Prof. Csaba G. Kiss has passed away

Hungarian cultural and literary historian, essayist, and expert on Central European issues, Prof. Csaba G. Kiss, has passed away at the age of 80. He was an outstanding promoter of Central and Eastern European culture, an expert on the region, and an activist for dialogue and cooperation between the nations of the region. In 2009, the ICC published Prof. Kiss's book entitled ‘A Lesson in Central Europe: Essays and Sketches’. He was a long-time friend of our institution and a member of the ICC Programme Council.

Csaba G. Kiss was a professor at Loránd Eötvös University in Budapest, and until 2010 he was also a lecturer at the Department of Polish Culture at the Faculty of Polish Studies and at the Department of Hungarian Studies at the University of Warsaw. He also worked as a visiting professor and lecturer at universities in Berlin, France, Nitra, Prague and Zagreb. He collaborated with our institution almost from its inception. His selection of essays and sketches, entitled ‘A Lesson in Central Europe: Essays and Sketches’ opened our Central European Library series. From 2014 to 2022, he was a member of the MCK Programme Council.

Prof. Csaba G. Kiss's academic interests focused on issues such as nationalism, myths and national symbols in Central European culture, Hungarian-Polish and Hungarian-Slovak relations. In his introduction to a selection of Prof. Kiss's essays and sketches, published by the International Cultural Centre in 2009, Prof. Jacek Purchla wrote: "Csaba Kiss is one of our most loyal friends and a true missionary of the idea of Central Europe (...). A Hungarian who has put so much effort not only into researching the identity of his own nation, but perhaps above all into understanding the soul of his Slavic neighbours”.

The experience of the Hungarian Revolution 1956 – so important for his entire generation – and the reaction of Poles to these events confirmed Prof. Kiss's conviction that Polish-Hungarian dialogue provides the key and context for understanding the history of both countries, as well as their place in European culture and civilisation. In 2019, he received the New Culture – New Europe Stanisław Vincenz prize from the Kraków City Council for his outstanding achievements in popularising the culture of Central and Eastern Europe. He was also a member of the Scientific Council of the European Network Remembrance and Solidarity.

Numerous books by Prof. Csaba G. Kiss paint a fascinating picture of literature, culture and national issues in our region. His works have been published in France, Germany, Slovakia, Croatia and Poland, among other countries. The following titles have been published on the Polish market: ‘Polish Diary (1980-1982) ’ (Institute of Linguistics. Hungarian Philology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań 2000), ‘A Lesson in Central Europe: Essays and Sketches’ (International Cultural Centre, Krakow 2009), ‘Visegrad Affinities. Memoirs, Sketches, Essays’ (Studio EMKA Publishing House, Warsaw 2016).