Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán addressed a letter to WJC President Ronald S. Lauder this week, thanking him for his continued work in preserving the memory of the Holocaust and combatting the reemergence of antisemitism.
Prime Minister Orbán wrote, “Hungary has learned the appropriate lessons from the dark chapter of Hungarian history that took the lives of many of our Jewish compatriots and deprived survivors of their loved ones.
Orbán further noted the commitment to combating antisemitism stating, “My government continues to stand on the ground of zero tolerance for antisemitism and offers you and your organisation cooperation in the spirit of our common values.”
The letter came hours after Member of National Assembly Gergely Gulyás pledged the government’s continued support for the preservation and strengthening of the cultural identity of Hungarian Jews.
In a video message Gulyás recalled the horrors of the Holocaust, saying, “We remember the terrible tragedy Jews all over the world faced during the second world war, which was also Europe and Hungary’s historical tragedy...We remember the heroes who remain human under inhuman circumstances. Those who conquered their fears and helped at a time of hopelessness.”
Yad Vashem estimates that approximately 560,000 Hungarian Jews were murdered during the Holocaust.
