Cossack riders hunted for 30 Hungarian survivors
Tamás Babos directed the first full-length documentary about the siege of Budapest in 1944-45. The intention of the creators was to process the history of the 52-day battle of Budapest and the 52 days of the siege in a worthy way. Speaking of the work, we talked about the fact that the siege of Budapest ended on this day 77 years ago, the film was made for seven years and it was shown seven years ago.
Why wasn’t there a documentary about the siege of Budapest before?
A series was made on Hungarian Television in the 90’s, and the exam film was shot on the subject, within the appropriate technical standards of the age and within the limits of the given genre. Our film was the first to try to combine oral history with illustrations and archival footage. We were on the right track with the success of the film, we were invited to countless festivals, and in just over a year, 163,000 people watched it. on our own Youtube channel. We made it available to everyone during the first wave of the coronavirus epidemic.
Why did the work take seven years?
The reason is pros: he has run out of money for pre-rotation. In 2008, we had almost no hope of finishing it once. Following the change of government in 2010, the Media Council’s Patronage Program was established, which finally provided a transparent system and brought measurable budgets. We also applied here to continue and received HUF 9 million. As we worked, it became clear that the 52 minutes originally planned were too few to showcase this dramatic period, and we should have missed a lot of valuable, special material. That’s why we asked the Media Council to let us make two parts without increasing the budget for the film. That’s how the film became 93 minutes, which we finally finished in 2015.
The three main narrators of the film are the youngest Hungarian soldier of the siege, one of the few Hungarian survivors of the eruption and a little Jewish boy. How did they choose their story?
So many years later, I increasingly feel that one of the main virtues of the film is precisely that we have these stories, that with the film we have been able to preserve them for posterity. In 2008, the staff was still able to speak to a relatively large number of eyewitnesses. That’s why we shot with whoever we could, even if we knew not all survivors could get into the film. It is always a painful decision, but unfortunately it is inevitable.
We did these last-minute interviews, because by the time the film was shown on Duna TV in 2015, we had lost the main characters. Thus, anyone who makes a documentary about the siege of Budapest after us will certainly no longer be able to talk to the active participants in the events of that time. Therefore, the interview material we managed to record is irreplaceable.
Péter Schramm, the story of the then 9-year-old Jewish boy was the last to summarize the horrors of the European ghetto in Budapest and the Budapest aspects of the Holocaust. Galántay Ervin The 14-year-old military prairie depicts the spirituality of the post-Trianon era and the Horthy Army, the military romance of the teenage boys. Gyula Kokovay and one of the Hungarian survivors of the eruption group30 recounts the horror that the refugees experienced during the 80-kilometer wanderings in the Buda hills, hunted by the destroyers of Cossack horsemen.
The other commentators complete their story. Let’s try to select the interview details so that they coincide in time, or at least be close to each other, so that you can sense what you are going through at one point in the city, almost always.
In the age of social media and one-minute flu videos, do historical documentaries have a raison d’être?
Historical memory is needed in all its forms. He who does not know his past cannot understand his present and his future. History is therefore not only worthwhile but also important to make love to the next generation. And if we consider this to be a case, it is very right that the state also supports the production of historical documentaries and feature films, with modern visual language and modern content, of course, because I think the pathos is obsolete.
Another important element of historical documentaries, in addition to disseminating knowledge, is self-knowledge. We need to keep a mirror in front of us, as in our everyday, social and work relationships. It’s important to see reality, and not something we repaint because of a bad experience or a longing for it.
The lack of knowledge, understanding and acceptance of the siege of Budapest and, in a broader sense, of Hungary’s role in World War II is indicated on the surface of the film. Not only did we receive a lot of thanks, but we can also read out anger, anger and frustration, and don’t think that only Hungarian viewers are commenting, including German, British, Russian and Romanian. I would add that the temper is more present in the Eastern European comments.
That’s why I didn’t think it was right that for so many years a narrow group had actually expropriated the right to commemorate the siege of Budapest. Commemoration must be social in order for historical wounds to heal.
The siege of Budapest is not a series of black and white events. The horrors of total war caused suffering on all sides. It is worth talking about these factually, without anger, but it also requires proper information, even with the help of historical documentaries.
Tamás Babos was e.g. the Chameleon, Joseph and His Brothers – Scenes from a Peasant Bible, Passport. cinematographer. As a director, he produced the White Arrow, Top Secret and The Siege of Budapest. movies.