There is growing concern that Putin’s Russia established a network of websites to spread disinformation and political propaganda in the US. And how about Viktor Orbán’s Hungary? According to public records the Clevelandi Magyarokért Foundation was registered on December 5, 2019 in North Olmsted, Ohio as a non-profit entity. Within weeks the organization received 1.5 million Ft support from the Orbán government. […]
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Remembering Holocaust survivor Lilly Toth
Richard Schnurbach, president of the Montreal Holocaust Museum and Daniel Amar, the organization’s executive director, co-authored a moving piece remembering Lilly Toth (née Gluck), a survivor of...
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The warm smile of dictatorship
The very worst authoritarian regimes — the ones that divert airlines in order to arrest journalists, poison and imprison their critics, beat opposition activists and produce hostage videos of forced...
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State terrorism in Europe
What happened on Sunday on a Ryanair flight within the European Union ought to serve as a frigid shower for anyone who ventures into opposition or activist journalism. Ryanair was flying between the capitals...
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Queer Budapest 1873-1961
The publication of Queer Budapest 1873-1961 by Anita Kurimay fills a gap in the history of homosexuality in Hungary. This is the first book in English dealing with the history of homosexuality in Hungary...
Recently in the spotlight
From Ferenc Andai’s memoirs to Ottoman expansion and Hungarian revolt — An invitation to two roundtables
The Hungarian Studies Association of Canada is hosting a book roundtable discussion and a book launch as part of its annual conference, held under the aegis of the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, and moving forward in a virtual format this year. While other sessions of the conference are open to registered members, the two book sessions are […]
The romance of the 56-er Hungarian refugee and Prince William of Gloucester
The improbable romance of flamboyant Prince William of Gloucester and Zsuzsi Starkloff made headlines fifty years ago. Starkloff was a 56-er, an ambitious, capable Hungarian refugee who loved glamour. A recent documentary brought this romantic tabloid story into the spotlight again. The dashing Prince William of Gloucester was Queen Elisabeth’s first cousin and the page boy at her wedding in […]
Seventy-eight year-old Jon Greenwald is lobbying to be the next US Ambassador to Budapest
Seventy-eight year-old (!) Princeton and Harvard trained Jon Greenwald wants to be next US Ambassador to Budapest. He has already contacted the Biden team and declared that he wishes to serve the US in Hungary. Greenwald also wrote a letter to Béla Lipták (Hungarian Lobby) about his past Hungarian experience and motivations and we asked permission to re-publish it. Here […]
An HFP contributor and his winemaking past featured in The New Yorker
András Göllner’s son, Adam Leith Gollner, wrote a long-form essay for The New Yorker entitled “Does Your Wine Really Taste Like Rocks?” with a focus on vineyards and wines in Hungary. The piece, at times quite atmospheric and lyrical, takes off from the land of memories, before weaving its way through the mysteries of wine. The author’s father owned a […]
Call to reopen the investigation of the death of Tamás Barta, Hungarian Rock Star
Eszter Hajdú is a well-known Hungarian filmmaker with an impressive list of films under her belt. (Click here to see the list of her films) Now she wants to reopen the 1982 murder case of Tamás Barta in California and she called numerous US politicians, among them Secretary State Anthony Blinken and California Lieutenant Governor and ex-Ambassador to Hungary, Eleni […]
Why is the Hungarian Reformed Church in America mum about the death of Pastor Debreczeni in Phoenix, Arizona?
One of the most charismatic pastors of the Hungarian Reformed Church in America has died. In the past we wrote that lawsuits and chaos paralyze the Church in America. One of the most vicious court battles involved Pastor Debreczeni. Church officials openly called Debreczeni immoral, a liar and cheater who illegally taped conversations. Zsolt Demeter, Presbiter and Bishop Zoltán Lizik […]
Hungarian conservatives launch English-language journal
This month, we are witness to an eyebrow-raising development in Hungary. A new English-language journal entitled Hungarian Conservative is being launched on April 15th by the Batthyány Lajos Foundation — a non-profit group dating back to 1991 and established by Hungary’s first democratically elected prime minister, József Antall. The Batthyányi Circle of Professors, affiliared with this foundation, has been critical of […]
Marc Dillard likes absurdity and he now is the Chargé d’Affaires at the US Embassy in Budapest
On October 27th, 2020, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán presented the Hungarian Order of Merit, Middle Cross with the Star, to 82-year-old US Ambassador David Cornstein “for his role in strengthening Hungarian-U.S. diplomatic, economic and trade relations.” Ambassador Cornstein’s tenure has ended and currently there is no US Ambassador in Budapest. It is not clear when the new Ambassador will be named by […]
Békevár-Kipling, a piece of history from the Canadian Prairies
In the 19th century this area of Canada was called Assiniboia, named after local first nations people who lived here for hundreds or perhaps even thousands of years as they claim. At this time the province belonged to the Northwest Territories. In 1905 the province joined to the Confederation of Canada and became known by the name of Saskatchewan. Early […]
March 15 National Day in the time of the Coronavirus
On March 15th Hungarians commemorate the Revolution and the War of Independence against the Austrian-Hapsburg rule in 1848–49. Normally, on this day there are commemorations and family programs all over the country and in Hungarian communities all over the world. In Budapest the main event takes place on the steps of the Hungarian National Museum just like on March 15, 1848. Today […]
