75 years after an attempted breakout by over twenty thousand German and Hungarian troops besieged in Buda Castle only two per cent of whom made it to the German lines, opinions diverge about the commemorations held on the anniversary. READ MORE
A conservative commentator suggests that mainstream parties play into the hands of extremist parties by ignoring people’s fears of immigration, and by dismissing critics of immigration as neo-Nazis. READ MORE
A liberal columnist comments on a recent opinion survey about the Nazi Occupation Memorial in Budapest, and contends that without a proper debate on the controversial past, the erection of statues is simply a waste of money and a divisive act in Hungary.
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Left-liberal commentators reject the Prime Minister’s statement, which justifies the controversial statue project as a gesture to remember all victims of Nazi occupation. One even calls the statue a Nazi monument that will be blown up. A pro-government columnist says it is obvious that the monument expresses the condemnation of Hungary’s occupation by Hitler’s army and that the government has expressed its grief over the Holocaust and admitted the guilt of Hungarian collaborators in no uncertain terms. READ MORE
Left-wing commentators echo the misgivings expressed by opposition politicians about the government’s plan to erect a monument commemorating the invasion of Hungary by Nazi Germany in 1944. The statue is due to be unveiled on the 70th anniversary, i.e. March 19th, on Szabadság (Freedom) square, in front of the monument to Soviet soldiers. Left-wing politicians have criticised the hasty decision and expressed fears that the monument will implicitly whitewash the role of those Hungarians who collaborated with the Nazis. READ MORE