Past Abstracts
773 abstracts found
1 Hungarian Folk Tale + 1 French Fairy Tale = Paul Fejős’ Fantasy Film: Preserving Images of Hungary Between the Two World Wars in Marie, Légende hongroise (1932)
Cultural Studies/ArtsFilm director Paul Fejős left his native Hungary in 1923 for Hollywood, then in 1928 moved to Paris to make “talkies.” The French company Osso had set up studios in Budapest, allowing Fejős a return to native soil for the French-Hungarian co-production Marie, Légende hongroise (Tavaszi zápor; Spring Shower) 1932, made simultaneously in 4-5 other languages. Marie, a village servant girl seduced and abandoned by the wealthy fiancé of her employer’s daughter, is cast out from home and village. Finding work as a maidservant in a Budapest bordello, she gives birth. Dressed in folklore costume, Marie presents her baby to the Virgin Mary during a Catholic religious ceremony. The local authorities decide to confiscate the baby. Marie, maddened with pain, dies of grief. Having assumed a Madonna-like persona, we find her scrubbing the floors of Heaven, and upon seeing her daughter about to be seduced, she pours out her bucket of water, causing a spring shower that will separate young lovers, warning them of the dangers of physical passion. Film historian István Nemeskürty referred to this film as a solitary jewel of Hungarian cinema. The narrative is simple with little dialogue although much music, relying on striking, repeated motifs (the flowering tree), presenting a world of feeling, not fact, a fairy tale of an archetypal Cinderella mistreated by archetypal bad people, but who in the end magically achieves consolation and the capacity to influence events. The sparse, stylized cinematography renders it one of the most intensely metaphoric works of the 1930s, while simultaneously suspending on celluloid a lost world of Hungary between village and capital.
16th and 17th Century Hungarian Historians and Protestant Theologians in the Thomason Collection – International Relations, Tracts, and Translations
History/Political ScienceOne of the most famous assemblage of documents from the English Civil War Era is the Thomason Collection of Civil War Tracts, which was gathered between 1640–1661 by the book dealer and renowned collector, George Thomason. It includes more than 22000 documents, mostly pamphlets, treatises, illustrations, engravings, and manuscripts. The collection is located in the British Library, UK, and is available for research in the forms of microfilms and digitalized copies. As a researcher of the collection and the era, I have encountered a few Hungarian entries, among which I could identify the works of Izsák Fegyverneki (d. 1589) and János Nádányi (1643–1707), both Calvinist pastors and historians. Nádányi’s major work, the Florus Hungaricus, sive rerum Hungaricarum was translated to English by James Howell, a royalist pamphleteer and historian of the Civil War. Among the estate of Howell, a short entry signifies that he had completed the work on an assignment, however, the patron behind the commission is unknown. Izsák Fegyverneki’s tract, the Enchiridii Locorum communium Theologicorum, completed in 1586, was dedicated to Stephen Báthory, the voivode of Transylvania. It was translated to English by Dudley Diggs, Jr. a royalist peer and contemporary of Howell. We can also suspect a commission behind the endeavour, but further investigation is needed to clarify this issue.
In the presentation, I attempt to outline the way in which the works reached and captivated the attention of the English royalists, and address the ideological significance of them in the pamphlet literature and political climate of the 17th century England. The translational methods and techniques are also to be discussed, applying an interdisciplinary approach. A comprehensive analysis has never been completed on the political and diplomatic history of these works; therefore, the topic provides several new research aspects and hold out the promise of fascinating results both in regards of English and Hungarian historiography.
In the presentation, I attempt to outline the way in which the works reached and captivated the attention of the English royalists, and address the ideological significance of them in the pamphlet literature and political climate of the 17th century England. The translational methods and techniques are also to be discussed, applying an interdisciplinary approach. A comprehensive analysis has never been completed on the political and diplomatic history of these works; therefore, the topic provides several new research aspects and hold out the promise of fascinating results both in regards of English and Hungarian historiography.
