Hungary has scrapped plans to erect a statue of Balint Homan, a former World War Two government minister who supported anti-Semitism in Hungary in the 1930s and 40s, after protests from Jewish leaders.
The row over honoring Homan, who served as minister of religion and education twice between 1932 and 1942, has served as an uncomfortable reminder to Hungary of its anti-Semitic past, including its role in deporting half a million Jews.
National news agency MTI reported on Friday that the private Balint Homan Foundation in Szekesfehervar, west of Budapest, which wanted to honour him for his role as a historian and former minister, had dropped plan for a statue.
Homan was a proponent of anti-Jewish laws and a Nazi supporter until the end of the war when he was jailed for life for backing the declaration of war on the Soviet Union. He died in prison in 1951.
In 2015 a Hungarian court posthumously acquitted him of war crimes charges.
Last week, Jewish leaders welcomed the Hungarian prime minister’s decision not to support a statue honouring a fascist who helped facilitate the deportation of Jews during the Holocaust.
Source: YNet News
