The Politics of Inclusion and Exclusion

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The case of Hungarian Jews in the 19th-20th centuries, first included in the Hungarian nation and then, after 1919, excluded from it, is a poignant illustration of the changing politics of nationalism and the process of exclusion to the point of genocide. Hungarian nationalism, which emerged in the 19th century, construed the nation as a cultural entity and tended to include Hungarian-speaking, assimilated Jews in the dominant Magyar minority of the Kingdom. The treaty of Trianon changed the formula of Hungarian nationalism and made the Jews not only outsiders, but also a social hindrance. Antisemitism, which was a rather marginal phenomenon in the 19th century, became a cornerstone of the official ideology under Horthy. Horthy's Hungary cooperated willingly with the Nazis in the "solution of the Jewish question". The anti-Jewish laws of 1938-41 were enacted without Nazi pressure and were supported by popular opinion. The regime was also instrumental in the deportation of Jews in 1944. Thus, the Holocaust in Hungary was a direct outcome of the country's interwar nationalism. Tragically, the Jews of Hungary relied on the "assimilationist social contract" up to the end of the war; they believed in dialogue with the authorities, and did not protest.