Hungarian Heritage Review, 1985 (14. évfolyam, 12. szám)

1985-12-01 / 12. szám

The change in the corporate ownership, editorial management, and title of the “Eighth Hungarian Tribe” magazine did not happen overnight. It was almost one year in the making. Nor was it an easy decision to reach on the part of both parties involved. But finally, an understanding was hammered out and an agreement was concluded. The end result of these agonizing negotiations is the emergence of the “HUNGARIAN HERITAGE REVIEW” as the sue cessor to the “Eighth Hungarian Tribe”. Although this Prevue Edition contains only 24 pages, more pages will be added later on in order to provide our subscribers with a greater variety of reading matter. Meanwhile, your comments or suggestions are cordially invited and would be warmly welcomed and greatly appreciated.

This introductory edition of the Hungarian Heritage Review not only links the past 12 years of its founding and development as the “Eighth Hungarian Tribe” magazine by Sándor and Elias Chomos to the present, but also marks a step forward towards the future. For its original mission of reaching out to the younger generations of Hungarians is going to be stepped up to include increased readership among this sector not only throughout the United States, but also throughout Canada and the rest of the English-speaking world (United Kingdom, Australia, etc.). By means of this increased exposure within an expanded geographical area, we hope to help prepare more and more young people of Hungarian lineage for their inevitable custodianship of the Hungarian heritage in North America and elsewhere. This is our goal. This is our mission. It is a mission in which the “Senior Citizen Generation” of our Hungarian communities should take part and one which should be spearheaded by them.

We, the “Senior Citizen Generation” of the Hungarian communities of the United States and Canada do have a sacred mission to perform on behalf of the preservation, protection, and perpetuation of our Hungarian heritage within societies that have absorbed our children and grandchildren to the point where they have lost consciousness of their ancestry. Consequently, this mission is to seek out, reach out for, and to embrace these generations who are destined to succeed our own. We must, for the sake of the survival of our Hungarian heritage — outside of Hungary and in North America in particular — carry out this mission in such meaningful ways that those several millions of young people, who are currently our “Lost Generation” and have never indicated on any Census inquiry that they are of Hungarian descent, will become conscious of their Hungarianness and will be prepared to become the proud custodians of their ancestral heritage. If we should succeed in accomplishing this — TOGETHER — we will have honored our individual, as well as our collective, responsibility for the preservation, protection, and perpetuation of our ethnic legacy to our children, our grandchildren, and our great grandchildren. Let there, however, be no doubts about it: this responsibility transcends ideo-political and other differences fragmenting the Hungarian communities today and making unification behind a Hungarian cause in common almost impossible!

The route our joint mission must take to reach its terminus is clearly signposted. We must welcome our younger generations into our clubs, organizations, churches, associations, foundations, and special interest groups. We must also encourage them to participate in our various edcuational, cultural, and social acitvities and to accept positions of leadership. At the same time, however, we must, as their hosts and guides, accept the fact that the language of most of these younger people is English and not Hungarian, and that most of them are either Americans or Canadians first and Hungarians only second. This is a hard reality of ethnical evolution we must all respect and accept. Of course, there are some Hungarians who say: “Let them learn Hungarian!” This is easier said than done. Besides, you’ve got to get them interested first, don’t you?

In addition to reaching out for and welcoming our “Lost Generation” into the fold, we must also acquaint them with the history of the Hungarian people; Magyar folklore, folk arts and crafts, folk dances, folk music, and other aspects of Hungarian culture; inform them about the significant contributions made by Hungarians to world civilization; and we must try to keep them posted on what is going on and where nationwide. We must, in other words, establish an avenue of communication with them in their own primary language (English) and this is precisely what this publication has been doing for the past 12 years and will continue to do as its own contribution towards our joint mission.

You can help us carry out our part in this mission by subscribing this publication, either on your own behalf or on behalf of your American-born, or Canadian-born, children, grandchildren, relatives, and friends.

Our subscription rate is only $25.00 a year. Please make your check or money order payable to the RÁKÓCZI PRESS-INTERNATIONAL, INC. and mail as follows:

Rákóczi Press-International, Inc.

P.O. Box 2203 Union, New Jersey 07083 Tel: 201-964-8464 — or —

[In Canada] : P.O. Box 67, Station “L”

Toronto, Ontario, Canada M6E-4Y4 Tel: 416-922-2468

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a very happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year.

PAUL PULITZER Executive Vice-President & Editor Rákóczi Press-International, Inc.