Diaspora

Consul General Valér Palkovits awards Sándor Balla in 2020.

Exploring the millions of dollars the Orbán government has spent in Canada

In 2020, Vinum Tokaj Canada Inc., owned by Sándor Balla, was awarded nearly C$4 million (944,880,000 forints) from Hungarian public funds to operate an office and warehouse in Toronto, as well as provide marketing services for the promotion of Hungarian businesses and products. Of all the funding envelopes allocated by the Orbán government to Canada since 2010, this was the largest.  […]

by · March 1, 2021 · Diaspora
Letter from Rev. Viktor J. Tóth, Pastor at the Hungarian Reformed Church of San Francisco and Vicinity

Letter from Rev. Viktor J. Tóth, Pastor at the Hungarian Reformed Church of San Francisco and Vicinity

Mr. Lazar, The Hungarian Reformed Church of San Francisco and Vicinity is a religious organization and therefore does not get involved in political matters. We worship God. At the same time, we are Hungarians. The parishioners of our Church are free to express their political viewpoints as private citizens, but they are not representing HRCSF. Due to privacy concerns, we do […]

by · February 28, 2021 · Diaspora
Baron László Hengelmüller von Hengervár, Austro-Hungarian Ambassador to Washington

Baron László Hengelmüller von Hengervár, Austro-Hungarian Ambassador to Washington

In the 19th century the Hungarian Kingdom was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, so Hungary had no separate representation in Washington DC.   Foreign affairs were handled in Vienna.  I was surprised to learn that the longest serving US Ambassador of Austria-Hungary was actually a Hungarian nobleman who, not surprisingly, did not speak Hungarian. His birth name was Baron Hengervári László Hengelmüller; […]

by · February 7, 2021 · Diaspora
Budapest cemetery, Haralson County, Georgia – photos by Ágnes Felber

Budapest cemetery, Haralson County, Georgia – photos by Ágnes Felber

Budapest is a tiny unincorporated community in Haralson County in the State of Georgia. It is located on U.S. Route 78, about five miles southeast of Tallapoosa. In the year of 1882 about 200 Hungarian families, mostly from mining towns in Pennsylvania, moved to the area and started to plant grapevines. Soon they established a series of flourishing vineyards and Georgia’s wine region was born. Later, as the number […]

by · January 8, 2021 · Diaspora
Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman.  A shared Nobel-prize for mRNA?

Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman. A shared Nobel-prize for mRNA?

I’m not a chemist but I wouldn’t be surprised if the next Nobel-prize in Chemistry would go to Hungarian-born Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman of the United States.  I had a chance to talk to several scientists who know a lot more about this subject than I do and they were all excited. Hungarians are somewhat fixated on the Nobel-prize.  […]

by · December 19, 2020 · Diaspora
Bela Kornitzer and Einstein

Bela Kornitzer – well connected biographer of the powerful and famous

As part of our series on lesser known Hungarian Americans we introduce Béla Kornitzer, the influential biographer and journalist. Béla Kornitzer was born in 1910 and as a young man he became a star newspaper reporter in Budapest.  When only in his twenties, he was already a respected Parliament reporter who befriended politicians, aristocrats and hobnobbed with the Hungarian elite. […]

by · December 12, 2020 · Diaspora
Nicholas (Miklós) Nyaradi

Nicholas (Miklós) Nyaradi – from banker to anti-Communist crusader

As part of our series on lesser known Hungarian Americans we introduce Nicholas Nyaradi or Miklós Nyáradi (Scheidl) the Hungarian banker and politician who became a significant voice in the anti-Communist movement in the United States. Miklós Scheidl was born in 1905 in Hungary and after receiving his law degree in 1928 he had a long career in banking.  He became […]

by · November 14, 2020 · Diaspora
Mr. Gergely Gulyás (right), Hungary's Minister of the Prime Minister's office with Rep. Kaptur. (Facebook photo of Rep. Kaptur)

Rep. Marcy Kaptur co-chair of the Hungarian American Caucus is favored to be re-elected

Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur is a Democrat and she is representing Ohio’s 9th Congressional District.  The 74-years-old politician has served in Congress longer than any other woman in history. Her congressional career started in 1983 and in November she has a good chance to be re-elected for another 2-year term. Her Republican challenger is 48-year-old Rob Weber, a lawyer, a West […]

by · October 28, 2020 · Diaspora
Trianon Conference at the University of Toronto

Trianon Conference at the University of Toronto

On October 15, 2020 the University of Toronto, Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy organized a Zoom conference entitled European Conflicted Heritage: New Reflections on the Treaty of Trianon 100 Years in Perspective (1920-2020). According to the brief description the Treaty of Trianon was signed 100 years ago yet its impact is still being felt by Hungarian minorities and the diaspora alike. […]

by · October 18, 2020 · Diaspora
Pastor Debreczeni with the Hungarian flag in Phoenix AZ

Lawsuits and chaos paralyze the Hungarian Reformed Church in America

Two years ago the First Hungarian Reformed Church in Phoenix filed a lawsuit against the Hungarian Reformed Church in America (HRCA) in Maricopa County Superior Courts, Arizona. According to publicly available information the defendants also include Attila Veres, Katalin Veres and the Hungarian Reformed Church in Phoenix.  Now the legal battle has spilled over to California. The First Hungarian Reformed Church […]

by · June 27, 2020 · Diaspora