1867: Compromise – Coronation – Union
History/Political ScienceWith Compromise from 1867, Transylvania’s more than three century-long separate status and development came to an end. The union of Transylvania with Hungary was concomitantly the precondition for the Compromise and its direct consequence. Also as a consequence of the Compromise Franz Joseph was crowned in Pest-Buda as King of Hungary. “The Compromise and Coronation completed a shift in Hungarian loyalty, after which Franz Joseph and Elisabeth were commonly referred to in Hungary as ‘King’ and ‘Queen’” – as Alice Freifeld emphasized – and the alliance between the dynasty and the Hungarian political elite had been reinvigorated. The new concept of the state was visualised by the coronation ceremonies.
The presentation will mainly focus on the ceremonies associated with the coronation hill. All the counties and cities were asked to send earth for the coronation hill from “historically important” places. The hill was intended to symbolize the unity and extent of the state, and it was supposed to summarize the whole of Hungarian history. It also had to legitimize the new situation created by the Compromise. The coronation was a splendid opportunity for the application of a whole range of political symbols, on the other hand it increased the aversion and nationalist feelings of the marginalized nationalities (in Transylvania the Romanians and Saxons).
The presentation will mainly focus on the ceremonies associated with the coronation hill. All the counties and cities were asked to send earth for the coronation hill from “historically important” places. The hill was intended to symbolize the unity and extent of the state, and it was supposed to summarize the whole of Hungarian history. It also had to legitimize the new situation created by the Compromise. The coronation was a splendid opportunity for the application of a whole range of political symbols, on the other hand it increased the aversion and nationalist feelings of the marginalized nationalities (in Transylvania the Romanians and Saxons).
1912–My Hungarian Parents Move to America–A Family History
History/Political ScienceMy parents--Bartfai Sandor & Toth Julianna--were born in Austria-Hungary. They were zseller who moved to Granite City, Illinois,
where other Toth sibilings had immigrated earlier. They had eight children. I was born in 1935 on a farm & started school in a one room school house down the road. In 1978, I made my first of five visits to Hungary, making contact with relatives. Uncle Imre was living in the Hungarian equivalent of an American log cabin. It had a thatched roof. Water came from a well in the yard.
One hundred years after my parent's immigration, I attended the Toth-Bartfay
reunion in St. Louis, MO.
where other Toth sibilings had immigrated earlier. They had eight children. I was born in 1935 on a farm & started school in a one room school house down the road. In 1978, I made my first of five visits to Hungary, making contact with relatives. Uncle Imre was living in the Hungarian equivalent of an American log cabin. It had a thatched roof. Water came from a well in the yard.
One hundred years after my parent's immigration, I attended the Toth-Bartfay
reunion in St. Louis, MO.
1945: A Hungarian Film Reckons with Antisemitism
Cultural Studies/ArtsBased on Gábor T. Szántó’s acclaimed short story Hazatérés/Homecoming, 1945 (dir Ferenc Török, Hungary, 2017) features a superb ensemble cast, lustrous black and white images shot by world-renowned cinematographer Elemér Ragályi, a score by Tibor Szemző, and historically detailed art direction, all of which contribute to an eloquent drama that confronts a traumatic chapter in the history of the Holocaust in Hungary.
In the immediate aftermath of WWII, two Orthodox Jews arrive by train on a sweltering August day as a domineering village notary is about to marry off his son to a peasant girl, catalyzing an unwelcome reckoning with the recent past for the local inhabitants. Meanwhile Red Army soldiers lurk on the sidelines, seeking to enrich themselves through the daily business of Occupation.
My presentation contextualizes the film's portrayal of the complex postwar situation at a pivotal moment in Hungarian life, exacerbated by housing and food shortages, and the status of possessions expropriated by the state and allocated to the people, and when Jews who had been deported and survived often found themselves targets of a new wave of antisemitism. Through film extracts and stills, I interrogate the film's narrative of distrust and denunciation, guilt and denial, recrimination and reparation in dialogue with historical documents and first-person video testimony from the USC Shoah Foundation.
In the immediate aftermath of WWII, two Orthodox Jews arrive by train on a sweltering August day as a domineering village notary is about to marry off his son to a peasant girl, catalyzing an unwelcome reckoning with the recent past for the local inhabitants. Meanwhile Red Army soldiers lurk on the sidelines, seeking to enrich themselves through the daily business of Occupation.
