864.00/10–2047: Telegram
The Minister in Hungary (Chapin) to the Secretary of State
1700. This morning I received the visit of Mr. Barankovics and Professor Eckhardt, president and vice president respectively of the Democratic Peoples Party. After a general review of the political situation in Hungary Barankovics stated in response to my questioning [Page 395] that the non-Communist population of Hungary was becoming more and more convinced that war between the US and Soviet Russia was not only inevitable but imminent. He volunteered that the leadership of his party were convinced that this was not the case but said that they were helpless to combat this feeling since his party had no press and was not allowed to hold general meetings. This feeling to a certain extent arose from “wishful thinking” since first the middle class and now even the peasants feel that the economic and social situation of Hungary could not be worse and anything is preferable to continuance of the present conditions.
Barankovics said that he regretted extremely to have to state that the Cardinal and some of the bishops who were close to him appeared to be encouraging this feeling of war expectancy in the Catholic congregations. Eckhardt cited a public meeting a few days ago when one of the bishops went so far as to state that the time was not far off when the “cross would break the hammer”. This address was made in the presence of the Communist Minister of the Interior and although hushed up has had considerable repercussions. Barankovics stated that ever since his return from Canada via the US, the Cardinal has managed to give the impression of “a deep diplomatic secret” and has made veiled allusions to the possibility that there will soon be a change for the better in the political and social situation of Hungary. In all allusions to a coming change in Hungary and the possibility of war there is a reference to the US as the one hope of saving Hungary. In fact, said Barankovics, the state of mind is so serious in the Christian population of Hungary that his party had decided to send Professor Eckhardt via Paris to Rome in an endeavor to persuade the Vatican to exercise a moderating influence upon the Cardinal and some of the Bench of Bishops.
Barankovics and Eckhardt stated that the Voice of America is of utmost importance in Hungary and that all classes except the violent Communists listened avidly to the broadcast. In response to my questioning Barankovics, after stating that he supposed that I wished an entirely frank answer, said that he felt that the tone of our broad-casts was entirely “too bellicose”. He explained that the Hungarian population has lost all critical faculty for interpretation of a free press and that consequently it accepts extracts from our press editorials repeated over the Voice of America quite literally. He suggested that we might wish to consider the possibility of adding “a little water to the wine” which was too strong and of adapting the tone of our broadcasts to the listeners. He felt in this connection that it would be most useful if we could have some broadminded Hungarian who was familiar with the actual situation in Hungary as an editor [Page 396] or adviser on our Voice of America broadcast. He said that the man in the street as well as the peasant now when asked as to why he felt that war was imminent merely referred to the “New York radio” as the Voice of America is popularly called here. Barankovics suggested that since he knew America had no desire for a war we should be concerned in our information service not only with the immediate problem of answering the belligerent Soviet press attacks but also with the long term campaign of reassuring the people of southeastern Europe of our desire for continued peace.
In conclusion, Mr. Barankovics again referred to the attitude of the higher Catholic clergy which he, as the leader of a Catholic popular party, felt was so out of step with progressive Catholic popular thinking and with the attitude of the Vatican as reflected in the Pope’s recent encyclicals. He said that the position of the opposition party in a country such as Hungary was rendered doubly difficult not only because of the attacks by the extreme left but by the attitude of many of its adherents who so firmly wished for forceful means as an alleviation of their miseries and who were apt to describe the path of moderation followed by the Barankovics party as one of “treason” to the party’s adherents.
Sent Department, repeated Rome 45.