According to the decision of the 40th General Assembly of UNESCO, in the biennium of 2020-2021 UNESCO will be associated with the following two Hungarian anniversaries:
100th anniversary of the birth of György Cziffra (1921-1994), pianist
The pianist György Cziffra is a worldwide known Hungarian performer. He is often compared to Franz Liszt due to his extremely impressive improvisational skills as a pianist.
He was born in Hungary, immigrated to France, and settled down in Senlis, where, at the peak of his worldwide success, he created the Cziffra Foundation (Fondation Cziffra) aiming to help and support young artists. He never forgot his roots.
100th anniversary of the birth of Hanna Szenes (1921-1944), poet and hero of Jewish resistance
Hanna Szenes was a poet and playwright, writing in both Hungarian and Hebrew. Born in Budapest in an assimilated Jewish family, she immigrated to Palestine in 1939. During the Second World War, she joined the British Army. In March 1944, she was parachuted to Yugoslavia and crossed into Hungary at the peak of the deportation of Hungarian Jewry. Shortly afterward, she was arrested while trying to reach Hungarian Jews in order to accomplish her mission and to save them. She was brutally tortured and on 7 November 1944, she was executed without being sentenced properly. In 1950, her remains were interred on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem. Her legacy is an inspiration for Israelis and for people all around the world.
12/02/2021
Photos:
"Georges Cziffra" by opisthofulax is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
"Hannah Senesh at Kibbutz Sdot Yam" by Government Press Office (GPO) is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