My presentation contextualizes the film's portrayal of the complex postwar situation at a pivotal moment in Hungarian life, exacerbated by housing and food shortages, and the status of possessions expropriated by the state and allocated to the people, and when Jews who had been deported and survived often found themselves targets of a new wave of antisemitism. Through film extracts and stills, I interrogate the film's narrative of distrust and denunciation, guilt and denial, recrimination and reparation in dialogue with historical documents and first-person video testimony from the USC Shoah Foundation.
1956 and its ’lieux de mémoire’ in Hungary and the USA as evidence of Hungarian cultural heritage
History/Political ScienceLieux de mémoire/Places of memory for the 1956 revolution and war of independence in Hungary and globally still keep the message of the freedom fight very much alive. I’m going to examine the types of memory places such as monuments, statutes, plaques, memorial sites in Hungary and the United States in particular; in terms of both physical and virtual spaces that symbolize the events and/or the essence of the revolution; and how they tie in with recent cultural heritage projects such as Köztérkép (Publicmap), launched and developed by volunteers, and the Julianus-project, which was announced by the Deputy State Secretary for Hungarian Communities Abroad.
1956 as a Turning Point? Elite Hungarian Athletes After the Revolution
History/Political ScienceIt cannot be denied that the 1956 Revolution played perhaps the most central role in shaping the course of Hungarian history under communism and in collective memory thereafter. The Communist period did not, however, end after 1956, nor after the general amnesty in 1962. The reforms of the New Economic Mechanism from 1968-1972 and the state’s relaxation of its socio-cultural policies in the 1970s and 1980s in many ways altered the course of Hungarian society and everyday life. Yet the period of Goulash Communism has received very little attention from scholars of Hungary. At first glance this is perhaps surprising. Some historians have described the Kádárist period as a time of “relative abundance” of consumer goods and freedoms, particularly when compared to the “economy of shortage” that plagued their Romanian neighbors. The availability of consumer items and opportunities to improve and enjoy one’s lifestyle brought great promise to the Hungarian public; but perhaps more interesting were the myriad of ways in which Hungarians worked and took pride in obtaining these items, and experiencing what some historians have called the “pleasures” in socialism.
As one of the groups most well suited to take advantage and obtain these pleasures, elite Hungarian athletes stood to gain more than most citizens during this time. But while trying to acquire and enjoy these pleasures, elite athletes risked punishment from the Hungarian Communist state, as they had before 1956. This paper will, therefore, examine the ways that elite athletes pushed the limits of Goulash Communism in their attempts to obtain the “good life.”
As one of the groups most well suited to take advantage and obtain these pleasures, elite Hungarian athletes stood to gain more than most citizens during this time. But while trying to acquire and enjoy these pleasures, elite athletes risked punishment from the Hungarian Communist state, as they had before 1956. This paper will, therefore, examine the ways that elite athletes pushed the limits of Goulash Communism in their attempts to obtain the “good life.”
56ers 56 Years Later: The Hungarian Scholar Program at Rutgers University
History/Political ScienceThe President's Committee for Hungarian Refugee Relief facilitated the settlement of over 30,000 Hungarian refugees in the United States, who fled the country after the 1956 Revolution. Among them was a small group of promising scholars and graduate students, who were selected to participate in an intensive language immersion program organized at Rutgers University upon the initiation of the National Academy of Sciences in January 1957. Based on the documents from the papers of Rev. Bradford Abernethy, University Chaplain and Program Director, the authors explore the story of these talented scientists while also trying to discover what happened to them in the following 56 years. The authors utilize a variety of resources to retrieve information ranging from traditional archival records to modern social networking applications. Search techniques in multicultural setting as well as methods and best practices to evaluate online information are also discussed. The presentation is recommended to audiences interested in applying innovations of information science when creating a chronological and contextual history of events, however it also aims to contribute to the history of Hungarian immigrants after 1956.
A “Hungarikum” in English Language Education: Findings of a Survey on the Year of Intensive Language Learning
Education/Social SciencesProficiency in English is a desired commodity in Hungary, but as many students lack equal opportunities to study it, policy makers decided to offer a year of intensive language learning (YILL) at age 15. I will give an overview of the aims and outcomes of an evaluation project on the YILL launched in 2004/2005 allowing students to study one or two foreign languages in 11-18 weekly hours. YILL students are expected (1) to become motivated and autonomous language learners; and (2) to pass an advanced-level school-leaving proficiency exam. The YILL aims to offer disadvantaged learners an opportunity to achieve proficiency not available at traditional secondary schools.
