Tanulmányok
TThe religious life and church politics of the pre-civil war u.s. in the narrative sources
The paper examines the enforcement of the constitutional freedom of religion in everyday life, the consequences of the democratic, egalitarian relation among the denominations and of the lack of a state church, as the contemporaries reflected on them. The British Frances Trollope’s (1779–1863) Domestic Manners of the Americans (1832) and the French Alexis de Tocqueville’s (1805–1859) Democracy in America (1835 and 1840) are often quoted works in the historical literature of the Pre-Civil War U.S. The two authors came from dissimilar social, economic and cultural environment and they offered two different approaches towards the above raised issues. The mostly analyzed religious phenomena are proved to be two extremities, the religious indifference and the zeal of the preachers of the revivalist movement. The contemporaries’ main concern was whether the order of the society could remain stable without a state church or a religious government. Trollope considered the lack of a state church harmful for the society because it created religious fanaticism and the endless fragmentation of denominations. To the contrary, Tocqueville appreciated the churches which had often preceded the institutions of the state in the newly populated areas and had facilitated the consolidation of the social order.
The peace party’s position on independence and the peace treaty in the 1849 session of the parliament in Debrecen
The Declaration of Independence of April 14, 1849 dethroned the Habsburgs as rulers of the Kingdom of Hungary, but left the question of the form of government open. It declared the throne vacant, yet Hungary did not become a republic. The temporary nature of this situation was reflected in the appointment of Lajos Kossuth as regent; regents are appointed in kingdoms without a ruler, while republics have prime minister. Moderate liberalism was the alternative represented by the Peace Party, with its anti-revolutionary, anti-radical and anti-despotic nature. Their platform however never translated into a formal party program. Shared political ideas and emotions among its members resulted in periodic and fluid collaborations, which were often filled with contradictions, inconsistencies, or occasionally even radical republican efforts. The Peace Party opposed both the social and political forms of revolution, unless it was used to maintain internal order in which case they regarded it an acceptable defense tool against foreign intervention. Based on an analysis of the party press, their activities can be grouped into two often overlapping categories. Primarily ideological assertions which serve to form the Peace Party’s political philosophy belong in the first category, ie. the articulation and defense of moderate liberal ideas. These include considerations over the chances of a peace treaty, the act of dethronization, and the separation of powers. The second group includes political and tactical stances e.g. those against Madarász and Kossuth or the actions related to Szemere, in order to clearly position the party among its competitors.
„…Whole Budapest was intoxicating …”
The Hungarian Millennium Exhibiton took place in Budapest in 1896. The program was organized in one of the largest urban park of the city, Városliget. The Exhibition’s task was to show the Hungarian history, the arts, industries and products for the visitors. 240 exhibition pavilions were built by the organizers and were visited by the King I. Ferenc József and his wife Elisabeth thirteen times. My work, The Hungarian Millennium Exhibiton describes on the basis of my relative, Maucha Ilona’s diary (period diary) and memory of M.Hrabovszky Júlia, authoress. They took a note of many spectacle of Millennium Exhibition but three sightseeings both of them: Main-Corso, Industry-hall, and Fontaine lumiense and the Ős-Budavára (the Castle of Old Buda). My essay in details shows the next buildings of the Millenium Festival: Maincorso, Industry-hall, Fontaine lumiense (illuminating fountain). Furthermore I compare the diary with memoir.
