Hungarian Studies Newsletter, 1981 (9. évfolyam, 27-30. szám)
1981 / 29. szám
ACT ON PUBLIC EDUCATION. Act V of 1976 of the Hungarian People's Republic. Corvina Press for the Ministry of Culture, 1977, 65 pages. $2.40 paper. R.L. Braham discusses the Hungarian educational system in a U.S. Department of Education pamphlet reviewed on this page. The booklet before us contains the text of the Public Education Act of 1976, its basic philosophy and its institutional provisions. The act stresses high corrolation between “building of an advanced socialist society and the education of its citizens.” Education is to affect “the whole personality for the entire duration of human life," and enables all citizens to take their desired share. As far as international cultural relations are concerned the party and the government are said to be “open to all humanist values, but select mainly socialist values from international cultural production and products." The text is followed by a discussion of the act; the resolution of the Council of Ministers on the implementation of the act; and four speeches in support of the legislation. Two speeches are by the Minister of Culture, one by the rapporteur of the bill, and one by the secretary of the Central Committee of the Party. DISSERTATIONS* Deak George (Columbia U.) Industry and Politics: The National Association of Hungarian Industrialists, 1902-1914. 368 pages. Microfilm and xerox no. 8104919. Before the mid 1890s, Hungary provided a benevolent atmosphere for the development of large-scale industry by promoting industrialization through tax incentives, direct subsidies, preferential railroad rates, and government purchases. Under the impact of agrarianism, a movement to protect the interests of large landowners, liberal governments backed away from their former policies to some extent and permitted the exclusion of industrialists from the House of Representatives. The national Association of Hungarian Industrialists was formed largely to reverse this trend. The association was able to halt further agrarian incursions against industry. The governments of the early twentieth century, trying to draw a balance between agrarian and industrialist interests, respected the wishes of industry in such areas as cartel policy and taxation. In such area as foreign trade in agricultural raw materials the government tended to defer to agrarian interests at a great cost to the milling industry. In certain cases as in the rate policy of the railroads, the actions of the state were guided more by the state’s budgetary needs than by efforts of organized interest groups. Here the demands of the association remained unfulfilled. The issue of an independent customs area, divided the association. While officially favoring an independent customs area, it nevertheless leaned more towards the pro-Compromise government than towards those aiming at greater independence. Through its generally liberal ideology and its efforts to promote the industrialization of the country, the association made a positive contribution to both, Hungary’s political culture and its economic modernization. BOOKS (Continued) “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. Martonffy, Andrea Pontecorvo (U. of Chicago, 1980) “The Early Counter Reformation in Hungary: Jesuits, Papal Nuncios and the Lands, 1550-1606.” Microfilm and xerox no. n.a. The study examines the reform and conversion efforts of the Roman Catholic Church during the latter half of the sixteenth century. The territories involved include Royal (Habsburg) Hungary in the north and west, Transylvania, ruled by native princes, in the east, and Turkish-occupied Hungary in the south. Two chapters are devoted to the complex military, political, social and economic history of these lands from 1526 to 1606, and to discussion of the spread and dramatic success of Protestantism here. All three parts of Hungary were overwhelmingly Calvinist, Lutheran and Unitarian by mid-century when the local hierarchy began to direct serious attention to reform and reconversion. The most notable reform efforts were directed by the Society of Jesus. The order operated colleges and lower level schools, founded a college in Rome, and established residence in Transylvania under the rule of (Catholic) Prince Báthory. Jesuit activities in Transylvania during the 1580s were the zenith of the society’s sixteenth century operations in Hungarian lands. A chapter presents the biographies of Jesuits stationed in Transylvania from 1579 to 1588, discusses their relations with Protestant political and religious leaders, analyzes their goals and methods, as well as the organizational structure and considerable internal problems which beset this contingent of Jesuits. An epilogue attempts to adjust the prevailing stereotype of the Jesuits, stating that they consistently demonstrated the humanist belief in the efficacy of good example, education, and peacable moral persuasion in their conversion efforts. The order’s internal chain of command was relatively open and its goals in the Hungarian outpost apolitical. In Transylvania during the 1580s, at least, the Society did not act as the militant and tyrannical foreguard of a monolithic, anti-Renaissance counter-Reformation church so often portrayed in historiography. ARTICLES 6 PAPERS Braham, Randolph L. “The Educational System of Hungary.” Washington: U.S. Department of Education, 1980. 31 pages, pamphlet. N.p. The educational system of Hungary is governed by Law No. 3 of 1961, as amended. Education is compulsory through age 16, and free through the secondary schools. College tuition varies according to the students' grades and parents’ income, with liberal scholarships and student welfare programs. The language of instruction is Hungarian, with provisions made for the minorities to have full or partial instruction in their native language through the secondary schools. The Ministry of Education sets national standards and supervises all instruction. Other ministries are involved in the supervision of technical schools. The head of institutions of higher learning (the rektor or general director) is appointed by the Council of Ministers. Other members of the faculty are appointed by the appropriate minister in consultation with the HAS. Kindergarten prepares 3 to 6 year olds for elementary school. The eight elementary grades prepare the student for an academic or vocational secondary institution. Continuation schools are two-year institutions with an agricultural or industrial orientation. The schools of skilled workers provide 2 to 3 years of training and enable the graduates to go on to a 4 NO. 29, AUTUMN 1981, HUNGARIAN STUDIES NEW5LETTER
