Hungarian Studies Newsletter, 1976 (4. évfolyam, 9-12. szám)
1976 / 12. szám
ARTICLES AND PAPERS Kretzoi, Miklós. “New Ramapithecines and Pliopithecus from the Lower Pliocene of Rudabanya in north-eastern Hungary." Nature 257 (October 16, 1975) 578-581. That the area of the Carpathian Basin was inhabited in prehistoric times has been well documented. Archaeological finds, among them a recent discovery at Vértesszolló's in central Hungary, provide ample evidence. However, that this particular area should yield the most ancient evidence of human evolution has been a surprise to scientists and scholars alike. Kretzoi unearthed primate material from 20 individuals (84 teeth and 18 postcranial fragments) representing three different species. A type of hominid (man-like creature) found at Rudabanya in north-eastern Hungary, and named Rudapithecus Hungaricus, shows evidence of being 10 million years old. Kretzoi in this highly technical article draws some dramatic conclusions from these finds, and says that the discovery at Rudabanya seems to provide fairly solid evidence that “hominization did not originate in certain isolated and more or less small tropical-subtropical gene pools, but was an evolutionary trend covering the whole Afro-Eurasian faunal radiation with its pongo-hominids.” □ Balogh, Eva S. “The Hungarian Social Democratic Centre and the Fall of Bela Kun,” Canadian Slavonic Papers, 18 (March) 14-35. The Social Democratic Center had no intention of dispensing with the Soviet experiment, and was in favor of sweeping nationalization, and the dictatorship of the proletariate. The chief figures in the party were Zsigmond Kunfi and Vilmos Bohm who played important roles in the Soviet government. Kunfi saw the need for moderation and compromise if the experiment was to survive. The communists, however, refused to accept the moderating influence of the Socialists and consequently both Kunfi and Bohm resigned their posts. The Entente refused to deal with the Kun government, but rather enlisted the Socialists for this task. However, the trade unions refused to accept the control of a Soviet-type regime, which made negotiations difficult. Nevertheless, on July 14 Bo'hm discussed with the Foreign Minister of Austria the establishment of a moderate Soviet regime in Hungary, a purely Social Democratic one, rejecting the Austrian model as not suitable for Hungary. Allied consent was also needed. Col. Thomas A.A. Cuninghame, head of the British military mission in Vienna at first accepted a Soviet-type government as temporary “under Allied supervision,” to be headed by Bohm, József Haubrich, and Péter Ágoston. However, the French representative, Allize', found Bohm unacceptable and proposed to replace him by Ernó' Garami, who had no connections with the communists. The Allies in Paris were also reluctant to trust Bohm in setting up a Social Democratic government. The trade unionists Weltner and Peyer joined Bohm in urging Kun to resign and to dissolve the Revolutionary Governing Council. Kun refused, and Bohm seeking to avoid a split among Marxists supported him. Thereafter, Weltner and Peyer continued the negotiations that eventually led to the Peidl government. □ Dr. Balogh is Assist. Prof, at Vale U. Body, Paul. “Hungarian Immigrants in North America: A Report on Current Research." The Immigration History Newsletter 8 (May 1976) 1-6. This survey of the state of immigration research since Emil Lengyel’s comprehensive account, Americans from Hungary (1948), points out the need for a similar work dealing with the last quarter century. Though numerous studies have been published, these focus on institutional and cultural issues in the case of North American scholars, and with economic, social and demographic aspects of emigration in the case of the Hungarians. Three studies are analyzed in detail. Joshua A. Fischman’s Hungarian Language Maintenance in the U.S. identifies three waves of immigrants. The first one, in the decades before World War I, supported schools, libraries, theaters, churches and fraternal organizations. The second and third waves (after 1945 and 1956) emphasized assimilation and made no substantial contributions to language maintenance. Fischman also noted that while Protestant church organizations have DISSERTATIONS (Continued) Thompson, Glenda Goss. (U. of North Carolina, 1975). Benedictus Appenzeller: Maitre de la Chapelle to Mary of Hungary and Chansonnier. 583 pages. Microfilm and xerox order no. 76-20,078. Benedictus Appenzeller served as maitre de la chapelle to Mary of Hungary, the Regent of the Netherlands, for at least fourteen years. In spite of his distinguished position at the Habsburg court in Brussels, Appenzeller has attracted little scholarly attention. The notable exception is a stylistic analysis of his works conducted by Denes Bartha, who distinguished Benedictus Appenzeller’s compositions from those of the contemporary Benedictus Ducis, when only the name Benedictus was given. Thompson’s search for contemporary documents lead to a considerably expanded biography of the composer. A substantial number of new sources and bibliographical facts are given. Appenzeller’s one confirmed print, a collection of chansons unknown to Bartha in all four original parts, is also examined. Appendices supplement the text with music and documentary details. The chansons by Appenzeller and by Benedictus believed to be Appenzeller are edited, and a thematic catalogue records incipits of the remaining works along with concordances. Separate appendices record the chanson texts with their translations, details of historical accounts of Appenzeller, documentation for Appenzeller and other musicians at the court of Mary of Hungary, and manuscript and printed sources for Appenzeller’s works. Zsitvay, Tama's Dennis. (U. of Arizona, 1975) The Hungarian Revolution of 1956: The Roots of Political Violence. 506 pages. Microfilm and xerox order no. 76-11,316. The purpose of this dissertation is to test empirically basic hypotheses of socialpsychological theory in regard to political violence. In addition to a historical analysis, timeseries of social, economic, and violence data are presented. The difficulty caused by the changing nature of human needs is alleviated by references to the international mainstreams of development, and the calculable effects of “revolutionary products” on human needs (wants). The author found that uneven socioeconomic development has detrimental effects on human need-fulfillment, as well as on the role of governmental violence and coercion in a changing society. The theoretical constructs seem to be useful in guiding the researcher to hitherto unexplored aspects of social change and the probable effects on political violence. 4 NO. 12, 1976-77 HUNGARIAN STUDIES NEWSLETTER
