Portrait of pro-fascist wartime Supreme Court head on display again after ten years

For nearly a decade, a blank frame hung in the corridor of Hungary's Supreme Court (Kúria) where a photo of Jenő Szemák, who was appointed in 1944 and later fled to Germany, used to stand, with a text in the frame explaining why they were choosing not to associate with him: "His photo is not being exhibited because of the role he played during some troubled times", the explanation said.

Recently, however, the portrait has been put back on the wall of the corridor leading to the ceremonial hall, Hvg.hu reports. The following inscription is currently displayed under Szemák's photo: "Dr. Jenő Szemák accepted his unconstitutional appointment without compelling necessity after the Arrow Cross takeover. He supported the relocation of the Kúria to Sopron by using threats." (TN:The Arrow Cross was a Hungarian fascist organization that controlled the Hungarian government from October 1944 to April 1945 during World War II.)

Jenő Szemák was appointed President of the Supreme Court after the Arrow Cross takeover. During the Arrow Cross era, he was widely feared for leading lawsuits against opponents of the regime and ordinary Hungarians. After the war Szemák fled Hungary, The Guardian reports. Later, in 1948 in absentia, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison by the People's Court.

The Kúria published a statement on its website regarding the reinstatement of the portrait, explaining that two criteria had to be met regarding the placement of Szemák's photo: historical authenticity and the assessment of his activities as president – for which they recommend Tibor Zinner's work "The President of the Curia of the Arrow Cross Crusaders".

Neither simply hanging it up, nor having a blank frame on the wall was, in their view, an ideal solution, so they decided to put up "a portrait which is smaller than that of the other presidents", on the wall with the above comment. According to them, the decision is in line with the words of the President of the Kúria spoken at the conference commemorating the Conference of the Nation's Judiciary, which were as follows:

"Our history has not been made up of bright periods only. In the middle of the 20th century, Hungary's constitutionality faltered. The Jewish Laws were followed by war and then, with the loss of sovereignty, it was followed by the disavowal of our compatriots and their deportation to death camps. The shame and pain of this will always remain with us."

The Kúria's communications department also wrote: "We are convinced that the past cannot be erased, but must be processed. This is the reason why the image of Dr. Jenő Szemák cannot be removed from the photos of the Kúria Presidents. The events and facts of the past must be confronted and interpreted within their historical context."

According to the Guardian's sources, the portrait was put back on the wall a few months after András Varga Zs. was appointed, in 2021. Varga was appointed to head the Kúria despite opposition by judges who said he lacked experience, as well as wider concerns about the political independence of the judiciary.

András Zs. Varga was previously a deputy prosecutor, he has never served as a judge, and was appointed to his nine-year term after parliament changed the rules for electing members of the Kúria.