The history of the Jews

by Gotthard Deutsch

HUNGARY

In Hungary the Jews settled at a very early date. They were tax-farmers and financiers. Our first documentary evidence goes back to 1251, when King Bela IV granted them a charter, essentially a reproduction of that granted by the Duke of Austria in 1244. Under Louis (1342-1382) they were given the alternative of expulsion or conversion to Christianity. During the fifteenth century the Jews suffered from persecution and expulsion.