four years… When I heard this, I rejoiced: I didn’t think that four years could get me away with it.”
Interview with Tibor Engländer