Mária Filep is a Hungarian architect and main organizer of the Pan-European Picnic.

Early life

Mária Filep was born in

Debrecen Debrecen ( , is Hungary's second-largest city, after Budapest, the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar County. A city with county rights, it was the largest Hungarian city in the 18th century and i ...

in 1953. She completed her degree in architecture at the

University of Debrecen ThUniversity of Debrecen( hu, Debreceni Egyetem) is a university located in Debrecen, Hungary. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest continuously operating institution of higher education in Hungary ever since its ...

Career

She worked at the Hajdú County State Construction Company as an architectural engineer. She was the founding member of the Hungarian Democratic Forum in Debrecen, the first opposition organization in the town. The members gathered in pubs and restaurants at weekends.

Pan-European Picnic

The idea of a Pan-European Picnic came up at one of these gatherings on 30 June 1989 in the garden of Old Vigadó Restaurant. Subsequently Filep started organizing it with a few colleagues. She risked her job and her freedom. Even though her employers suspected something was going on they did not ask questions. At first she found little support. The Roundtable Talks of Debrecen and the Hungarian Democratic Forum (MDF) rejected her overtures as unprofessional. However, the idea reached fruition took place with the support of individual MDF volunteers from Debrecen and Sopron. Hundreds of East-German citizens broke through the border-closure and set off to neutral Austria while the event was taking place. By doing so, they launched the destruction of the

Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain was the political boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. The term symbolizes the efforts by the Soviet Union (USSR) to block itself and its s ...

(wall) separating the two countries. The pressure from East German refugees flooding Hungary has eventually led to the opening of the borders on 11 September 1989.

Later career

Filep went on cooperating with the MDF, but in 1994 she decided to leave the party and end her political activity. She returned to her job but she still finds civil activity important in public life. She is the president of Hajdúság–Partium Preservation Society, which is committed to urban protection, architectural and natural heritage conservation and a member of the Board of Governors of the Hungarian Urban and Village Preservation Association. She places special emphasis on preserving the heritage of the Pan-European Picnic. She remains a member of the board of trustees. In 2000 she organized a conference in Debrecen about

cyanide Cyanide is a naturally occurring, rapidly acting, toxic chemical that can exist in many different forms. In chemistry, a cyanide () is a chemical compound that contains a functional group. This group, known as the cyano group, consists of ...

contamination and the consequent ecological disaster. She organized several exhibitions titled ''Changes in Central Europe'' to familiarize people with the ideas of the Picnic.

Recognition

* She received the Order of Merit of the Hungarian Republic, Officer's Cross in 1999. * In 2004 she was awarded the Aphelandra prize for her contribution to the regime change.

Sources

Filep Mária visszaemlékezése
Debrecen, 2014. April 2. Határnyitás 25. * Magos Márta visszaemlékezése, Debrecen, 1999. február 27. A Terror Háza Múzeum tulajdonában.
Beszélgetés Nagy Lászlóval. Kétezer Irodalmi és Társadalmi Havilap
2009/11.
Jeszenszky Géza: Magyarország és a kommunista dominók eldőlése
Hitel, 2009/10. 75.
Filep Mária: Legyen ügyfél a civil szervezet
Disputa. 2004. március. 37–39.

Sopron város honlapja. >

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Filep, Maria 1953 births Living people People from Debrecen Hungarian Democratic Forum politicians