Stephen Kapos – how to be a mensch through turbulent times
JVL Introduction
This fascinating interview with Stephen Kapos reveals much about how he lived through turbulent times: life under the Horty dictatorship; the Nazi occupation of Hungary and the Holocaust; Stalinism; the Hungarian uprising; and as a refugee in the UK. He avoided marches for many years for good reasons but is now a stalwart on the national marches for Palestine and a dedicated activist in his 80s. An activism which he sees as necessary, inevitable, unavoidable.
When we invited him to be interviewed for our Jewish Journeys from Zionism he said that he did not qualify because he had never been a Zionist.
By the way, “Mensch” is a Yiddish word that means, in effect, a real human being, a good person with love and compassion for others. Another definition is that a mensch is “a person of integrity and honor; someone who is reliable, truthful, and has a strong sense of right and wrong; someone you can count on in a time of need.” About Stephen we can just say “all of the above” .
LL
This article was originally published by Counterfire on Tue 8 Apr 2025. Read the original here.
A life through dictatorship, Holocaust and protest: Interview with Stephen Kapos
Michael Lavalette interviewed Stephen Kapos, a Holocaust survivor, about his experiences in childhood and youth to his involvement in the Palestine movement
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Thank you for explaining the meaning of the word “Mensch”. Sixty years ago I had a Quaker girlfriend and it inspired me to try to live up to the qualities you mention.
Glad to read this.
Stephen is an inspiring, courageous man.
Thank you Stephen. Your thoughts on Hungary and the 1956 echo mine. I was a LP member for 59 years and suspended by the bureaucracy for more than 4 years from 2016 to 2020 and then expelled in February 2023. My “crime” was having a folded copy of Socialist Appeal under my arm while on a picket line supporting RMT members. I am now free to express my opinions and at 78 have become a member of the RCP. I will continue fighting for a socialist society, a workers’ democracy, until my last breath. Ich will Dir sagen Stephen dass Du ein richtiger Mensch bist. ✊✊
This is a fascinating interview and I knew hardly any of it despite knowing Stephen for over 4 years. The socialist group that invited Stephen to speak on Holocaust Memorial Day 2023 was the Socialist Labour Network. Because we were proscribed and Stephen was threatened with expulsion I thought he would pull out but to his credit he decided to resign from the Labour Party instead.
I feel a certain pride in having brought Stephen into prominence and I am in awe at his amazing contribution to the fight for Palestinian freedom and his bravery at the attacks of the Zionists on him. Because of course they only welcome holocaust survivors who sing along with their tunes. And as we know in Israel holocaust survivors live in poverty choosing between eating and heating as the reparations intended for them are spent on Zionist projects
Thankyou so much for whatyou are saying Stephen. I am shocked, horrified and appalled at the complicity of the west. It is absolutely despicable what is going on.