A documentary has been released about a far-right Hungarian politician who discovered he was Jewish.
Keep Quiet is about Czanad Szegedi, who was one of the founders of the antisemitic Jobbik party.
In 2012, a rival within the party revealed that Mr Szegedi’s maternal grandmother was Jewish – and a survivor of Auschwitz. In the documentary, Mr Szegedi described the revelation as being "like a dagger through my heart", and that he felt he “had nowhere to turn.".
He approached a local rabbi in Budapest, who in the documentary describes how he felt he had to take Mr Szegedi at his word and help him discover more about his heritage.
The documentary, directed by Joseph Martin and Sam Blair, follows Mr Szegedi over a number of years, as his attitude towards Judaism continues to shift. It also shows the mixed reception Mr Szegedi receives from Jewish communities around the world, not all of which are convinced of his sincerity.
The title of the movie reflects conversations Mr Szegedi had with his mother and grandmother, who had always taken pains to keep her Auschwitz tattoo hidden. When he asked her what a Jew should do in modern Hungary, the response to his question – advice Mr Szegedi has clearly decided not to take – was “keep quiet”.
