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CHAPTER 2 The Revolutionary, 1918–1919 Pogány is a remarkable character, a Jew, writer, thinker and idealist… His enemies look on him as being next-door to a Bolshevik… I believe he is sincere in his attempts to reform the condition of the troops. This does not prevent him from being personally ambitious and shifty and unscrupulous in his methods. / ARCHIBALD COOLIDGE, AMERICAN DIPLOMAT, 1919 When in January 1918, Pogány had disparaged the leaders of the mass strike in Budapest as “pretend Bolsheviks,” he had argued that radical action was premature because, among other things, those seeking revolutionary change could not count on any support from the armed forces. In the political and social turbulence of late October in Hungary, Pogány’s political instincts told him that he could best use his talents in the cause of the revolution by attempting to win over the soldiers. Hungarian socialists at the time had ambivalent feelings toward the military. For many, the nearly five years of devastating war had strengthened their pacifism. They thus found themselves agreeing with the famous words of Colonel Béla Linder, shortly after Károlyi had appointed him minister of defense: “We want no more wars! Nor do we have further need for any army! I don’t want to see soldiers again!”1 Although Hungarian socialists paid lip service to such sentiments, some, including Pogány, took a less idealistic view. Yes, the old capitalist army must be abolished. But to replace it there must be created a new army dedicated to socialist principles and prepared to defend the revolution against its enemies. As the revolution was unfolding, Pogány undertook, apparently on his own initiative, a personal mission to organize the restless and angry soldiers , many of them still armed, who were arriving daily in Budapest. Beginning in mid-October he and a few like-minded associates made daily visits to the train stations and army barracks. In fiery speeches, sometimes seven or eight a day, he urged the soldiers to repudiate the hated AustroHungarian army, which he denounced as a tool of the capitalists and imperialists . Instead, the soldiers should now become part of the proletarian 1 Hajdu, “Linder Béla és Pogány József,” 33. army that would be organized along democratic lines and that would give full support to the revolution. Pogány provided each soldier with a red ribbon to wear on his uniform to show solidarity with the workers and with those fighting to create the new, socialist Hungary.2 In this way he quickly became a familiar and popular figure among ordinary soldiers and among those officers with left-wing proclivities. Mihály Károlyi and his colleagues on the National Council viewed the disorganized process of demobilization and the proliferation of soldiers’ councils throughout the capital city and the countryside with some trepidation . They feared that desperate and armed soldiers would resort to looting or commit outrageous acts that would endanger public order. These fears seemed justified when on October 31 a small group of soldiers forced their way into the residence of Count Tisza, the former prime minister and symbol of the old regime. The intruders accosted Tisza and accused him of being responsible for the hated war that had brought such misery to the country. In the altercation that followed shots were fired at Tisza and he was killed. Only an hour or two after Tisza’s assassination news of this momentous event was brought to the headquarters of the National Council by Pogány and by a naval sergeant, István Dobó. It appears that some who were on the scene immediately concluded that Pogány, Dobó, and others from the soldiers’ councils were in fact responsible for the assassination.3 For many months rumors and reports about Pogány’s alleged role in the assassination would continue to circulate among government officials. Pogány then and later in life adamantly denied this allegation, claiming that at the time the assassination occurred he was attending a government meeting and proclaiming the need for restoring law and order.4 However, at a judicial tribunal in 1921 several of those who had been present at the assassination, including a Tisza family member and two of the defendants, testified that Pogány, in military uniform, had supervised the operation, blamed Tisza for the horrors of World War I, and fired the first shot. This, however, was not the end...

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