Far-right and anti-fascist demonstrators staged rival rallies Sunday outside a Budapest church where a bust of a Hungarian wartime leader was unveiled, the latest tribute to a man who was a close ally of Adolf Hitler.
Around 500 protesters wearing yellow stars — a reference to the Stars of David Jews were forced to wear by the Nazis — chanted “Nazi mob!” across a police line at supporters of Miklos Horthy.
Meanwhile, several hundred of the ex-leader’s supporters, gathered around the bust, shouted: “Long live Horthy!”
An autocrat who ruled Hungary from 1920 to 1944, Horthy passed anti-Jewish laws and oversaw the first wave of deportations of Hungarian Jews in 1944.
But he is also revered by some for saving Hungary after a short-lived communist revolution in 1919 and traumatic losses of territory following World War I.
“In my opinion, Horthy was a war criminal, directly responsible for the killing and destruction of 600,000 Hungarian Jews,” one protester told AFP.
“This should not be happening at a Christian church,” he added.
more: GlobalPost
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