Orban: Deportation of Germans in 1946 “irreparable loss” for nation

(MTI) – The deportation of ethnic Germans from Hungary 68 years ago was an irreparable loss for the entire nation, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said at a commemoration on Sunday.

Hungary has suffered the horrors of dictatorship twice, which is exactly two too many for any nation to have to experience, he said in letter sent to MTI.

On January 19, 1946 Germans were deported in cattle wagons to Germany. The German Hungarians affixed a sign to the wagons, saying “Farewell, our homeland!”.

Orban rejected punishment based on the notion of collective crime, which in this case was speaking the same language as the members of the sinful regime. He said Hungary needs to adopt a “culture of remembering” in connection with all evil and spiteful deeds. Remembering helps reconciliation, he said, adding that an element of this could come in 2014 when ethnic Germans will delegate a representative to Hungarian parliament, who can address the chamber in German, their mother tongue.