Cultural Survival and a Sense of Mission: Analysis of Cleveland Hungarian Community Organizations’ Emphasis on Hungarian Identity

Type of Abstract (select): Paper presentation

Abstract (max. 250 words):
This paper focuses on the Cleveland Hungarian community and the wider post-1945 Hungarian diaspora in the Western world. Using primary sources and historical works by Hungarian émigré and diaspora authors (including Dr. Ferenc Somogyi’s history of the Hungarian Association, an edition of the Hungarian scout leadership magazine, Vezetők Lapja, Dr. Steven Béla Várdy’s histories of Hungarian-Americans, and other works), I show the emphasis placed on preservation of Hungarian language and culture in the documents of select influential post-1945 Hungarian organizations active in Cleveland and founded by the Displaced Persons (DP) generation of Hungarian émigrés. I specifically examine the Hungarian Association and the Hungarian Scout Association in Exteris (both influential in Cleveland but also the wider Hungarian diaspora) and examine how these organizations are imbued with a sense of mission to preserve Hungarian culture in the diaspora. Additionally, my paper proposes a time period-based model for tracking the development of Cleveland’s Hungarian community that takes into account the involvement of second- and further generations. With this paper, I seek to better understand the motivations for preservation of Hungarian-ness in the post-1945 Cleveland Hungarian community and the wider Hungarian diaspora in the Western world. This paper was written as junior independent work for Princeton University’s undergraduate School of Public and International Affairs.


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Ferenc Nicolae Somogyi is an undergraduate studying in the School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. Ferenc is a native of Cleveland's Hungarian community. He has presented on multiple occasions at the annual Hungarian Congress of the Cleveland Hungarian Association and participates in Hungarian scouting leadership and the Cleveland Hungarian Scout Folk Ensemble. At Princeton, Ferenc primarily studies history and diplomacy, with a regional focus on Central Europe, and is interested in diaspora and ethnic minority studies. His family background is Hungarian and Romanian (he is also active in Cleveland's Romanian community); he is fluent in both languages.