In the spring of 2009 a representative sample of students, their parents, language teachers and school principals were asked to fill in questionnaires on how they evaluated the first YILL and the successive four-year period. I will analyze all stakeholders’ views based on both quantitative and qualitative data collected from 1,079 learners, 910 parents, 320 language teachers at 267 institutions. The results show that most YILL students are not disadvantaged; the majority studied one foreign language (English or German), but would have liked to learn two or three; English is far more popular (94%) than any other language; 77% of the students took an exam at intermediate level instead of advanced level; and if they entered secondary education now, 51% would not choose YILL again. All stakeholders’ views are a lot more favorable about their intensive year than the four years after it.
In the spring of 2009 a representative sample of students, their parents, language teachers and school principals were asked to fill in questionnaires on how they evaluated the first YILL and the successive four-year period. I will analyze all stakeholders’ views based on both quantitative and qualitative data collected from 1,079 learners, 910 parents, 320 language teachers at 267 institutions. The results show that most YILL students are not disadvantaged; the majority studied one foreign language (English or German), but would have liked to learn two or three; English is far more popular (94%) than any other language; 77% of the students took an exam at intermediate level instead of advanced level; and if they entered secondary education now, 51% would not choose YILL again. All stakeholders’ views are a lot more favorable about their intensive year than the four years after it.
A 1956 Refugee Remembers
History/Political ScienceA personal report of a Hungarian asylum seeker - after the Soviet Union crushed the rebellion in 1956, reporting on difficulties crossing the Iron Curtain, on camp life experience in Vienna, on difficulties crossing the ocean on the U.S. military boat named after General Walker, on arrival in Camp Kilmer in New Jersey and on adjusting to western life style in New York. The illustrated report is based on my book entitled CLIMBING OUT FROM UNDER THE SHADOW, published in 2010.
A 3D technológia és a művészet kapcsolata
Cultural Studies/ArtsA 3D-nyomtatás kapcsán a sokszorosíthatóság, prototípusok gyártása mellett felvetül művészeti eszközként való használatának problémája is. A 3D nyomtatáshoz szorosan kapcsolódik a már meglévő tárgyak 3D szkennelése. Utóbbi kapcsán fennáll a veszély, hogy ha rosszul használják fel, akkor veszélybe kerülhet a mű értéke és tömegcikké válhat. Mint ami történt például a Méloszi Aphrodité szoborral. A már amúgy is veszélybe került művet árucikké alakításával értékében inflálták. Jelenleg a mai technológiával egy köztéri szobrot is be tudunk szkennelni, és akár kinyomtatni bármekkora méretben és mennyiségben. Nagyon jó lehetőség lenne így dokumentálni köztéri szobrokat a leírások és fotók mellett. Victor Vasarely szerint „a számítógép nyitja majd meg a plasztikai térben az alapvető kutatások korát”. Vasarely ezzel a kijelentésével is előre mutatta, hogy az új plasztikai formákat a számítástechnikai eszközök kihasználatlansága miatt még a későbbiekben rengeteg lehetőségeket hordozhatnak magukban. Rochitz elvárása a kortárs esztétika igénye felé „a »szép« keresése csakis a kortárs művészet logikájának elfelejtése árán teljesíthető”, így egy újabb krízist állítva fel a kortárs művészet felé. Mivel ezzel a szkennelési és nyomtatási technológiával, nemcsak az eredetiség, hanem a művész jelenléte is feleslegessé válhat. Előadásomban magyar és nemzetközi példák kapcsán az alábbi kutatói kérdéseke vizsgálom: Miért kellene a művész ahhoz, hogy a látott természetet és körülötte lévő embereket és tárgyakat újra leírja a saját nyelvével? Tényleg nem szükséges a művész keze?
A Clevelandi Magyar Történelmi Társulat — Cleveland Hungarian Heritage Society–(CHHS) hivatása
Cultural Studies/ArtsA Társulat 25 éves multjának rövid ismertetése, alakulása és fejlődése a mai napig, ahogy az Észak Ohio-i magyar kulturéletet meghatározó intézménnyé vált.
