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Acta Neerlandica 10 (2015)

Acta Neerlandica 10

(2015)– [tijdschrift] Acta Neerlandica–rechtenstatus Auteursrechtelijk beschermd

Vorige Volgende

Erzsébet Horváth
‘Carry each other's burdens’
Children's aid missions in the Netherlands

Abstract

In the 20th century the Dutch government and the Dutch people undertook the mission of helping socially deprived children on several occassions. The Hungarian and the Dutch Reformed churches have been tied by a close, brotherly bond for several centuries. The major organizer of the children's holiday scheme was László Pap, Reformed minister, professor of theology in Budapest. 500 children on board of the first train traveled to the Netherlands on July 12th, 1948 and on January 19th, 1949 they arrived home.

All the children are perfectly happy in their host families. The children are more than satisfied with their host families and vice versa. They had also found many friends, brothers and sisters, and had become family members.

Keywords: children's aid mission, children's holiday scheme, family, love, a puritan lifestyle of prayer and piety, perpetual example, László Pap, professor, Budapest, H. Th. Obbink, professor, Utrecht, Baron Van Tuyll van Serooskerken from the Hague, Bishop László Ravasz, Budapest, Dutch Protestant families, Utrecht, Hilversum and Haarlem

 

In the 20th century the Dutch government and the Dutch people undertook the mission of helping socially deprived children (whether they were German, Hungarian or other nationalities) on several occassions. After the First World War more than 25,000 (according to some researchers, as many as 28,563) children were accommodated in Dutch host families.

In addition, after the Second World War there were several children's aid missions that were especially aimed at helping Protestant children,

including children belonging to the Reformed church. Attention was drawn to these missions by Erzsébet Kígyós' exhibition displayed in the Szabó Ervin National Library in the spring of 2008. Subsequently, I started collecting the relevant documents and manuscripts in our local archives as well as the Ráday Archive. The present study is based on the available documents, newspaper articles and memoires.

The Hungarian and the Dutch Reformed churches have been tied by a close, brotherly bond for several centuries, exemplified by the peregrination, the freeing of galley-slaves as well as the cooperation and support of various institutions and congregations. This close bond between the Hungarian and the Dutch Reformed church congregations has been, over the centuries, characterised by the Biblical passage given in the title.

Before discussing the children's aid mission that occurred sixty years ago, let me highlight a lesser-known fact, namely that ‘in 1941 and in subsequent years (up to 1943), the German authorities, despite our great efforts, prevented us from helping Dutch children’.1 Hungarian Reformed Christians were planning to accommodate socially deprived Dutch children in Hungarian host families. However, the plan was thwarted, since the Germans obligated the Hungarian Reformed church to accommodate ten German children for every Dutch child they were going to host.2

Should the Hungarian Reformed church have come up with a children's holiday scheme? We would certainly think that the answer is yes, however, the historical conditions at the time presented a very complex picture. A children's holiday scheme was initiated by the Dutch in 1948, however, dignitaries in the Hungarian Reformed Church were hesitant on account of being familiar with the conditions in the post-war Netherlands. On 24 July, 1947, László Pap wrote a letter to his former teacher from Utrecht, professor H. Th. Obbink and Baron Van Tuyll van Serooskerken from the Hague, in which he informed them that Miklós Kőszeghi-Knébel, a representative of the Hungarian Catholic Church held negotiations in the Netherlands about a children's aid mission, and that László Pap himself, with the prior consent of Bishop László Ravasz, was willing to join the negotiations as a representative the Hungarian Reformed Church. Pap raised the question of whether or not such a mission was possible in the Netherlands, on account of its weak post-war state, but was quick to add that the Dutch would have the final say in the matter. Pap also expressed to Van Tuyll his full support and willingness to cooperate in organizing the mission so that Dutch protestant families could join the children's holiday scheme.3 Consequently, László Pap

travelled to the Netherlands on Van Tuyll's invitation. Upon his return to Hungary, Pap talked to Bishop Ravasz, and in his letter of 6th November, 1947 he motions that they should propose to Van Tuyll that negotiations should be held on the matter between the two churches. The Hungarians set up a committee for this purpose, and asked that the Dutch Reformed Church do likewise, delegating members of various congregations of the Dutch Reformed Church.

