Magyar Hírek, 1985 (38. évfolyam, 2-26. szám)
1985-05-11 / 10. szám
few. Though they have lasted for centuries, destined to last forever, he foresaw a basic change in their structures. This was the century of nationalism. And so these monarchies would eventually fall into line—becoming nations. And that is precisely what happened as a result of the Great War. Sándor Pethő, like three-fourths of Hungarians was a Roman Catholic. Yet, he encouraged us, after our secondary education, to taste the flavour of forebidden fruit in the Galilei Society which, as its name indicates, asked questions which were considered subversive then— questioning established values, seeking the truth in the maze of propaganda cliches. Under his influence, I read the “questioners” both in history and fiction—Ernest Renan, for instance; Anatole France; the iconoclasts— Bernard Shaw; Max Weber; Beatrice and Sidney Webb; and many others. From our history teacher we learned that the teacher himself learns by teaching. Above all he taught me that the greatest writer is a great teacher, because of the magnetic influence he exercises in his classes. Pethő died in an automobile accident. But, the teachings of people like him live on. He has given me the direction I have pursued all these years—in writing books, articles, in teaching. By way of a footnote, his son, Tibor, continued his work as editor of Magyar Nemzet. I know of other “disciples” of this great teacher and his word is still alive in the memories of his students at the Secondary School in Springmeadow Street. EMIL LENGYEL We are publishing Mr. Emil Lengyel’s letter on the occasion of the century of Sándor Pethő’s birth, which was celebrated recently. THE ESTERHÁZY TREASURE IS IN HUNGARY AGAIN Sopron border guard noticed in the autumn of 1946 that some people had ancient decorations, ceremonial Baroque stick handles, valuable antique jewellery in their possession. He started investigations without causing any stir, and concluded that the treasures of the Esterházy family were bandied about by the locals. The manager of the estate of Prince Pál Esterházy had the jewellery and other valuables of the family buried in the neighbourhood of Eszterháza, when the fighting drew close. The Polish inmates of a forced labour camp, who buried the treasure were executed by the Germans —with the exception of one man. That man owed his life to a farmer, who hid him. This Polish prisoner of war informed his benefactor about the secret of the treasure trove after the liberation, before he left the country. The man waited for a whole year, before he began searching for the treasures. One night he found the iron box, from which jewellery adorned with gems, decorations on golden chains and other valuables spilled forth. He did not dare to touch the jewellery for weeks, and it was only later that he decided to sell some of it as single pieces. The detective found the box buried under the pigsty in the back-yard of the peasant house, but it took much more work to collect the beautiful pieces of jewellery and decorations. When informed about the event, Prince Pál Esterházy agreed to donate the treasures, as pieces of museum value to the National Museum; the Museum exhibited the Esterházy treasures in 1948, as new acquisitions. In the early hours of the 7th of April 1948, 47 pieces of the Esterházy treasures were stolen from the National Museum. Strangely, the thieves left behind a golden set of cutlery weighing 1.20 kg and, a handful of gold coins, which were also there, but were not parts of the Esterházy treasure. Months passed, and there were no new developments. Then in the autumn of 1948, following, a Vienna report by Agence France Press, Hungarian newspapers reported that Imre Szabó, who stole the Esterházy treasure from the National Museum attempted suicide for the third time in the Central Gaol of Vienna. Dr. Tamás Bán, head of a department of the Ministry of Justice said at a recent press conference that the Hungarian authorities applied in vain for the return of Imre Szabó and of the stolen treasures in 1948. There were solid legal grounds that prevented the return of the treasures. That is that under the laws of Austria the objects could only be returned together with the culprit, separately only if there had been a separate judgement. That could not be arranged, for Imre Szabó had escaped from detention. Thus the treasures were deposited with the Vienna Criminal Court in 1949. The Austrian authorities indicated in 1981 that a Hungarian application for the return of the treasure stolen in 1948 would be given favourable consideration, and—in due time—the treasures were returned to Hungary. The most valuable piece of the collection is the Order of the Golden Fleece. It is assumed that a member of the Esterházy family received it from Francis II, the Emperor of Austria, after the Napoleonic wars. The Cross of the Order of the Bath on its original chain, and a separate diamond-studded cross are particularly beautiful specimens. The insignia were very likely made in the second half of the 19th century in London. The Cross of the Russian Order of St. Anne embellished with gold, enamel, and diamonds came into the possession of an Esterházy during the late 1850s. The Order of the Iron Crown was established by Napoleon-Bonaparte —as King of Italy—in 1805. Since the specimen in the collection is a gilded silver copy of rather late origin, it was very likely awarded early this century. There are numerous rarities among the jewels. Among them are a number of headgear pins, ornate accessories of the dress of Hungarian nobles. The principal motive of a 17th century piece of jewellery reminiscent of a coat of arms is a dragon hung by its tail on a diamondstudded ring, with tiny cut diamonds on its wings, holding a cut diamond (0,5 carát) with its claws. The Esterházy treasures are on show again since the 1st of April, as a part of the exhibition showing a representative selection of works the National Museum acquired during the past of forty years. ILONA CSERESNYÉS-BAYER PHOTOS: TIBOB MESTEP. 29
