Ever since I read Jerzy Kosiński’s 1965 novel The Painted Bird, I was freed from any misconception that antisemitism in Hungary is unique or somehow more odious than that appearing elsewhere in Central Europe. In fact, in some ways, Poland’s religiosity may have contributed to a particularly fervid form of hatred. In The Painted Bird, we follow the story of a […]
Hungary’s Catholic leadership is firmly behind Orbán, in fact, church events often serve as political tools to spread Orbán’s nationalist message in the Carpathian basin. Pope Francis plans to visit Romania and is expected to celebrate an outdoor Mass on June 1, 2019 at the shrine of Our Lady of Csíksomlyó, a pilgrimage site near Şumuleu Ciuc, Romania. This is […]
As part of our series on lesser known Hungarian Americans we introduce Hollywood star Charles Korvin. The very good looking Hungarian was a popular star of the screen in the 1940s. Géza Kárpáthy Korvin was born in 1907 in Pöstyén, Hungarian Kingdom (today Piešťany, Slovakia) in a Hungarian speaking family with a noble lineage. Géza was fascinated with photography and […]
It’s May Day in Hungary — a national holiday where major political parties hold picnics and rallies, Budapest’s Városliget (City Park) fills with families, games for children, barbecues and vendors, and the almost moribund Munkáspárt, the hard-line successor of the country’s pre-1989 Hungarian Socialist Workers’ Party, shows signs of life by marching on Andrássy út and serving zsíróskenyér (bread with […]
Almost 40 years ago I was a newcomer to San Francisco. On weekends we would hang out at North Beach with friends at the Caffe Trieste and always had a mandatory stop at City Lights the legendary (and cozy) bookstore on Columbus Ave. I often chatted with the tall, friendly older guy behind the cashier’s desk. He sat on a […]
Erzsébet and Zsuzsanna Ránki have established the György Ránki Scholarship in the Department of Central Eurasian Studies at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies. This gift will provide financial support to scholars specializing in Hungarian Studies, as well as additional support for the György Ránki Hungarian Chair. Professor György Ránki’s work focused on Hungarian and Central […]
On the road that escapes Jerusalem and winds along the ridge to Emmaus, two disillusioned youths drag home their crucified dream. They had smelled messiah in the air and rose to the scarred and ancient hope only to mourn what might have been. And now a sudden stranger falls upon their loss with excited words about mustard seeds and surprises […]
On June 20, 1947 the iconic dome of St. Stephen’s Basilica in Budapest burned down. The cause of the fire was worker’s negligence during the roof’s renovation. Firefighters desperately tried to save the cupola, but their equipment couldn’t reach the height of the building. In the surrounding streets thousands of citizens watched with horror the struggle of the firefighters. (Watch […]
Our publication has been critical in the past of close contacts and friendly relationships between the prior Conservative government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper and representatives of Hungary’s Orbán regime. The Hungarian Free Press, its contributors and many of its readers have on numerous occasions informed different layers of the Canadian political establishment of the systemic rule of law violations […]
Two Romanian citizens, Mr. István Beke and Mr. Zoltán Szőcs were arrested in November, 2015. They are ethnic Hungarians and local leaders of a group called Sixty-Four Counties Youth Movement (Hatvannégy Vármegye Ifjúsági Mozgalom). The two man were charged with planning to detonate an improvised device during the December 1, 2015, National Day celebration in Targu Secuiesc (Kézdivásárhely in Hungarian), […]
