A Hasidic legend tells us that the great Rabbi Baal Shem Tov, Master of the Good Name, also known as the Besht, undertook an urgent and perilous mission: to hasten the coming of the Messiah. The Jewish people, all humanity were suffering too much, beset by too many evils. They had to be saved, and swiftly. For having tried to meddle with the history, the Besht was punished; banished along with his faithful servant to a distant land. In despair, the servant implored his master to exercise his mysterious powers in order to bring them both home. "Impossible," the Besht replied. "My powers have been taken from me." "Then, please, say a prayer, recite a litany, work a miracle." "Impossible," the Master replied, "I have forgotten everything." They both fell to weeping.

“Controversy can be a great silencer” (Riley, 2001: 151).

“The Holocaust occupies a prominent place in the collective memory of the UK.” – writes Paul Salmons in the opening sentence of his essay (2003:139). Let me alter this sentence to be descriptive of Hungary: The Holocaust does not occupy a prominent place in the collective memory of Hungary.