Paul Lendvai
Encyclopedia
Paul Lendvai is a Hungarian-born journalist who became an Austrian
citizen. After various communist party activities in Hungary, he went to Austria in 1957, working as an author and journalist.
. In the late 1940s early 1950s (also known as the Rákosi
era) Lendvai worked as a journalist in Hungary starting from 1947 he was also member of the interior special police for a time. The unit in which he served was a part of the State Protection Authority
(ÁVH)
Lendvai wrote for Szabad Nép and was also chief of foreign reporting in the Hungarian news agency (MTI). Lendvai's books in the 1950s include "Tito the enemy of the Hungarian people" (1951) and "France at a crossroads" (1955), with 50,000 copies. Lendvai was a member of the communist party, but he did not participate in the suppression of the Revolution of 1956. After the revolution Lendvai participated in putting together the so-called "White Books", aimed at defaming and discrediting the revolution of 1956 talking about "the horrors of the counter revolution". Lendvai later claimed he took part out of "cowardice and opportunism". He left Hungary on assignment to report from Poland and in 1957 he went to Vienna, Austria."
After arriving in Vienna, Lendvai soon started looking for work, at first limited by lack of sufficient language skills. While in this early period he helped foreign correspondents with matters relating to Hungary and wrote smaller articles under aliases such as "György Holló", "Árpád Bécs" or "Paul Landy". Lendvai soon overcame early difficulties and was naturalized
in Austria in 1959, and became a journalist and commentator on Eastern Europe
. He was the correspondent for Eastern Europe of the daily Die Presse and the Financial Times
for twenty two years. He also contributed to The Economist
and wrote columns for Austrian, German and Swiss newspapers and radio stations. In 1982 Lendvai became editor-in-chief at the Eastern Europe department of the ORF public broadcasting company and intendant of Radio Österreich International
in 1987. His weekly columns are published by Der Standard
newspaper.
On 19 March 2011 Lendvai presented the Hungarian translation of his latest book Mein verspieltes Land ("My squandered country") in Budapest
. In his memoir, Lendvai portrays a picture of ethnic hatred
, political turbulence and antisemitism in 20th century Central Europe
.
but wasn't successful at that time. While being honoured in the Hungarian Parliament Lendvai said "I'd rather get my files than the award". Originally the file was classified until February 15, 2042 but with many other documents they were declassified based on a 2003 law. In 2006 Lendvai requested and received the documents from the archives of the Hungarian secret services and described some of their contents to the public in an article carried by literary weekly Elet es Irodalom (ES), including naming several spies working on his case. Lendvai writes that the files on him are over 300 hundred pages long and refer to Lendvai under the codename "Cole Michael". Lendvai presents his article on the topic with the subtitle "the story of an unsuccessful recruitment" saying the Hungarian services wanted to enlist him as an agent but failed. While according to the file, Lendvai was never recruited as a spy, in a July 24, 1963 report, the archived documents refer to Lendvai as "one of the best contacts" of the intelligence services at the time. Lendvai in his article describes several aims he wanted to achieve by contacting the Hungarian authorities, the ability to travel to Hungary for reporting, travel visa for his mother, and revocation of his Hungarian citizenship enabling him to work in eastern bloc communist countries. He managed to obtain some of these goals he says by bringing Hungarian officials such as Gyula Ortutay
to Austrian striptease shows. According to Lendvai both times he brought Ortutay to such a show he would intervene on his behalf. In one case Lendvai writes that the reports of "Urbán", identifying Lendvai as a source of information on various topics were falsified, containing material invented by Urbán himself.
Austrians
Austrians are a nation and ethnic group, consisting of the population of the Republic of Austria and its historical predecessor states who share a common Austrian culture and Austrian descent....
citizen. After various communist party activities in Hungary, he went to Austria in 1957, working as an author and journalist.
Biography
Lendvai was born on 24 August 1929 in BudapestBudapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
. In the late 1940s early 1950s (also known as the Rákosi
Mátyás Rákosi
Mátyás Rákosi was a Hungarian communist politician. He was born as Mátyás Rosenfeld, in present-day Serbia...
era) Lendvai worked as a journalist in Hungary starting from 1947 he was also member of the interior special police for a time. The unit in which he served was a part of the State Protection Authority
State Protection Authority
The State Protection Authority was the secret police force of Hungary from 1945 until 1956. It was conceived of as an external appendage of the Soviet Union's secret police forces, but attained an indigenous reputation for brutality during a series of purges beginning in 1948, intensifying in 1949...
