IMPACT-se has released a new report examining how Hungarian textbooks present Jews, Jewish history, the Holocaust, Judaism, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This report is the sixth in IMPACT-se’s Europe-wide research programme, which covers eight selected countries.
The report finds that Hungary’s curriculum offers an unusually positive and balanced portrayal of Jewish life and history.
Textbooks include extensive coverage of Jewish history, the historic role of Israel, and the contributions of Jews to Hungary.
The Holocaust is addressed in depth, often personalised through individual stories, and the Hebrew term “Shoah” is used.
Antisemitism is explored with appropriate context and vivid examples, including local cases such as the Tiszaeszlár blood libel.
Meanwhile, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is presented accurately and objectively, with some textbooks highlighting the expulsion of Jews from Arab countries—a topic rarely addressed in other European curricula.
At a time when antisemitism continues to spread across Europe and false narratives about Jews are increasingly commonplace, Hungary’s textbooks stand out as an example of a curriculum committed to the accurate portrayal of Jewish life, past and present, the report notes.
Hungarian textbooks almost universally present Jews, Jewish history, and Judaism positively. Students learn about ancient Jewish ties to the land of Israel, major Jewish figures, and Judaism’s foundational role in shaping Christianity. Ethics and Religious Studies materials explicitly note that Jesus was Jewish and taught in synagogues, promoting an inclusive understanding of religious heritage.
Many textbooks highlight Jewish contributions to Hungary’s economic, cultural, and intellectual development, including the achievements of Nobel laureates and prominent artists, though their Jewish identity is not always explicitly mentioned.
For example, a Grade 6 History textbook provides a detailed account of Jewish participation in the 1848–49 Revolution, documenting the construction of Budapest’s largest synagogue and the reprisals faced by Jewish soldiers after the revolution’s defeat. However, a parallel textbook edition mentions Jewish support only briefly, reflecting some inconsistencies in coverage across the curriculum.
Hungarian textbooks present the Arab–Israeli conflict in a balanced, fact-based manner. Students are given clear explanations of the 1948, 1967, and 1973 wars, with the 1967 war described as a “pre-emptive war.” While textbooks for younger students occasionally use terms like “Palestine” without sufficient context, upper-grade materials provide a fuller geopolitical picture, outlining both Israeli and Arab perspectives.
Grade 8 History textbooks, for example, include maps and detailed narratives of each major war, accurately describing the UN Partition Plan, the establishment of Israel in 1948, and the resulting refugee crises on both sides. The expulsion of Jews from Arab countries is also noted—a rarity in European curricula. Modern Israel is portrayed as a functioning democracy with notable technological and economic achievements, despite ongoing security threats.
Hungarian textbooks provide extensive and generally thoughtful coverage of the Holocaust and antisemitism. Students encounter personal stories such as those of Hannah Senesh and Anne Frank and study the historical roots of antisemitism. Upper-grade textbooks define antisemitism as a racial and political ideology and contextualise hatred of Jews within broader European social and political developments.
Holocaust education is detailed and empathetic: textbooks describe discriminatory laws, deportations to Auschwitz, and the destruction of Hungarian Jewry, often using primary sources, survivor accounts, and historical photographs. A Grade 7 textbook even uses the Hebrew term Shoah. Textbooks acknowledge Hungarian collaboration with the Nazis, though some passages appear to defend Hungarian authorities during the period.
Antisemitism is taught with historical context. For example, a Grade 11 History textbook addresses the infamous Tiszaeszlár blood libel, explaining the medieval accusation that Jews used Christian blood in rituals, making Hungary one of the few countries whose national curriculum directly confronts a local case of antisemitism.
The report underscores that Hungary’s textbooks provide a rare example in Europe of a curriculum committed to the accurate and balanced teaching of Jewish history, the Holocaust, and contemporary Jewish life.
