Lajos Bebrits (14 December 1891 – 9 August 1963) was a Hungarian

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

newspaper editor and politician. He is best remembered in the United States as the long-time editor of ''

Új Előre ''Új Előre'' (''New Forward'') was a Hungarian language communism, communist newspaper published in New York City. ''Új Előre'' was founded as a continuation of the Hungarian socialist newspaper ''Előre'', which had been founded in 1905. The ...

'' (New Forward), the

Hungarian language Hungarian, or Magyar (, ), is an Ugric language of the Uralic language family spoken in Hungary and parts of several neighboring countries. It is the official language of Hungary and one of the 24 official languages of the European Union. Out ...

newspaper of the

Communist Party USA The Communist Party USA (CPUSA), officially the Communist Party of the United States of America, also referred to as the American Communist Party mainly during the 20th century, is a communist party in the United States. It was established ...

. Bebrits was deported by the United States government in 1932, living in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

until the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He was arrested during the

Great Terror The Great Purge, or the Great Terror (), also known as the Year of '37 () and the Yezhovshchina ( , ), was a political purge in the Soviet Union that took place from 1936 to 1938. After the assassination of Sergei Kirov by Leonid Nikolaev ...

in 1938 and spent 21 months in prison before being released through prosecutorial review of his case. After the end of the Second World War, Bebrits returned to communist Hungary, where he was elected a member of parliament.

Biography

Early years

Lajos Bebrits was born December 14, 1891, in

Teregova Teregova () is a commune in Caraș-Severin County, Western Romania with a population of 3,446 as of 2021. It is composed of two villages, Rusca (''Ruszka'') and Teregova. It is situated in the historical region of Banat. The commune is located ...

, in the

Krassó-Szörény County Krassó-Szörény (Hungarian language, Hungarian: ''Krassó-Szörény'', Romanian language, Romanian: ''Caraș-Severin'', Serbian language, Serbian: ''Karaš-Severin'' or Караш-Северин) was an administrative county (Comitatus (Kingd ...

of the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

(now in

Caraș-Severin County Caraș-Severin () is a county ( județ) of Romania on the border with Serbia. The majority of its territory lies within the historical region of Banat, with a few northeastern villages considered part of Transylvania. The county seat is Reșița ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

Political career

Bebrits joined the

Social Democratic Party of Hungary The Social Democratic Party of Hungary (, , MSZDP) is a social democracy, social democratic list of political parties in Hungary, political party in Hungary. Historically, the party was dissolved during Government of National Unity (Hungary), the ...

in 1917. Between 1923 and 1932 Bebrits lived in the United States, where he served as the head of the Hungarian section of the

and on the editorial staff of ''

'' (New Forward), the official organ of the Hungarian-American communist organization. Bebrits came under scrutiny of the

U.S. Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of federal laws and the administration of justice. It is equi ...

as a resident alien communist and was deported to the

in 1932. In 1934 he wrote a book on the differences between life in the United States and Soviet Russia. In 1938, during the

Great Purge The Great Purge, or the Great Terror (), also known as the Year of '37 () and the Yezhovshchina ( , ), was a political purge in the Soviet Union that took place from 1936 to 1938. After the Assassination of Sergei Kirov, assassination of ...

which swept the USSR, Bebrits was arrested on charges of espionage, accused of having participated in a "

Trotskyist Trotskyism (, ) is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Russian revolutionary and intellectual Leon Trotsky along with some other members of the Left Opposition and the Fourth International. Trotsky described himself as an ...

conspiracy." He remained in prison for some 21 months, fortunately gaining his release in 1939 due to prosecutorial review of the evidence in his case. Following World War II, Bebrits returned to

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

, where he served as State Minister for Transport and Post and as a member of the National Assembly. In 1957, Bebrits was named Hungarian ambassador to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, and

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

. He remained in that post for two years. From 1959, Bebrits served as head of the Hungarian National Tourist Board, retiring from that post in 1962.

Death and legacy

Bebrits died August 9, 1963, in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

. He was 72 years old at the time of his death.

Works

* ''Tisztelt elvtárs!... USA. vagy USSR?'' (Comrades!... USA or USSR?) Moscow: A Szovetunióban élő külföldi munkások kiadóvállalata (Publishing Society of Foreign Workers in the USSR), 1934. * ''Négy ország viharaiban. Bebrits Lajos élete.'' (Four Storms of the Country: The Life of Lajos Bebrits) With Gyula Kékesdi. Budapest: n.p., 1967.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bebrits, Lajos 1891 births 1963 deaths People from Caraș-Severin County Social Democratic Party of Hungary politicians Members of the Communist Party USA Members of the Hungarian Working People's Party Members of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party Government ministers of Hungary Members of the National Assembly of Hungary (1945–1947) Members of the National Assembly of Hungary (1947–1949) Members of the National Assembly of Hungary (1949–1953) Members of the National Assembly of Hungary (1953–1958) People deported from the United States Hungarian expatriates in the Soviet Union