A Múzeum kiemelkedő és látható vonásai: az állandó kiállitás, a Székely kapu, az időnként (kb. 3 hónap) változó kiállitások, a könyvtár, és az ajándék bolt; ezek szerepe és fontossága.
A nem azonnal látható szerepek: az előadás sorozatok melyek magukba foglalnak széles körű témákat, neves előadókat és szólnak a társadalom minden rétegéhez; majd a közeli és távoli látogatók fogadása akik jönnek a művészet, politika és tudomány ágazataiból.
Hogyan tartja fönn magát a Múzeum? Anyagi támogatók, önkéntes vállalkozók és Múzeum tagok szerepe és jelentősége; a Múzeumban található tárgyak mind adományok.
Hogyan tovább? Jelen állapot stabil. A körülmények és igények változnak, amelyekhez a Múzeum eddig igazodott ahogy a demografia változása azt Clevelandban megkövetelte. A jövőben is lesznek változások és alkalmazkodási követelmények. Hogyan tudunk alkalmazkodni fogja meghatározni a jövő sikerét.
Haladva tovább a legfontossab tényezők: Anyagi támogatók, önkéntes vállalkozók és a fiatalabbak bevonása a Múzem életébe nélkülözhetetlenek. Ezek eléréséhez a Társulatnak a jövőben meg kell találni a módját az akkori igények kielégitéséhez, mert csak úgy lesznek támogatók, önkéntesek és érdeklődők.
A Múzeum kiemelkedő és látható vonásai: az állandó kiállitás, a Székely kapu, az időnként (kb. 3 hónap) változó kiállitások, a könyvtár, és az ajándék bolt; ezek szerepe és fontossága.
A nem azonnal látható szerepek: az előadás sorozatok melyek magukba foglalnak széles körű témákat, neves előadókat és szólnak a társadalom minden rétegéhez; majd a közeli és távoli látogatók fogadása akik jönnek a művészet, politika és tudomány ágazataiból.
Hogyan tartja fönn magát a Múzeum? Anyagi támogatók, önkéntes vállalkozók és Múzeum tagok szerepe és jelentősége; a Múzeumban található tárgyak mind adományok.
Hogyan tovább? Jelen állapot stabil. A körülmények és igények változnak, amelyekhez a Múzeum eddig igazodott ahogy a demografia változása azt Clevelandban megkövetelte. A jövőben is lesznek változások és alkalmazkodási követelmények. Hogyan tudunk alkalmazkodni fogja meghatározni a jövő sikerét.
Haladva tovább a legfontossab tényezők: Anyagi támogatók, önkéntes vállalkozók és a fiatalabbak bevonása a Múzem életébe nélkülözhetetlenek. Ezek eléréséhez a Társulatnak a jövőben meg kell találni a módját az akkori igények kielégitéséhez, mert csak úgy lesznek támogatók, önkéntesek és érdeklődők.
A Debreceni Nyári Egyetem helye és szerepe a változó világban
History/Political ScienceAz 1927-ben alapított Debreceni Nyári Egyetem alapvető küldetése régen és ma egyaránt a magyar nyelv és kultúra terjesztése bárki számára, aki érdeklődik Magyarország és a magyar kultúra bármely területe iránt. Bár ez a küldetés világos és egyértelmű, könnyen belátható, hogy az elmúlt csaknem kilenc évtizedben ezt a feladatot nem lehetett ugyanúgy és ugyanolyan eszközökkel végrehajtani. Az előadás különösen az elmúlt 2-3 évtizedre koncentrálva igyekszik bemutatni, hogy a nagy presztízsű intézménynek milyen kihívásokkal kellett szembenéznie.
