Democracy Digest: History Hangs Heavy Here in Central Europe

"What [Slovaks] did towards Hungarians living in Slovakia in 1945-1947 was a sin before God and before the people," Kover said at the unveiling of the memorial, according to the Dennik N daily. He warned that if these events were ever forgotten, "they could happen again in the future" to "defenceless victims".

"Hungarians have not forgiven these sins because nobody apologised to them," Kover claimed, as he called on Hungarians and Slovaks to "settle their past injustices".

The Slovak Foreign Ministry responded by sending a diplomatic letter to Hungary in which it expressed disappointment at how Hungarian state officials "issue history lessons".

"I definitely reject that the second highest official of Hungary has felt the need to come and give his view of history right in Slovakia," Foreign Minister Ivan Korcok said in a rebuttal to Kover's claims.

No Slovak officials were present at the ceremony in Samorin, much to the annoyance of Korcok's ministry, which wasn't even notified of Kover's visit. The Slovak Foreign Ministry has demanded Hungary follow normal diplomatic procedures and inform Bratislava about the purpose of any official visit in advance.

Kover and Korcok are no strangers to diplomatic spats. In 2015, the Hungarian politician controversially claimed that Slovaks and Czechs should not have been allowed into the EU due to the legacy of the Benes Decrees. And during his speech in Samorin, he shoehorned the ongoing culture wars into the narrative by warning of "globalist invisible powers" threatening "gender, family, religious and national identity" in nation states.

Korcok, on the other hand, demanded earlier this year that Hungary refrain from interfering in Slovakian affairs when his Hungarian counterpart Peter...