ADL Jan Krarski Courage to Care Prize posztumusz átadása Esterházy János számára
New York, 2011. november 03.

Every generation needs to have heroes. Heroes, who – with their extraordinary and special achievements – represent the highest principles of humanity. These heroes help us to remember that there are eternal, universal values.

We celebrate Esterházy for his exceptional moral standing during the West’s darkest hours. When our societies’ moral compass utterly failed, Esterházy showed us that we always have choices. He was a true Hungarian patriot who during the holocaust stood insisted on the rightful place of Hungarian Jews as part of the Hungarian nation and humanity.

That is why I am very grateful and – also as the representative of the government of Hungary – I appreciate tremendously that the prestigious Anti-Defamation League awards János Esterházy with the Jan Karski Courage to Care Prize.  

Service, solidarity, and sacrifice – these values were defining throughout Esterházy’s life.

In the course of his political carrier he had plenty of opportunities to leave the country and give up his political activity of representing the Hungarian community in Czechoslovakia and later in Slovakia. But he chose to stay and continue his efforts to struggle for the human rights of the Hungarian community.

Esterházy expressed deep solidarity with victims of the most horrible persecution of his Jewish fellow citizens by the Nazis and their collaborators. We know that he was the only member of the Slovakian Parliament who was not ready to vote for the deportation of the Jewish community of Slovakia. The holocaust was a breakdown of the moral codes that regulate us and a rejection of our western ethical traditions. Esterhazy saw this very clearly, understood the implications, and raised his voice against it.  We often quote his words that amount to his political confession: "The… government has embarked on a dangerous path when it submitted the bill about expelling the Jewish population, because by that it acknowledged that simply ousting a minority by the majority is lawful... As a representative of the Hungarians here, I state, and please acknowledge this, that I don't vote in favor of the proposal because as a Hungarian, a Christian and a Catholic I believe that this is against God and humanity."

His solidarity with his fellow Jewish citizens was also expressed through his actions, when he  rescued many. As the letter of appreciation of the Yad Vashem and the Commission for the Designation of the Righteous - issued on 24 June 2010 in Jerusalem - states, in agreement with the testimony of many rescued victims and other witnesses: “Thanks to this help [offered by him] persecuted Jews were able to survive the horrors of the Holocaust”.

The Holocaust was Hungary’s – and, generally, Central Europe’s – biggest national tragedy. That is why it is so important that there were heroes like Esterhazy who we can look up to. This is all the more important because today Hungary is again home to one of the biggest and most vibrant Jewish communities in Europe.

Let me note here that I consider it very appropriate and very symbolic that János Esterhazy is the first to be awarded by the Courage to Care Prize since it has been renamed after Jan Karski. Although we do not have evidence whether Esterházy and Karski knew each other, we do know that Jan Karski was imprisoned in Slovakia in those times and we also know that Esterházy often used his immunity as a Member of Parliament to help imprisoned people escape from the country. His support of Polish refugees and of Jews from Poland is already recognized by the posthumous decoration “Polonia Restituta” awarded to János Esterházy by the President of Poland.

Esterházy’s solidarity was not limited to those who were persecuted, or discriminated against on ethnic grounds. We should never forget that Esterházy was also one of the chief promoters of the reconciliation of the Hungarian and the Slovak peoples. He expressed this eloquently, saying:  „We have always considered the Slovak people our sisters and brothers and we shall do so in the future as well.”  A telling example of this solidarity is the fact that Esterhazy also raised his voice for the rights of the Slovak minorities in Hungary and elsewhere.

Esterházy wanted a close alliance between Hungary and Slovakia, but not at all cost.  He rejected rapprochement based on the acceptance of Nazi ideology and through the influence and leadership of Nazi Germany. He could only imagine the alliance and cooperation between the two nations based on philanthropic and humanistic values. This was the life project of Esterházy. A project that could not be realized in his lifetime. And although the membership of Hungary and Slovakia in the alliance that shares all the values of a humanist worldview, NATO is a milestone in the fulfillment of Esterhazy’s vision, national intolerance and the problems of minorities still burden Hungarian-Slovak relations.

But we will not give up on reconciliation based on humanist values. We will not give up on them, because this is a historic obligation for us. And a geopolitical interest: without strong Hungarian-Slovak relations, there is no strong Central Europe. And there is no strong Europe without a strong Central Europe. And without a strong Europe there is no strong Trans-Atlantic region. And without a strong Trans-Atlantic region the world cannot develop consistently along the lines of those humanistic, universal values to which János Esterházy devoted his entire life to.

We all know that János Esterházy sacrificed his life for his principles. He equally opposed Nazism and Communism. He was a man of peace and faith. He had several chances to escape from his prisons, but he stayed, because he was convinced of his innocence. Even the Russian authorities acknowledged this when they legally cleared him of all charges in 1993. 

How absurd it is that this holy man, this hero of service, solidarity and sacrifice is still considered a war criminal in the Slovak Republic! We hope that that – for the sake of Central-Europe – we will all learn our lessons from the example of this holy politician, and hero of the 20th century and follow his legacy of tolerance and reconciliation.

Thank you for your kind attention.

(kormany.hu)