DOCSLIB.ORG

GEORG LUKACS RECORD of a LIFE V Georg Lukacs

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
GEORG LUKACS RECORD of a LIFE V Georg Lukacs Y GEORG LUKACS RECORD OF A LIFE v Georg Lukacs Verso Record of a Life An Autobiographical Sketch Edited by Istvan Eorsi Translated by Rodney Livingstone Photos on front cover, clockwise from top, centre: Lukacs in 1917 (Lukacs Archives of the Institute of Philosophy of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences); decree on the working conditions of apprentices, Budapest 1919; Commissar Lukacs thanks the proletariat for its help in overcoming the counter-revolution (from a newsreel in the Hungarian Film Institute); Lukacs's membership card of the Soviet Writers' Union (Lukacs Archives); Commissar Lukacs ninth from the left, second row, among the troops of the Hungarian Commune, July 1919; drawing of Lukacs from Friss Ujsag, April 1919 (Lukacs Archives); Lukas with Bela Balasz and friends, April 1909; Lukacs at the age of 11 (Lukacs Archives). Photos on back cover, clockwise from top right: Hungarian Communist Party poster of 1946 'Intellectuals! You should join us!' (Institute of Party History); stills from the film Our People Want Peace (1951), showing Lukacs addressing the Third World Peace Congress in Budapest (Film Archives of the Hungarian Film Institute); Lukacs, on the left, welcoming Pablo Neruda at Ferihegy airport, Budapest, in 1951 (Photo Service of the Hungarian Telegraph Agency); Hungar­ ian CP poster, 1946, proclaiming 'We are building the country for the people, not the capitalists' (Institute of Party History); Georg Lukacs in 1971, very shortly before his death. Grateful acknowledgement is made to Corvina Kiad6, Budapest, whose Gyorgy Lukacs: his lifein pictures and documents, edited by Fekete and Karadi, is the source for all the photos listed above. This edition of Record of a Life is a translation of the German edition, incorporating corrections, additional footnotes, and emendations and further entries to the Biographical Notes prepared by the editor. The interview with NewLeft Review, published here as an appendix, originally appeared in NLR 68, july-August 1971. Translated from the German edition. This translation first published by Verso Editions,'15 Greek Street, London W1 © Verso Editions 1983 Interview with NewLeft Review @ NLR 1971 Filmset in Bern by Comset Graphic Designs Printed by The Thetford Press Ltd Thetford, Norfolk ISBN 0 86091 071 7 86091 771 1 Pbk CONTENTS Editorial Note 6 Translator's Note 8 Istvan Eorsi: The Right to the Last Word 9 Record of a Life: Georg Lukacs in Conversation About his Life 1. Childhood and Early Career 26 2. War and Revolution 44 3. In Exile 70 4. Back in Hungary 112 Georg Lukacs: Gelebtes Denken: Notes towards an Autobiography 143 Appendix: Interview with New Left Review 171 Biographical Notes 183 Notes 202 Editorial Note When Georg Lukacs was told that he was suffering from an incurable disease, he made extraordinary efforts to speed up his work on the corrections to The Ontology of Social Being so as to complete them. However, the rapid deteriora­ tion of his condition prevented him fr om attending to this task, which was of such overriding importance to him, with his customary intensity . It was at this time that he embarked on a sketch of his life, partly because of the relative fr eedom fr om theoretical effort which it entailed, and partly to fulfilthe wish of his late wife. But once the sketch was finished, it became obvious that he lacked the strength to elaborate it fu rther. The sheer exertion of writing was something to which his physical powers proved increasingly unequal. Since he could not endure the idea of a life without work, however, he followed the advice of pupils close to him and, with his strength rapidly fading, he recorded the events of his life on tape in 1971 by answering questions put to him by Erzsebet Vezers and myself which we had based on the sketch Lived Thought (Gelebtes Denken). We had fr equently made such taped interviews with Georg Lukacs, particularly in 1969. In assembling and editing these materials I had two aims in view. In the first place I wished to give a complete account of the contents of the interviews, to record everything Georg Lukacs fe lt to be of value about himself and his age . Secondly, I was at pains to produce a readable and coherent text. For this reason, in addition to the usual stylistic corrections, I also made a series of structural changes. As far as possible I have ordered the material chronologic­ ally. Where