Dr. Kubassek János: Cholnoky Jenő természetábrázoló művészete (Érd, 2002)
Dr. János Kubassek: Jenő Cholnoky - a Hungarian geographer and artist - The director of research of the Great Hungarian Plain - A geography professor from Kolozsvár in the New World
THE DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH OF THE GREAT HUNGARIAN PLAIN Cholnoky directed a great research project that concentrated on developing the Great Hungarian Plain - despite suffering from the handicap of being based in a Transylvanian university, away from the central plain. He wrote several papers discussing the various ways of irrigating the arid lands of the plain and improving the fertility of the soil. He also dealt with zoology, botany, palaeogeography, flood control and meteorology, and studied the longterm effects of extensive river regulations on the plain. In the course of his work, he made friends with the experts in different fields, such as archaeologists and ethnographers. This again demonstrates that Cholnoky always wanted to present an integrated picture of every region that he was studying. Cholnoky published several research papers on the Carpathian Basin in Földrajzi Közlemények (Geographical Reviews) . As editor of this Journal, he had the authority and freedom to publish those articles which were innovative and refreshingly original and which broke new ground. A GEOGRAPHY PROFESSOR FROM KOLOZSVÁR IN THE NEW WORLD Cholnoky received an invitation to a geographical conference and study tour in the United States from the American Geographical Society in 1912. His professional perspective was greatly influenced when he was there by the teachings of William Davis, the famous American geomorphologist. Cholnoky had an excellent companion in America: Pál Teleki, a count and geographer, who later twice became the prime minister of Hungary 7 . These two friends established personal relationships with several scientists to the benefit of Hungarian geographers. Cholnoky published the details of their joint study tours in America more than thirty years later. This book is a symbol of his stand for democracy and his protest against the Nazi policy during World War II. In this book he cunningly contrasted the freedom of America and its political system with totalitarian tyranny. In the book he was able to convey the message to Iiis readers as to why Iiis friend, Teleki, the prime minister, had committed suicide in 1941, the reason being that he was unable to accept the collaboration policy with Nazi Germany and the war against Yugoslavia. o 53 o
