Jewish officials say Hungary’s Holocaust museum to address complicity
Presentation suggests the museum will deal with Hungary’s collaboration with Nazi Germany during the Holocaust –
Hungary’s Holocaust museum will deal with the complicity in the genocide of that country’s pro-Nazi rulers, the managers of the controversial institution said.
A delegation from EMIH, a Chabad-affiliated Hungarian Organisation, is on Monday set to unveil for the first time their vision for and some content from Budapest’s House of Fates museum to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, or IHRA.
A copy of the presentation, seen by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, suggests the museum will deal with Hungary’s collaboration with Nazi Germany during the Holocaust – a major point of contention that has kept the museum closed for years past its scheduled opening date.
The museum will treat “popular support of Fascist movements” in Hungary and Europe “as a response to a perceived Communist threat,” reads the document for the presentation in Luxembourg, with is the rotating head of IHRA.
The museum, an 80,000 square-foot space featuring a recreated forced labour camp, will “take care to avoid trivialising and politicising difficult questions of morality and responsibility when dealing with topics such as action and inaction, complicity and defiance,” EMIH wrote.
EMIH in September took over from the government managing the museum, which costs £15.8m ($20 million) to construct.
The government put EMIH in charge following a boycott on the museum before it even opened by several Jewish groups and Yad Vashem, Israel’s state museum on the Holocaust, amid speculation that it would whitewash Hungarian complicity.
Expectations for House of Fates’ opening vary from six months to two years, according to the document.
Ambassador Georges Santer, IHRA Chair, said: “IHRA expects that the voices of all concerned Jewish communities in Hungary will be heard and that their input will be taken seriously.
We welcomed the clear assurance by Rabbi Shlomo Köves (Chabad EMIH Jewish Federation in Hungary) and the Minister of State, that a highly controversial historian who had been involved in the drafting of an earlier concept had played no role in developing the new vision for the House of Fates and that this person would not be involved in the initiative moving forward.
Hungary, as one of our 33 Member Countries, has committed itself to upholding the terrible truth of the Holocaust against those who deny or distort it. We look forward to supporting Hungary in its efforts to present a nuanced and self-critical history of the Holocaust in Hungary.”
At it’s meeting in Luxembourg of @TheIHRA at a presentation of Hungary’s new Holocaust Museum “House of Fates”. I raise the promised increased funding to the existing Museum on Pava Street
I get a repeat of a promise, given to me 6 months that the money “will be there soon” pic.twitter.com/ocMD6kJ5Tf
— Eric Pickles (@EricPickles) June 4, 2019
Session @TheIHRA with presentation from the Hungarian Delegation about the development of their Holocaust museum, House of Fates. UK Delegation leader, @EricPickles asks pertinent questions. pic.twitter.com/AFEwo6L16E
— Olivia Marks-Woldman (@OliviaRMW) June 4, 2019
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
