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

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

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 () is an Uralic language spoken in Hungary and parts of several neighbouring countries. It is the official language of Hungary and one of the 24 official languages of the European Union. Outside Hungary, it is also spoken by Hungarian ...

newspaper of the

Communist Party USA The Communist Party USA, officially the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA), is a communist party in the United States which was established in 1919 after a split in the Socialist Party of America following the Russian Revo ...

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

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

until the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He was arrested during the

Great Terror The Great Purge or the Great Terror (russian: Большой террор), also known as the Year of '37 (russian: 37-й год, translit=Tridtsat sedmoi god, label=none) and the Yezhovshchina ('period of Yezhov'), was Soviet General Secreta ...

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 ( hu, Teregova) is a commune in Caraș-Severin County, Western Romania with a population of 4388 people. It is composed of two villages, Rusca (''Ruszka'') and Teregova. It is situated in the historical region of Banat. Natives * Lajos ...

, in the

Krassó-Szörény County Krassó-Szörény ( Hungarian: ''Krassó-Szörény'', Romanian: ''Caraș-Severin'', Serbian: ''Karaš-Severin'' or Караш-Северин) was an administrative county (comitatus) of the historic Kingdom of Hungary.Zoltán Gál, The banking fu ...

of the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...

(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 ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

Political career

Bebrits joined the

Social Democratic Party of Hungary The Social Democratic Party of Hungary ( hu, Magyarországi Szociáldemokrata Párt, MSZDP) is a social democratic political party in Hungary. Historically, the party was dissolved during the occupation of Hungary by Nazi Germany (1944–1945) ...

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 United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...

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 (russian: Большой террор), also known as the Year of '37 (russian: 37-й год, translit=Tridtsat sedmoi god, label=none) and the Yezhovshchina ('period of Nikolay Yezhov, Yezhov'), was General ...

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 Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an orthodox Marxist, a rev ...

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 ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the 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 a ...

, 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,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

, and

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

. 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 and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

. 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