Új Magyar Út, 1953 (4. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)

1953-07-01 / 7-8. szám

CONTENTS

GÉZA SOOS, editor and publisher of this review, in his “The Future of Hungarian Youth,” points out the danger of Hungarian youth, scattered throughout the Western nations, losing contact with Hungarian culture. This process may damage the fight against Bolshevism. A too fast assimilation produces superficial, immature types of men. A better ideal is a citizen at home in both languages and both cultures. This person may be a connecting link between the former and the new national surrounding.

BÉLA SZILASSY (Cleveland, Ohio), former Hungarian Senator in the Czechoslovak Parliament, at present president of the emigrant committee fighting for the rights of Hungarians in Czechoslovakia, discusses in his “Building for the Future and the Responsibility of Hungarians” the changing phases of historical cultural epochs. After critical turning points in world history, humanity was always faced with the problem of how to co-ordinate the absolutely necessary changes and reforms postulated by the new situation with the permanent values of his previous life and traditions. It is the lot of Hungarian emigrants who are immunized from Bolshevik contagion to rescue Hungarian cultural historical values. Hundreds of Hungarian writers, artists and scholars live in the free Western world in constant contact with Western intellectual life. In this higher sphere of intellectual life, solutions are possible which are outside of political activities: such as finding the balance opposite ideological-national positions. It may multiply the strength of the forces opposing Communism to prepare a common platform. Thereby a better future is being promoted in which the European and Hungarian cultural values created by past centuries will amalgamate with the best values of the countries, host to the emigrants. This is in process of formation in the literary works of emigrants, in lecture courses, in free universities, in research institutes and the numerous publications connecting the groups of emigrants.

BÁLINT MIKÓ, professor in Monterey, California, quotes in his “Latest School for Spies in the USA” from an article of the Budapest Communist newspaper “Szabad Nép” whose angry tone shows their irritation over the activities of the U. S. Army Language School in Monterey (California). The author visited the grounds of the U. S. Army Language School and gives a detailed report on the study plan, results and spirit of the school which tries to penetrate other languages and cultures.

LÁSZLÓ MÉRLAKY in his “Behind the Iron Curtain” appraises the interesting report by George May, former Budapest correspondent of the London Times, the Reuter News Agency and of the American Time and Life magazines, published in the June, 1953 issue of Harper’s Magazine on his forty months spent in Hungary.

The observations of Mr. May corroborate in many respects the informations of the Western press and in many respects adds new proofs to our picture. For instance, he found that in spite of the anti-American campaign, the Hungarian population hates the Russians and hopes for an early liberation. The Communist education of youth has failed; Communist youth has become indolent and lax. In spite of police espionage and terror of being reported to the police, much courage has been manifested in sabotage. Communists

struggle in vain against the sarcasm of witty anecdotes spread throughout the land.

Mr. Mérlaky also reviews the most recent Hungarian film of Gyula Illyés, “The Ocean Rose”. The subject of this colored film is the Hungarian fight for liberty in 1948-49. Its title is taken from a Petőfi poem. The dialogue and leading ideas testify to the longing of the Hungarian nation for freedom from the present oppression.

TAMÁS BOGYAY, art historian, our chief collaborator in Munich, Germany, reviews the Hungarian periodical in Italian “Corvina”, formerly published by the Hungarian state and now by the contributions of Hungarian emigrants. At the same time, it encourages Hungarian emigrants to publish representative Hungarian reviews in other languages, too, especially in English, to promote intercultural relations.

SZABOLCS VAJAY, writer and Buenos Aires (Argentina) collaborator of this Review, in his colorful and concise essay entitled, “Ernest Hemingway or the Play with Death”, introduces us to the creative work of the renowned American writer. After describing his life and career, the author gives us his Hungarian translation of a dramatic scene from Hemingway’s most recent volume, “The Old Man and the Sea”.

SURÁNYI-UNGER TIVADAR, university professor (Syracuse University, Syracuse, N. Y.), in his study entitled, “The New Problems of Hungarian Economy”, points out that, in the progress of the world struggle between West and East, the economic development of Hungary can move in two directions: either on the assumption of complete victory for the one and the complete annihilation of the other (x), or on the assumption of equalization between the two systems (y). According to the latter (y), presenting greater opportunity for logical experiment and being rather rural economy in character presently in Hungary, which, nevertheless, placed first in the percentage valuation of national industrial production among the countries behind the iron curtain in the period 1948-51, and caused by one-sided economic development, can be equalized, and the disproportion remedied, only with the upswing of individual initiative and enterprise.

FODOR KÁROLY, the political contributor of this paper, writes about the significance of political turn of events in Hungary. The forced retirement of communist prime minister Rákosi, the revised edicts of the new government concerning the five-year plan, and the announced concessions to peasants, intellectuals and to religion, indicate, in a unique manner behind the iron curtain, that the resistance of the Hungarian people is compelling the communist leaders to back down from their demands.

C. A. MACARTNEY, the known English historian's book entitled, “Hungary and Her Successors” (Oxford, England, 1937), is used for excerpt publication. This book as yet has not appeared in Hungarian and his views are new to Hungarians. The published excerpt forcefully unveils the losses suffered by Hungary after the first world war, as a result of which 32.6% of its territory was ceded and its population dwindled to 41.6%. This loss, to a great extent, resulted in onesided favoritism of Hungary’s neighbors and the complete disregard of the question of Hungarian survival. The author details the ethnographical distribution, the biased application of self-determination of nationals and the pre-war administration of nationality politics which, viewed under present conditions, were in many respects desirable and in other respects detrimental.