The concept of a children's holiday scheme was adopted by a different party as well. Erzsébet Kisjókai Szakái, who was a Dutch resident on account of her marriage, and who had been acquainted with László Ravasz ever since her childhood, corresponded with Bishop Ravasz extensively about the Hungarian children's holiday scheme. On 2nd September, 1947 Ravasz wrote:

‘At first, we were of the opinion that the Dutch society should not be burdened with a Hungarian children's aid mission for the time being. We were sorry to see that Prelate Knébel was doing just that. Therefore, we asked for confidential information from various sources. In the meantime, it became apparent that a Catholic and a Jewish children's aid mission were in progress, and that we could not responsibly ignore the possibility of a children's aid mission initiated by the Hungarian Reformed Church as well, both for the sake of the poverty-stricken children who belonged to the Hungarian Reformed Church, and for the sake of Dutch reformed Christians who were willing and able to provide support in the matter. We will notify the Synod of the Dutch Reformed Church about our decision and will support the children's aid with all the necessary resources that are at our disposal.’4

The cause of a holiday scheme for Reformed Christian children was also taken up by Tivadar Ács, managing vice-chairman of the World Federation of Hungarians. Accordingly, he offered his full support and help to Bishop Ravasz in a letter he wrote on 30th July, 1947:

‘... the Dutch society has voiced a concern about the plans that only Catholic Hungarian children are to be involved in the children's holiday schemes, and strongly objects to the fact that Koszeghi-Knébel keeps asserting that only Catholic Hungarian children are eligible for the holiday schemes... Our own protest was of no consequence, therefore, we contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and asked them to inform Miklós Koszeghi-Knébel about the actual state of affairs, even more so, since Cardinal Prince Primate Mindszenthy, in his ordinance to the Actio Ca-
tholica, referred to a holiday scheme for Hungarian children, not exclusively Hungarian Catholic children.’5

In his reply, Bishop Ravasz asks for support, but openly admits that

‘when the Catholic mission was launched, and the Dutch Reformed Christians enthusiastically offered their full support, ... we decided that we could not accept such a service. From our own experience we know for a fact that Dutch children have to endure even more hardships than Hungarian children: therefore, our moral obligation would be to organize a holiday scheme in Hungary for Dutch children. However, our responsiblity towards the hardships experienced by many Hungarians entices us to reconsider and renegotiate the matter at hand.’6

The difficulty in making a decision was highlighted by the fact that after the war there were 45,000 abandoned children and 7,000 children had disappeared. Moreover, when Hellstern, secretary general of the Swiss Relief Committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC), gave an account of his visit to Hungary in 1948, he observed that there were abandoned cities and there was not enough food.7

Supporters, co-workers and the activity of organization

On behalf of the Netherlands, it was Katalin Kuyper who supported the children's holiday schemes most efficiently. She and Erzsébet Szakái compiled a list of sponsors (ministers, professors, church dignitaries) who supported the cause, and who were candidates for the committee they were going to set up. In 1947 and 1948 Katalin Kuyper visited Hungary on several occasions, moreover, she had visited several times before, in the 1920s, and played a role in establishing the Budapest Fasor Julianna School of the Reformed Church in 1926.

Bishop Ravasz's role was determined by his functions as a church dignitary: he was Bishop of the Danubian Reformed Church district, clerical chairman of the Synod of the Hungarian Reformed Church (MRE), as well as clerical chairman of the Convent. The holiday scheme was in his hands, he was authorized to give commissions as well as to initiate any action.

