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Secondary sourceSculpture1967 (statue); photographed 11 June 2011

Béla Kun, Jenő Landler and Tibor Szamuely Memorial

Olcsai-Kiss Zoltán, Herczeg Klára, Farkas Aladár · 1967 (statue); photographed 11 June 2011

A photograph of a 1967 memorial honoring three Hungarian communist leaders, including Béla Kun, now displayed in Memento Park.

A memorial grouping Kun with other communist leaders, reflecting his place among Hungary's revolutionary figures.

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Three tall dark bronze reliefs of standing male figures set on a red brick wall in a gravel yard under blue sky. Left: a shirtless figure with a cap. Center: a man in suit and tie. Right: a man in a cap and jacket. Names are inscribed at the bottom of each panel.
Olcsai-Kiss Zoltán, Herczeg Klára, Farkas Aladár, Béla Kun, Jenő Landler and Tibor Szamuely Memorial, 1967. Memento Park, Budapest. Photographed 2011.

About this source

What it is

This photograph shows a memorial made in 1967 by sculptors Olcsai-Kiss Zoltán, Herczeg Klára and Farkas Aladár. It consists of three tall dark bronze relief panels set on a brick wall, each showing a standing male figure with names inscribed below: one shirtless figure, one man in a suit and tie, and one man in a cap and jacket. The memorial is now located in Memento Park, Budapest.

Why it matters

This monument commemorates Béla Kun together with fellow communist leaders Jenő Landler and Tibor Szamuely, figures associated with the Hungarian Soviet Republic and its aftermath. Its preservation in Memento Park, a museum for communist-era monuments, shows how Hungary has chosen to remember and reframe these historical figures after the end of communist rule.

Look closer

  • What might the different poses and clothing of the three figures represent?
  • Why do you think the names are inscribed directly on the panels?
  • What does moving a monument like this to a museum say about how a society deals with a difficult past?

This sculpture is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Béla Kun on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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