passages are repeated I have opted for the more trenchant and complete version. In a number of places I have preferred earlier phrases and fo rmulations to those of the 1971 interviews , chiefly because in 1969 Georg Lukacs was still in fu ll possession of his powers of expression. In places I have modified the questions to fit the answers and have treated the questions of the two interviewers as though they were one. I have also woven a number of theoretical statements into the biographical narrative where I fe lt that these convey better than any others an accurate picture of Georg Lukacs as he was on the threshold of death. It follows that in strict philological terms the present text is not 'authentic'. However, it is authentic in the sense that every utterance recorded is guaranteed by the statements on tape. I have resisted the temptation to publish anything I cannot actually document, even where my recollection of what was said is accurate in every detail. A fu rther aspect of the authenticity of the text is that I have not made any 'selective' use of the material . Neither political nor any other considerations have induced me to censor Lukacs's words in any way. During my work on the text I fe lt encouraged partly by the fact that I had performed similar tasks fo r Georg Lukacs during his lifetime, and partly by my belief that I was proceeding very much in his spirit. Throughout his en­ tire life he had fe lt a greater esteem fo r the sort of fidelity that is concerned with an accurate reproduction of the essentials of a fo rm or a process than with �iteral fidelity and philological pedantry. Istvan EOrsi Translator's Note Istvan Eorsi' s introduction, 'The Right to the Last Word', has already ap­ peared in English, in New German Critique, Number 23, Spring/Summer 1981. The present translation is new, although I have consulted the version by Geoffrey Davis and am grateful to New German Critique for permission to use the occasional turn of phrase. Most of Lukacs's own books referred to in the text are available in English translation. I have added some references where appropriate. I have also added some fo otnotes to the text where clarification seemed neccessary. These are marked: (Trans.); other footnotes are the editor's. I wish to express my thanks to Professor Peter Evans of Southampton University, for providing me with useful information about Bart6k; to Mrs Ilona Bellos, for help with some Hungarian words used in the original; to Andrea Reiter of Southampton University, for resolving some of the am­ biguities of the German text; and to Alison Hamlin, fo r having typed the manuscript so efficiently at short notice. Rodney Livingstone Southampton Istvan Eorsi The Right to the Last Word After Georg Lukacs was given his party card back in 1967 after ten years in the wilderness, he had the feeling that this new turn of events in his life made it desirable fo r him to make a statement. After all, he had been Minister of Culture at the time of the popular uprising in 1956 and he had not publicly dissociated himself subsequently from the Communists who had been ab­ ducted to Romania along with him. Despite official promises of good treat­ ment, some of those men had not managed to survive their period of intern­ ment-to put it tactfully. Lukacs himself was permitted to return to Budapest in 1957, but fo und himself type-cast fo r the role of 'chief ideological risk'. His writings could not be published in Hungary and everything was done to en­ sure that they would not appear abroad. This was how matters remained until preparations began fo r a reform of the Hungarian economy. In a new climate of destalinization it evidently became impossible to continue treating Georg Lukacs as the carrier of a contagious ideological disease. In addition the convic­ tion appears to have gained ground in leading party circles that it would be prudent to bring about a reconciliation before his death in order to avoid a repetition of the case of that other outstanding Hungarian Communist, Attila j6zsef, 1 who had been expelled from the party in the early thirties and with whom the reconciliation had been brought about after his death by means of all sorts of lies and falsifications. 'I don't know whether you have already heard that I have become a party member again?', Lukacs said to me with that sly sidelong glance he used to have. I nodded, whereupon he began to list the reasons for his decision to join. First, there was the economic reform, which made a rapprochement objective­ ly possible, even though he viewed the planned reforms, which the party con­ sidered extremely radical, as merely the first step on the road towards a ge­ nuine socialist transformation. And as a Marxist, he added he thought the economic infrastructure could not be modified significantly unless there were 10 accompanying reforms on the political plane. For its part, the party wished to confinethe changes to the economic sphere. Yet Lukacs thought that the pro­ posed reforms would provide some scope fo r dialogue.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • A Comparative Analysis of a Selection of Hungarian
