Hungarian Conservative

On 15 October 1944, Horthy made an unsuccessful attempt to exit the Second World War. The operation failed due to a number of reasons: the resistance of some officers of the Royal Hungarian Army, organisational mistakes and pre-emptive actions by the Nazi secret service. Horthy was soon forced to resign.

Mazsihisz head Andor Grósz expressed his view to Minister Gulyás that some of the recent remarks about Regent Miklós Horthy made by Fidesz officials at the 30th anniversary of Horthy’s reburial do not fall in line with the government’s principle of zero tolerance of antisemitism.

This is not the first instance of the ambassador offering an unsolicited opinion about Hungary’s past. Last year, he published a message regarding the 1956 revolution, drawing parallels with the Russo-Ukrainian war, and this spring he lauded the Soviet Red Army that occupied Hungary in 1945.

Miklós Horthy de Nagybánya, former Regent of the Kingdom of Hungary, died in exile in Portugal in 1957 and was buried there. One of his last wishes, however, was for his ashes to be brought home once his beloved country was liberated from Soviet occupation.

‘Regardless of whether the outcome is positive or negative, I believe a historian’s duty is to try to reconstruct what happened through primary sources from the archives, as objectively as possible.’

Reuven Hecht was a right-wing Zionist who worked with the revisionist movement’s founding father, Ze’ev Jabotinsky, and after the founding of the state, became an Israeli entrepreneur and right-wing politician. Today, a museum and park in the Jewish state bear his name. After trying to help the Horthy family obtain a Swiss visa, he remained in correspondence with them until his death in 1993.

On 18 June 1868, 155 years ago today, Hungarian admiral Miklós Horthy de Nagybánya was born in Kenderes, Austria-Hungary. One of the greatest Hungarian statesmen of the 20th century served as the Regent of the Kingdom of Hungary between 1 March 1920 and 16 October 1944.

While generational differences pushed one group of young men into the camp of the contemporary nationalist right, that did not necessarily determine their later life choices. Generational experiences did define men to some extent—but it was political and moral choices that had the final say.

From the spring of 1920, the regent travelled around the country in his private train to observe the results of his national leadership in all the important settlements.

The picture of Horthy that emerges from the contemporary reports of Western ambassadors is hardly that of a gullible politician, but rather of a shrewd, albeit immoral manipulator. 

Inflation and the lack of heating materials tend to go hand-in-hand with war and crises, and it is interesting–and sad–to see that Hungary is now facing the very same issues as it struggled with a hundred years ago.

The situation of the Gypsies in this period ranged from tolerance and jovial disdain to exclusion, which literary historian János Hankiss characterized a quarter of a century later by saying that the Gypsies were ‘relatable strangers’ in Hungarian culture.

The story of Zadravecz’s controversial years well illustrates the fascinating internal debates and lively public life of the early Horthy period, as well as the divisions between Christian churches in a period which desperately called for Christian unity. 

Written in elegant expository prose, László Bernát Veszprémy’s book chronicles the main political episodes of one of Hungary’s watershed moments: the year 1921.

The 95-year-old 56er Tibor Weinzierl (Várnay) talks about his adventurous life in Hungary, Canada and the US: his experiences as a prisoner of war, his musical career, his emigration, and his work ethic. Still very fit and active, Tibor Weinzierl worked until he was 87, then started compiling his book at the age of 90.

Vilmos Apor is known as the Bishop of the Poor, and as the martyred prelate who was fatally wounded defending the girls and women under his protection from Soviet soldiers on the Good Friday of 1945.

In a rare show of good faith and positivity, US Ambassador to Hungary David Pressman attended a joint exercise of American and Hungarian soldiers in Szentes, Hungary. At the event, he emphasized the importance of the military alliance between the two nations.

The Second Hungarian Army, during the autumn and winter of 1942, prepared to hold up the incoming Soviet offensive coming from the direction of Stalingrad. As the Germans lost the siege of the city in all but theory, it was practically sure that the Soviets would advance toward the River Don. Thus, the Hungarian troops were left to defend the bridgeheads from the Soviets, who outnumbered them seven to one.

The catastrophe of the Second Hungarian Army at the River Don is a well-known and traumatic memory for most Hungarians. The army formation was deployed near Stalingrad, and was almost entirely destroyed by the Soviets in 1943, leaving many Hungarian families with deceased relatives.

The tragic fate and bravery of Gusztáv Jány, Commander of the Hungarian Second Army, mirror those of his troops, and, in many ways, of Hungary itself.

Hungary is a hospitable land with exceptionally friendly people, a country known for welcoming millions of tourists annually. That kindness, however, shall not be mistaken for weakness, as over the course of history, Hungary has proved it is a birthplace of warriors, valiancy, and engineering ingenuity that brought about effective military technologies.

Political philosophy that is clearly separated from legal philosophy could not really take root in Hungary either in the Renaissance or in the 18th–19th centuries. Outstanding experiments such as certain writings of Count István Széchenyi or Aurél Dessewffy, the ‘Ruling ideas’ of Baron Eötvös or some excellent political essays by Zsigmond Kemény remained isolated experiments. Ottlik is one of the first Hungarian practitioners of political philosophical thought who can be integrated into the Western traditions of political thinking.

‘Many Jewish citizens from European nations like Sweden are enduring levels of hostility that are non-existent in Hungary. In contrast, Yacov Hadas-Handelsman, the current Israeli ambassador to Hungary, earlier this year named Hungary as one of the safest nations for Jews to live in. Furthermore, the Jewish community in Hungary is not only thriving, but also one of the largest in Europe.’

Cardinal Mindszenty played an important role in the 1956 revolution. He assumed his post as archbishop immediately after his release from captivity, appealed for international aid for Hungary, initiated the process of cleaning the church from Communist infiltration, while also being active in the political life of the country. Firmly holding onto his conservative view of himself as the most important dignitary of Hungary, he tried to set the direction of the course of events. Contrary to the recent myth-busting efforts, this direction was not reactionary or outdated.

16 November marks the day when Rear Admiral, and later Regent, Miklós Horthy marched into Budapest in 1919, symbolically ending the Hungarian Soviet Republic. This remains a controversial event to this very day: while on the one hand, it ended a period of chaos and dictatorship, on the other hand, it bolstered the so-called White Terror.

The Austro–Hungarian Empire was not a colonial empire in the traditional meaning of the word—however, there were a number of attempts on the part of the Dual Monarchy to establish overseas territories, some of which even had moderate success.

‘The speed and eagerness with which Hungarian clubs sought to return to their old identities, with all the loyalties and connections they represented, demonstrated the power of these emotional and social meanings. And it was just as clearly a mark of the utter failure of the Party to co-opt and utilise the power of football for its own purposes. The Party abandoned the micro-management of football, paralleling its wider realisation after 1956 that, while its authority was still non- negotiable, it could and would not protect and justify it through the politicisation of society or the ideological mobilisation of the people.’

Pál Teleki, prime minister of Hungary in the interwar era, was probably one of the most tragic figures of twentieth century Hungarian history. He was torn between his conscience and geopolitical reality, a tension he could only resolve by ending his own life as a shocking act of protest.

Hungary is not just a great country to live in, but also a nation with rich history that sparked the attention of many excellent historians from all around the world. A list of books about Hungarian history definitely worth reading.

Popular for its oriental gastronomy and classic café atmosphere, this busy spot of the capital has become a real cultic public space over the past years. It is open every day of the year, from morning till night, and is always full of students, writers, actors, journalists, artists, freelancers from the creative professions, and anyone else who wants to be part of one of the most, if not the most, chic meeting places on the bustling Bartók Béla Boulevard.