Keyword – civic radicals

Lajkó, Ádám:

Freemasonry and the First World War

The theory about Masonry’s responsibility for WWI was a popular idea among interwar far-right intellectuals in Hungary. This paper examines the origins and the context of this interpretation and shows why it could become one of the emotional reference points in the emerging far-right worldview. It demonstrates that speculation about this link appeared in the Hungarian press as early as 1914. The idea first emerged within a radical branch of political Catholicism, hostile to the civic radicals, a francophile ideology closely linked to Masonry. The theory’s focal point was the question of nationality and territorial integrity, its proponents portrayed the irredentist threat against the dual Monarchy as a tool of the Freemasons. After Italy’s entry into the war the idea also appeared in the pro-government conservative daily Budapesti Hírlap. The paper shows that the public diplomacy and geopolitical rhetoric of the Entente states had a catalytic effect on the development of this theory: its proponents interpreted the Hungarian civic radicals as a force representing the interests of the Entente. Finally, the paper shows that this early interpretation played a founding role in the birth of the theories attributing the Trianon Peace Treaty to the influence of the Masons.

Keywords: civic radicals, far-right world view, first world war, masonry, nationality question, political Catholicism