Hungarian Conservative

Do humans need beauty in their lives? In his BBC documentary, Roger Scruton argues that we do, and that as modern society loses beauty, we risk losing the meaning of life, too.

At the beginning of September, the Danube Institute held a conference titled ‘Christians, Violence and the Middle East’. One of the keynote speakers of the conference was Juliana Taimoorazy, who spoke about the plight of Christians in her homeland, Iran and Iraq, through her personal story.

One of the world’s most famous and popular magicians and illusionists is Hungarian-born American Harry Houdini, whose death-defying acts are watched with great amazement even today.

The ghettoisation of Jews and the establishment of Jewish police units took place in rural Hungary after the German occupation of 19 March 1944. The police was set up with the aim of maintaining the internal order of the ghettos and internment camps, as well as controlling entry and exit. In contemporary records, the police was variably referred to as ghetto police, auxiliary police, house police, internal police, but the most common name was Jewish police.

Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang gives the readers not only an insight into 20th-century Chinese history, but it also powerfully speaks of human bravery and dedication to truth in the darkest hours of history.

The goal of the project, launched by Mr Both, is to explore, preserve and present the living musical folklore of Ukrainian villages.

In just two decades, Mihály Munkácsy emerged from starvation into being one of the most renowned artists of his time, enriching Hungarian art with a multitude of exceptional paintings.

In order to understand where to move forward, first, we must look at our past, our history, so that we become able to identify our strengths, weaknesses and our spiritual resources.

One of the foundational paintings of Hungarian national imagination is the Arrival of the Hungarians by Árpád Feszty.

The picture of Horthy that emerges from the contemporary reports of Western ambassadors is hardly that of a gullible politician, but rather of a shrewd, albeit immoral manipulator. 

Central planning is not viable because it can never collect enough information about the market to optimally coordinate economic interactions. It is also a path that may lead to a totalitarian state.

While a survey that was conducted in Slovakia in July indicated that a slight majority of Slovaks would prefer Russia to win the war, many dismiss the poll due to methodological concerns.

With 1.5 billion people still living under Communist dictatorships, viewing the collapse of the USSR as the end of the horrors of Communism is misguided. The Victims of Communism Museum in Washington D.C., opened this summer with financial contribution from the Hungarian government, is a powerful reminder of the danger that Communism poses.

6 October is a National Day of Mourning in Hungary remembering the Thirteen Martyrs of Arad who made the ultimate sacrifice for Hungary’s freedom and independence after the defeat of the 1848–49 Revolution and Freedom Fight.

5 October is dedicated to Raoul Wallenberg, who saved the lives of one hundred thousand Hungarian Jews during World War II.

The war in Ukraine has renewed the controversy over Communist era statues in Poland. The country is now being purged of the remaining Soviet monuments.

The PesText festival was organised for the fourth time this year. The festival showcases literature and culture from the international scene, focusing on the significance of literary translation as one of the most important creative activities.

Today marks the 77th infamous anniversary of the invasion of Ethiopia—also called Abyssinia—by Benito Mussolini’s Italy.

Animatiqua studio used Fortepan’s photos to revive the old Budapest. Pictures of buildings, bridges and squares that can no longer be seen in their original form have been digitalised.

A bridge once named after Franz Joseph himself—a bridge blown up, the ruins of which are largely sitting in the bed of the Danube until this day. This is the Ferenc József Bridge, which continues to exist today in its successor, Liberty (Szabadság) Bridge.

On 30 September, Hungary celebrates its folk tale heritage. Folk stories teach Hungarian children about the importance of courage, love and honesty on the journey of life.

Objectively speaking, hundreds of unauthorized executions took place in the country, the victims of which were either ex-functionaries of the communist system or innocent Jewish traders and citizens.

This final piece deals with his even more chaotic relationship to the contemporary governing right, and his rocky road from Liebling-author to opposition prophet during the twenties and the rest of the Horthy-era.

If we are to genuinely understand Iran, we must begin by dispensing with the myths that the Western media has for too long been accustomed to telling.

The writer Dezső Szabó had many periods in his career—pro-Catholic, strongly protestant, bourgeoise radical, communist, anti-semitic and finally, anti-Nazi—, but in the early twenties, he was definitely going through a nationalist and anti-semitic phase. His contemporary speeches and articles provide much of the reason why contemporary historians label him an extremist.

These Central European brothers find themselves amid the type of calamity inevitable in all bilateral relationships. Yet, history, geography, politics, and economics all ensure they will continue to raise glasses together, as they have for centuries.   

Budapesters can hardly wait for the renovation to be finished and to see the Corvin Department Store in a condition worthy of its former self.

Humanism gave precedence to the development of human virtue, as depicted in the classical works of Cicero and Livy. This, however, was never a negation of divine or supernatural matters.

30 years ago, dozens of statues were removed from public places all across Hungary. The Iconoclasm of the 1990s was not only a symbolic event of the regime change, but also a moment of democratic awakening for Hungary.

Secondhand Time by Noble laureate Svetlana Alexievich is a powerful account of what Russians really think about the demise of the USSR. The views on the collapse of the regime are revealed to be much more complex and varied than what the overused media catchphrases ‘nostalgia’ and ‘sentimentalism’ suggest.