Bartók Béla, ifj.: Chronicles of Béla Bartók's Life (Budapest, 2021)
Last Journey Home, “… But For Good” (1988)
1988 CHRONICLES OF BÉLA BARTOK'S LIFE relocation and burial of the dead the legal heirs’ exclusive right, and because of this no authorities could interfere with our intentions. Both my American little brother and I have been harassed for decades about relocating him; I had in 1960 already been in negotiation with cemetery authorities there and leaders here about what could be done, but it was only in 1987 that we felt that the time had come to bring him home. During my brothers trip to Budapest we had negotiations with government representatives, and eventually we organised a committee that had to take into consideration first and foremost my fathers wish to make his burial completely simple. This seemed unsolvable, yet there was a solution: the burial in 1945 had been simple, what would happen now would be the worthy placement of the ashes. The committee was comprised of representatives of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Culture, the capital, the government guard, the art bodies, and some other authorities; the committee worked out the details in regular meetings, fulfilling all our wishes to 100%. In the Farkasréti Cemetery in Budapest, we marked the location of the honorary grave; we ordered the ornamental plants to be brought from Szombathely following an on-site selection, and I also ordered the tombstone so that the grave would not be disturbed in the case of disputes in 1-2 years. Miklos Borsos, whom I held in high esteem and asked for making the memorial, accepted the assignment willingly but asked for Swedish granite for the task. I bought it and arranged its transport from Sweden; the foundation of the tomb was prepared, and I had transferred to the chamber the ashes of my father’s mother, her sister who helped raise him, and his second wife. We could only imagine the repatriation by boat, my brother ordered the tickets for the only (!) ship touching the port of Cherbourg, and we informed the governments of Great Britain, 508
