Gyula Alpári

Gyula Alpári (19 January 1882, in Dunaföldvár – 17 July 1944, in Sachsenhausen) was a Hungarian Communist politician and propagandist, as well as a journalist by profession.

In the 1920s and early 30s, Alpári was active in Germany, where he was editor in chief on the Comintern’s German-language periodical InPreKorr (Internationale Presse Korrespondenz).

[1][2] Several authors believe that Alpari was the high-level communist whom Whittaker Chambers describes in his 1952 memoir, Witness: I did most of my reading about the Hungarian Revolution at my desk in the newspaper room of the New York Public Library... One night, when I was absorbed in Bela Szanto, I suddenly became aware that a little man was standing beside me...

[3]Maria Schmidt writes, "According to some sources [whom she does name or cite]... Gyula Alpari travelled to New York to take charge of the action there... We recall the mysterious Hungarian Communist, chambers 'mentor'...

If this New York Comintern rep was (as I think probable) Alpari, it would suggest that both Whittaker Chambers and Kim Philby had been enlisted with the assistance of the same member of the 'Hungarian Mafia.