Hungarian Studies Newsletter, 1983 (11. évfolyam, 35-38. szám)
1983 / 35-36. szám
Spence, Richard Brian (U. of California, Santa Barbara). “Yugoslavs, the Austro-Hungarian Army, and the First World War.” 360 pages. Microfilm and xerox no. DA8209772. This study focuses on the behavior of south Slav soldiers in the Austro-Hungarian army during World War I, and seeks to determine the role they played in the Habsburg Empire’s success and failure on the battlefield, and the final collapse of both army and empire. Central to this question is the relationship between the various south Slav nationalities and the differing cultures which influenced their loyalty to the Habsburgs. Primary research was conducted at the Kriegsarchiv in Vienna, and at the National Archives in Washington. Data were supplemented by an extensive survey of relevant publications, including the memoirs of soldiers and statesmen, national histories, and official military histories. The study found that the behavior of Austro-Hungary’s south Slav troops varied between ethnic groups and by the particular front on which they were engaged. Generally, the Roman Catholic Croat and Slovene troops, and the Bosnian Moslems, demonstrated greater steadfastness than the Orthodox Serbs, among whom anti-Habsburg sentiment was widespread. A strong antipathy existed between Croats and Serbs which contributed to the bitter and sometimes brutal character of Austria-Hungary’s unsuccessful invasion of Serbia in the fall of 1914. ARTICLES (j PAPERS AMERICAN BOOKS IN HUNGARY 1945-1979. Comp. Zsolt Bánhegyi; statistical data by Edit Varga. Hungarian Publishers'and Booksellers’Association, Budapest, Reviczky utca 6,1980. xi + 40 pages (mimeo) N.P. paper. An earlier booklet, British Books in Hungary 1945-1978, is now followed by this publication containing a preface by László' Orszagh “American Belles Lettres in Hungarian Translation;” a comprehensive list of book-length Hungarian translations of American belles lettres published in Hungary after 1945; and tables of statistical data on American books and pamphlets translated into Hungarian, and works published in the English language in Hungary betwen 1945 and 1979. Orszagh sketches the development of literary activities with emphasis of Hungarian interest in the New World. “It is worth noting" says Orszagh, “that the very first American publication ever translated into Hungarian was printed in 1694 in Kolozsva'r, then the capital of the Hungarian principality of Transylvania. (This town is now in Romania, renamed Cluj-Napoca.) The said booklet is a report written by Increase Mather, the foremost Puritan devine of his day, in 1688, bearing the title On the Spread of the Gospel among the Indians of New England. "He credits the “nearly unquenchable thirst for information about the USA” as the principal reason for the large volume of translations, and warns the reader of dangers involved in comparing the literary activities of two countries, one being 100 times as big as the other. □ Body, Paul, “Hungarian Immigrant Communities in Greater Pittsburgh.” Paper presented at the 16th Duquesne University Forum, October 1982. The HSN has already reported on the author’s educational curriculum kits, Hungarian Ethnic Heritage Study of Pittsburgh 1981 (see HSN no. 31/32, p. 12). In this paper under review the author provides a very brief overview of a number of aspects of the migratory process. He discusses historical causes of migration, changes in social stratification among NO. 35-36, SPRING-SUMMER 1963 HUNGARIAN STUDIES NEWSLETTER immigrant Hungarians, the creation of ethnic social institutions, successes and failures in the process of socialization. Though much of his work is based on secondary sources, he and his coworkers have gathered data from fieldwork. The author, who received his Ph.D. from the U. of Notre Dame in 1964, has published several studies related to Hungarian immigrants in North America. □ Csapó, Marg, “Concerns Related to the Education of Romany Students in Hungary, Austria and Finland,” Comparative Education 18:2 (1982) 205-219. The problems of successfully educating Romany speaking Gypsy children in various host countries is quite unsolved even today. This paper sheds some light on the subject by comparing the concerns of educators in capitalist and socialist countries. The author outlines the theories and attitudes regarding the education of minority children, then focuses in on the complex question of Romany speaking students. A short historical survey emphasizing the prejudice they had to suffer throughout the years is followed by an extensive report of the hardships, policies, successes and failures of integrating and educating Gypsy children of Hungary. The report is based on studies done in Hungary, and is supported by interesting up-to-date statistics. Examples of attempts made by Hungarian educators to improve the educational progress of Romany speaking students gives insight into the unique aspects encountered in dealing with these children. The case of this minority group in Austria and Finland is also touched upon by the author for comparison. She finds that the task of integrating and educating Romany students surpasses all political boundaries, and that the attitudes and policies of both capitalist and socialist countries toward this minority group bears many similarities. A comprehensive list of references is provided for the reader for further study. (SMN) □ Deák, István. “Could the Hungarian Jews Have Survived?” The New York Review, February 4,1982, pp. 24-27. The author reviews Randolf L. Braham’s two-volume work The Politics of Genocide: The Holocaust in Hungary (see HSN no. 27, p. 2) by commenting on Braham’s perception and analysis of the Jewish question in Hungary during World War II, and by adding his understanding of the “true extent of Hungarian anti-Semitism.” The article probes the “social origins, professions, and motives of the anti-Semites” in Hungary by reaching back to the “golden age of Hungarian Jewry. . .from the emancipation of the Jews in 1867 to the outbreak of the First World War.” The review comments on policies and actions of the Hungarian and German officials toward the Jewish population, citing examples of specific events in the capital city through the 1920s, and concentrating on particular happenings during 1944. The open question of what measures could have been taken by Hungarian authorities to save more Jewish lives is given intensive consideration. The incomprehensible events of a20th century genocide, and Deak’s review of unresolved aspects of Hungary’s role in the extermination of Jews triggered a debate on the pages of The New York Review. The May 27,1982 issue, on pages 54-56 contains, under the title “Genocide in Hungary: An Exchange,” letters to the editor by Helen Fein, Albert B. Belton and William McCragg Jr., as well as István Deak’s reply. (SMN) □ Hoppal, Mihály. 1982 “Contemporary Forms of Folklore and Ethnic Identity.” Unpublished paper presented at the 2nd Congress of the (Continued on Page 8) 1
