‘Their achievements in the following years are also remarkable because they worked in a complete vacuum, relying only on their own research and calculations. By March 1944 Bay’s team had reached the point where they could target the “locating” of the Moon—that is, capturing microwave signals reflected from the Moon’s surface.’

‘We could say there is a certain discreet charm to the images from the summer of 1944, selected from Fortepan’s collection. But this charm, we might add, is rather almost morbid: we wonder at the cheerfulness captured by amateur and professional photographers during those dark months. People sunbathing, swimming in Lake Balaton, picnicking in flowery meadows, fooling around in front of the camera. Were they indifferent to the tragic events taking place during that period?’

‘Whenever we are in Szeklerland and the Szekler anthem is sung, I sing it with the others. People find it strange, but it’s natural for me…Emotionally, I am completely attuned to Hungarians, I am with them in their joy and sorrow. I often say: I am at home in two places. Whether the plane lands in Hungary or in Vietnam, I come home.’

The imperative of transparency also implies a proliferation of information which, quite deliberately, does not establish the truth, but only serves to make the world more opaque.