The major organizer of the children's holiday scheme was László Pap, Reformed minister, professor of theology, chairman of the Committee for

Rebuilding the Universal Church. László Pap lived between 1908 and 1983. He graduated as a master of theology in Debrecen, then held scholarships in the Netherlands and in Switzerland. Some of his excellent professors included Kálmán Kállay from Debrecen, who visited the Netherlands several times in the 1920s and encouraged the Dutch to launch holiday scheme programmes for Hungarian children; as well as professor Th. Obbink in Utrech and L. Köhler in Zurich. Pap obtained a doctoral degree in Utrecht in 1933, and received the Dutch Queen's Commendation for his doctoral dissertation. From 1938, he was a professor at the Academy of Theology in Budapest. He was close friends with John Mackay, chairman of the Theological Seminar at Princeton as well as with Visser't Hooft, secretary-general of WCC. He was on confidential terms with the latter even in the greatest of hardships. Pap represented the Hungarian Reformed Church at many international councils. He was a board member of the World Church Council as well as the World Communion of Reformed Churches.8 In the 1946 WCC Genova Council, Pap raised the issue of Hungarian prisoners of war who had still not been allowed to return home. Mr. Root, who participated in the discussion on behalf of the US, made reference to this in a radio broadcast, as a result of which László Pap was denied visa to the US.9 At the time of the 1956 revolution, Pap was a member of the Executive Board of the Hungarian Reformed Church (alongside Bishop Ravasz, and general superintendent János Kardos, who was a lawyer), consequently, he was not allowed to teach from March 1957 and as of July 1st, 1958, he was officially discharged from the Academy of Theology. He was made to resign the post of director-general of the Ráday Collection in 1957. On 29th November of the same year, the Dean of the Faculty of Theology at the University of Utrecht wanted to invite him to teach in Utrecht, however, his letter was returned to the sender marked as ‘addressee unknown’. In September 1958, Pap's bishop stationed him as a minister in Murga, Tolna county, a village that had 250 inhabitants and could only be reached on foot. On January 13th, 1963, he was put on half-pay by the bishop of Szamosköz, In May, 1963, he retired on the recommendation of the Office of State and Church (ÁEH). Afterwards, he lived in Leányfalu until he died in 1983.

On 12th November, 1947, László Pap was put in charge of the management of the children's holiday scheme in the Netherlands by László Ravasz, who acted as chairman of the Synod and clerical chairman of the General Convent.

‘…dignitaries in the Dutch Hervormd Church have expressed their willingness to place Hungarian children in holiday schemes. On November 11th, 1947, the executive board of our Convent was deeply moved to learn of yet another token of unselfish, loving kindness displayed by our Dutch brothers in Christ and we decided to accept it… In the hope that this assignment will be performed to the satisfaction of both interested churches and to the physical as well as spiritual growth of the children involved …May the Lord of the Church bless this service.’10

It is clear from the above that László Pap was the most suitable person for such an assignment, even more so, because he was, on the Synod's authority, the chairman of the Committee for Reconstructing the Universal (Oecumenic) Church between February 4th, 1946 and September 1st. We have to mention at this point that in this capacity he oversaw the postwar reconstruction of the Protestant (Evangelical, Unitarian, Methodist, Babtist) and Greek Catholic churches.11 He was in charge of distributing all (cash and other) donations. In the course of the second stage of the children's holiday scheme, not only Reformed Christian, but Evangelical and Babtist children were also on the list of participants.

János Dómján, a minister of the Reformed Church, was also put in charge of the Dutch holiday scheme by the Synod, on account of him being the director of the Social Service of the Hungarian Reformed Church, and because he had experience in managing the children's holiday schemes in Switzerland and in Denmark.12 Consul Fledderus and Mr. A. Hooft, the Dutch Ambassador to Hungary, also aided the mission, the latter was a direct descendant of De Ruyter.

In the Netherlands, the members of the committee set up by Erzsébet Szakái and Katalin Kuyper were the following: prof. Dekker, prof. A.A. van Ruler Hilversum, Báron Van Tuyll van Serooskerken, secretary of the Inter-Church Reconstruction Committee, the Hague, prof. E.W. Groshcidc, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, prof. Miskotte, Leiden, A. Hofman, director of the Diaconal Office of the Gereformeerd Church, Utrecht, Mr. Jaski, head of the Medical Department of the Dutch Red Cross.



illustratie
László Ravasz and László Papp


The sponsors were the Hungarian Reformed Church congregations and communities in the US, headed by dr. Ferenc Újlaki, Washington, Kossuth Building, and István Szabó, Cleveland. Pap asked them for money to be spent on food, and instructed them to send the money they collected to Van Tuyll in the Netherlands.13

The actual invitation came in A. Hofmann's letter addressed to Pap and the General Convent on 5th November, 1947.

