William Penn Life, 2016 (51. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2016-07-01 / 7. szám
the moment, Hungary has 162 war memorials which are dedicated to World War 1,112 of which were recently renovated. The sheer number of these war memorials should tell anyone that, following World War I, the whole Hungarian nation suffered from the "Trianon Syndrome." Steven B. Vardy, Ph.D. Distinguished Professor of History Duquesne University Pittsburgh, PA Member Hungarian Academy of Sciences Budapest, Hungary Hungary fought the evil it knew I HAVE BEEN reading Tibor Check's articles in William Penn Life with great interest and enjoyment, including the most recent one entitled, "A Világháború, Part 2." As one who was born in Hungary between the two World Wars and brought up and educated in that society, culture and world view, and who lived the first 15 years of his life in that country, followed by five years in postwar Germany as a refugee, please permit me to express my disappointment over these sentences in Tibor’'s Take (WPL June 2016): "First, it says that WW1I can never be apolitical for Hungary, that unlike the United States (which can celebrate a righteous triumph and a noble sacrifice of its people), Hungary can neither claim victory (righteous or otherwise) nor can it argue that its sacrifices were part of a doomed, noble fight against a greater evil. The Axis agenda was the greater evil, and commemorative art can provide no escape." In this day and age when we are loath to offend weight-challenged people by calling them fat, one should be careful not to offend the memory of those thousands who have suffered and lost their lives in a war, which they fought in the belief and true conviction that it was a fight, however doomed, to nobly defend their homeland against a great evil. For Hungarians already got a taste of that evil in 1919 during a deadly but fortunately short period of Communist rule. That period was still in living memory of every Hungarian at the time. To that society, in those times, the evil was Communism. America could well celebrate a righteous triumph having defeated the Third Reich, but for millions of people in central and eastern Europe, there was nothing to celebrate. One of the co-victors, Soviet Russia, continued this great evil for the next 45 years. America, too, partnered with evil to defeat another evil, which it found inevitable under the circumstances. It also found out quite quickly a few short years after the close of the war, how one-time allies can turn into mortal enemies. Forty years of Cold War ensued. But America was victorious, and history gives it a pass on that. Hungary lost, and nothing is forgiven. Indeed, that period of Hungarian history is fraught with immense political complexities, over which true and false historians argue even today. The above statement and sentiments expressed over Hungary's participation in WWII and its recently erected memorial, seem to reflect a tone which is reminiscent of the opinions held by a currently vocal group, representing the now powerfully defeated and defunct political minority, the Hungarian Socialists (post- Communists). They have managed to entrench themselves in the American academia and media, and they continue their agenda of imposing their view of history. Unfortunately, they even manage to have the ear of some U.S. policy makers. I am certain Tibor's interest in Hungarian history is sincere, and he is intent on acquiring a broader insight into its complexities. There are plenty of easily available sources for that, and please allow me to suggest the following for your reading:- John F. Montgomery: Hungary - the Unwilling Satellite may be read in full on this e-library website: www. hungarianhistory.com/lib/montgo.- Other books of possible interest, on WWI, can be found here: www. hungarianhistory.com/lib/index.htm.- A very complete and detailed recent release by Fordham University Press in 2011 by Deborah S. Cornelius entitled, Hungary in Word War II. Caught in a Cauldron, can be bought through Amazon. I hope you accept my comments with the same good will as I have given them. I look forward to reading more of Tibor's Takes in the future. Stephen Szappanos Mentor, OH The truth can be inconvenient I WANTED TO SIMPLY affirm the effort to document WWI in Hungary. Tibor Check Jr. is attempting to fill in missing information and documentation for a time period that seems to be erased. There are many factors that make it tempting to overwrite historical events with a more palatable "truth" or to deliberately obscure events and responsibilities. Sometimes the truth is inconvenient to the story we want to tell about ourselves. Conrad Mast Scottdale, PA WWI memorial found in K.C. IN JUNE'S Tibor's Take, Tibor mentioned a new World War I memorial in D.C. Did you know that we already have one in Kansas City? It is wonderful: a great monument and a great museum. It is the best single-purpose museum I have seen. They treat all participants in the war with equality. There is also a library there. I bet you could find almost anything on the war. Andrew Gombos Houston, TX Delete End Page Down WILLIAM PENN LIFE 0 July 2016 0 5
