PRAGUE, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Hungarian Jews have asked Russia to return scrolls and valuable religious items looted by Nazis and the Red Army in World War Two and their claim has been backed by the Budapest government.
Some 300 to 400 Torah scrolls and thousands of vestments, crowns and other articles are being held in museums and storage in Russia, said Slomo Koves, executive rabbi of the Unified Hungarian Jewish Congregation.
Seized by Nazi Germany during the war and then by the Red Army in 1945, many of the items had been stored for safety in the Hungarian National Bank during the Holocaust.
Up to 600,000 Jews died at the hands of the Nazis and their allies, according to Budapest's Holocaust Memorial Centre, and Hungary's Jewish community, now numbering around 100,000, still faces anti-semitism.
On Tuesday, a far-right politician urged the government to draw up list of Jews who posed a "national security risk".
In June, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Elie Wiesel repudiated a Hungarian state award he received after an official from the Hungarian government participated in a ceremony honouring a writer who was a member of Hungary's WW2 far-right parliament.
Koves said he had sent a letter to Russian authorities about the religious artifacts, which are part of a larger body of art and valuables that Hungarian authorities say the Soviets took from the country when the war ended.
"Our request is that if we're not speaking about looted art, at least we can speak about all the pieces that are important to the Jewish community," Koves said.
He had asked for Moscow to allow a delegation to document the items and then work out a process for their return.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Janosz Martonyi has also written to Moscow to say the issue had been "unfortunately dragging on for a long time now" and saying it was "of great national importance for the whole country".
Russia's Foreign Ministry declined immediate comment.
About one tenth of the 6 million Jews who were killed during the Holocaust came from Hungary. Most were deported to death camps after Nazi Germany occupied the country in 1944, often after soldiers seized their possessions.
Historians have documented stories of people who risked their lives or died trying to protect Torah scrolls. Some who ran into burning synagogues or hid them on their person when they were deported to death camps.
Torah scrolls are at the heart of Jewish worship, and a community needs to obtain them before it builds a synagogue.
Painstakingly copied by hand on parchment, they contain the five books of Moses and are kept in an arch of a synagogue, usually facing east towards Jerusalem. Koves said the ones in question were hundreds of years old and "priceless".
According to a catalogue compiled by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims against Germany, 344 Torah scrolls were turned over by Russia's Special Archive, now part of the Russian State Military Archive, to the State Historical Museum.
The Hungarian group said Russia also holds Torahs in the Nizhny Novgorod Museum. Some scholars say these originated in Hungary while others say they came from Russian synagogues.
"When we speak of Torah scrolls, there is no question that they belong to the Jewish community, and we are all heirs of the survivors," Koves said.
"Today, when we don't have to endanger our lives but just have to bring it to people's attention, this is our first duty as Hungarian Jews." Some 8,000 Jewish Holocaust survivers live in Hungary. (Additional reporting by Krisztina Than and Martin Dunai in Budapest; editing by Robert Woodward)
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
It's Another Trump-Biden Showdown — And We Need Your Help
The Future Of Democracy Is At Stake
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
The 2024 election is heating up, and women's rights, health care, voting rights, and the very future of democracy are all at stake. Donald Trump will face Joe Biden in the most consequential vote of our time. And HuffPost will be there, covering every twist and turn. America's future hangs in the balance. Would you consider contributing to support our journalism and keep it free for all during this critical season?
HuffPost believes news should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay for it. We rely on readers like you to help fund our work. Any contribution you can make — even as little as $2 — goes directly toward supporting the impactful journalism that we will continue to produce this year. Thank you for being part of our story.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
It's official: Donald Trump will face Joe Biden this fall in the presidential election. As we face the most consequential presidential election of our time, HuffPost is committed to bringing you up-to-date, accurate news about the 2024 race. While other outlets have retreated behind paywalls, you can trust our news will stay free.
But we can't do it without your help. Reader funding is one of the key ways we support our newsroom. Would you consider making a donation to help fund our news during this critical time? Your contributions are vital to supporting a free press.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our journalism free and accessible to all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.
Support HuffPostAlready contributed? Log in to hide these messages.