(ÁVH)
Lendvai wrote for Szabad Nép and was also chief of foreign reporting in the Hungarian news agency (MTI). Lendvai's books in the 1950s include "Tito the enemy of the Hungarian people" (1951) and "France at a crossroads" (1955), with 50,000 copies. Lendvai was a member of the communist party, but he did not participate in the suppression of the Revolution of 1956. After the revolution Lendvai participated in putting together the so-called "White Books", aimed at defaming and discrediting the revolution of 1956 talking about "the horrors of the counter revolution". Lendvai later claimed he took part out of "cowardice and opportunism". He left Hungary on assignment to report from Poland and in 1957 he went to Vienna, Austria."
After arriving in Vienna, Lendvai soon started looking for work, at first limited by lack of sufficient language skills. While in this early period he helped foreign correspondents with matters relating to Hungary and wrote smaller articles under aliases such as "György Holló", "Árpád Bécs" or "Paul Landy". Lendvai soon overcame early difficulties and was naturalized
Naturalization
Naturalization is the acquisition of citizenship and nationality by somebody who was not a citizen of that country at the time of birth....
in Austria in 1959, and became a journalist and commentator on Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
. He was the correspondent for Eastern Europe of the daily Die Presse and the Financial Times
Financial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
for twenty two years. He also contributed to The Economist
The Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
and wrote columns for Austrian, German and Swiss newspapers and radio stations. In 1982 Lendvai became editor-in-chief at the Eastern Europe department of the ORF public broadcasting company and intendant of Radio Österreich International
Radio Österreich International
Radio Österreich International was the international radio station, broadcast by the ORF. RÖI was launched in 1955 by order of the Federal Chancellery, to increase the presence of Austria in foreign countries. The radio station was broadcast world wide in shortwave on different frequencies...
in 1987. His weekly columns are published by Der Standard
Der Standard
Der Standard is an Austrian national daily newspaper which is published in Vienna . It was founded by Oscar Bronner as a financial newspaper and the first edition was published on 1988-10-19...
newspaper.
On 19 March 2011 Lendvai presented the Hungarian translation of his latest book Mein verspieltes Land ("My squandered country") in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
. In his memoir, Lendvai portrays a picture of ethnic hatred
Ethnic hatred
Ethnic hatred, inter-ethnic hatred, racial hatred, or ethnic tension refers to feelings and acts of prejudice and hostility towards an ethnic group in various degrees. See list of anti-ethnic and anti-national terms for specific cases....
, political turbulence and antisemitism in 20th century Central Europe
Central Europe
Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...
.
Secret police file
In the 1990s Lendvai tried to obtain the secret service file on himself in a face-to-face meeting with Socialist Prime Minister Gyula HornGyula Horn
Gyula Horn is a Hungarian politician and the third Prime Minister of the Republic of Hungary, from 1994–1998....
but wasn't successful at that time. While being honoured in the Hungarian Parliament Lendvai said "I'd rather get my files than the award". Originally the file was classified until February 15, 2042 but with many other documents they were declassified based on a 2003 law. In 2006 Lendvai requested and received the documents from the archives of the Hungarian secret services and described some of their contents to the public in an article carried by literary weekly Elet es Irodalom (ES), including naming several spies working on his case. Lendvai writes that the files on him are over 300 hundred pages long and refer to Lendvai under the codename "Cole Michael". Lendvai presents his article on the topic with the subtitle "the story of an unsuccessful recruitment" saying the Hungarian services wanted to enlist him as an agent but failed. While according to the file, Lendvai was never recruited as a spy, in a July 24, 1963 report, the archived documents refer to Lendvai as "one of the best contacts" of the intelligence services at the time. Lendvai in his article describes several aims he wanted to achieve by contacting the Hungarian authorities, the ability to travel to Hungary for reporting, travel visa for his mother, and revocation of his Hungarian citizenship enabling him to work in eastern bloc communist countries. He managed to obtain some of these goals he says by bringing Hungarian officials such as Gyula Ortutay
Gyula Ortutay
Gyula Ortutay was a Hungarian ethnographer and politician, who served as Minister of Religion and Education between 1947 and 1950.-Early life:...
to Austrian striptease shows. According to Lendvai both times he brought Ortutay to such a show he would intervene on his behalf. In one case Lendvai writes that the reports of "Urbán", identifying Lendvai as a source of information on various topics were falsified, containing material invented by Urbán himself.
Works
- Titó, a magyar nép ellensége (1951)
- Franciaország válaszúton (1955)
- Das Einsame Albanien: Reportage aus dem Land der Skipetaren (1985)
- Hungary: The Art of Survival (1990)
- Hungarians: A Thousand Years of Victory in Defeat (2003)
- One Day That Shook the Communist World: The 1956 Hungarian Uprising and Its Legacy (2008)
- Mein verspieltes Land (2010)