Greeks in Hungary : from the Orthodox Greek merchants to the refugees of the Greek Civil War

Abstract

The current face of the Greek community in Hungary was undoubtedly shaped by the political refugees who arrived in Hungary due to the Greek Civil War and their descendants. However, this Greek community recognises the legacy of the Greek merchant diaspora of the 18th and 19th centuries, which played a decisive role in the modernisation of Hungary as its own heritage. Therefore, I will briefly describe what this heritage consists of and how contemporary Greeks relate to it. I will then review the history of the resettlement of Greek political refugees in Hungary, with a particular focus on Greek children who arrived in Hungary without parental care. I will present their forced departure from Greece, their arrival in Hungary, their settlement, and their integration, partly based on archival materials and mainly on life history interviews.

Keywords

• Greek political refugees
• Greek Civil War
• diaspora
• Hungary
• oral history