Hungarian Studies Newsletter, 1979 (7. évfolyam, 19-22. szám)
1979 / 22. szám
and services; natural environment of cities; and rural transformation. The editor is a department head at the Research Institute of Geography, HAS. Szabó, Teréz. THE UNIFICATION AND DIFFERENTIATION IN SOCIALIST CRIMINAL JUSTICE. Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1978. 260 pages, biblio. $23.00 cloth. This volume describes the historical evolution of the administration of criminal justice as practiced presently in the countries of Eastern Europe, especially in Hungary. After a brief overview of such laws and practices in effect in Hungary before 1945, the author discusses the achievements “in the socialist development of administration of criminal justice,” the alternative phases of unification and differentiation of criminal procedure, and the differentiation of procedural tasks. She also treats the philosophy or ideology responsible for the segregation of procedural functions (prosecution, defense, and the court) and their interrelationship. The historical treatment of the Hungarian scene is followed by a cross-national comparison of similar laws and practices in other East European countries. The book is highly technical and legalistic in its language, and its English leaves much to be desired. The author is professor of law at the Eötvös Lóránd U. Ancsel, Éva. THE DILEMMAS OF FREEDOM. Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1978.104pages. $9.00cloth. (Original title: A szabadság dilemmái. Transl. by János Boris.) The economic damages of 1956 have long been absorbed by the vitality of the nation, but explanations on the events in a Marxian context have been slow in forthcoming. The political and ideological aspects of the events have been bones of contention in private and in public debates. Recent publications allude to the fact that not only outsiders were to assume the blame, and that some major responsibility rests with party members as well. Ferenc Vadász in a historical novel, Nyugtalanságok nyara [Restless Summer] Magvető', 1979, tries to restructure the summerof 1956 foreshadowing the October events. Ancsel attempts to analyze the scene at a more detached academic level. Generalizing for Marxian societies she attempts to identify and locate moral responsibility, the freedom of value-judgements vs. norms. The past that preceded socialism is referred to as “pre-history of freedom.” She says that “man fails to realize that the historical process springs from causes he himself has brought into motion” and that “it is work.. .which frees man from Nature.” She says that tragedies are “special experiments of history” from which socialists are not exempt. In the chapter on “Tragedies in Socialism” she says that “man has to reach a certain level of freedom to be able to fall from there as a tragic hero.” True to Marxian philosophy, conflicts cannot be called tragic if they take place between enemies but rather between related or likeminded people. The author is professor of philosophy at the Eötvös Lóránd U. DISSERTATIONS* Goode, Stephen Ray (Rutgers U., 1978) “Cultural Pessimism and Hungarian Society.” 332 pages. Microfilm and xerox no. 7910388.__________________________________________ 'Abstracts are usually based on those published in Dissertation Abstracts International. Microfilm and xerox copies of the original full dissertation may be obtained, when indicated, from Xerox University Microfilm 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106. When ordering, use the number shown. Cultural pessimism in Hungary is best understood through the sociological concept of anomie (a state of society in which normative standards of conduct and belief are weak or lacking). Anomie pervaded Hungarian society in the 19th century. Originating in the social and economic changes that had begun to alter Hungary around 1800, it reached an acute state with the defeat of the revolution of 1848/49. In the decades that followed, rapid social and economic transformation continued to undermine traditional social and cultural structures and to add to the anomie character of the society. Many Hungarians sought shelter from the ravages of anomie in chauvinism, "Magyarization,” and sacralization of the past. But by the end of the century, social tensions have boiled over into the unrest of workers and in the discontent of the other strata of the society. Five writers were prominent in their concern: Zsigmond Kemény, Imre Madách, János Vajda, Gyula Reviczky, and Jenő Komjáthy. Convinced that the country has lost its sense of direction and purpose, and that it was in danger of drifting into moral and spiritual bankruptcy, they produced a body of work which conveyed their feelings and anxieties. This study claims that extreme pessimism was only one side of the coin. Each writer likewise developed ideas for the resolution of the problems. The two “areas” cannot meaningfully be separated for the simple reason that all men are products of their times and individual circumstances, and forthe more subtle reason thatthetaskof historians is not only to isolate and dissect but also to synthesize and unite. The five pessimists are analyzed and examined psychologically and biographically, and their central ideas are discussed against the social historical background of their time. Johnson, Owen Verne (U. of Michigan, 1978) “Sociocultural and National Development in Slovakia, 1918-1938: Education and its Impact.” 536 pages. Microfilm and xerox order no. 7904884. This thesis investigates sociolcultural aspects of nation formation in Slovakia from October 1918 through September 1938, and especially the role of secondary (and higher) education in that process. It is based on relevant archival collections and literature. An examination of various indicators of sociocultural growth in Slovakia before the founding of Czechoslovakia shows that there was a distinct increase in Slovak national consciousness in the final decades before World War I. The number of Slovak students at high schools and colleges was rising, and so was the circulation of Slovak books and journals. Contemporary rumors of the impending death of the Slovak nation were exaggerated. A brief examination of the concept of Czechoslovakism as perceived by various Czech and Slovak leaders in the new Czechoslovak state, as well as a summary of economic and political development, 1918-1938, provides a background for discussing the development of education and the intelligentsia in Slovakia during the same period. The study of the secondary education system is divided into three sections. Following a brief description of the establishment of the new system and of the poor quality of the first students, there is an examination of the purpose, organization and operation of each type of school, and the progress of the student through the school. The majority of these schools were gymnazia, the main function of which was to prepare students for the university. Second in importance were the primary teacher training institutes. The next section analyzes the overall composition of the student body by nationality, religion, sex, social origin, size of city and type of school NO. 22, WINTER 1979-1980, HUNGARIAN STUDIES NEWSLETTER 3
