Hóman remembered for both his merits and his sins
Monday, November 25th, 2019A pro-government writer admits that monuments to historic heroes should only be erected after a thorough public debate on their merits and faults. READ MORE
Responsibility of WW2 Allies in Hungary’s Nazi occupation
Thursday, March 21st, 2019In the leading online left-wing liberal news site, a historian accuses a colleague of trying to whitewash Hungarian leaders of responsibility for the Holocaust, by suggesting that the occupation in March 1944 was provoked by the Allied powers in clear disregard for the fate of Hungarian Jews. READ MORE
Remembering Hungary’s occupation by Nazi Germany
Wednesday, March 20th, 2019A historian remembering Hungary’s 1944 occupation contends that the Allied powers ignored the fate of Hungarian Jews. Another young historian calls for a more nuanced and less politicized interpretation of the 1944 events. READ MORE
Dispute over history curriculum
Thursday, November 29th, 2018A liberal and a left-wing columnist harshly criticize a conservative historian’s suggestion that history education should be used to strengthen national feeling. A pro-government commentator, on the other hand, welcomes the proposal. READ MORE
Dispute over Hungary’s Turkic heritage
Friday, October 5th, 2018A conservative commentator accuses the government of advancing Hungary’s Turkic ancestry out of geopolitical considerations. Another conservative historian dismisses the accusation, and welcomes the inclusion of the nomadic heritage in the Hungarian national identity. READ MORE
Saint Stephen’s myth revised
Monday, August 20th, 2018A pro-government political scientist challenges the established view that the founder of the Hungarian state opted for the West when he pledged allegiance to the Pope and enforced Christianity in his nascent state. READ MORE
Exodus route deleted from school map
Saturday, July 23rd, 2016A conservative pundit pokes fun at the authorities who wiped Moses’ route to the Promised Land from school maps in order not to offend either Jewish or Palestinian Arab sensitivities. READ MORE
Statue strife Nr 2: György Donáth
Monday, February 29th, 2016Commenting on a foiled initiative to unveil the bust of a pre-war right-wing politician, left-wing commentators accuse the government of indulging in a cult of racist personalities. Their pro-government counterpart denies the allegation that György Donáth was an anti-Semite, while an independent conservative author calls on the opposing sides to show more tolerance towards each other. READ MORE
Criticism of planned statue of anti-Semitic Interwar Minister of Education
Saturday, December 12th, 2015The leading left-wing daily criticizes plans to honour the memory of historian Bálint Hóman, who as Minister of Education and Religion under Regent Miklos Horthy was actively involved in anti-Semitic legislation. READ MORE
The lessons of the Great War
Tuesday, July 1st, 2014Columnists on both the left and the right project the lessons of World War I onto current events, and warn that defiant and unyielding geopolitics may trigger a chain reaction that cannot be contained.
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