Hungarian Studies Newsletter, 1976 (4. évfolyam, 9-12. szám)

1976 / 9. szám

IREX awarded travel funds to Henry H.H. Remak, Prof, of Comparative Literature, Indiana U., to visit Hungary and Romania to accept invitations for consultation from the Institute of Literary Studies, HAS, and the Secretary of the Coordinating Committee for the History of Literature in European Languages, of which Remak is Vice-President. □ The Center for Research Libraries, 6721 South Cottage Grove, Chicago, IL 60637, performs an important service for research-oriented scholars, according to the newsletter of the American Association for the Study of Hungarian History. The Center will purchase and subsequently loan out for extended use archival material on microfilm, journals, newspapers, etc. that are requested for research purposes by scholars of member universities. The Center has available such items as the Collection of Hungarian Political and Military Records, 1909-1945 (National Archives microcopy T973), and is currently purchasing microfilm copies of the entire inter-war edition of the Pester Lloyd newspaper. Researchers are urged to make similar requests to the Center and inform the AASHH and the HSN so that news on the availability of materials can be disseminated promptly.□

Downtown Napa, California, will be graced with a six-foot high bronze sculpture of a family grouping called The Immigrants, by sculptress Mrs. Shari Kadar. The sculpture is offered in tribute to the thousands of families who have come to settle in Napa Valley from all over the world. They included Prot. Géza Kadar, his wife and two children, the models of the sculpture. □

The 1976 Bicentennial Festival of American Folklife, to be

conducted on the Mall in Washington, D.C. under the sponsorship of the Smithsonian Institution, is seeking active participation of all ethnic groups. Anyone who has the potential of contributing and is willing to offer his talents (dancing, music, crafts, etc.) or who would like to be involved in the staging of the festival should contact Enikó'M. Basa, 707 Snider La., Silver Spring, MD 20904, telephone 301-384- 4657. She can put you in contact with the appropriate agency or refer the program to the selection committee. The Smithsonian is also interested in arranging tours for performers coming from Hungary and is seeking persons who could explain the national heritage of nations represented as well as their contribution to American culture. □

A symposium on Nationalism in the U.S.S.R. and Eastern Europe Under Brezhnev and Kosygin,” was held at the U. of

Detroit in Octber 1975. Organized by the Russian and East European Studies Committee of the U. of Detroit and the Symposium Subcommittee of the Nationalities Council of Micihgan, and sponsored by the latter, it drew an unusually large audience which reached nearly 1,000 people at some sessions. The symposium included a score of papers on nationalities, ethnic groups, and demographic problems of the area as well as summary reports on development in these subunits during the past decade. Peter Pastor (Montclair State Coll.) presented a paper on Development in Hungary since 1964, which was discussed by Nándor F. Dreisziger (Royal Military College of Canada) and Elmer Homonnay (Cleveland U.) William O. McCagg, Jr. (Michigan State U.) chaired the session. McCagg presented a paper of his own in

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MISCELLANEOUS NEWS (Continued)

Balogh, Eva Susan, (Yale U., 1974) “The Road to Isolation: Hungary, the Great Powers, and the Successor States, 1919-1920.” 515 pages. Xerox and microfilm order no. 75-15, 283.

This study explores the diplomatic beginnings of the new Central Europe, born out of the ruins of the Habsburg Monarchy and shaped at the Paris Peace Conference. Hungary during 1919 and 1920 was heading towards isolation at the hands of her neighbors. Through a detailed analysis of diplomatic developments in the region, this essay seeks answers to the still perplexing questions surrounding the background of the formation of the Little Entente.

The narrative begins with Allied efforts at eliminating the Hungarian Soviet Republic and ends with the signing of a secret understanding between Austria and Czechoslovakia against Hungary. Three important diplomatic trends are identified: Great Power attitudes towards the region, the aims of the successor states, and the emergence of the foreign policy of independent Hungary. Discussed are the negotiations between Hungarian Social Democrats and Allied representatives for the establishment of a socialist government in Budapest, Allied and Romanian involvement in the coup d’etat which removed this government and elevated István Friedrich and the Archduke Joseph to power, Allied reaction to having a Habsburg as head of the Hungarian state, the Hüngarian-Romanian secret negotiations for a diplomatic understanding, the Clerk mission to Budapest, and Czechoslovak and Austrian responses to the militaristic plans of the Hungarian National Army under the leadership of Miklós Horthy.

Balogh argues that Hungary had diplomatic options in 1919 which her politicians did not exploit. Romanian Prime Ministerloan I.C. Brätianu envisaged the creation of a Polish- Romanian-Hungarian bloc supported by one of the Great Powers. The proposed bloc was meant to be a barrier against Russia and perhaps Germany; in the short run, it would also have been directed against Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia. The Budapest government, partly as a result of Allied pressure and partly by natural disinclination, declined the offer, a decision which sealed Hungary’s diplomatic fate.

With the termination of the Romano-Hungarian negotiations, the Budapest government increasingly relied on the Great Powers, in hope of recognition. This policy aroused suspicion in the successor states, suspicion which was intensified by the all too obvious preference of England and the United States of Miklo's Horthy. The first two targets of Horthy’s policy were Austria and Czechoslovakia, which quickly launched an openly anti-Hungarian foreign policy. In slightly over a year, Hungary was completely encircled by enemies.

Epstein, Irene Raab, (IndianaU., 1974) “Gyula Szekfu: AStudy in the Political Basis of Hungarian Historiography.” 384

pages. Xerox and microfilm order no. 75-8938.

Between 1904 and 1945, writings of Szekfii reflected both the changing fortunes of Hungary and the changing political

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(*) The abstract is based on one published in Dissertation Abstracts International. Microfilm and xerox copies of the original full dissertation may be obtained from Xerox University Microfilm, 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106. When ordering, use the number shown above.

DISSERTATIONS *

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NO. 9 1976 HUNGARIAN STUDIES NEWSLETTER