Géza Szőcs has died

Géza Szőcs, poet and former Secretary of State for Culture in the early years of the Orbán government, has died at age 67 from COVID-19. Whenever I read his name I am reminded of Elie Wiesel’s words:

“It is with profound dismay and indignation that I learned of your participation, together with Hungarian Secretary of State for Culture Géza Szőcs and far-right Jobbik party leader Gábor Vona, in a ceremony in Romania honouring József Nyirő, a member of the National Socialist Arrow Cross Parliament. I found it outrageous that the Speaker of the Hungarian National Assembly could participate in a ceremony honouring a Hungarian fascist ideologue of the Horthy and Szálasi regimes. This distressing news came following the resurgent practice of naming public spaces after wartime leader Miklós Horthy and of rehabilitating Albert Wass and other figures that collaborated heavily with the Hungarian fascist regime. I was also informed that the writings of extreme right intellectuals are systematically introduced in the Hungarian curriculum.”

I named the photo “Nyírő, Szőcs, and the briefcase.”

Nyírő, Szőcs and the briefcase.

Celebrating a fascist icon.

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