Andor Grósz, head of the Federation of Hungarian Jewish Communities (Mazsihisz), met with Head of the Prime Minister’s Office Gergely Gulyás on Tuesday, 12 September to discuss ‘remarks made by state leaders in recent days that have been met with a negative response in Hungary and internationally’, as Grósz put it.
The remarks that have caused controversy are related to Regent Miklós Horthy, who ruled Hungary between 1920 and 1944. The 30th anniversary of his reburial occurred earlier this month, and was commemorated by some Fidesz officials, such as Minister of Construction and Transport János Lázár. In his remarks in Kenderes, Lázár called Horthy a true patriot and an exceptional statesman.
Hungary under Regent Horthy entered World War II on the Axis side in 1941, and thus was allied with Hitler’s Germany. However, the deportation of Jews to concentration camps only began after Germany occupied Hungary in 1944, and after Horthy’s attempted exit from the war failed. His legacy, distorted by Communist historiography, is nonetheless controversial at best, and he is especially not viewed favourably by the Jewish community in Hungary, as Grósz’s statement attests.
Grósz, who is also the chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Hungarian Holocaust Public Foundation, added that some of the comments made about Horthy did not fall in line with the government’s principle of zero tolerance of antisemitism, and that
the administration needs to make its position on this matter clear.
US Ambassador to Hungary David Pressman also voiced similar criticisms earlier.
Aside from the controversial issue, Minister Gulyás and Grósz also discussed the planned renovation project of the 150-year-old building of the Jewish Theological Seminary – University of Jewish Studies in Budapest. The two also talked about the refurbishment plans of another building, the Mazsihisz Charity Hospital in the 14th district of Budapest.
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Sources: Hungarian Conservative/MTI
