The “Gypsy Problem” and Its Implications on the Hungarian National Identity in the Hungarian Press (1939-1945)

Type of Abstract (select): Paper presentation

Abstract (max. 250 words):
This presentation seeks to investigate the anti-Roma discourses articulated in the Hungarian press during the Second World War. Its main inquiries revolve around the negative media representation of Roma that served as the antithesis of Hungarian identity and how this type of portrayal can be interpreted in the context of the existential crisis triggered by the Treaty of Trianon and the Second Vienna Award. It will discuss how, despite the considerable controversy surrounding the infamous murder-robbery committed in the municipality Dános in 1907, the early twentieth-century idyllic and stereotypical media representations of the Roma community to narratives centering on the “Gypsy problem,” which contributed to the persecution and murder of the Romani community during the “porajmos” (Romani Holocaust). Press accounts consistently describe the perceived success of deportations of the “Gypsies” to labor camps, often conflating discussions of the “Gypsy” and “Jewish” questions. The “Gypsy” becomes a recurrently ridiculed figure in Hungarian joke columns, featuring stereotyped illustrations, while daily reports highlight crimes attributed to the “Gypsy,” such as murder, theft, and kidnappings. Light will be shed on how the Roma and the Jew were brought together in public discourse with the concepts of pollution, dirt, infection, violence, and danger to the Hungarian national unity, and how contemporary use of language in press aimed at justifying their deportation. Thus, this talk will approach discourse as a potent instrument that reinforces stereotypes, perpetuates existing power structures, and contributes to systemic racism.


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Dávid Szőke is a senior lecturer at the University of Nyíregyháza, Hungary and holds a Ph.D. from the University of Szeged. His area of research revolves around the cultural and literary representations of ethnic, racial, and gender minorities. He previously held a postdoctoral fellowship at the Heidelberg University in Germany.