Unexpected turn in the Polish-Hungarian relationship after scandal

The Hungarian Defence Forces new Chief of Staff, Lt General Gábor Böröndi, made controversial remarks about the Western powers and Poland’s role in the outbreak of WWII. Afterwards, the Polish ambassador in Budapest called him out, President Katalin Novák tried to ease the tension, but the Poles were so outraged that the army chief needed to act promptly. Here is what Mr Böröndi did.

The new chief of staff’s remarks provoked a huge scandal with Hungary’s oldest friend

Böröndi said that WWII broke out because the Western allies and Poland did not hinder escalating the war into a world war in 1939, following the German invasion of Poland. The armed conflict started as a local war but was not stopped by a peace process, Böröndi said. Krisztián Ungváry, a well-known Hungarian historian and researcher of the era, said that Mr Böröndi was either insane or deliberately spread Russian falsifications. In Russia, there is a widespread view that Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union should have turned jointly against the decadent West instead of fighting against each other during WWII.

Ungváry said that anybody who has ever opened a History book knows that Hitler wanted to acquire ‘Lebensraum’ (territory) for German settlers in Poland and the entire Soviet Union. Therefore, a war initiated by Germany was inevitable. Ungváry believes that Böröndi knows history but received an order from the government to bring some anarchy into NATO.

Böröndi’s remarks caused considerable diplomatic tension with Hungary’s oldest ally, Poland. The Polish ambassador in Budapest reacted harshly. Sebastian Keciek said he was shocked by Böröndi’s statement on Poland. “These words, which could be interpreted as accusing my country of complicity and escalation of a global conflict, are for us an unacceptable distortion of history and should not be uttered, especially by a representative of a close ally”, the ambassador added.

Böröndi had to bow to the Polish ambassador

President Novák tried to ease the tension by saying “historical debates and interpretations are better left to historians.” However, that was not enough. Keciek commented under Novák’s tweet: “Madam President, one sentence even word would be sufficient” meaning his country demands an apology. As a result, Böröndi seems to have been ordered to meet with the Polish ambassador in person to settle the debate.

As the Commander-in-chief and the President of 🇭🇺, I am well aware that the new CHOD has many things to do, such as confronting the threats of the war in 🇺🇦 and modernizing the army. Historical debates and interpretations are better left to historians.

— Katalin Novák (@KatalinNovak_HU) May 11, 2023

According to the MTI, the new Chief of Staff of the Hungarian Armed Forces and Poland’s ambassador to Hungary reaffirmed the importance of cooperation in a joint statement on Friday. Böröndi met Keciek and Polish defence attache Colonel Slawomir Mnitowski in his office for talks, the ministry said in a statement. During the discussion, the sides reaffirmed the significance of Hungary and Poland’s long-standing relations and solidarity and underlined the importance of their belonging to the same alliance as well as the related aims and cooperation. In the statement, Böröndi said boosting cooperation within NATO remained a priority and expressed his commitment to building ties with Poland.

Böröndi did not apologise

The joint statement published by the MTI does not mention it, but Böröndi did not express his apologies for his counterfactual remarks about the outbreak of WWII. He only said he did not want to question that Poland suffered the greatest loss and pain during WWII. Here is a tweet of their meeting:

. @SebastianKeciek 🇵🇱 nagykövet találkozott ma dr. Böröndi Gábor altábornaggyal, a Honvéd Vezérkar fönökével 🇭🇺. A közös nyilatkozatuk az alábbi linken található:https://t.co/AI8DHHbPU2 pic.twitter.com/RqiI6RFBTf

— Lengyel Nagykövetség / Ambasada RP w Budapeszcie (@PLinHungary) May 12, 2023

And a Facebook post: