The government will decide on the final concept of the House of Fates Museum, and in developing this the cabinet continues to count on the involvement of both participating organisations, the Public Foundation for the Research of Central and Eastern European History and Society and the Unified Hungarian Jewish Congregation (EMIH), Gergely Gulyás told the Hungarian news agency MTI on Wednesday.

The Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office said the day before news reports had appeared in the press claiming that Mária Schmidt, Director General of the public foundation was no longer involved in the House of Fates project.

Mr Gulyás pointed out that the government resolution adopted a year ago is still in force. Pursuant to this, the government would like to realise the House of Fates Museum with the involvement of the public foundation and EMIH, he recalled. He stressed that this can take place if Hungary is not in the cross hairs of unfair and unjust attacks just because it wishes to commemorate the Holocaust and the child victims of the Holocaust in a dignified manner, and “if, on this issue, it is possible to reach both international and national consensus; as the Prime Minister himself stressed earlier, if we can create peace”.

The government’s goal remains unchanged: it wishes to create an exhibition which faithfully presents the events of history, but one which meaningfully depicts the loss and pain sustained by the Hungarian nation through the Holocaust, the head of the Prime Minister’s Office said.

At the same time, Mr Gulyás also added that the government is naturally ready to listen to the opinions of all other Hungarian and international Jewish organisations. As part of this, on Tuesday they introduced the draft concept at the meeting of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), in the presence of Szabolcs Takács, Minister of State of the Prime Minister’s Office.

(MTI)