A diaszpóra csoportkohéziós összetevői
History/Political ScienceJelen előadás a diaszpórák identitásmegtartó aktivitásának tartalmi elemeit vizsgálja a globálisan változó népvándorlási, társadalmi és kulturális körülmények közepette. A szerzők kitérnek a diaszpóra kategóriát meghatározó kritériumokra, valamint az anyaállamok eltérő diaszpórastratégiai felfogásaira. A diaszpóra csoportkohéziós elemeinek tárgyalásakor az elemzés tárgyát képezi a migrációs eredetet szerepe, amely alapján e közösségtípus elkülöníthető más, hasonló jellegű etnikai, nemzeti vagy vallási alapon szerveződő kisebbségektől, valamint a magyar szóhasználatban gyakran elődforduló tömb és szórvány kifejezések jelentéstartalmától. A diaszpóra további kritériumainak tárgyalásakor a szerzők elemzik a diaszpóra közösségek társadalmi integrációs folyamatait és modelljeit, az etnikai határok intézményesülési megoldásait, valamint az anyaországok diaszpóra felé irányuló támogatáspolitikáit. Az ezekre vonatkozó, szakirodalomban megjelenő tipológiákkal kapcsolatban külön felhívják a figyelmet arra, hogy a különböző ideáltípusok a valóságban nem jelennek meg „vegytiszta” formában. Ennek illusztrálásaként, a tanulmány végén röviden összevetjük az ismertetett elméleteket a jelenlegi magyar kormány egyes diaszpórapolitikai gyakorlataival.
A Forgotten Story: an Attempt to reopen the Discussion on the Life of Prime Minister Ferenc Nagy and on His Influence on the History of Hungary in the 20th Century
History/Political ScienceFerenc Nagy was born into a poor peasant family in Bisse, Baranya County in 1903. He became a journalist in 1929 and a member of Parliament in 1939 with only six elementary school classes. As an anti-fascist, he was nearly sent to Birkenau by the Gestapo in 1944. After World War II he was Hungary's first freely elected prime minister from 4th February 1946 to 31st May 1947. His extremely short governance was a very effective and successful period. His government has managed to break the world's highest inflation and by the end of 1946 all the state institutions were restored and have functioned well. According to these successes there was no need for soviet troops in the Carpathian Basin any more so they should have to leave after the February 1947 peace talks. Therefore, Rákosi and the Communist Party forced him to resign and emigrate.
Ferenc Nagy's resignation was blackmailed by his four-year-old son's hostage-taking while he and his wife were in Switzerland. After leaving Switzerland, the family settled in Herndon, Virginia, where they started farming. As Ferenc Nagy learned English, his income was based on the increasingly frequent university lectures. As Berkeley's Honorary Doctor, President Carter had asked for his opinion as the SALT talks began. After his personal intervention, the Coronation Jewels returned home.
Despite all he is almost completely forgotten even if the digital culture of our time would offer unique opportunities to bring his personality and actions into collective memory.
Ferenc Nagy's resignation was blackmailed by his four-year-old son's hostage-taking while he and his wife were in Switzerland. After leaving Switzerland, the family settled in Herndon, Virginia, where they started farming. As Ferenc Nagy learned English, his income was based on the increasingly frequent university lectures. As Berkeley's Honorary Doctor, President Carter had asked for his opinion as the SALT talks began. After his personal intervention, the Coronation Jewels returned home.
Despite all he is almost completely forgotten even if the digital culture of our time would offer unique opportunities to bring his personality and actions into collective memory.
A French Diplomatic Initiative: the <i>Revue de Hongrie</i> (1908-1931)
History/Political ScienceClose examination of original documents reveals a cluster of historical events, statements, and decisions that plausibly lead from the founding of the Revue de Hongrie in 1908 by Vicomte Joseph de Fontenay, French consul in Budapest (1905-1912), to Trianon. I present these documents inductively in their historical context and draw a possible inference, suggesting a case of influence or impact. The paper highlights one thread in the complex tapestry that links the history of the Revue de Hongrie to French behavior at the Peace Conference. These documents also illuminate an important aspect of the history of the Revue de Hongrie, a Hungarian journal written entirely in French, edited and owned by Vilmos de Huszár (my grandfather). From its conception the governments of France and Hungary supported a common goal of cultural exchange. Politics, however, soon intervened. When Huszár arrived in Bern, Switzerland, in the summer of 1916, as a diplomat for the monarchy, he was shocked to discover the negative image the Entente press had painted of Hungary and the extent to which world opinion accepted this portrayal. During WWI the Revue represented Hungary and the empire, participating in a propaganda war that Huszár called “literary lead poisoning.” For the rest of his life, Huszár fought on the pages of the Revue for his ideals of truth, justice, and peaceful coexistence.
