Magyar Hírek, 1987 (40. évfolyam, 1-23. szám)
1987-03-07 / 5. szám
ABOUT THIS ISSUE AND THE PREVIOUS ONE photo: jenO bobos Winter scene ot a Budapest street, January 1987. Cover stories of the Man of the Year have become a custom all over the world, and T think if somebody, say a hundred years, from now, thumbes these journals he might draw interesting conclusions about these people and their merits and achievements, a combination of which made them Man of the Year in the eyes of their contemporaries. Lately a version of this custom has became part of the Hungarian scene as well. In the previous issue of our paper their were pictures and profiles of those, who were considered the Man of the Year in this small country. Let us remember them in the Hungarian Scene as well! Róbert Bürgert, the head of the Bábolna agrobusiness has won national fame und acclaim for many years thanks to his work in successfully developing this Hungarian state farm formerly known only as a famous stud. A television series directed by Sándor Sára recently created wide interest in Róbert Bürgert. It told the- story of his life and struggles with engaging sincerity and wit. Keeping to the alphabetical order Tamás Darnyi came second. Burgert is a man of advanced middle-age, looking back on a longjand hard-fought life but Tamás Darnyi is a yoimg man, who won national fame overnight by winning two Gold Medals at the 1986 World Swimming Championships. If I were a cynic 1 would think that Hungarian sports have not been all that, successful recently, as Darnyi’s unexpected wing might have been a kind of consolation for the failure experienced at the Football World Cup. But that is not really the truth. With his endurance and will to win we believe that Darnyi represents an up-andcoming new generation, and that is why he was selected. His success also means appreciation of Tamás S/.échy, his coach, who has been responsible for many champions in the past. Sándor Demján, general manager of the Skála group of department stores became a Man of the Year as a representative of a new type of managers. The Skála department stores are cooperatively owned, some are found all over the country. Play an important role in the development of a competitive market, which contributes to more and better goods for consumers. To complete the portrait, it should be added that Demján in the meantime has become the manager of a newly founded bank. That kind of mobility seems to be part of the make-up of the modern Hungarian businessman. Ede Horváth, the hard-headed, resolute General Manager of the Rába Wagon and Machine Factory of Gyór is always ready to take the consequences of unpopular measures when necessary as well as enjoying the kudos of being responsible for popular ones. This may be the reason why he is known as the “Red Baron’’. He started his working life as a manual worker, and developed into a highly skilled manager of a huge firm, which successfully exports its products and cooperates with large Western firms. Last but not least Iván Markó closes the list of the Man of the Year. Many years ago I saw Markó dancing in Paris as a member of Maurice Bejárt’s ballet. The young Hungarian dancer was making bis way towards the big time when, quite unexpectedly, I read that he had bid good-bye to Bejárt, and had returned to Hungary to undertake the management of a new ballet company, a decision which expressed commitment, daring—and patriotism. The Győr Ballet won national acclaim under the leadership of Markó within a few years then, with a series of performances abroad, it took a well-earned place among the important ballets of the world. In the meantime Markó not only produced choreographies or directed, he danced as well. The previous issue also published a story about Éva Besnyő, the Hungarian photographer domiciled in the Netherlands. She was interviewed by Ádám Balázs on the occasion of her exhibition at the Budapest Műcsarnok. After a Budapest start, Éva Besnyő worked in Berlin, then in Amsterdam, where she belonged to the group of “Worker Photographers”. She took a series of photographs of bombed out Rotterdam in 1940. After the war she preferred to take photographs of children. In 1958 she won a gold medal at the Venice photo-biennale. For the past fifteen years she has been a member of the Dolle Mina women’s movement. As she told the interviewer, she now works with her camera as faithful recorder of unexpected moments. Our present number is dominated by one of the unforgettable dates in Hungarian history, the 15th of March 1848. That day is alive in the heart of every Hungarian no matter in what part of the world he lives. It was one of the turning points of our history, which recalles the memory of many famous figures of the Hungarian past including Sándor Petőfi and the young men of March. At a time when Kossuth was on the water, on the way to Vienna from Pozsony by Danube steamer with a delegation of the Diet in order to submit the reform decisions of the national assembly for the approval of the king, the leaders of the youth of Pest, Petőfi, Pál Vasvári, József Irinyi, Mór Jókai, Dániel Irányi, and Gyula Bulyovszky gave voice to the demands of the nation. Freedom of the press, Portrait of a young woman PHOTO: ÉVA BESNYO a responsible government, annual parliament, freedom of worship, equality before the law, a national guard, general taxation, the end of serfdom, trial by jury, universal suffrage, the release of political prisoners, union with Transylvania, removal of foreign soldier’s and the repatriation of Hungarian soldiers serving abroad, the army to be sworn in on the Constitution. On March 15th Petőfi, Vasvári, Jókai, Bulyovszky and others entered the Pilvax Cafe with the 12 points containing the demands of the nation in their pocket, and red-white and green rosettes on their lapels. Petőfi recited the National Song to the gathering of university students, then the gathering lined up in front of the Länderer printing office and the 12 points as well as the National Song were printed there without the approval of the censor. The crowd snowballed on the way to the National Museum, and from there to Buda to the Governor General’s Council asking that Mihály Táncsics be let out of prison. Receiving news of the events in Pest, the king in Vienna accepted the demands of the diet and asked Count Lajos Batthyány to form a government. He promised to give the royal assent to the new laws. Pál Vasvári as the above description also suggests played a considerable part in the events of March 15th. Klára Zika writes on him in the Hungarian section of this issue, describing him as one of the young men of March, a hero and a martyr of the 1848—49 Revolution as well as an eminent and characteristic representative of the Hungarian intelligentsia of the time. At the time of the 1948 March events he was 21 years old and a history teacher at the Pest school for young ladies established by Countess Blanka Teleki. The talented young scholar well versed in world literature had an exceptional influence on his colleagues as well as on his pupils. He and Blanka Teleki were growing close but the stormy events soon put an end to their romance. Following the events of March 15th Vasvári became a member of the “Committee of Public Order”, then secretary of Kossuth’s Ministry of F-i nance. When fighting started in the autumn of 1848 he became one of the leaders of the insurrection in County Somogy, and later a lieutenant in the army. When the army withdrew eastwards through the Uplands towards the Great Plain under the command of Görgey^ in the winter of 1848/49 Vasvári was sent by Kossuth to organize irregular troops in a number of counties. Then he fought as commander of one of these, — the Rákóczi troops — until he was killed in battle in July 1849 in the mountains of Gyalu fighting against Rumanians who had been incited by the Austrians against the Hungarian cause. Countess Blanka Teleki established a hospital and devoted herself to nurse the wounded, while together with her friend and colleague, Klára Leövey, she also worked to collect equipment for the irregular troops. After the failure of the war she helped the fugitives and worked to keep alive the idea of Hungarian independence. An Austrian court martial sentenced both of them to imprisonment in a fortress. The years of imprisonment in Kufstein broke Blanka Teleki. Klára Leövey, on the other hand, after her release continued to work as a pioneer of women’s education in Hungary' right to her death, keeping alive the traditions of 1848 — 49 with the publication of her memories of the Revolution and her captivity' in Kufstein. The cold spell, with the thermometer often dropping this winter 20-25' below freezing point and 40 — 50 ems of snow and strong winds meant great difficulties for Hungary—as for most countries of Europe. An illustrated article in the Hungarian section of this issue offers a detailed picture — also telling of the self-effacing work of railwaymen, as well as those responsible for gas, electricity and heating. They finally overcame the attack of General Winter. At the time of writing life i» normal again. ZOLTÁN HALÁSZ 29
