conference to revive their culture after what they called a century of persecution, media reports said Saturday May 25.
"We who were born in the past 100 years lived in the worst century of Hungarian history," the Hungarian News Agency MTI quoted Ferenc Glatz as saying.
Glatz, the ex-president of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, spoke as he received the Tolerance Prize at the 4th international meeting of Hungarian Jewish religious communities in the town of Debrecen, dubbed "the Reformed capital of Hungary."
HOLOCAUST
About 600,000 Hungarian Jews died in the Holocaust of World War Two when Hungary for the most part supported Nazi Germany. Hungary was also one of the first European country’s to introduce anti-Semitic laws in the 30’s which established "quota’s" for the number of Jewish students that were allowed to study at higher education institutions.
Glatz stressed that before the 20th century the Hungarian nation was characterized "by tolerance rather than exclusion", according to records released by MTI. "We are good Hungarian people, who love our nation, love our land and love our non-Hungarian brethren with whom we are living today," Glatz added.
RECONCILIATION
Glatz was not the only one who received the Tolerance Prize from the Jewish community for his efforts to support reconciliation. Other award-winners included Reformed Bishop Gusztav Bolcskei, President of the Synod of the Calvinist Church in Hungary, and the community of the Debrecen Philharmonic Orchestra.
Hungary’s Reformed Church has been active in a dialogue with the Jewish communities in an effort to heal the wounds of history. It recently condemned some of its leading members for participating in the activities of the far right Hungarian Justice and Life Party (MIEP), which is known for its anti-Semitic views.
CULTURE
Peter Weisz, President of the Jewish Religious Community of Debrecen and Deputy President of the Federation of Jewish Communities in Hungary, told MTI that the three-day meeting in Debrecen is also attended by representatives of 18 Hungarian Jewish communities living beyond the border.
"We decided four years ago to organize such meetings to promote a revival of European Jewish culture and enable the scattered communities of Hungarian Jews to find one another and their own identity," he said.
