“The Hungarian Theatrical and Film Arts Chamber, 1939-1944”
Professional Background
Ms. Susan Papp is a PhD candidate in history at the University of Toronto, Canada, where she has lectured in the Hungarian Studies Program at the Munk School for Global Affairs. She also served as adjunct scholar for the Multicultural History Society of Ontario and executive producer for Postmodern Productions. In addition to English, Ms. Papp is fluent in Hungarian. While in residence at the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies, Ms. Papp conducted research on her project, “The Hungarian Theatrical and Film Arts Chamber, 1939-1944.”
Ms. Papp has published books in English, Hebrew, and Hungarian, including Outcasts: A Love Story (Dundurn 2009, 2010, 2011) and Driven to Succeed: How Frank Hasenfratz Grew Linamar from Guelph to Global, co-authored with Rod McQueen (Dundurn 2012). For her work as a journalist, Ms. Papp received the 1992 Michener Award from the Governor General and the 1992 Best Investigative Reporting Award from the Canadian Journalists Association.
Fellowship Research
For her Tziporah Wiesel Fellowship, Ms. Papp used the Hungarian language collections held at the Museum, including the records of the Nemzeti Front (National Front), the records of the Honvédelmi Minisztérium (Ministry of Defense), and the files of the Értelmiségi Munkanélküliség Ügyeinek Kormánybiztosa (Government Department for the Intellectual Unemployed), to examine how the Hungarian Theatrical and Film Arts Chamber was used as an instrument of social isolation during the Horthy regime and what this revealed about the nature of Hungarian antisemitism.
Ms. Susan Papp was in residence at the Mandel Center from January 1 to May 31, 2015.