“Hungary is my motherland and America is my home” John Lukacs 102

In 2026, the John Lukacs Institute once again commemorates the birthday of its namesake with a conference. This year’s thematic focus is shaped by the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence of the United States. In this context, we intend to devote particular attention to those Central European figures and intellectual impulses that significantly shaped American scholarly life, the economy, the arts, and various spheres of public life. Within this framework, the person and work of John Lukacs occupy a central place, as he created a distinctive bridge between the two continents: a historian of Hungarian origins who came to intellectual fulfillment in the United States, his oeuvre simultaneously embodies the philosophical sensitivity inherent in European historical thinking and the deeply rooted essayistic tradition of Anglo-Saxon historiography.

Perhaps the most distinctive feature of Lukacs’s life’s work, however, lies in his experience of strangeness—an experience that made him both a part of, and at the same time an outsider to, each community. This position enabled him to observe historical and public processes with a particular detachment and to offer new perspectives on their interpretation. In light of this, the conference examines how Lukacs’s oeuvre enriched both European and American historical thought, and what lessons it may hold for contemporary thinking. Alongside American speakers – including Lukacs’s biographer and the leadership of the archive that manages his written legacy – we have invited Hungarian scholars who are familiar with and research the historian’s oeuvre, or who are connected to his work in some way.

At the same time, the event holds significance beyond its strictly academic relevance, as the promotion of Lukacs’ legacy enriches the University’s intellectual horizont and supports its ongoing development toward becoming a genuine universitas.

Programme

15.00–15.15     Opening speeches

Gergely Prőhle, Director, Otto von Habsburg Foundation, Programme Director, John Lukacs Institute of the Ludovika University of Public Service

Gergely Deli, Rector, Ludovika University of Public Service

15.15–15.45     At the End of a Great Era: The Archival Legacy of John Lukacs

Erika Hosselkus, Associate Dean of Hesburgh Libraries at the University of Notre Dame

Rachel Bohlmann, Interim Department Head for Distinctive and Academic Collections, Hesburgh Libraries at the University of Notre Dame

15.45–16.30     Lukacs’ Europe

Richard M. Gamble, Professor at Hillsdale College

Michael Severance, former head of the Acton Institute’s international office in Rome

16.30–16.45     Coffee break

16.45–17.45     Panel discussion: The Living Reality of History: America’s Democratic Heritage and Present

Máté Botos, Head of Institute, Pázmány Péter Catholic University

Ferenc Hörcher, Head of Institute, Institute for Political and State Theory, Ludovika University of Public Service

Szilvay Gergely, senior editor, Mandiner

Moderated by: Bence Kocsev, Otto von Habsburg Foundation

17.45–18.45     Panel discussion: The Centuries of Budapest

Péter Muszatics, author of the book Budapest Now

Attila Pók, Former Deputy Director of the Institute of History at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences’ Research Center for the Humanities

Miklós M. Nagy, Literary Director and Editor-in-Chief of Helikon Publishing House

Moderated by: Gergely Prőhle

18.45               Reception

The conference will be held in Hungarian and English,
with simultaneous interpretation provided.

We are looking forward to welcoming you.