By Joe Ray.
Her Excellency Ms Orsolya Szijjártó, Ambassador of Hungary to the Netherlands, welcomed an array of diplomats and other distinguished guests on 25th September to the opening of an exhibition in The Hague entitled Synagogues of East‐Central Europe, 1782–1944.
The event, hosted in the city’s elegant Glazen Zaal, was organised by the Hungarian Embassy as part of the nation’s year-long Presidency of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA). The IHRA is an intergovernmental body consisting of 31 Member States and a further 10 Observer States, which aims to promote Holocaust education, remembrance, and research both nationally and internationally.
The three-day exhibition is based on the book of architecture historian and photographer Rudolf Klein. It features evocative images and detailed descriptions of dozens of synagogues from nine countries across Central and Eastern Europe. As Péter Kirschner, President of the Hungarian Jewish Cultural Association, explains: “Synagogues embody values, identity, and dreams in stone and brick. This exhibition is a journey in space and time, displaying aspects of Jewish life and its economic and cultural flourishing within multinational empires. It offers a panoramic view of important shifts that took place as Jews came to play increasingly prominent and vital roles in the economic and cultural life of Europe, and it makes one stand dumbfounded once again at the incomprehensibility of the Holocaust.”
In her welcome remarks, H.E. Ms Szijjártó emphasised the significance of Jewish culture as an integral part of Hungarian culture and history. She stressed the importance of fighting anti-Semitism, and praised the many community projects currently being undertaken in Hungary to restore ageing synagogues to their former glory. “Therefore, the government of Hungary has started a synagogue rescue programme: 15 synagogues across the country will be refurbished in 2015, as well as 1500 Jewish cemeteries within the cemetery reconstruction programme in cooperation with Jewish communities and local population, mostly students and public workers. If you visit Budapest,” she observed, “you will witness a true revival of Jewish culture.”
The Ambassador was followed by Mr Szabolcs Takács, Minister of State and Chair of Hungary’s IHRA Presidency. He began by introducing guests to IHRA, a “unique and important organisation” founded fifteen years ago in Stockholm. “Its mission,” said the Minister, “is to create an international narrative of how to remember one of the greatest tragedies in the history of mankind.” He explained that IHRA exists not for political goals, but rather as an international campaign of solidarity, both to remember the tragedy itself and to try to revive some of what was lost.
Mr Takács joined the Ambassador in highlighting the importance of Jewish culture in Hungarian history, and noted that despite the deaths of some 600,000 Hungarian Jews during the Holocaust, the country still has the third largest Jewish community in Europe.
He further underlined the need for Holocaust education as a means of keeping memories alive, adding that it is crucial to understand “how it happened, why it happened, and what the consequences are.” A key part of this education takes the form of exhibitions and memorial events, more than 100 of which have been organised as part of Hungary’s IHRA Presidency. “Synagogues are like time capsules,” the Minister concluded. “You look at them, and history comes alive.”
Ms Marianne L. van Praag, Chief Rabbi of the Liberal Jewish Congregation in The Hague, then took to the podium. She joined the Ambassador and Minister in praising the important work of the IHRA, before recounting how just two of 125 members of her mother’s pre-war family survived the Holocaust. Yet despite such overwhelming personal tragedy, she expressed positivity and optimism for the future: “As long as we have initiatives and commemorations like this, we have hope. As long as we remember them, they will not disappear.”
Following the speeches, guests were treated to a masterful solo concert by Hungarian cellist Örs Kőszeghy. He opened with a classical transcription of the Jewish song Kol Nidre, and closed with a beautiful rendition of Mieczysław Weinberg’s Sonata for solo cello No. 2, Op. 86. His performance was well received, and sustained applause reverberated around the glass-roofed auditorium upon its conclusion.
The programme ended with a reception, complete with Hungarian wine and traditional delicacies courtesy of the Embassy.
