As a holder of postgraduate research scholarships and visiting professorships, Dr. Schmidt has spent time at the Universities of Vienna and Innsbruck, Oxford, Paris, the Berlin Technische Universität, Tel-Aviv, as well as at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Authority, Jerusalem, the universities at New York and Bloomington, IN and at the Hoover Institute, Stanford, CAL. She was Chief Advisor to the Hungarian Prime Minister between 1998 and 2002.

She is Chief Director of the Institute of the Twentieth Century, the Institute of the Twenty-first Century and the House of Terror Museum and since 2002, Trustee of the International Ettersberg Foundation for comparative research of twentieth-century European dictatorships and democratic transformations. Her research interests include the history of the Hungarian Jews after 1918, the history of Hungary under the dictatorships and dictatorships in the twentieth century.

1.Where did you grow up?
I grew up In Budapest.

2. If you could be an expat anywhere in the world, where would you choose?
In this case I would like to live in Italy, because I like the sun, the sea, the arts and the opera, but my favourite place is Hungary.

3. What would you miss most if you moved away from Hungary?
My friends. My family and the friends are the most important to me.

4. Friends are in Budapest for a weekend - what must they absolutely see and do?
They obviously have to visit the House of Terror Museum.

5. What is your favourite food?
I like French cuisine.

6. What is your favourite sport / form of exercise?
I like swimming and walking.

7. What is your favourite place in Hungary?
This is a wonderful country. I don’t know, if there is a more beautiful city than Budapest, but in Hungary I also like Pecs.

8. What career other than yours would you love to pursue?
I always wanted to be a historian.

9. What’s a job you would definitely never want?
I never wanted to be a mathematician.

10. Where did you spend your last vacation?
I spent my last vacation in Balaton.

11. Where do you hope to spend your next one?
In Balaton, and in Spain.

12. What was your favourite band, film, or hobby as a teen?
My favourite band was Deep Purple, I liked “Tanu” of Bacso Peter as a teen.

13. What can’t you resist?
I can’t resist a good book.

14. Red wine or white?
Red.

15. Book or movie?
Both.

16. Morning person or night person?
I am a night person.

17. Which social issue do you feel most strongly about?
Unemployment. Working is crucial to leading a happy life, it gives one structure and discipline, which are the foundations of a full life.

18. Buda or Pest side?
Live in Buda and work in Pest.

19. Which achievement in your life are you most pleased about?
Most of all I am proud of my children and grandchildren. I am also proud of my academic accomplishments, I have authored books and publications and I played a leading role in establishing three museums and numerous memorials.

20. What would you say is your personal motto?
“The truth exists even when denied” (Orwell)