Szegedist
12-15-2013, 04:35 PM
Fascist past is commemorated widely not just in Hungary
Although András Schiff is commendable for his piano playing and his passion (Hungarians must face their Nazi past, not venerate it, 11 December), he does not seem to know much about the last 20 years in Europe. Criticising the christening of a new statue of Admiral Horthy in Budapest, he writes: "There are no Hitler statues in Germany, and in Austria they are constitutionally forbidden. The same is true of Mussolini in Italy, Pétain in France, Ion Antonescu in Romania or Josef [sic] Tiso in Slovakia. None of them is being commemorated and extolled."
These assertions are all wrong, whether mildly or wildly, except with regard to France. There are countless Hitler statues left in Germany and Austria – just not in public. Austria bans glorifications of Hitler, but not neutral or negative statues; the same law's punishments were weakened in 1992, amid a neo-Nazi revival, by President Kurt Waldheim, who won the Iron Cross in Russia and of whom the late Austrian politician Fred Sinowatz said: "Let us acknowledge that Waldheim did not serve in the SA, only his horse did."
There are countless Mussolinis in Italy, whether in cellars, in enclosed villa gardens, or at Termini station in Rome, where a 2011 statue of Pope John Paul II was so widely described as Mussolini in pontifical dress that the face was replaced. As for Jozef Tiso in Slovakia, the Archbishop of Trnava celebrated a memorial mass for him in 2008, and many have urged Tiso's sainthood.
In Romania, Marshall Antonescu was celebrated throughout the 1990s, enjoying a minute of silence in Romanian parliament, alongside numerous new statues and street names. Antonescu went from strength to strength until 2002, when the US said celebrating the Marshall was an obstacle to Romania's admission to Nato; the US Helsinki Commission, in a letter signed by Hillary Clinton and others, complained in tandem. The result was an emergency order requiring the removal of public monuments to Antonescu and the un-renaming of streets. At least 10 of Romania's 25 Antonescu streets are reported to no longer bear the Marshall's name, some statues have been covered up or removed, and a painting of Antonescu was installed in the prime minister's office, supposedly for completeness in the collection of portraits of heads of state. And Romania got into Nato.
Of the countries named by Schiff, nearly every one has, publicly or privately, legally or illegally, in the offices of the government or the opposition, extolled and commemorated the fascist past. The one exception is France, which renamed its last rue Pétain in 2011. Hungary has come late to the renewed appreciation for fascism and racism that followed the destruction of the Soviet Union and András Schiff can be proud of that.
Benjamin Letzler
Munich
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/13/fascist-past-commemorated-widely-hungary
Although András Schiff is commendable for his piano playing and his passion (Hungarians must face their Nazi past, not venerate it, 11 December), he does not seem to know much about the last 20 years in Europe. Criticising the christening of a new statue of Admiral Horthy in Budapest, he writes: "There are no Hitler statues in Germany, and in Austria they are constitutionally forbidden. The same is true of Mussolini in Italy, Pétain in France, Ion Antonescu in Romania or Josef [sic] Tiso in Slovakia. None of them is being commemorated and extolled."
These assertions are all wrong, whether mildly or wildly, except with regard to France. There are countless Hitler statues left in Germany and Austria – just not in public. Austria bans glorifications of Hitler, but not neutral or negative statues; the same law's punishments were weakened in 1992, amid a neo-Nazi revival, by President Kurt Waldheim, who won the Iron Cross in Russia and of whom the late Austrian politician Fred Sinowatz said: "Let us acknowledge that Waldheim did not serve in the SA, only his horse did."
There are countless Mussolinis in Italy, whether in cellars, in enclosed villa gardens, or at Termini station in Rome, where a 2011 statue of Pope John Paul II was so widely described as Mussolini in pontifical dress that the face was replaced. As for Jozef Tiso in Slovakia, the Archbishop of Trnava celebrated a memorial mass for him in 2008, and many have urged Tiso's sainthood.
In Romania, Marshall Antonescu was celebrated throughout the 1990s, enjoying a minute of silence in Romanian parliament, alongside numerous new statues and street names. Antonescu went from strength to strength until 2002, when the US said celebrating the Marshall was an obstacle to Romania's admission to Nato; the US Helsinki Commission, in a letter signed by Hillary Clinton and others, complained in tandem. The result was an emergency order requiring the removal of public monuments to Antonescu and the un-renaming of streets. At least 10 of Romania's 25 Antonescu streets are reported to no longer bear the Marshall's name, some statues have been covered up or removed, and a painting of Antonescu was installed in the prime minister's office, supposedly for completeness in the collection of portraits of heads of state. And Romania got into Nato.
Of the countries named by Schiff, nearly every one has, publicly or privately, legally or illegally, in the offices of the government or the opposition, extolled and commemorated the fascist past. The one exception is France, which renamed its last rue Pétain in 2011. Hungary has come late to the renewed appreciation for fascism and racism that followed the destruction of the Soviet Union and András Schiff can be proud of that.
Benjamin Letzler
Munich
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/13/fascist-past-commemorated-widely-hungary