The Hungarian Student, 1958 (2. évfolyam, 1-7. szám)
1958 / 3. szám
>|o'* ' A xcans: Open Your Eyes, Your Minds, and Your Hearts The Significance of Hungarian History to the West by ARTHUR R. KIRWIN, JR. IN OCTOBER and November 1956, the entire world watched with horror, and at the same time with a guilty helplessness, the wholesale slaughter of Hungary. This valiant land rose defiantly against its savage conqueror. Hungary is the size of Indiana; the Soviet Union is larger than the entire United States. Hungary has nine million people; Russia, two hundred million people. Sparked by students and workers, the so-called “hope” of the Communist regime, men, women, and children fought and died so that their homeland, with its priceless historical heritage, might have peace, and so that they might have a right to live their lives as free, God-fearing men. But not only for this reason did Hungary die; she died for the whole West, in fact for all of western culture and for all free and enslaved peoples of the world. the t Arthur R. Kirwin, Jr. author of the article on this page, has luritten the following letter'. I am 22 years of age and was graduated on June 3, 1957 from St. Michael’s College. There in January my life became greatly influenced by the arrival of some 100 Hungarian students. 1 began then, and continue now, to study the history of Magyarorszag. I am now in contact with about thirty students who were at my college. I try to encourage them in their studies in the belief that some day their country will be free. In this we must believe and hope. God bless and save our countries, Magyarorszag and America. May we always be friends—may we live one day together in freedom. Arthur R. Kirwin, Jr. Szervusz barátaim Who are these Hungarians and where is their land? Hungary lies in the Danube Basin of Central Europe, south of the Carpathians and today is sourrounded by Austria on the west, Czechoslovakia on the north, the Soviet Union on the east, Rumania on the southeast and Yugoslavia on the southwest. The great rivers Duna and Tisza wend their way through the vast central plain while the mines and vineyards of the mountains yield rich rewards. Early History The first evidence we have of Hungary in written history is the Roman province of Pannónia. The Huns began their invasions at the end of the fourth century A.D., but used Hungary mostly as a base of operations until they disappeared into the Asian hinterland in the sixth century. In the ninth century, from the steppes of the Urals, came a tribe of ferocious horsemen. Their exact origin is not certain, but we do know that they were called Magyars, and under pressure by other migrating groups they moved into the plain of the Danube, under their leader Arpad. In the next century, there are two significant events in Hungarian history. The first was the defeat of the Magyars by the German Emperor Otto at Augsburg (995). The second was the acceptance of Christianity by Géza, the Magyar Duke, and his family (975). In the year 1000 A.D., Saint Stephen, ruler of the duchy, was crowned by the ministers of Pope Sylvester II. He was given the title “Apostolic King” in recognition of his service to the kingdom in firmly establishing Latin Christianity. As a theoretical fief of the Papacy, Hungary became at her birth as a kingdom, independent of the suzerainty of the Empire. The twelfth century was important because surrounding territories such as Croatia, Gallicia, and Transylvania were absorbed into the area. 3 Golden Bull A significant event in the history of Hungarian freedom was when King Andrew II, in 1222, granted a document known as the Golden Bui. The Golden Bull stated: As the liberties of the nobility, and certain other natives of these realms, founded by King Stephen the Saint, have suffered great detriment and curtailment by the violence of sundry kings .. . the king declares he is now willing to confirm and maintain, for all times to come, the nobility and freemen of the country, in all their rights, privileges, and immunities, as provided by the statutes of St. Stephen. In the 14th century, under the Angevin kings, Charles Robert and Louis the Great (Nagy Lajos), the kingdom of Hungary included the lands of Poland, Rumania, Bosnia, Serbia, and Croatia. The great incursions and invasions of the Muslim Turks began in this century. Subsequently, some great Magyar champions arose to repulse the heathen: Janos Hunyady, whose efforts enabled the Angelus to be instituted by the Pope; and Matyas Corvinus, his son, who was the soul of a cultural renaissance in Hungary when he became king. The Turks, under Suliman the Magnificent, inflicted a disastrous defeat on the Magyars at Mohács in 1526,' which overthrew the government of the native princes in Hungary. In November 1527, Ferdinand of Hapsburg was crowned king of Hungary and began the Austro- Hungarian Empire—more than three hundred years of Hapsburg domination. Declaration of Independence In the early nineteenth century, Hungary was still a backward, feudal nation while other lands were tasting the first fruits of democracy and republicanism. A vassal of the indolent Austrians and a victim of the Metternich system of feudal conservatism, Hungary began to show sparks of rebellion. At this time a Liberal Party was formed by enlightened men who had as their first aim the constitutional rights of the people. Among these liberals was the Father of Hungarian Independence, Louis Kossuth. In the short space of a few decades he asserted the ancient Hungarian right of freedom of speech, reformed the abuses of a privileged class, improved the system of taxation, and stimulated trade and manufacturing. On March 15, 1848, Kossuth and a delegation set out for Vienna where they sought a constitution and self-rule for their countrymen. However, the main significance of the day is that in the twin capital of Budapest, the most important revolt against the tyrant broke out under the inspiration of the national poet, Alexander Petőfi. Austria invaded Hungary, and on April 14, 1849, Kossuth proclaimed the Declaration of Independence in the Protestant Church of (Continued on page 4.)
