Vilmos Mezöfi

Mezofi, Vilmos (1870-1947), politician and journalist born in Debrecen, Hungary (then part of Austria-Hungary). He attended commercial high school at Budapest, but circumstances prevented him frpom completing his studies there and he became a watchmaker's apprentice. Mezofi educated himself and became a journalist, working at first as columnist for various liberal newspapers. He joined the Social Democratic Party and edited their daily newspaper, "Nepszava" and also the worker's magazine "Nepolvasotabor".

Mezofi played a leading role in the Social Democrats' attempt to organize the agricultural workers in 1905, a movement which the government considered to be dangerous and therefore suppressed it. Mezofi, however, was elected deputy and represented the party in the Lower Chamber of the Hungarian Parlament from 1905, fighting for universal suffrage in and outside of parliament, and pressed for immediate land reform. He left the party in 1910, when he found that it was not applying itself to this question.

After World War I Mezofi joined the newly formed small landowner's party and edited its journal "Szabad Szo" ("Free Word"). He continued to be active in Hungarian politics after the counterrevolution of 1920. In 1938 legislation was introduced to deprive Jews of their civic rights. Mezofi vigorously fought the proposals and helped to organize the defense of the Jewish community. He was elected president of the 14th synagogue district of Pest in 1941.

Mezofi's many writings include: "A szocialdemokracia evangeliuma" ("The Gospel of Social Democracy"); "Weitling Vilmos, a legelso nemet kommunista elete es tanitasa" ("The Life and Doctrines of Wilhelm Weitling, First German Communist"); "A munkaberek Magyarorszagon az 1896-1998 evekben" ("Wages in Hungary During the Years 1896-1998"); "Kik a hazaarulok?" ("Who are the Traitors?"); "Evezredek tortenete" ("History of Millennia"; 10 vols.). In 1937 he published, for the benefit of the agricultural population, the pamphlet "Iras a zsidokrol" ("Script on the Jews"), to counteract Nazi propaganda by German agents among that class.

https://dbs.bh.org.il/luminary/mezofi-vilmos