This #WorldPoetryDay we are highlighting a powerful Hungarian poem from our permanent exhibition entitled “Felsőszeli” – the name of a village from which the poem’s author, Béla Nagy, was forcefully relocated in 1947 during the reslovakisation process
After the Second World War, entire populations were identified and expelled on the basis of their nationality. The aim was to create a Europe of nation states that were more ethnically similar than ever before. Many of those expelled were only given a few minutes to pack. Some were allowed to remain by changing their nationality.
Below is our translation into English. The image shows a replica of the original handwritten poem, provided to the House of European History by the Museum of the Hungarian Culture in Bratislava.