Miklós Pereházy is the president of the Los Angeles based United Hungarian House. His center promotes Hungarian culture, language and tradition.
Mr. Pereházy – an immigrant himself – is doing a good job, and recently he was reelected. He frequently invites performers, musicians, and actors from Hungary. The center organizes various events and occasionally serves tasty dinners for the patrons.
Miklós Pereházy
On September 27 the Hungarian House will host Ms. Fruzsina Pregitzer an actress from Hungary with a wide repertoire. Among other things Ms. Pregitzer frequently presents the writings of Mr. Albert Wass, who was a fascist, an anti-Semite and a convicted WWII criminal. He committed suicide in the United States after he was investigated by the Justice Department.
Mr. Wass also wrote anti-Semitic pamphlets. One of his fables entitled “The Conquest of the Rats” is a story about rats, who are taking over the house of a pure and noble Hungarian man.
Mr. Wass’s tale was especially popular during WWII under Hungary’s fascist dictatorship. It was republished in 1944 in the city of Cluj just before the city’s Jews were deported to their death to Auschwitz.
Ms. Pregitzer proudly recorded this tale, and it became an instant internet sensation in Hungary. She is popular in the country’s anti-Semitic circles. I might add that Ms. Pregitzer is a talented and intelligent actress, and it is unfortunate that she has lent her talent to racist ideas. (Those who speak Hungarian may listen to her performance by clicking here.)
The Fruzsina Pregitzer event in Los Angeles
The Hungarian Government permits, sometimes even encourages, unprecedented verbal violence against Jews, Roma and homosexuals. Comparing Jews to rats is a non-event in Hungary; it happens every day in the media. Racist comments are heard and tolerated even in the country’s Parliament.
Ms. Pregitzer invitation to Los Angeles could send the wrong message. It may suggest that the Los Angeles Hungarian House endorses her anti-Semitic performances.
I have asked Mr. Pereházy to consider cancelling her performance. We are waiting for his response.
György Lázár
I would leave it to Dr. Pereházy, who is NOT AN ANTISEMITIC but fully respected and reliable person, enjoying full credit from Hungarians of different identity in Los Angeles. The problem is that almost each post of Mr. George Lázár has been reminding the Reader the tale of the noty boy who was sitting on the roof of the house and shouting that “the wolf is coming!!!” – in every hour. People first believed him but later nobody did, not even when the real wolf was coming. To “discover “the danger of the “antisemitic wolf” in everything and everybody – including a young Hungarian actress who happen to love the poems of a late- Hungarian poet. It is actually true that Albert Wass has been rather popular, but not only amongst antisemitic people. (I am actually not fond of his poetry, I am neutral, but I have not heard his “rat story” before). I think that it is an irresponsible and politically incorrect journalism, the only aim of which is just to increase the tensions if it were not necessary.
I agree with Mr. Fodor.
Mr. Perehazy confirmed that the upcoming program won’t include Albert Wass and any other shameful authors.
Ms. Pregitzer is indeed a controversial actress as she recorded anti-Semitic stories of Albert Wass.
The organizer of the LA event promised Mr. Perehazy, that there won’t be any nazi authors, like Wass, on the program.
Specialists of Hungarian literature have characterized Wass as producer of shallow text. Nevertheless, in the Hungarian Maffiastate he is part of the curriculum.
To bring an actor from Hungary to read Wass in Los Angeles is looking for trouble.
It is a provocation and not the first one.
Tisztelt Holgyeim es Uram,
A targyban a szerkesztonek az alabbi levelet irtam:
Christopher Adam Urnak
Kedves Christopher,
Par oraval korabban megkuldtem Onnek Anna Bayer-el folytatott
levelezesemet, amely az On ujsagjaban Lazar Gyorgy ur reszerol
tortent felvetes targyaban megjelent cikket kommentalja.
Bayer Anna arra kert, hogy Onnek szinten irjam meg, amit
mar cc.-ben tovabbitottam, s adjunk hivatalos format Annahoz irt
maganlevelemnek.
Kernem szepen tehat, ha modja van oromomre szolgalna valaszomat
latni az On lapjaban.
A Los Angeles-I Egyesult Magyar Haz 2003 ev ota all
vezetesem alatt, amely nem hogy nem antiszemita, hanem
eppen ellenkezoleg teljesseggel vallas es politikamentes
tevekenyseget folytato kulturalis szervezet.
Az en gyermekkoromban iskolatarsainktol nem azt kerdeztuk, hogy kinek
mi a vallasa (hiszen joszerivel akkor vallasat senki sem gyakorolta),
hanem azt, hogy tud-e focizni, s ha nem tudott, akkor jo-e a matematikaban.
Gyermekkorunk szegeny volt, de igazsagos, mert nem voltak eloiteleteink a tudast, a kepesseget,, s az utcai jatekokat hatarozottan szabalyozo erosebb jogat ismertuk el.
Az erosebb sem lehetett igazsagtalan, mert ha azt tette a tobbseg
velemenyevel szemben korabbi tekintelyet elvesztette.
Koromnal fogva kicsit maskent, de ma is hasonlo elveket vallok.
Szamomra soha nem volt es nem is lesz vallasi eloitelet.
Hazunkat megkereso vendegeink eppen ezekert az elvekert
latogatjak szivesen a Los Angeles-I Egyesult Magyar Hazat.
Lazar Gyorgy Ur valoban megkeresett az esemeny targyat tekintve.
Az ilyen temaju megkeresesekre magam is erzekenyen reagalok, igy
haladektalanul tajekozodtam Pankotay Peter szinmuvesz baratomnal,
hogy lesz e barmi olyan resze Fruzsina Pregitzer nalunk szerzodott
eloadasanak, amely a targyat tekintve kifogasolhato lenne.