In his reply, Pap thanked him on behalf of the Hungarian Reformed Church for inviting the Hungarian children: ‘Our church finds it hard to accept the invitation, since we are fully aware that the conditions in your country are hardly better than ours, we are, however, compelled to accept the kind invitation on account of our responsibility to our children.’14

After the above exchange of letters, the actual activity of organization began. On 3rd December, Pap asked Van Tuyll for specific details about the number of children the Reformed Church could host, the planned duration of their stay, the date of arrival in the Netherlands, whether there were any special requests with respect to the children's age and gender,

and he also inquired about the results of the Church's negotiations with the Dutch government. He sent the same letter to Hofmann. Van Tuyll's reply, due to his illness, came only in February 1948. He wrote that they could host 500 children, and that they needed to discuss some practical details on the basis of the German children's holiday schemes. On the Hungarian side, it was the holiday schemes in Switzerland and Denmark that provided the basis for the planning process. In April, Van Tuyll gave Pap the specific answers he had asked for: they were willing to host 500 children aged between 6 and 14, for an expected duration of six months, as it was still undecided whether they should host 1000 children for three months or 500 children for six months. He also gave Pap details about the practical tasks: questionnaires about each child needed to be filled and sent to the Dutch Immigration Office in order for the children to get visas. He also wrote about the children's travelling expenses and their funding: the tickets cost about 42 guldens each for a one-way trip, and they expected the parents to pay for the travel expenses in foreign currency. It was planned that the Hungarians would pay for the travel expenses incurred by the trip to the border of the Netherlands, inside the Netherlands, however, the donations offered by István Szabó and the Evangelical and Reformed Churches in Cleveland would cover the costs. The baron left the final decision to the Dutch Red Cross, as they had experience planning the holiday schemes for Hungarian Catholic children.15 Who were they expecting? Regardless of gender, they were expecting children who were socially deprived, anemic, underfed, and especially city-dwellers, since it was more difficult to make ends meet in the cities. In addition to completing the questionnaires, they needed to provide medical proof that the child had no tuberculosis or any other infectious disease, and that he/she did not weigh more than the pre-defined maximum weight. They also needed to indicate the child's level of German proficiency, which was important with a view to communicating with the host environment.

The families' application forms were, for the most part, submitted to the local reformed minister, who laid them before János Dómján, the head of the Social Department of the Hungarian Reformed Church. János Dómján had been previously involved in the holiday schemes of Reformed children in Denmark and Switzerland. Several individual requests were addressed to him as well as to László Pap from Hungary as well as from the Netherlands. László Pap observed the conditions of the scheme to the letter, there were no exceptions. If a child was eligible, he supported his/her application, if someone was, for example, overweight; they could

not travel to the Netherlands. There was some unexpected confusion caused by some decade-long Dutch-Hungarian friendships: some Dutch people asked László Pap to include on the list the child of the person who had been hosted at their family in the 1920s. The intentions and offers were commendable, however, the only criterion was whether or not the child in question was in need of help and, therefore, eligible for the programme. In the course of the selection process, special attention was paid to proportional representation in accordance with the size of particular Church districts and to Katalin Kuyper's request for a sizeable population of children from Székesfehervár and the Vértesalja Church District to be put on the list of 500 eligible applicants. According to László Pap's plans, 200 children were to be included from Budapest, 150 from the Tiszántúl (Trans-Tisza) region, 50 from the Transdanubian district, and 50 from Vértesalja.

Because of the high travel expenses (HUF 180 on average), which most parents were unable to afford, László Pap asked the ministers that the congregation should supplement the expenses of the child/children they recommended.

