Hungarian Studies Newsletter, 1975 (3. évfolyam, 6-8. szám)
1975 / 8. szám
Demographie Research” by Egon Szabady indicates some of the practical results of such studies and gives a survey of the work done by the Demographic Research Institute. Rudolf Andorka presents statistics to prove that social mobility has increased dramatically in the past 25 years, but may stabilize in the coming decades. “Law and Government” by Kálmán Kulcsár, and “Mass Communication and Transportation” by Tamás Szecsko deal with positive changes that can be brought about by the proper use of the forces mentioned. The section on “Urbanization and Industrialization,” shows a similarly pragmatic orientation in the articles of Pal Granasztói, “Sociological Trends in Urban and Regional Studies,” and the complementary studies “Industrial Sociology” by Lajos Héthy and Csaba Makó and “Rural Sociology” by András Vágvölgyi. The following three articles“Sociology and the Family” by László Cseh-Szombathy, “Sociology of Education” by Ferenc Gazsó, and “Studies in Social Psychology," by György Hunyady take a more theoretical approach. The longest section, “Research on Science and Culture,” contains four articles. Sándor Szalal and János Farkas set the theme in their study of the socio-economic conditions and implications of scientific activity in “Sociology of Science and Research on Research.” Agnes Losonczi’s “Studies on Ways of Life” emphasizes the means by which these studies can assist society and improve the quality of life. Studies on the availability of free time and the use to which this is put has been part of the program of Hungarian sociologists, and Miklós Szántó gives a review of the statistics in his “Studies on Free Time and Leisure.” “The Sociology of Cultural Activities” by István Vitányi has a similarly statistical orientation, but he admits that no theory of the structure of culture has yet been put forward as a result of these studies. The final section, “A Brief Overview of Hungarian Sociological Research Organizations," is introduced by László Molnár, and includes a report on each of the four major centers by its director: Institute for Social Science, Hungarian Socialist Workers’ Party; Institute of Sociology, Hungarian Academy of Sciences; Demographic Research Institute, Central Statistical Office; Mass Communications Research Center, Hungarian Radio and Television. The reports include lists of publications. □ Spira, Thomas. “Historians and the Nation: the Problem of Magyar National Awareness 1790-1836.” Sudost-Forschungen XXXII (1973) 91-105. Studies of the emergence of nationalism in Hungary are extremely varied and have generally been “circumscribed by the social milieu and personal prejudices of the observers.” The problem centers chiefly on whether the Hungarian magnates and gentry, or Habsburg policies, were to blame for the lack of social reforms in Hungary, and whether the Habsburgs exploited nationalistic differences for their own imperial aims. The complexity of thequestion is illustrated by the reactions to liberals such as Kölcsey, Kossuth and Széchenyi. Professor Spira traces the views of historians from the pro-gentry attitude generally expressed between 1867 and 1918. to the scholarly approach in the interwar period, when documents were studied in an attempt to arrive at the truth, and finally the Marxist attempts to re-write history in terms of the class struggle. The lack of a bourgeoisie in Hungary complicates this task; equally unsuccessful are efforts to prove that amicable relations existed between Magyars and non-Magyars. Historians outside of Hungary have paid relatively little attention to this problem. They seemed to follow either the pro-Habsburg or the pro-gentry line. Robert A. Kann and Hans Kohn both argue that Magyar nationalism had firm foundations quite independent of Habsburg manipulations. Oszkár Jaszi censures the gentry for their concern with economic, class and religious considerations at the expense of the national conception. The conclusion, however, is that no “unified picture of developing Magyar nationalism" has yet been given. The author is Prof, of History, U. of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown. □ Spira, Thomas. “Connections Between Trianon Hungary and National Socialist Germany and the Swabian Minority Problem,” Internationales Jahrbuch fur Geschichts-und Geographie-Unterricht XV (1974) 240-258. Although Hungary was dependent on good relations with Germany in the interwar years, and ever more increasingly in the 1930s, both Bethlen and Gömbös pursued a policy of assimilation for the large Swabian minority. This was promoted by providing inadequate minority schools. Admittedly, the fault often lay in the reluctance of the teachers to implement the laws and the relative ease with which these were circumvented, especially in the confessional schools. Reluctance toencouragea minority ethnic consciousness is understandable in view of the dismemberment of Hungary after World War I, and the threat of pan- German aspirations, especially as the National Socialists came to power. This treatment of the minorities did lead to a small but vocal radical group that was supported by Germany and which gave credence to the fear of a German fifth column in Hungary. □ Bigler, Robert M. “Heil Hitler and Heil Horthy! The Nature of Hungarian Racist Nationalism and Its Impact on German- Hungarian Relations, 1919-1945," East European Quarterly VIII (Fall 1974) 251-272. Robert Bigler attributes the extreme nationalism that emerged in Hungary after World War I to “defeat, revolution and conterrevolution.” Since the large number of ethnic minorities had led to the dismemberment of Hungary, the reaction was an aggressive assimilation policy toward the remaining nationalities and a desire to use German powerfor the recovery of former Hungarian territories. By the time the Horthy government became disillusioned with Germany and put out feelers for a separate peace with the Allies, Hitler was able to invade the country and the extreme rightist Arrow Cross Party came to power. Having tried to use Hitler “resulted in Hungary’s involvement and defeat in World War II, and its occupation by the Soviet Army. Prof. Bigler is at the U. of Nevada, Las Vegas. □ East European Economics, a journal of translations, had three articles on the Hungarian economic scene in its 1974 volume: László Bukta, “Investment Decisions in the Decentralized Sphere,” XIII, 3-24; Miklós Simán, "Sources of Economic Growth in Hungary 1966-1972,” XIII, 25-58, and Zsuzsa Hegedűs and Márton Tardos, “Some Problems Concerning the Role and Motivation of Enterprise Executives,” XXXIII, 90-108. All three articles are reprinted from the Közgazdasági Szemle, 1974. □ NO. 8 1975 HUNGARIAN STUDIES NEWSLETTER 7