A female teacher in Hungary. Ellen Key, 1905
By the end of the 19th century the long struggle for women’s education that began in the Reform era achieved tangible results. Universities opened their gates for women wanting to pursue advanced studies, and the public sphere as well as various literary genres saw the introduction of new types of women, a phenomenon discussed in particular by those who were part of it. New considerations over women’s role also appeared in Sándor Bródy’s late 19th-century short stories, among which The Teacher (1908) can be considered a drama of female dignity. The central question of this article is whether and to what extent was Bródy’s drama influenced by the Swedish „feminist” author Ellen Kay’s reading in Budapest in 1905. The answer is difficult as Bródy sharply opposed feminists. Many „feminist apostles” visited the Hungarian capital in 1905, and consequently these new ideologies and female types became part of the public discourse. Even though Bródy was a wellinformed editor, he did not or could not differentiate between feminist ideologies, and targeted the least fiery Swedish author who – interestingly enough – fought for similar principles to his. Therefore, it seems a reasonable assumption that Ellen Kay and the feminists’ tour directly contributed to Bródy’s desire to create a new type of woman; however, in true this heroine was not new but stood on old moral grounds
Remarks to István Tisza’s political connections in the period of coalition government’s final crisis 1909-1910
The aim of the study to show István Tisza’s political connections to Jr. Gyula Andrássy, László Lukács and Károly Khuen-Héderváry. While Andrássy was the Home Secretary in the coalition government, the other persons were members of the National Social Club as István Tisza by his own also belonged to this company. The Club was founded for the former governing party’s members (Liberal Party) during the rule of the coalition (1906—1910). While Tisza and Lukács were standing opposite each other in the issue of the universal suffrage and the direction of a new policy, Khuen-Héderváry was the best person to bridge the disagreement between Lukács and Tisza. It was a compromise as well that Károly Khuen-Héderváry would be the new prime minister in 1910. Otherwise Tisza’s political ideas was standing closest to Gyula Andrássy’ ones. The prime minister Khuen-Héderváry was adverse Andrássy Gyula’s party (Constitutional Party) at the first time, but Tisza persuaded Khuen-Héderváry of the negotiations with the Constitutional Party to be able to join the new governing party before the National Labour Party was founded. The former members of Andrássy’s party could join the new governing party before it was founded, and their situation was not so defenceless as if they had not joined before the foundation of the National Labour Party. It was Tisza’s merit. While the former specialized literature emphasized that there had been a close community of interests between László Lukács and István Tisza, we see rather conflicts in this relationship. However in the case of Károly Khuen-Héderváry we have to accept that the conflict between him and Tisza was a political tactics partly.
Parliamentary elections in the constituency Of Gödöllő (IV) In Pest-Pest-Solt-Kiskun county
As a clear point, the elections held in the constituency of Gödöllő, Hungary between 1920 and 1939 show an unequivocal majority of the right-wing pro-government parties. Not only the results of a certain election, but also the process of the nomination of candidates leaves us no doubt; this particular region of the country (and many more) had strong conservative, right-wing roots with almost complete absence for the opposition to take considerable part in the elections. In the second part of my study I continue to follow the history of voting trying to concentrate on whether the global changes in the Hungarian political leadership and the wartime situation produced any changes in these acts. Not only the main ideology of state changes after 1945, but also the entire electoral system performs a major turn with a serious purpose of course. The effect of this change impacts greatly on the political leadership of the country, but does it do so on the regional, smaller communities, or tradition and habits play a stronger role among these citizens? The last part of the paper tries to describe the changes caused by the historical events from 1986 to 1998. During this very intense and turbulent period a massive redistribution of votes can be seen, often related to the increasing media influence. Nevertheless, the question remains relevant: is there any significant change in the distribution of votes between the two political sides or its proportion had already been crystallized at the beginning of the 20th century?
The situation of the ethnic middle-class in the autumn of 1940.
After the return of Northern Transylvania to Hungary, the fate and possibilities of the non-Hungarian middle class became a key issue. The evolving Hungarian policy did not favor their presence and activity, considering it the embodiment of Romanian nationalism. Therefore, some of them were expelled, while others either left of their own will, or fled due to the authorities’ actions. The present study aims at describing the possibilities and chances in the fall of 1940 of those who did not leave the country. After 1940, reliability was the main condition for being or becoming part of the state administration, as well as for further operation for freelancers. This term defined their attitude towards the Hungarian minority in the years between the two world wars. In the case of members of an ethnic group, their reliability was more important than their qualification. Although – due to the negative experience of screening that had taken place after 1938 in Upper Hungary – no official decree prescribed such actions for Transylvania, many documents prove the existence of the procedure. The lack of regulation makes it difficult to trace the criteria that led to the judgement of people’s actions and this phenomenon is all the more obvious during the military administration when military commanders and members of the Hungarian middle-class simply decided over the future possibilities of some. The present study tries to sum up the substance of these procedures through the case of two lawyers, József Borgida and Árpád Czira. Both of them were native Hungarians who chose the way of individual emergence after 1918. Borgida, who was of Jewish origin, chose to take part in the organization of his own community, while Czira tried his chances within a Romanian political party. Both of them were negatively seen by the Hungarian community and their actions were considered acts of betrayal, Czira being called a Romanian and Borgida a Jew. Although both accusations proved only partly true, the military commander accepted the „verdict” of the Hungarian community and denied them the possibility to continue their activity as lawyers.
