Civilization Erasure, Christmas Markets, and Hungary

Original article here

Not surprisingly, a controversial prediction in the new Trump administration’s National Security Strategy that Europe is facing “civilization erasure” because of out-of-control mass migration infuriated European elites. The Economist attacked this reference as “shocking.”  The Independent, a UK newspaper, referred to it as a “sinister conspiracy theory.”

I want to set this aside for a moment and talk about European Christmas markets, especially in Hungary.

These markets are an old tradition where people gather to shop and socialize in the four weeks of Advent before Christmas at outdoor stalls, often in city squares, to purchase handmade goods, eat sweet treats and sausages, and drink mulled wine, a spiced wine cocktail served hot. The markets usually include Nativity scenes.  Some have small performances and people singing Christmas carols.

Unfortunately, this year, Christmas markets have been canceled in many European cities or are being held under intense police security. The reason is that in recent years, Islamist migrants, almost all of them military-age men, have tried to disrupt and ruin these celebrations, sometimes with terrorism. This included a deadly attack at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, last year, when an Islamist immigrant ran down revelers with his car, killing five and injuring over 200.

Disruptions by Islamist immigrants of these celebrations are not always violent. In Milan last month, Muslim immigrants climbed onto statues and attempted to disrupt a Christmas market with loud jeering, blasting music, and waving Islamic flags. Also last month, Islamists disrupted a Christmas market in Brussels with smoke flares, Palestinian flags, and drums.

There has been a flood of vandalism at European Christmas markets in recent years, including the theft of Nativity scene figures and the beheading of baby Jesus figures. This is on top of years of other Islamist violence in Europe against Christians, including church burnings and the 2016 murder by two Muslim immigrants of 84-year-old French priest Father Jacques Hamel in his church while he was conducting morning mass.

None of these disruptions is happening in Hungary. Hungarian Christmas markets, which feature traditional Hungarian food, handmade goods, and concerts, have not been cancelled, nor are they being held under high security. There have been no attacks on these celebrations by Islamist immigrants. Hungarians have not been run down at Christmas markets by Islamists.

The reason is clear. Unlike most other European countries, Hungary has refused to permit mass migration and will not admit unvetted migrants. Hungary defends its borders against illegal migrants and has conducted mass deportations and expulsions of foreigners who entered the country illegally or were staying there without permission.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has defended this policy by stating that illegal migration threatens the sovereignty and cultural identity of Hungary and endangers Jewish communities.

Orbán rejected a European Union demand that Hungary accept an EU quota of illegal migrants, mainly from Africa and the Middle East, who entered other European countries. In response, the EU in June 2024 imposed a 200-million-euro lump-sum fine and a 1-million-euro-per-day fine on Hungary. After Orbán refused to pay these fines, the EU began deducting them from Hungary’s funding. (I explained in my November 7 American Greatness article other ways European nations have tried to punish Hungary for refusing to accept an EU quota of illegal migrants.)

The EU recently announced a new policy on illegal migrants that requires its members to provide financial or technical support if they do not agree to admit the EU’s migrant quota. Under this plan, Hungary would be assessed 20,000 euros for each migrant it refuses to accept. Poland, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic also rejected this plan, known as the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum.

Joining Hungary in rejecting the new EU illegal migrant policy, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said, “Poland will not be accepting migrants under the Migration Pact. Nor will we pay for it.”

Prime Minister Orbán has often said Hungary is safer than the rest of Europe because his government has defied the EU order to admit illegal migrants. He recently bragged about this in the below Tweet to tourists looking for a safe Christmas experience in Europe.

A Brusselian fine of €1 million/day for keeping illegal migrants out?
We’ll pay it. For our safety, and yours.
Better than living in fear.
This Christmas, experience Europe the way it should be, in Hungary. pic.twitter.com/6QapoLSIII

— Orbán Viktor (@PM_ViktorOrban) November 22, 2025

In response to efforts by Islamist immigrants who are trying to destroy these Christian celebrations with violence, many were cancelled this year, and some Europeans are afraid to attend them.

The globalist leaders of the European Union refuse to admit this and instead are trying to destroy Hungary’s culture by forcing it to accept illegal migrants. Hungarian Prime Minister Orbán deserves a great deal of credit for defending his country and its culture by rejecting this absurd EU directive. I am glad President Trump has offered strong support to Hungary in its battle with the EU over illegal migration.

Trump’s new U.S. National Security Strategy got it exactly right in stating that mass migration of unvetted migrants is destroying Europe and, if not stopped, will result in the erasure of European civilization.  Prime Minister Orbán understands this, which is why Hungary’s culture is not suffering the decline occurring across Europe. It is also why Hungarians will participate in Christmas markets this year without fearing terrorist attacks by Islamist migrants.

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Fred Fleitz previously served as National Security Council chief of staff, a CIA analyst, and a House Intelligence Committee staff member. He is the vice chair of the America First Policy Institute’s Center for American Security.