In March 2025, the Hungarian Parliament, led by the illiberal populist Fidesz party, passed by a large majority a bill banning LGBTQ+ assembly, including Pride parades.Though this legislation is not particularly surprising given Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s track record of targeting the LGBTQ+ communityand other minorities, it furthers an alarming agenda and poses significant domestic and international concern.

The Lebensborn Program was a program in Nazi Germany intended to promote the “Aryan race,” encouraging the birth of German blonde blue-eyed babies, while discouraging the birth of other races. The program had tremendous negative consequences, one of which is the lasting impact it has left on European racial relations by glorifying certain ethnicities over others. Many current anti-immigration parties and movements in Europe recently use rhetoric very similar to that of the program, showing yet another lasting effect of the Holocaust. 

Hungary’s nationalist policies under Viktor Orbán have strained EU relations, driven by historical resistance to foreign influence. This article examines Hungary’s ideological defiance, its shifting alliances, and the broader implications of its divergence from European democratic norms.