Death of vice regent István Horthy and the german secret services
István Horthy, elder son of the Hungarian regent, who had been acting as vice-regent of the country, and died in mission at the eastern front as a fighter lieutenant crashing to a gully next to the Ukrainian villages Alekseyevka and Nikolayevka, was laid to rest on 28th August in 1942. Few days before his fatal last flight, he had asked furlough from his supervisors in order to travel to Kiev and meet his young wife, who had been working there among the Hungarian volunteer nurses. The couple spent three nights in a villa, which – as they knew – was advanced to them by wing commander Karl Kitzinger, military chief officer of the occupied Ukrainian areas. They were informed that the general temporarily did not dwell in the city. Soon after the vice-regent’s fall suspicion arose and was spreading both among the Hungarian army, and in the hinterland: István Horthy became victim of a German assassination. This suspicion was intensified by the testimonies of the widow who claimed from the first moment that his husband must have been killed, because the house in Kiev was bugged by “the Germans” who could get the kind of information that made inevitable the liquidation of the young Horthy. The handsome engineer, elder son of the old admiral got into the pantheon of mysteriously deceased Hungarians next to Prince Imre, first and only son of the first Hungarian king, I Mátyás and Miklós Zrínyi. All of them were talented and mostly young figures of the Hungarian past, died in unclarified circumstances, and because of this suspected to be victims of betrayal and murder. This article is trying to clarify Karl Kitzinger’s person and tasks, the proper role and bureaucracy of the German secret services, their branches in the occupied territories, and last but not least to reconstruct from testimonies of Mrs. István Horthy the couple’s conversations in commander Kitzinger’s house.
Plans of the second world war resistance movements on the future of Europe
The paper analyses the theoretical work of the second world war anti-nazi resistance movements in Germany, and it presents its plans on the future of Europe. The paper covers in the first place the ideas of the social democrats, the Kreisau Circle of Christian and left-wing politicians, and some conservatives. The social democratic group ’Neu Beginnen’ aimed as early as 1936 the reorganisation of the League of Nations into a real confederation which has adequate power to fulfil general disarmament in Europe. In the so called Kreisau Circle took part social democrats, trade union leaders and conservatives, as well. This group put emphasis on the role of local communities, in which citizens can learn how to solve their problems on their own, and to restrict the power of the state this way. Contrary to the Kreisau Circle that wanted to create a new order in Europe based on moral aspects, the conservative Carl Goerdeler gave priority to economic considerations. Goerdeler planned a new European system of economic cooperation in which he would have given the leading part to Germany due to her geographical situation and economic capacity. Later he realized that German positons had been damaged by the nazi agression against European nations on a large scale, thus in his last relevant work – Comments on the Atlantic Charter – he gave up these aspirations. He suggested to create a Common Court and a Council of Economy to promote cooperation among European countries, because he hoped that this will lead to the free movement of people, the abolition of tariffs, the harmonisation of legal systems, and finally, a federation of Europe.
Political instrumentalization of humour magazines in Hungary 1946–1947 – The case of Győző Drozdy
During an eventful political career, Győző Drozdy (1885–1970) became member of Parliament the fifth time in postwar Hungary in 1945. Consistently arguing Western democratic and liberal principles, he was soon compelled to pursue a career outside the major bourgeois party. The Hungarian Liberty Party, founded by Drozdy and his political fellows, proved particularly efficient in the Parliament, which soon made the Hungarian Communist Party apprehensive and anxious. That time the inner conflicts of the grand coalition government increased, while the new opposition party also enhanced the political turbulence. The political press intensely responded to these processes too. The satirical journals, organized mostly by political parties, were definitely participating in the political competition and maintained a limited pluralism in the public. There were about two dozens of politicians whom they continously focused on, and Győző Drozdy was one of their targets. The study presents some related jokes and strip cartoons through Drozdy’s example. The analysis conceptualizes these as practices of political communication, and also draws on the theoretical underpinnings of graphic humour.
