“The muscovite comes, he trashes the German, and then we get it”

So our family has its own historical knowledge of the Russians.

Bánffy Dániel

Our grandfather, Dániel Bánffy, had a famous saying that “the muscovite comes, he trashes the German, and then we get it”. Since he said this said in a government meeting (he was the Minister of Agriculture), just when the government voted on whether to declare war on the Soviet Union, and since he remained in the minority with this opinion - only two voted against declaring war - he was later sentenced to death by the Nazis. (He escaped in an adventurous way, so that the Communists would also have the opportunity to deport him, and the Romanians to try to turn him into a war criminal in a politically-motivated trial.)

So this is our family’s historical knowledge of the Russians.

We are not declaring war on them because we have every reason to fear them. It is not because we do not want to support the Ukrainians militarily (despite all their historical crimes against us), nor because we want the Russians (despite all their historical crimes against us), but because we have every reason to do so. To be afraid of them. Of the "muscovites".

That is why I understand and, as the only - undoubtedly compromise - solution, I support Orban's policy of helping Ukrainians in need, with humanitarian solutions, food and medicine, but not arms. I learned this from my grandfather, whom I didn’t even know. It was the right attitude. Because he was right: the muscovites trashed the Germans and then we got it.

As a matter of fact, I see that quite a few acquaintances and strangers belonging to the Hungarian political opposition think so, too.

 

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