Letter from Lester L. Weindling to Mrs. Marion Wiesel

This document is a fax transmission containing a letter from Ferenc Gyurcsány, leader of the Democratic Coalition, to Elie Wiesel, dated June 19, 2012. Gyurcsány expresses profound sadness regarding Wiesel's decision to return the Grand Cross of the Hungarian Order of Merit, an award he received in 2004 from the late President Ferenc Mádl. Gyurcsány agrees with Wiesel's reasons for returning the award, acknowledging that while Hungary and its people are not inherently Nazi or antisemitic, antisemitic and Nazi elements exist, and the country has failed to confront its responsibility for the Holocaust. He criticizes the government's perceived encouragement of the Miklós Horthy cult, the participation of László Kövér and Géza Szőcs in a commemorative ceremony for the antisemitic writer József Nyirő, and the education ministry's inclusion of Nazi and Arrow Cross authors in school curricula. Gyurcsány labels these actions as a cynical attempt by the current government to regain public support by appealing to the far-right. He concludes by expressing hope that Wiesel will re-accept his award from a future democratic Hungarian government that stands uncompromisingly against extremism.