The „revolutionary” party membership meeting of the szabad nep and the press dispute of the Petofi circle
In my article I investigate a well-known but less researched episode of Hungarian press history between 1953 and 1956. The three days party membership meeting of the „Szabad Nép” and the disputes of the „Petőfi Kör” about the questions of public information were the focal points of press history in these years. I attempted to reconstruct these two episodes from the reports and memoirs that remained. In the party membership meeting, the journalist of the „Szabad Nép” advocated the „Nagy Imre” program. The fall of this experiment – between the end of 1954 and the sping of 1956 – was the period of „Re-Stalinization”. From this moment on the journalist did not belive in the Rákosi leadership anymore, but they were not allowed to make critical political statements. Intellectuals were shaken from passivity by the XXth congress of the Soviet Communist Party. The press dispute of the „Petőfi Kör” got the opportunity to present the criticisms with the participation of the public. In my research I attempted to present the irreconcilable conflict in this period between the communist leadership and the reform group, how journalists’ expectations changed as regards to the direction of the press and their own role, and what the socialist liberty of the press meant. Both attempts failed because of the MDP leadership’s opposition. They could not allow that the press, instead of doing propaganda work, become independent and reflect society’s real problems.
Museum matters in the Rakosi-era
The National Center of Museums and Art Relics has laid down the basics of modern museology and modern museums. It has started to implement the fundamentals into practice. Nevertheless the limits and deficiencies of the Statutory Rule No. 13 of 1949 Decree, it has made an improvement for the profession. They made a mistake when they made Gyula ORTUTAY, Minister of Religion and Education, member of the Independent Smallholders, Agrarian Workers and Civic Party to resign and they nominated him to be the head of the Center. Ortutay lived only for the science, which included ethnography, museums and art relics. He found the force the „Soviet style” on the organizational structure and interior procuration to be acceptable, but the politization of the museums and exhibitions at the expense of the science and the level of professionalism were far away from his sense of vocation. In his notes to Mátyás RÁKOSI he explains that the processes of the science focused exhibitions (excavations, collection, restoration) differ from the agitation and propaganda based exhibitions and they cannot be lump together. Gyula Ortutay’s ambitions have come to a such a pass that a proposal was made for the conference in 1952 that the National Center of Museums and Art Relics has to fall under the Cabinet Council (or Council of Ministers). During the accusation of the Center the short existence wasn’t take into consideration and it was accused with charges that it wasn’t responsible. For example the appointment of the museum managers was not the right of the Center but the Ministry of Religion and Education, later the Ministry of Public Education. István BALASSA, Manager of the Museum of Ethnography has met the expectations mostly and he was appointed by the recommendation of the Center. He didn’t have the right to establish the number of his personnel and the highly sounded propaganda activities which should have supported by the Ministry of Popular Education through the local councils. The achivements, activities and the self-sacrificing job of the employees in museology and art relics are supported by statistics. The National Center of Museums and Art Relics had excellent specialists. Many of them have worked in similiar areas (later in the Museum Department). This is the main reason of the low numbers of employees with worker origins. The political purges were unrealistic. They were the symptoms of the hysterics enemy search of the 1950’s which meant a burden to the Center. This has fit into the thing we called „political hysterics” (inspections, investigations, disciplinary cases) and „war hysterics” (production of air defence plans). From the reports we found damning expressions like „recidivism”, „gross negligence”, „enemy cells”, „cleaning”. The continous inspections, investigations, disciplinary cases and several days long advanced political training pulled back the work. Centralization has led the end of the Center. It had too many tasks and the museums couldn’t accomplish their own objectives. Centralizations was also forced by the Center too. Museum Politics was a tool for the education of the people. In the eyes of the Communist leadership it was the tool for political education. In the eyes of the Center it was the tool for science education. The two objectives were the same: to establish the popular education as a function of the museums. The main task was to increase attendance by organized group visitings and guided tours. Science required to establish the methods of museology which wasn’t achived because of the lack of time and human resources. In the beginning of 1953, The Ministry of Popular Education took over an existing, almost perfect system which needed minimal corrections but it couldn’t achive it’s main objectives to make corrections and adjustments in scheduled time.
Megvédett disszertációk
Recenziók, könyvismertetések
Figyelő
Beszámolók
Interjúk