History/Political Science paper by Mazsu, János (withdrawn)
War and Collective Remembrance-Cemetery of Heroes. Channels of Representation in Geographical Information Systems (GIS)
Type of Abstract (select):Abstract (max. 250 words):
Recently, the first steps of preparation have been made for the Centenary of World War I (2014-2018) on both international and Hungarian grounds. There has been a government committee founded to address the various duties in respect to the centenary.
Since until 2013 even the number of wartime burial places had not been cleared, the Hungarian Ministry of Defense initiated a national wartime burial place and War Memorial Survey Program. With the participation of the Ministry of Domestic Affairs all the local governments were contacted to collect the relevant data and the processing of the collected information is in progress. It is planned that by the end of the centennial of World War I in 2018 the data pool containing the Hungarian military losses will be completed.
With its specific GIS representation experience a development team based in the city of Debrecen contributed greatly to the works significant from the points of view of collective remembrance and identity.
The Cemetery of Hungarian Soldiers, or as many of the local civilians call it, the Cemetery of Heroes is one of the most respected eternal treasures and memorials of the city. The first dead buried here were the fallen soldiers of the battle at Debrecen on August 02, 1849 during Hungarian Revolution and Freedom Fight 1848-1849.
The cemeteries were re-opened again at the time of WW I and WW II to bury the heroes who died on the battlefield and in local hospitals.
Under the trees of the Cemetery of Hungarian Soldiers and the Cemetery of Heroes rest the 112 soldiers of the 1849 War of Independence, 634 soldiers of the Tsar Army and other Hungarian and German soldiers who fell at the time of WW I and WW II.
Roughly, an estimated 4,000 people lie here in peace.
The 5. István Bocskai Marksmen Brigades of the Hungarian Army and the Debrecen Organization of the Army & Society Friends’ Circle (HTBK DSZ) are renowned for their outstanding tradition-bound works to pay tribute to the deceased. Besides, in communion with the above organizations, upon civil initiation a program was started entitled “The resting heritage of the City of Debrecen” that primarily addresses the processing and accessing the data of the Cemetery of Hungarian Soldiers and the Cemetery of Heroes by up-to-date information technology.
Our presentation is aimed at the description of this GIS representation project aimed at the continuous rekindling of the collective remembrance concentrating to the burial places of World War I.
(Access in Hungarian: http://gis.erda.hu/erda/html/projects/temeto_debrecen_hosok/honvedtemeto/)
Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
János Mazsu is Professor of Social and Economic History at Debrecen University Faculty of Economics and Business Administration), Debrecen, Hungary. He is an expert in Social and Intellectual History, he served as Ránki György Chair (Indiana University) and has been active in the Jean Monnet program. Selected publications: "The Social History of the Hungarian Intelligentsia, 825–1914". Atlantic Research and Publications, Boulder. Atlantic Studies on Society in Change 89. New York, Columbia University Press, 1997. 292.p. G. Szabó-Módi-Mazsu. "Debrecen, a cívis város" (Debrecen, the civis city). Hungarian, English, German). Budapest, 2003. 320.p. "A jó polgár" (The good citizen) with Setényi János. Debrecen, 1996. "Iparosodás és modernizáció" (Industrializations and modernization) ed. and co-author, Debrecen, 1991. "Tanulmányok a magyar értelmiség társadalomtörténetéhez". Gondolat.Budapest, 2012. 250.p. “ Jewish settlement in banned cities: Jewish immigration in Debrecen (Hungary) in the periods between 1790-1870”.Metszetek: 2014/1
„Piac, kereskedelem, kapitalizálódás és piactér Debrecenben a 19. században I-II.” (Market and marketplace – forms and spatio-structural reprezentations of capitalism in Debrecen),2012/2-3, 2013/4