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Lajos Szabolcsi

SZABOLCSI, LAJOS (1889–1943), Hungarian poet, author, and editor. The son of Miksa *Szabolcsi, he was born in Budapest. From the age of 18, he wrote for his father's newspaper, Egyenlőség. In 1915 he succeeded his father as editor in chief and retained the position until the paper ceased publication in 1938. Lajos Szabolcsi continued his father's fight for full Jewish participation in Hungarian life and tried to root out antisemitism by publicizing any violation of Jewish rights. He was in the vanguard of the liberal movement and violently attacked persecution, showing considerable personal courage, particularly during the period of the "White Terror" (1919–22). Szabolcsi was a protagonist of the official line of Hungarian Reform (*Neolog) Jewry, and was violently and vocally anti-Zionist. Several of his works dealt with Jewish themes.

He published Az új héber költészet története ("A History of Modern Hebrew Poetry," 1908) and translations of medieval and modern Hebrew verse. Szabolcsi also wrote fiction on Jewish subjects, including the historical novel A csillag fia (1918), on *Bar Kokhba; A levelekimenyegző ("The Wedding in Levelek," 1920), and the historical drama, Az áruló (1923), on *Josephus. Another of his works was Az emancipáció hatvan éves története ("The 60-Year History of Emancipation," 1917).

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Magyar Irodalmi Lexikon, 3 (1965), 129.


Sources: Encyclopaedia Judaica. © 2007 The Gale Group. All Rights Reserved.