Aalders Maarten Johan

Between 1920 and 1930, the relationship between Hungary and the Netherlands was extra¬ordinarily intense. Famous are the so-called children’s trains, with which more than 28 000 Hungarian children travelled to the Netherlands to recover for a while in host families from the hardships that the and revolution had brought to the Hungarian people. But there was also help in the theological and ecclesiastical fields. Especially the followers of Abraham Kuyper (1839–1920) waged a fierce struggle. In Hungary it was and still is rumoured that this Kuyper church was bent on splitting the Calvinist church of Hungary. In this article, the author shows that this was not the intention of the Dutch leaders. Jenő Sebestyén, the main ally of the Dutch theologians, was also not out for a schism.

Towards the end of 1918, the Kingdom of Hungary was close to a collapse. Diplomatic interventions of all kinds tried to prevent this, and the Protestant churches were also asked to intervene. The Hungarian churches sent a delegation to The Netherlands. Members of these delegations, among them Géza Antal and Jenő Sebestyén, spoke with a number of Protestant sympathizers, like A. Kuyper and H. Colijn. The Dutch Protestant churches issued a statement warning against the danger that was threatening the Protestants in Hungary. According to Antal they were the first to issue a warning. But was there really an official report? Until now my research has not led to any firm indication in this respect.