Zsigmond Kisfaludi Strobl completed his magnum opus, the Liberty Statue of Budapest in 1947, in just two years. It was originally a monument dedicated to the ‘liberating’ Soviet forces at the end of World War II. However, elements of the composition alluding to its original purpose were removed, and it still stands tall on top of Gellért Hill as a beacon of Hungarian freedom today.

Nagy was a highly controversial figure in Hungarian history, whose assessment is still a source of intense debates…He did stand up for the Hungarian Revolution in 1956—for debatable reasons—; but to portray him as a convinced democrat, or a hero of Hungarian popular representation and individual freedom would be a serious distortion. His legacy must be treated in its proper place: his merits must not be denied, but his sins must not be forgotten.