It was April 22, a Sunday. I spent the whole day in bed. No matter how hard I tried, I just could not get up. I was so stiff. It took time before I could get up from the sofa. I was all hunched up. It was on that day that Miklós Beliczey and his wife wanted to come to visit - but there was no way I could have them and it created a bit of an awkward situation. A few days later I was able to get up and I called on them. Miklós and I were friends back in the thirties, when we used to fence and were in competitions in Csaba I was secretary at the fencing club. Miklós was Géza Beliczey's only son, a member of the upper house, a landowner. He had a degree in agriculture and went on a study tour to America, Africa and many European countries. He spoke English, French and German. His wife was an Austrian countess, his father-in-law an officer in the Hussars. Miklós was president at the fencing club back then. We represented the organization. There used to be regular meetings and we often got together. Usually Miklós' chauffeur would park the car in front of my office. The funds for the club came from rather meager donations. We requested help from patrons and organized fund-raising balls.
The members of the association represented a cross-section of Csaba's youth. The balls were delightful, created in a convivial atmosphere. The democratic and compassionate Miklós never missed a ball, always elegant in his tuxedo. Together we greeted the mothers and fathers with their daughters in the special box seats set up for the grand occasion. Miklós kept this ritual up even in the early forties. By then he held very high position in the administration of Békés County. He was always the distinguished gentleman.
This was in the days when Kállay was prime minister and there was an atmosphere of change - anti-semitism - in the air and on the written page - where the swastika made its appearance. Members of political parties in opposition of this perception came under police surveillance. Democratic politicians lost out, needless to say.
I ran into Miklós Beliczey who fought anti-semitism, but on March 19 he was forced to resign. His new position was - carpenter. At this point his main concern was to be able to support his wife, his three children and his 73-year-old mother. All his assets had been expropriated. For six days he had been planting so that they would not go hungry. His democratic attitude had resulted in poverty. He felt that both his political career and his work in the civil service had been beyond reproach. Ninety percent of the civil servants served under Sztojay's26.1 government and then came the Szálasi era.
It was sad to see the outcome of honesty and sincerity. The political police targeted him as Horthy's man and this was their revenge.
At this time this was Miklós' only problem. I tried to console him. The court hearings were to begin and he should be able to clear his political record. Hopefully he would be assigned to a suitable position in the department of agriculture or administration.