Unfortunately, not every minister complied. Many children were sent without proper coverage for the travel expenses. The organizers had experience because of the holiday schemes in Switzerland. Many families were unable to send their children because of the expenses that could amount to as much as HUF 200. This was why László Pap turned to his American friends, as mentioned above. On May 15th, 1948 he received a letter from the Inter-Church Reconciliation Committee (ICRC), which stated that István Szabó had sent $20,000 to the ICRC, which was supposed to cover meals for 1000 Hungarian children, and that the money could be spent on travel expenses as well. The problem was only solved in the spring of 1949, when the Dutch Red Cross offered to cover the travel expenses for the German and Dutch stages of the journey, the rest was paid for by the Hungarian children's families as well as the Hungarian Reformed Church.

The Dutch also made considerable preparations in order to be able to receive the Hungarian children. On January 15th, 1948 the organizers sent out a circular letter to the host families:

‘It was with pleasure that we learned that You are willing to host a Hungarian child in your family for the period of six months. We are fully aware of the difficulties posed by the language barrier, different customs
and other cross-cultural differences, as a result, we would like you to participate in an orientation to be held in Haarlem on January 23rd, Wednesday, in the course of which a Hungarian theologian, who studies in Amsterdam, will give an account of Hungarian customs as well as the post-war conditions in Hungary. We also hope to give you some basic information about the Hungarian language. There are some women who speak Hungarian and are more than eager to help You as well as the social workers of the congregation and the Hungarian children. You can contact them on January 23rd and you will have the opportunity to ask them any questions.’16

The host families were provided with a list of things they should pay special attention to: e.g. the child's weight, state of health, health insurance, the children's correspondence with their parents, their school attendance, and they were warned not to allow strangers to take the children away, and that they could only be transferred to other families with the prior consent of the organizers. The organizers also asked the host parents not to spoil the Hungarian children and to treat them as if they were one of their own.

After the above preparations on both sides, at 8.30 p.m. on July 12th, 1948, a train left Budapest Keleti (Eastern) Station with 500 children, 40 Dutch Red Cross volunteers and Mr. A. van der Walle on board. Mr. Hooft, the Dutch ambassador and his wife, as well as Fledderus, the Dutch consul were also present at the station to see the children off. After the Hungarian and the Dutch national anthems and a few words of thanks and good-byes, the train left the station with 500 children on board, all of whom were wearing small cardboard tablets around their necks with their names, place and time of birth, their parents' names and place of residence on them. Food for the journey was provided by the Dutch Red Cross.17

After arriving in Utrecht, the children were camped in Horst and Well, which helped them adjust to the new spiritual and cultural environment. Theologians Ilona Kovács and József Végh from Budapest were also present; they had come with the specific purpose to help the children adjust to the new circumstances.18 The children were accommodated at host families in Utrecht, Hilversum and Haarlem, as well as in communities nearby. The purpose of this was so that speakers of Hungarian were close at hand and that they could contact each other more easily.19

What did they want to give to the Hungarian children? Family, love, a puritan lifestyle of prayer and piety, and, naturally, nutritious food, and

whatever the fresh air and undulating waters of the Netherlands could provide.

Being a conscientious minister, László Pap visited some of the children in the Netherlands, asked them how they were doing, asked them about their experience in the host families, and, naturally, informed their families about what he had heard from them.20

In 1948 Van Ruler, professor at the University of Hilversum, later Utrecht, described the Hungarian children's experience in the Netherlands as follows:

‘In the Netherlands, there are 7-8 children in most families, thus, it does not make too much of a difference to provide for a ninth. Naturally, taking care of Hungarian children, who are in need of physical as well as spiritual recovery from the horrors of war, is a great responsibility: the members of the host families need to make them forget the horrors they have experienced, as well as their disappointment in adults, moreover, their faith in God as well as in men needs to be strengthened. In addition, we needed to give them something for the road, something lasting, that they could keep for the rest of their lives, like a wanderer's cane. Inviting and hosting Hungarian children after the war was a very challenging mission.’21

Something for the road

László Laudon, an elder at the Óbuda Reformed congregation, was ten years old in 1948, when he was hosted by a childless family in Aalsmeer. They still keep in touch on a regular basis, what is more, the Dutch host father, as an elder of his congregation, took the initiative to support the Hungarian congregations. It was from him that László learnt the following: ‘Life is like sitting in a rowing boat, one of the oars is the labour you do, the other is your faith. You need to use both so that the boat can move forward.’22 This was very aptly put, indeed. Labour and faith are what we need for the road, and we need them both in order to make progress.

