The Eighth Tribe, 1976 (3. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1976-12-01 / 12. szám
December, 1976 THE EIGHTH TRIBE Page 7 While this history of the Magyars will first appear in a serialized form, following this serialization, it will also be published in book form under the title: The Magyars in History. Hopefully, it will fill a void in its area in the English speaking world, and hopefully it will be well received. The reader, however, will have to keep in mind that history is not a hard core science; that there are innumerable unanswered and unanswerable questions in history; and that popularly held and perpetuated views about the past may or may not have anything to do with the realities of history. History, moreover, is not made up of an unbroken chain of heroic.legends. Granted that the fathers and grandfathers of the present generations may have been taught only about the greatness and almost untouchable holiness of their forefathers. But that is an untrue and unrealistic view that cannot be perpetuated. Human beings have always been human beings, with all the shortcomings that go along with being fallible creatures of God. It would he foolhardy to believe that it was different with the forefathers of the Magyars. If one cannot accept this truism, then one cannot even begin to correct the mistakes of the past, and stear one’s nation toward a better future. We are often told that history is a discipline that teaches us how to behave in the future. Perhaps this statement should be rephrased to say that history is a discipline from which we can learn — if we are willing to learn. The mistakes of the past can help us to avoid similar mistakes in the future only if we recognize those mistakes, and resolve never to make them again. And one more thing: The Magyars, who constitute a relatively small nation today, have had more than their share of history. Thus, there is no need to fabricate a “history” that did not happen. History is fabricated only by nations who are in need of such ex post facto “history” — because they have nothing else to offer. Because of the popular nature of this synthesis, citations were kept to the minimum, and when unavoidable, the abbreviated sources were cited in the text itself. Detailed information about these and other sources can he found in the bibliography at he end of this book. S. B. Vardy Duquesne University came to Camp Kilmer after the 1956 attempted uprising. At that time, he was Secretary of State in New Jersey so that, as a result, direct involvement concerning the Hungarians came about. The Congressman spoke about their lack of opportunities toward achieving liberty and justice, which have been withheld from them so long—stating also that one of the “best tributes would be to learn from the lessons of the past.” Next, Elizabeth Pelesky, who studied in Boston, played two of Bartok’s major selections on the piano, following which Mrs. Susan Kurthy Horvath dramatically recited a poem entitled “Egy Magyar Anya Búcsúja” (“A Magyar Mother’s Farewell”). The stirringly-presented verses depicted the final parting words to a sadly-lamented widow’s son; the grieving scene at the bier is portrayed as being aU-the-more difficult because his death seems to have been so unnecessary for one so innocent and idealistic, who was only trying to serve in the place of his dead father. As a result prematurely, however, the young man’s further nurturance had been halted from his earthly mother and must be yielded up unto the watchful care of his heavenly inhabitant forebears. The Rutgers Glee Club, consisting of 42 young men, directed by F. Austin Walter, performed songs by Kodály, plus others much as “Waltzing Matilda,” and a spiritual entitled “Didn’t My Lord Deliver Daniel” as well as an English folk song, “The Farmer’s Boy” by Ralph Williams. Their varied presentation was considerably well accepted by the listeners. Speaking in Hungarian, István Gereben, President of the World Federation of Freedom Fighters next delivered an address on the reflections of himself and other individuals who had arrived at Camp Kilmer twenty years ago with such deeply-felt fears, but with much gratitude for America and Americans who extended to them welcome and hopeful encouragement. The gates of the former Army Camp Kilmer were remembered vividly, which symbolized surety of safety for them. Mr. Gereben told of the highlights somewhat as a brief reenactment of events in Hungary during 1956 from the time of the Parliamentary talks in Budapest on through the days of bloodshed after the onslaught of Russian tanks, which eventually overcame the attempted Hungarian revolt. He recounted early Hungarian historical figures and heroes such as St. Stephen, Rákóczy, Imre Nagy, Maleter, Mindszenty, among others, and their deeply-felt sense of moral responsibility. The Hungarian Scouts of New Brunswick next began a performance of “The T
