Ronald Lauder, an American billionaire, prominent Republican politician, former ambassador to Austria and head of the World Jewish Congress, has Hungarian ancestry; his grandmother was born in Sátoraljaújhely. Recently, in an interview he named Hungary the most anti-Semitic country in Europe. (read here) .
Lauder specifically mentioned the statues of Hitler-supporter Regent Miklós Horthy, a self-proclaimed anti-Semite who declared war on the United States. Horthy’s policies resulted in the death of hundreds of thousands of Hungarians. Although he was arrested by the Americans at the end of WWII, Stalin intervened and Horthy escaped prosecution.
The Hungarian Government swiftly rejected Mr. Lauder’s accusations. Prime Minister Orbán’s PR staff claimed that Mr. Lauder is uninformed, gets bad advice and just doesn’t understand Hungary.
The Hungarian Government is skillfully misleading the international media. If you travel to the Hungarian countryside you will discover hundreds (yes, hundreds!) of recently-installed statues, plaques and memorials of fascists, racists, anti-Semites and convicted World War II criminals. It is truly bizarre but there is a Faustian logic behind the practice. Praising one-time Hungarian fascists, especially anti-Semites, bring votes to Fidesz, Hungary’s ruling political party. The statues are part of their political strategy and to fend off foreign criticism the Orbán government has hired lobbyists, journalists, historians and even Rabbis. Their job is to cover up the practice of installing Nazi statues.
Mr. Lauder is not uninformed, he is absolutely correct about the statues. We have compiled a partial list of recently-installed Horthy memorabilia and if you know about other ones, please let us know.
Budapest, in front of the Calvinist Church Hazatérés, Szabadság Square
Horthy bust in Szabadság tér, Budapest.
Videos about the protests: click here and also here.
Hencida, Hajdú-Bihar County
Horthy bust in Hencida, Hajdú-Bihar County.
Kenderes. Jász–Nagykun-Szolnok county
Horthy bust in Kenderes. Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county.
Horthy bust in Csókakő, Fejér county
Horthy bust in Csókakő.
Watch the related neo-Nazi rally at Csókakő click here.
Debrecen, wall of Reformed College
Plaque to Horthy on the wall of the Reformed College in Debrecen.
Kereki, Somogy county
Horthy Square
Budapest, XVII district
Budapest, XVII district.
Budapest, XVI district (Veres Péter út 79.)
Budapest, XVI district (Veres Péter út 79.)
Kunhegyes Jász–Nagykun-Szolnok county
Horthy Miklós Street
The Hungarian government’s continued support of the Cult of Miklós Horthy is anachronistic and distasteful. The fact that Horthy’s family is revered by Hungarian military officials is appalling. It is a slap in the face of every American who fought against fascism and it is especially hurtful to Hungarian-American families whose loved ones served in the US army during World War II.
Wider media exposure is needed in North America to publicize Hungary’s Nazi statues. How about a “tourist guide” to show the location of each statue to show the world that Hungary’s elected government is trying to re-create Horthyism – the Hungarian fascism of the 1930s?
These statues are both anti-Hungarian and anti-American. We better do something about them.
György Lázár
