Those Absent on the Great Hungarian Plain: the Vanished Rural Jews

Although a popular tourist destination with “traditional” whip-cracking horsemen, costumed dancers, and elegant public baths, Hungary remains one of Europe’s least-known countries. And if the country’s name conjures up Attila’s Huns, few know that Hungarians are not their descendants.

 In 2001, I was in Budapest, preparing a photographic exhibition, when I met a group of lawyers and journalists who told me about the Kunmadaras pogrom: in May 1946, town residents accused Holocaust survivors of ritual murder, and they went on a rampage, pillaging and murdering Jews. How could such an absurd accusation have been levelled after the war? I was determined to find the answer.

I soon settled in the neighbouring village of Tiszaörs, and began learning about the country’s history. Village society was a unique but uneasy mix of former communists and their victims, Swabian survivors of post-war ethnic cleansing, expropriated peasants, German retirees, and former members of the Hitler Youth Movement.

Although village life was still traditional, things were changing rapidly. Few could afford the flashy cars, large-screen televisions, computers, or new houses advertised everywhere. Supermarkets were appearing, yet unable to shop in them, villagers could simply go up and down the aisles, and dream that one day they, too, could participate in the consumer society. And because all that was familiar — traditional music, centuries-old customs, and local architecture — was disappearing, comfort seemed to lie in the political promises of a brutally restrictive government and a violent hatred of the Roma.

In, Those Absent, I blend history, traditions, local happenings, rumour, and prejudices to bring a new perspective to a tragic story. And I hope I have portrayed with empathy those who are too often caught in political conflicts.

Those Absent on the Great Hungarian Plain

Release date: February 28, 2024