A Hungarian ‘Madwoman in the Attic’: Rehabilitating Elizabeth Báthory, a Seventeenth Century ‘Serial Killer,’ a.k.a. ‘The Blood Countess Dracula’
Cultural Studies/ArtsCountess Elizabeth Báthory lived in the late 1500s and early 1600s in the former Kingdom of Hungary. According to legend, while combing the aging and widowed Countess’s hair, a servant girl snagged and pulled it, whereupon Elizabeth slapped the girl, drawing blood, which fell upon the Countess’s skin. Upon rubbing the bloody spot, the skin underneath appeared fresh and rejuvenated. Thereafter, the Countess supposedly bathed in the blood of virgins, to stay forever young. She and four collaborators were accused of torturing and killing over 600 girls and young women. Because of aristocratic privilege, Elizabeth was never formally tried in court, but in 1610, as punishment and upon orders of the King, she was imprisoned in Čachtice [Csejte] Castle (located in today’s Slovakia), where she remained bricked in a room until her death four years later.
Today, Elizabeth’s legend has left Hungary and “immigrated” world-wide. She appears in novels and over 200 films, many of which emphasize the sexual side of the trials to the degree that they become sexual sadism and sometimes outright “torture porn” – a fascinating tweak on her terrible tale - but not a topic for the squeamish! Most novelists and filmmakers try to ingratiate themselves to a male audience, with lots of naked-flesh and eye-candy, Dracula-style biting, and bloody gore. This paper alleges that: 1) Elizabeth because of her female gender was a “victim” rather than the perpetrator; 2) the stories of witchcraft, insanity, and cruelty were either grossly exaggerated or outright lies.
Today, Elizabeth’s legend has left Hungary and “immigrated” world-wide. She appears in novels and over 200 films, many of which emphasize the sexual side of the trials to the degree that they become sexual sadism and sometimes outright “torture porn” – a fascinating tweak on her terrible tale - but not a topic for the squeamish! Most novelists and filmmakers try to ingratiate themselves to a male audience, with lots of naked-flesh and eye-candy, Dracula-style biting, and bloody gore. This paper alleges that: 1) Elizabeth because of her female gender was a “victim” rather than the perpetrator; 2) the stories of witchcraft, insanity, and cruelty were either grossly exaggerated or outright lies.
A Hungarian American Collector and his Contribution to Hungarian Museums
Cultural Studies/ArtsHungarian Americans contribution to American culture is remarkable in its abundance of scientific, philanthropic and artistic achievements. Some of them, like award winning scientist and collector, Laszlo Gyugyi created a remarkable 19th century Zsolnay collection, of which a great part was repatriated to Hungary. Dr. Gyugyi’s decision to sell back and gift half of his collection to the Zsolnay Museum in Pecs became a widely admired attraction of Pecs’ cultural district. This presentation unpacks how Mr. Gyugyi set out to build a collection of Zsolnay ceramic artworks, how he learned about available new pieces, acquired, and added them to his collection. The major theme of this investigation is how he became interested and decided to place part of his collection back into the factory where they were originally designed and made. Some of the most aesthetically-accomplished works will be presented during the lecture.
A Hungarian in the Shadow of High Politics: Emery Reves and the Modern World Press Propaganda
History/Political ScienceThis paper proposes to survey Emery Reves (Révész Imre)’s political, personal and business career from the early 1920’s until his last active decade (1960’s). Révész Imre was a Hungarian-born (1904-Bácsföldvár-1981-Montreux) journalist, businessman and literary agent and later on he became famous as literary agent of W.S. Churchill. Reves and his company (Cooperation Press Service) was the main European and overseas distributor of Churchill’s articles on current world events until the death of the great British statesman. From 1941 Reves worked in the USA where he successfully managed to publish the war memoirs of Churchill. After WWII he appeared as one of the most important business and personal intimate of the former British premier. So began their profitable business relationship that grew over time into personal friendship.
