The fate of synagogues and the struggle of Jewish intellectuals in post-war Hungary

This study examines the fate of synagogues in Hungary between 1945 and 1956, focusing on the immediate post-war years and the early period of state socialism under Mátyás Rákosi. While Hungary did not experience the large-scale physical destruction of synagogues seen in other parts of East Central Europe, the post-war decades posed severe challenges to Jewish built heritage. In the short democratic interlude after 1945, Jewish communities attempted to reorganize, yet no coherent state policy addressed the protection of abandoned or damaged synagogue buildings. Following the communist takeover in 1949, the suppression of Holocaust memory and the subordination of religious institutions to state control further marginalized Jewish heritage. Synagogues were rarely recognized as historic monuments, and their preservation was not a governmental priority. Through three case studies – the synagogues of Mád and Óbuda, and a regional survey of Transdanubia – this article explores how individual Jewish intellectuals and heritage professionals sought to document and protect these buildings despite limited institutional support. Their efforts, often tolerated rather than endorsed by the regime, highlight the complex interplay between memory politics, state socialism, and the survival of Jewish architectural heritage in post-war Hungary.