Hungarian Studies Newsletter, 1976 (4. évfolyam, 9-12. szám)
1976 / 12. szám
MISCELLANEOUS NEWS Hungarian Language Courses. Bishop’s U. announced Hungarian language course offerings for 1977, this time at Montreal. A beginner’s course is scheduled from January 5 to April 1 (6 credits); and an intermediate level course between April 4 and 22 (6 credits). The latter course will be held at the Thomas More Institute lor Adult Education in Montreal. The university again will offer a summer course in Hungarian between July 4 and August 12. Under an agreement among Quebec universities students may transfer credits to their home institution. Interested students should check with the Dean of their respective faculties and ascertain if such courses could be credited towards a degree. For further information write to Prof. Charles Wojatsek, Bishop’s U., Lennoxville, Quebec, Canada JIM 1Z7. □ Ost-Dokumentation (OD) is a valuable service for researchers provided by the Österreichisches Ost- und ARTICLES (Continued) The oppressive political system of the 1850s, while it posed problems for the Hungarian Academy, also gave an impetus to historical studies. In 1867 the Historical Association was founded in an atmosphere of renewed political activism to popularize national goals through the raising of historical consciousness “among the masses.” The collection and publication of source materials and the evaluation of already collected information became its goal. Vice President Horvath also urged the study of non-traditional topics of history. The philosophical orientation was dominated by positivism which meant liberalism in political and economic thinking. The goal of popularizing history was carried out through frequent regional congresses and the official publication of the Association, Századok. The congresses proved less than successful in advancing the cause of Magyar goals, and due to loss of interest, ceased in the 1890s. Századok soon became the leading historical journal, but because of its popularizing goals, the Történelmi Tár was started in 1878 to publish source materials. An important monographic series, Magyar Történelmi Életrajzok, was designed to provide popularly written yet scholarly biographies. Though it published numerous documentary collections, the most significant work in source materials was devoted to the history and domestic affairs of aristocratic families. □ Dr. Vardy is Prof, of History at Duquesne U. Rezler, Julius. “The Growing Labor Shortage in the Hungarian Economy: Problem and Solution," The Association for Comparative Economic Studies Bulletin 18 (Spring 1976) 3-21. Throughout most of its history Hungary had an unemployment problem rather than a labor shortage, hence, it was only in the early 1970s that economists realized the depletion of labor reserves. The sources of labor shortage lie chiefly in recent and projected demographic trends. The rate of growth is extremely slow, and the proportion of the population over 60 years of age has grown considerably. Economic factors contributing to labor shortage include sizeable intramural reserves and relative immobility of farm labor. In response to the problem, the government has reduced the workweek, Südosteuropa Institut (Austrian Institute for East and Southeast Europe). It offers up to date information on economic development in communist countries, ie., on the economies of eastern European countries, Cuba, China, Mongolia, North Korea, and Vietnam. The descriptive and bibliographic material published in OD is derived from professional journals, newspaper articles, legal and governmental pronouncements dealing with the economic and social development of these countries. Relevant publications of both, East and West are systematically surveyed. OD is published annually in six installments, and its bibliographic information printed on one-side of the paper makes it suitable for removal along perforated lines, and useful as a card catalogue or bibliography. The institute offers translation and photocopying services, so that all original articles on which bibliographic data has been published can be obtained upon request. If interested, contact the Österreichisches Ost- und Südosteuropa Institut, A-1010 Wien, Josefs-platz 6, Austria. □ encouraged larger families through financial incentives and improved housing, and increased the participation rate of women. Persons eligible for retirement are given four to eight percent increases in future pensions for each year of additional work, and those who retire are encouraged to return for part-time work. This latter policy had added some 300,000 persons to the work force. A suggestion not yet implemented is the exchange of labor among the COMECON countries. Efforts are also made to rehabilitate handicapped persons, and to increase mechanization and the installation of laborsaving devices. A shorter version of the same article appeared in East European Quarterly 10 (Summer 1976) 255-268, under the title “Recent Developments in the Hungarian Labor Market.” Dr. Rezler is Prof. Emeritus of Loyola U., Chicago. □ Vizinczey, Stephen. “Memoirs of a Freedom Fighter,” Horizon 18 (Autumn, 1976) 56-63. The author’s memoir is more than a mere recollection of the facts: it seeks - and presents - an explanation of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 in Hungary’s history that has always glorified resistance and heroism. “Dignity is worth the battle, and losers can win in the end,” is the underlying message. Vizinczey builds his essay around the behavior of Imre Nagy who was a bystander and passive center of the first silent demonstrations, a Russian-installed premier, and one who fruitlessly sought the help of the United Nations when the Soviet tanks rolled into Hungary on November 1. Tracing the history of resistance through historic figures such as Lajos Kossuth, Miklós Zrínyi, Janos Hunyadi and his son Matthias Corvinus, György Dózsa and Ferenc Rákóczi, and setting the Soviet occupation in the perspective of resistance to Tartar, Turk, Austrian and German rules, he suggests that Nagy refused to recant because he knew the moral value of resistance. For much the same reason, he joined the universal demand for the withdrawal of Soviet troops and national independence. His refusal to come to terms with the Kádár regime in the twenty months before he was executed on June 17, 1958 is traced to the same conviction that there is a time when resistance, even though futile, is better than accommodation. The author refers to the role of poetry in the lives of Hungarians, citing from the pertinent poetry of George Faludy at some length. □ 6 NO. 12, 1976-77 HUNGARIAN STUDIES NEWSLETTER
