Hungarian Studies Newsletter, 1999 (16. évfolyam, 55-57. szám)
1999 / 55-57. szám
institutions are mentioned that no longer exist. A number of these are listed in two or more places under different names, several of them are headed by persons who have died some years ago, and a number of newspapers are listed under the wrong name or are placed into the wrong category. One also wonders why the enclosed immigration statistics were not updated beyond 1972. All in all, however, Elemér Bakó's book is a commendable undertaking and easy reading that will be of considerable use to many. But as the World Federation of Hungarians intended this work to be an often-used handbook, a second edition should update and expand the immigration statistics, and also clean up some of the confusion in the appendix. Steven Béla Várdy Crowe, David. A HISTORY OF THE GYPSIES OF EASTERN EUROPE AND RUSSIA. New York: St Martin’s Press. 1996. Pp. xvii+317. Map. Index, ISBN 0-312-08691-1 clothbound, ISBN 0-312- 12946-7, paperback $14.95. Crowe's self-described "crisp" study covers the Gypsies as a separate ethnic minority and as an integral part of the nations and societies of Eastern Europe and Russia. The growing interest in the Roma by scholars and civil rights activists represents an attempt to understand a people who have long faced discrimination, deprivation, and displacement. Crowe’s work reflects the Roma’s constant struggle for dignity and records their contributions to the history, culture, and literature of Eastern Europe and Russia. Originally conceived as an annotated bibliography, the work grew into a decade-long labor to document the Gypsies in a larger framework. (Earlier in the decade, in 1991, he and John Kolsti edited the volume entitled The Gypsies of Eastern Europe.) In this new work, Crowe strives to examine both the negative and positive factors in Gypsy and non-Gypsy relationships in Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Russia, and Yugoslavia. Poland is discussed within the segment on Russia. Citing the difficulties of language and politics, Crowe undertook his own translations of all non-English sources used in the study. He also benefited from the explosion of new sources made available following the collapse of communism in the countries of his study. Citations in his bibliography are in a dozen different languages. Additional research and assistance was obtained from the United States Holocaust memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. and from Yad Vashem and Beit Lohamei Haghetaot in Israel. Historical documentation regarding the Gypsies in Eastern Europe and Russia dates from the twelfth century, although legends and other writings trace the Roma presence to the eleventh century. Crowe observes that Macedonian Roma folk legends trace back to Alexander the Great, fourth century B.C. Within each area he covers, Crowe provides fascinating information: the impact of the Roma culture on Russian music and literature during the reign of Katherine the Great; the role music played in the success of Romanian gypsies; the influence Gypsy music is said to have had on the Hungarian Francz Liszt. He reports that the first mention of Roma in purely Hungarian accounts have been found in Ruzomberok, in present-day Slovakia. Official Hungarian records in the Middle Ages note the spread of the Roma through the territories of Eastern Europe. Gypsies served as smiths and soldiers in the Hungarian military. Records show that in 1489 Gypsies performed music at Csepel Island for Queen Beatrix, the wife of Matthias Corvinus. After the Turkish defeat at Mohács in 1526, BOOKS (Continued) Royal Hungary, centered in present-day Slovakia, increasingly viewed the Gypsies as spies and as undesirable elements in society. The 16th century threat by the Ottoman Türke and the Protestant Reformation resulted in a changing and increasingly unfavorable attitude toward the Roma, although their skills as smiths, musicians, and soldiers were valued. Crowe continues to trace the plight of Gypsies under different leaders (Maria Theresa, loseph II, Miklós Horthy and others) up through World War II. He comments that, during the Nazi occupation of Hungary in WW1I and the ensuing persecution, assistance to the Gypsies was not forthcoming, as it was to the Jews through the efforts of Raoul Wallenberg. Following WWII, Communist leaders were concerned about the low social, economic, and educational levels of the nomadic Roma. In the 1950's forced settlement failed to accomplish Gypsy assimilation. As Crowe notes, "these efforts paid little regard to the rich traditions of the Roma and were undertaken in a manner that created more ill feeling toward the Gypsies.” With the collapse of the Soviet Union between 1989-1991, the social issues surrounding Gypsy population growth and crime became cause for concern. Crowe sees the new democratic structures in Eastern Europe offering the Roma new opportunities within the emerging political, social, and cultural milieu. However, certain setbacks were also recorded under the new regimes. In 1991 the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights protested the pogroms against the Gypsies in Romania. Also, within the same week the International Labor Organization decried the Romanian ethnic violence perpetrated against the Roma and the Hungarians. On the other side of the border, the new Law on the Rights of National and Ethnic Minorities, passed by the Hungarian Parliament on July 7, 1993, specifically mentions the Roma, recognizes their special needs, and provides means for dealing with their "social disadvantages”. Even with this improved official minority status, the Raoul Wallenberg Association in Budapest continues to monitor Gypsy rights and abuses, as it has done since its inception on December 17, 1989. Crowe concludes that the Gypsies often have been the scapegoats when things have gone awry in Eastern Europe and Russia. He argues that a more balanced approach to the study of the Roma may help overcome the centuries of prejudice and negative images. He states that "the failure to celebrate the accomplishments of so many important Roma individuals and professionals clouds the history of a people who have played a unique role in the history of Eastern Europe". Crowe's Gypsy history will be welcomed by scholars already familiar with his earlier books. Researches on Hungarian topics will recognize citations featuring familiar names such as Géza leszenszky, Maria Ormos, Zsusza L. Nagy, Peter Hanák, Bennett Kovrig, Martin I. Kovács, Randolph L. Braham, István Deák, to name but a few. History of the Gypsies of Eastern Europe and Russia provides a comprehensive perspective that will be appreciated in all library collections. Ruth G. Biro Kocsis, Károly and Eszter Kocsis-Hodosi. ETHNIC GEOGRAPHY OF THE HUNGARIAN MINORITIES IN THE CARPATHIAN BASIN. Budapest: The Geographical Research Institute, Research Centre for Earth Sciences, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, 1998. Pp. 1-241. ISBN 963 7395 84 9 (ft. 2,800.) Károly Kocsis and Eszter Kocsis-Hodosi have again provided an outstanding sourcebook for researchers of Hungarian minority (Continued on page 8) NO. 55-57, SPRING/SUMMER/AUTUMN 1999, HUNGARIAN STUDIES NEWSLETTER 7
