Hungarian Jews oppose statue of anti-Semitic official

Communist opposer Gyorgy Donath, executed in 1947, supported discriminatory laws against Jews during the Holocaust

By AP 24 February 2016, 11:30 am Edit

Gyorgy Donath's grave in Budapest's Farkasreti Cemetery. (Varga Jozsef/Wikipedia/CC BY-SA 3.0)

BUDAPEST, Hungary — A key Jewish organization in Hungary is calling for the cancellation of the unveiling of a statue of a Holocaust-era politician who supported anti-Semitic laws.

The Federation of Hungarian Jewish Religious Communities said Tuesday that Gyorgy Donath’s support for the Holocaust made him unworthy of a statue even if he later became a victim of communism. Donath was executed in 1947 after a show trial based on trumped-up charges.

Former Prime Minister Peter Boross and an official from Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s Fidesz party are scheduled to speak at Wednesday’s unveiling just a block from the Holocaust Memorial Center in Budapest.

In December, Hungary cancelled unveiling a statue to another anti-Semitic politician after complaints from Jewish groups and the United States.