Borvendég Zsuzsanna: Fabulous Spy Games. How international trade networks with the West developed after 1945 - A Magyarságkutató Intézet Kiadványai 24. (Budapest, 2021)
‘FABULOUS’ IN HUNGARY - Sympathetic journalism
FABULOUS SPY GAMES perceptions of goulash communism. The story reveals the secret methods of Kádár s opening to the West, a conscious and highly organised manipulation that even the General Secretary of the Party actively participated in if need be, because there can be no doubt this meeting was a secret service operation organised in advance. For this manipulation, they found the perfect partner in the West German journalist, whose Nazi past guaranteed he would paint a picture of the country he was being shown around without any moral reservations. The article proves that anything can be presented in a way that expresses the exact opposite of reality. He made Rojko’s person likeable for his readers by emphasising that he fought on the side of the Germans during the war, although we know he was actually a forced labourer, a member of the anti-fascist committee as a prisoner of war, and also worked for the communist secret services. When exploring Hoffmanns relations, state security paid meticulous attention to clarifying the role of Ernő Porkai (Auspitz), who was the president of the Journalist Club before the revolution. He was later head of the Rózsadomb restaurant when Hoffmann was visiting Hungary and kept in continuous touch with him.361 We have little information on the start of their acquaintance, but given that investigation reports show they already knew each other when Hoffmann visited Hungary in 1956, it is safe to say the relationship dated back to before 1945. After World War One, Porkai travelled around western European countries working in the restaurant and entertainment business in various cities, including Paris, London, Brussels, Amsterdam, Prague and Rotterdam, until he returned to Budapest in 1931 to become the manager of Moulin Rouge.362 During the war, he collaborated with the Nazi occupying forces and also the Arrow Cross Party, “selling the Jews to the Arrow Cross forces”,363 according to state security. They were probably not exaggerating too much, according to the information of MNVK-2 at least. In 1944, he turned László Fehér, one of his fellow fugitives from the forced labour camp and a 361 ÁBTL 3.1.5. 0-12344/ p. 84 Confession by Ferenc Szolcsányi, 28 December 1959 362 ÁBTL 3.1.5 0-9260 p. 105 Operational summary, 17 June 1952 363 ÁBTL 3.1.5. 0-9260 p. 45 Report, 15 April 1951 136
