Magyar News, 1994. szeptember-1995. augusztus (5. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1995-06-01 / 10. szám
THE TISZA FAMILY All one has to do is to knock on a door or ring the bell and there is a probability that one finds something Hungarian. Since we live in a community established by Hungarian forefathers, this seems to be a natural thing. We learn many times about the history of families emigrating to the United States, or about life of American-Hungarians in this area. There are times when one has more luck and stumbles across ties to the history of the Hungarian nation. Recently I rang the door bell in a nice quiet neighborhood in Fairfield. The lady who opened the door, after a confusing introduction that was both in Hungarian and in English, called out to her husband László that he had company. László is more significant than just László. He is László Tisza, or otherwise Count László Tisza. His The Tisza homestead in Geszt. family, serving and leading the Hungarian people in modern times, showed their ability and devotion to their country. Tamas Tisza in 1578 was given nobility. After the end of the Turkish occupation the Tisza family received, in compensation to a lost one, the property in Geszt that became their new home. After the great flood of Szeged, Lajos Tisza for his outstanding performance as a government commissioner, rebuilding the flooded area, received the high honor to become Count Lajos Tisza. Kalman, prime minister after the Compromise inherited the title. István followed his father as prime minister, andalso received the title as Count. Today I was sitting with his great grandson, László. Joining us was his wife, Jutka. Browsing through memorabilia, we talked about many things. The conversation was mosdy in Hungarian. Jutka speaks it as her native language, while László was a toddler when he had to flee the country. Growing up in a German speaking environment, later speaking Spanish in Argentina, then landing in the U.S.A. conquering the English, didn’t give László much of an opportunity to practice his native tongue. But as he said, his wife Jutka, who is from Kolozsvár, had the most to do with it. Their two daughters have the same difficulty as other American Hungarian children, trying to learn some and then forget some, making the conversation limited in Hungarian. Their knowledge of the language still came in very handy a few years ago when they visited Hungary with the family. We were talking about Hungarian history. But the first thing I noticed was the strong family resemblance between István, the prime minister, and my host, László. They are tall, handsome, and the facial features are very similar. We browsed through many photographs and shortly touched on political matters of time when the twoTiszas, father and son, were leading political figures in Hungary. They both had a strong intuition on foreign politics. They saw the danger of the Slavic environment and they had hope that the Austro-Hungarian Empire would be security to the Hungarian people, despite the differences with Austria. The most tragic political situation arose when Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo. This event triggered WW I. At this time the Hungarian military was under the command of incompetent Austrian Czech leadership. Hungarian officers had only subordinate positions. István Tisza was at a disadvantage being the only person to represent Hungary in the Crown Council. He very strongly opposed to a war against Serbia. He was convinced that it would endanger the survival of the Monarchy. He also warned that Romania might become a turncoat. His predictions came true. At the Crown Council Tisza even threatened to resign. Outnumbered, and facing the Russian threat, he withdrew his opposition with the stipulation that the Dual Monarchy would not acquire Serbian territory. In July 1914 the Crown Council declared war on Serbia. The Hungarian casualties at László Tisza, his wife Jutka and two daughters, Cynthia and Andrea, visiting at the church in Geszt. The Tisza family built this Protestant church in 1770. the end of the war was 661,000 killed, 743,000 wounded, and 734,000 taken prisoner. When Prime Minister Tisza arrived home, as Countess Jolán Tisza remembers, he slumped down in his chair and all he could say was that he couldn’t stop them. The records of the meeting were kept top secret, it seemed not to be in the interest of dtp Council to let the world know that only Hungary was opposed to the war. On October 31,1918 Count István Tisza was assassinated. They never really found out who was behind it. For historians there is still more work cut out. Let me close this visit by quoting Count Kalman Tisza, who said: “I am as totally and solely Hungarian as the river whose name I bear.” Joseph F. Balogh EVENTS OF JUNE 1995 JUNE 10, SATURDAY 7:00 P.M. at the Bessemer Center, ANNUAL HUNGARIAN ROSE BALL. Music by Gypsy Joes Orchestra. Roast beef and stuffed cabbage. Sponsored by United Church of Christ. Donation $20.00 with set-ups. B.Y.O.B. Reservations 367-5213 or 268-2959. JUNE 25, SUNDAY at 12:00 Noon APPRECIATION DINNER for the 25 anniversary of the Bessemer Center. Donation $10.00, children $5.00. SPECIAL OLYMPICS: JUNE 2, FRIDAY COUNTRY AND WESTERN DANCE at the Naugatuck Portuguese Club. JUNE 11 SUNDAY and JUNE 25. SUNDAY afternoon HUNGARIAN HERITAGE DAYS. There will be a showing of traval videos, an exhibit on Hungary's history, Hungarian folk Dancers, and guest-speaker will be Joseph F. Balogh. JUNE 26, 27, 28, and 29 the Hungarian delegetion will be at Naugatuck. On Tuesday they will visit Lake Quassapaug. To join the events call 757-2060 or 723-0557. 7
