Echoes of “Genocide Revealed” Heard in Hungary’s UN Apology

Last Thursday, Csaba Körösi, the Hungarian ambassador to the UN, made headlines by making apologies on behalf of his country. His remarks addressed his country’s involvement in the Holocaust, as well as the accusations that Hungary’s government has recently sought to de-emphasize that involvement.

From the Jerusalem Times:

Ambassador Casba (sic) Körösi, who became unusually emotional for a diplomat during his remarks, conveyed the sincere apologies of the Hungarian state for the crimes committed, and admitted the state’s guilt in both its complicity in standing by and its assistance to the criminals.

“Institutions in the then-Hungarian state were responsible for the Holocaust,” Körösi said. “This apology must be made part of the national memory and identity of the Hungarian state.”

Holocaust memorial in Raoul Wallenberg Memorial Garden in Budapest, Hungary. Each leaf bears the name of a family killed by the Nazis. Photo by NH53 / CC BY

Holocaust memorial in Raoul Wallenberg Memorial Garden in Budapest, Hungary. Each leaf on the monument bears the name of a family killed by the Nazis. Photo by NH53 / CC BY

The Times article also details the alleged message “white-washing” on the part of the current Hungarian government, including a statement by Sándor Szakály, director of the state-sponsored Veritas Historical Research Institute, in which:

…Szakály reportedly termed the deportation and massacre of tens of thousands of Jews in Kamianets-Podilskyi, Ukraine, during World War II, “police action against aliens.”

In addition:

The Jewish community was further incensed by (Prime Minister) Orbán’s decision to push ahead with the erection of a statue depicting a Germanic eagle descending on the Angel Gabriel, a Hungarian symbol, in Budapest. The statue will bear inscriptions reading “German occupation of Hungary, March 19, 1944” and “To the memory of all victims,” but will make no explicit reference to the Jewish community. According to the Mazsihisz (the Federation of Hungarian Jewish Communities), the erection of a statue depicting Hungary as a quiescent and passive victim is inaccurate and serves to absolve the Nazi ally from responsibility for its actions.

These serious allegations require continued observation and vigilance. And their emergence infuses the pages of Genocide Revealed, Aleksandar Veljic‘s explosive historical account published by SOOP in 2013, with more relevance and urgency than ever before.

Genocide Revealed details the transgressions of Hungarian Nazis during World War II — in particular the long-hidden atrocities committed under the direction of regent Miklós Horthy in Hungarian-occupied Serbia in 1942. These crimes are exposed methodically and thoroughly for the first time in the book’s pages… and they deserve the scrutiny of the worldwide community.

Otherwise, facts that need to see the light of day will go dark. And history will risk a dangerous rewrite.