Skinheads in Hungary
By the late 1980s, Hungary was experiencing economic decline and growing social unrest. Youth subcultures – especially punks and the emerging skinhead movement – expressed their discontent with the strict social order. The Hungarian skinhead subculture was marked by nationalist, anti-immigrant, and anti-communist sentiments, often infused with racial hostility.
This hostility culminated in the 1990 skinhead attack on Roma residents in the town of Eger. A large group of skinheads, armed with sticks, metal rods, and belts, launched a coordinated assault on local Roma. In the following days, further clashes occurred between Roma residents and skinhead groups, which the local police labelled the “Eger racial war.” The skinhead group Agria Skins publicly distanced itself from the attack, while the local skinheads blamed prior conflicts alongside racist explanations. The situation eventually calmed with an unspoken agreement: Roma residents avoided the city centre, and the skinheads stayed away from the Roma-populated part of town.
“Skinheads are characterised by a strong sense of Hungarian identity and patriotism. […] the skinhead wants to solve the gypsy problem, the nationality problem should be addressed. […] In my opinion, the gypsies should be expelled from the country. I have never said this to my friends, it is my own opinion. We only talked about partial problems, for example, that we should have a multi-party system in the country and that because foreign students studying in our country receive a lot of support from the state, we have less, so we should reduce their numbers […] I will also say that the gypsies should be developed. […] The Horthy system was better than the current one, with more parties sharing power.”
Transcript of the skienhead trial of 1988 (Pest Central District Court 4 B V. 20954/1988, 4 October – 4 November 1988) cited: Tóth Eszter Zsófia (2016) „Fejük kopasz, többnyire borotvált, ruhájuk fekete“ Skinheadek a célkeresztben, 1988
Kommentár – Totális múlt, 2016/1: 98-113, 101
Further Reading / Sources
„Fejük kopasz, többnyire borotvált, ruhájuk fekete“ Skinheadek a célkeresztben, 1988
Tóth Eszter Zsófia (2016). Kommentár – Totális múlt, 2016/1: 98-113