On May 24, 2018 the last research associate at the Georg Lukács Archives of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences was banned from the archives after 28 years of employment. Despite local and international protest, the Academy, with the assistance of its own library, closed the archives of the world-renowned Hungarian philosopher, which has existed since 1972. The locks on the doors were replaced, and the archives effectively ceased to exist as a venue attracting international interest and researchers.
The Lukács Archives International Foundation (LANA) continues to struggle for preserving the philosopher’s legacy. Scholars around the world who have had the opportunity to work with the archives, and for whom access to its holdings is essential to their future work, are standing in solidarity with LANA, calling on the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and its library to reverse this decision.
Please share this protest letter with as many relevent organizations and/or individuals as possible. The archives are under threat of total closure, and this is probably the last opportunity to act. If you want to add your name to the letter, please send an e-mail to muvesz.felelos.szolidaris [at] gmail.com. The list of signatories is updated steadily.
The May 2018 issue of e-flux journal featured an archival text by Georg Lukács on Andrei Platonov, newly translated by Robert Bird: “Emmanuil Levin.”