(A muveszno fellepesere ugyanis Pankotay muvesz ur ajanlatara
adtunk igenlo valaszt.)
Pankotay Peter szinmuvesz egyertelmu “nem” -et mondott.
Nagyon fontosnak erzem tudatni, hogy a Los Angeles-I Egyesult Magyar Haz es a magam szamara is elsodleges kerdes,, hogy kulhoni magyarsagunk koreben ne uthesse fel ismetelten
fejet semmifele antiszemita propaganda.
Hazunk Ars Poetica-ja, de a magam jo erzese es neveltetese egyertelmusiti, hogy ezeknek az elveknek vagyok mindenkor en
is teljesseggel elkotelezettje
Kedves Christopher,
Orommel veszem mindenkori tovabbi egyuttmukodesunket.
Szivelyes udvozlettel:
Perehazy Miklos
Elnok
Egyesult Magyar Haz
Los Angeles
A Los Angeles-I Egyesult Magyar Haz 2003 ev ota all
vezetesem alatt, amely nem hogy nem antiszemita, hanem
eppen ellenkezoleg teljesseggel vallas es politikamentes
tevekenyseget folytato kulturalis szervezet.
Az en gyermekkoromban iskolatarsainktol nem azt kerdeztuk, hogy kinek
mi a vallasa (hiszen joszerivel akkor vallasat senki sem gyakorolta),
hanem azt, hogy tud-e focizni, s ha nem tudott, akkor jo-e a matematikaban.
Gyermekkorunk szegeny volt, de igazsagos, mert nem voltak eloiteleteink a tudast, a kepesseget,, s az utcai jatekokat hatarozottan szabalyozo erosebb jogat ismertuk el.
Az erosebb sem lehetett igazsagtalan, mert ha azt tette a tobbseg
velemenyevel szemben korabbi tekintelyet elvesztette.
Koromnal fogva kicsit maskent, de ma is hasonlo elveket vallok.
Szamomra soha nem volt es nem is lesz vallasi eloitelet.
Hazunkat megkereso vendegeink eppen ezekert az elvekert
latogatjak szivesen a Los Angeles-I Egyesult Magyar Hazat.
Lazar Gyorgy Ur valoban megkeresett az esemeny targyat tekintve.
Az ilyen temaju megkeresesekre magam is erzekenyen reagalok, igy
haladektalanul tajekozodtam Pankotay Peter szinmuvesz baratomnal,
hogy lesz e barmi olyan resze Fruzsina Pregitzer nalunk szerzodott
eloadasanak, amely a targyat tekintve kifogasolhato lenne.
(A muveszno fellepesere ugyanis Pankotay muvesz ur ajanlatara
adtunk igenlo valaszt.)
Pankotay Peter szinmuvesz egyertelmu “nem” -et mondott.
Nagyon fontosnak erzem tudatni, hogy a Los Angeles-I Egyesult Magyar Haz es a magam szamara is elsodleges kerdes,, hogy kulhoni magyarsagunk koreben ne uthesse fel ismetelten
fejet semmifele antiszemita propaganda.
Hazunk Ars Poetica-ja, de a magam jo erzese es neveltetese egyertelmusiti, hogy ezeknek az elveknek vagyok mindenkor en
is teljesseggel elkotelezettje
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This post is absolutely ridiculous. There is not a single sentence in it that could be characterized as anything other than a baldfaced LIE.
Albert Wass was neither a fascist, nor an anti-Semite. He was a Hungarian nobleman whose family has lived in the neighbourhood of Kolozsvár (today: Cluj, Romania) for 900 years. Being both a Hungarian and a “bourgeois” after WWII he was indicted with trumped-up charges by the chauvinist/communist Romanian authorities and convicted — in absentia — in a show trial.
Fleeing persecution he fled to Germany first, and then in 1952 he emigrated to the United States, where he was granted asylum after a routine background check, during which he himself informed the American authorities against the death sentence against him.
He received US citizenship in 1957, despite the objections and extradition requests of the communist Romanian authorities. In the later decades communist Romania made several more extradition requests, and the Wiesenthal Foundation also asked the Justice Department to conduct an investigation into his role during WWII. The Justice Department yet again concluded the investigation in 1979 stating that the charges brought by Wiesenthal and the Romanian authorities are unfounded.
In the ’80s Wass survived repeated assassination attempts by the Romanian secret services, the dreaded “Securitate”: in 1985 two Romanian agents — under diplomatic immunity — hid an explosive device in his hotel room, but the plot was thankfully thwarted by the FBI, acting on a warning of Interpol.
During his lifetime Albert Wass was vetted thoroughly at least 4 times by the Justice Department, each time the investigation concluded that his conviction in Romania was nothing more than a communist-style show trial.
Albert Wass’s son, Huba Wass is a retired Major General of the US Army. A rank he would certainly have never achieved, were he the son of a fascist war criminal.
It is truly revolting and outrageous, that the Hungarian opposition sinks so low, as to spread discredited communist slanders, that gives credence to a dictatorship’s showtrials against impartial and thorough investigations by the US Justice Department.
Please update this article to reflect that his response has been published:
http://hungarianfreepress.com/2014/09/20/los-angeles-hungarian-house-rejecting-antisemitism-is-a-priority/?fb_action_ids=10152736470835148&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=feed_opengraph&action_object_map=%7B%2210152736470835148%22%3A586918898096843%7D&action_type_map=%7B%2210152736470835148%22%3A%22og.likes%22%7D&action_ref_map=%5B%5D
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