Tábori’s Sinful Budapest

Kornél Tábori was a legendary crime journalist of the first two decades of the 20th century who from the beginning of his career, and lead by his social sensibility, reacted with outrage to the miserable conditions of the Hungarian society of his time. Based upon his expertise and knowledge of facts, he wrote books from 1900 to convince the public and the opinion leaders that crime reproducing itself is not the city’s fault but a result of a wrong system. From the 1920’s his attention turned to the promotion of tourism in Hungary and Budapest, and as a diligent member of the tourism association, he strived for building a positive image of Budapest.

By the 1930’s the professional circles looked up to him as an expert, and he also gained popularity in the wider audience. There was always great interest in his lectures with projection of slides in the Urania Theatre of Science (delivered also abroad and in the countryside), his radio lectures and thematic evenings.

In April 1944 he was deported to a relocation camp and from there, in the early summer of 1944, to Auschwitz. He never returned to his beloved homeland and city – to life. During the seventy years since his death, the life and work of Tábori have never been studied. The seventh volume of Budapest Books now assumes this task, with the critical presentation of his works completed by a selection of texts, especially from his journalistic articles.