The first train with 500 children on board did not even start rolling when negotiations about a second scheme had already started. The second one was going to be Ecumenical, 150 Evangelical and 20 Baptist children were going to travel alongside 330 Reformed children. On July 20th, the list of the children who were going to travel was finalized.



illustratie
László Pap's letter about the Dutch rescue mission


The journey was planned for the second part of August, or the beginning of September. All the arrangements had been made; what's more, the Dutch Oecumenic Reconstruction Committee had planned two additional holiday schemes, all in vain. The Hungarian Government in agreement with the Ministry of Social Welfare cancelled any further holiday schemes in the Netherlands. The explanation was that there was no need for further help, the conditions in Hungary were fine, and, accidentally, 50 Roman Catholic children did not return home on the train to Hungary in July.23

On January 19th, 1949, 491 reformed Christian children arrived home, 9 were left behind because they were ill. The children had apparently gained in strength, they were nicely dressed and were carrying 2000 pieces of luggage with them. The child who had gained the most weight had put on 22 kilograms. The children had learnt to speak Dutch, and got accustomed to the Dutch lifestyle of being thrifty, going to church on a regular basis, giving freely to others, all of which had a major impact on the rest of their lives as well. They had also found many friends, brothers and sisters, and had become family members.24

The Dutch families were keen on hosting Hungarian children in the 1950s, after the revolution of 1956 as well.

Carry each other's burdens and so live out the law of Christ.

Many thanks for setting a perpetual!

Bibliografie

Pap, L. 1992. Tíz év és ami utána következett 1945-1963. [Ten years and after 1945-1963]. Bern-Budapest: Európai Magyar Protestáns Szabadegyetem.
Anonymus, 1948. ‘Üres városok Hollandiában, nyomor Európaszerte’. [Deserted cities in the Netherlands, destitution across Europe]. Élet és Jövő. [Life and Future]. 10th January: 7.
Karasszon, I. 2008. ‘Tudós a családban. Pap László portréja’. [A scientist in the family: a portrait of László Pap]. Téka. 5-8.
Anonymus 1948. ‘A Református Szociális Szolgálat’. [The Social Service of the Reformed Church]. Élet és Jövő [Life and Future]. 10th January: 3.
Anonymus 1948. ‘Elindult az első gyermekvonat Hollandiába.’ [The first children's train has left for the Netherlands]. Élet és Jövő. [Life and Future]. 24th July, Vol. 5.
Hideg, L. 1948a. ‘Egész Hollandia várta a magyar gyermekek érkezését’. [The whole of the Netherlands was waiting for the Hungarian children to arrive]. Élet és Jövő. [Life and Future]. 7th August: Vol. 3.
Hideg, L. 1948b. ‘Üzenet Hollandiából magyar szülőkhöz’. [A message from the Netherlands to the Hungarian parents]. Élet és Jövő. [Life and Future]. 27th November: Vol.2.
Szakál, E. 1948. ‘Magyar gyermekek Hollandiában’. [Hungarian children in the Netherlands]. Élet és Jövő. [Life and Future]. 19th July: 6.
Szetey, S. 2008. ‘Hit és munka. [Belief and labour]. Téka. 3-4: 3-18.
Beliczay, A. 1987. ‘Holland-magyar református kapcsolatok a II. világháború után’. [Dutch-Hungarian relations in the reformed congregations after World War II]. Confessio. 4: 22-24.
Anonymus, 1949. ‘Így jöttek meg Hollandiából gyermekeink’. [The arrival of our children from the Netherlands]. Élet és Jövő. [Life and Future]. 22nd January: 4.

Archival sources

Magyarországi Református Egyház Zsinati levéltára. (MREZSLEV) [Synodal Archives of the Reformed Church of Hungary] Nr. 11.
Dunamelléki Református Egyházkerület Ráday Levéltára [The Ráday Archives of the Danubian Church District] Nr. 2.

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