The career, activity and works of Reves are almost unknown in Hungary, although we have some personal letters and other sources published in English (Winston Churchill and Emery Reves. Correspondence.1937-1964.Ed. by Martin Gilbert University of Texas Press, Austin, 1997., The Wendy and Emery Reves Collection. Ed. By Robert V. Rozelle. Dallas Museum of Art, 1985.). In this sense my paper (partially based on my own archival and historical research in England and Hungary) focusing on the personal career, ideas, works and business activities of Reves, and I try to put these aspects in the framework of international contacts. Reves wrote two books on a would-be new world order and these works became credo of world federalists (A Democratic Manifesto /1942/, The Anatomy of Peace/1945/). Reves could manage to place about two dozens Churchill articles in Hungarian daily newspapers (Az Újság, Pester Lloyd, Pesti Hírlap) in 1938-39 and distributed articles of pro-western Hungarian intellectuals and politicians (Kánya Kálmán, Hantos Elemér, etc.) in European newspapers.
So, my presentation emphasizes how a world citizen of Hungarian origin (Reves) has tried to build a bridge between world politics and Hungarian issues during his own activity and on his efforts to place Churchill’s pro-democracy articles in newspapers around the world.
The career, activity and works of Reves are almost unknown in Hungary, although we have some personal letters and other sources published in English (Winston Churchill and Emery Reves. Correspondence.1937-1964.Ed. by Martin Gilbert University of Texas Press, Austin, 1997., The Wendy and Emery Reves Collection. Ed. By Robert V. Rozelle. Dallas Museum of Art, 1985.). In this sense my paper (partially based on my own archival and historical research in England and Hungary) focusing on the personal career, ideas, works and business activities of Reves, and I try to put these aspects in the framework of international contacts. Reves wrote two books on a would-be new world order and these works became credo of world federalists (A Democratic Manifesto /1942/, The Anatomy of Peace/1945/). Reves could manage to place about two dozens Churchill articles in Hungarian daily newspapers (Az Újság, Pester Lloyd, Pesti Hírlap) in 1938-39 and distributed articles of pro-western Hungarian intellectuals and politicians (Kánya Kálmán, Hantos Elemér, etc.) in European newspapers.
So, my presentation emphasizes how a world citizen of Hungarian origin (Reves) has tried to build a bridge between world politics and Hungarian issues during his own activity and on his efforts to place Churchill’s pro-democracy articles in newspapers around the world.
A jelenkori magyar társadalmat érintő migrációs folyamatok
History/Political ScienceA népvándorlás központi témává vált Magyarországon is az elmúlt évtizedekben. Jelentőségét az emigráció gazdasági és népesedési folyamatokra gyakorolt hatásaitól, az agyelszívástól, a fiatal, képzett munkaerő külföldre vándorlásától való félelmek mellett tovább fokozta a 2010-es évek közepén felerősödő menekülthullám. A kivándorlás mellett a bevándorlás kérdése is meghatározó lett a magyarországi migrációs politikában. Ezzel egyidejűleg a „migráns” kifejezés minden eddiginél tágabb és érzelmileg túlfűtöttebb jelentéstartalommal terjedt el a hazai köztudatban. De ki a migráns valójában? Kik, honnan, mikor és miért jöttek Magyarországra? Mennyien maradtak itt? Mit jelez a számuk és a teljes népességen belüli arányuk nemzetközi viszonylatban? Hogyan alakult a magyarországi bevándorlás mérete és szerkezete a rendszerváltástól napjainkig? Mikor, hányan, hova és miért vándoroltak el Magyarországról? Közülük mennyien tértek vissza? A jelenkori magyar emigráció milyen szociodemográfiai jellemzőkkel bír? Milyen a kivándorlók kor és nemek szerinti összetétele, családi állapota, végzettsége? Melyek a legfőbb elvándorlási és visszavándorlási szándékot meghatározó vonzó és taszító tényezők Magyarországon? Előadásomban ezeket a kérdéseket járom körbe azzal a céllal, hogy a meglévő hazai és nemzetközi statisztikák, valamint a témában releváns kutatások eredményeinek másodelemzése révén átfogó és strukturált képet nyújtsak a jelenkori magyar társadalmat érintő migrációs folyamatokról. A bevándorlás, kivándorlás és visszavándorlás ismertetése során külön kitérek majd a 2010-es évek közepén tapasztalt menekülthullám következményeire, az évtized végére felerősödő ukrán emigrációra és annak kárpátaljai vetületeire, valamint az egyszerűsített honosítási eljárás népvándorlási adatokra gyakorolt közvetett hatásaira.