    A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF A SELECTION OF HUNGARIAN FOLKTALES IN ENGLISH • by ANDREA KATALIN SZILAGYI B.A., The University of Alberta, 2003 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in THE FACULTY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Children's Literature) October 2007 ©Andrea Katalin Szilagyi, 2007 Abstract A significant body of Hungarian folktales in English exists, but these tales are difficult to locate, out of print, and/or excluded from international folktale anthologies. Critics have attributed this lack of prominence to linguistic isolation or to issues surrounding translation and economic challenges in today's publishing world. This thesis examines a selected body of Hungarian folktales in English. Specifically, it presents the findings of my extensive search for tales in translation and for scholarship on these tales; it offers a system of classifying and describing the selected tales and provides a comparative analysis of variants and types; and it offers an argument for anthologizing tales for a Canadian and/or Hungarian Canadian reading audience. Twenty tales (four variants within each tale category), chosen according to the selection criteria, comprise the body of primary material and are grouped according to tale categories - fairy tales, humorous tales, animal tales, anecdotes, and historical legends. In considering the variants of a selection of tale types and their particular references to Hungarian culture, this study illuminates the persistence of certain Hungarian folktales while highlighting their cultural distinctiveness. Ultimately, by creating awareness of this unique body of tales, my hope is for Canadian readers to be made aware of Hungary's culture and its folk literature, and for the tales to find their way into collections of multicultural folktales, to be released from their isolation, and to join other well-known international folktales on bookshelves around the world.
    [Show full text]
  • HUNGARIAN STUDIES 19. No. 1. Nemzetközi Magyar Filológiai
    ET IN HUNGÁRIA EGO: TRIANON, REVISIONISM AND THE JOURNAL MAGYAR SZEMLE (1927-1944) MATTHEW CAPLES Indiana University, Bloomington, IN USA The journal Magyar Szemle (1927-1944), founded by Prime Minister István Bethlen and edited by the historian Gyula Szekfïï, was the primary forum for the dis­ cussion of the revision of the Treaty of Trianon and the situation of the Hungarian minorities in the neighboring states. Rejecting all proposals for border revision on an ethnic basis, the journal espoused integral revisionism, or the restoration of the his­ torical Kingdom of Hungary. The periodical's own position on revision is best illus­ trated by the "New Hungária" essays of the legal scholar László Ottlik, published between 1928 and 1940, which hoped to win back the former national minorities through promises of wide-ranging autonomy within a re-established Greater Hun­ gary. Keywords: Trianon, Revisionism, Irredentism, Magyar Szemle, Hungarian minori­ ties I. Introduction Magyar Szemle (Hungarian Review, 1927-1944) was the conservative journal par excellence and one of the outstanding periodicals of interwar Hungary. In­ spired by Prime Minister István Bethlen ( 1874-1946)l and for many years edited by the prominent historian Gyula Szekfïï (1883-1955), the journal represented the most significant gathering of conservative intellectuals to be found during the pe­ riod of Admiral Miklós Horthy's regency (1920-1944). In the wide variety of the topics it covered as well as the quality of its writing, Magyar Szemle far surpassed other conservative journals of the day. In addition to essays on history, literature, art, culture, education, politics, economics and social issues, the journal focused on the pressing questions of Hungarian foreign policy.
    [Show full text]
  • Áron Tamási's Ábel Trilogy
    International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Vol. 5, No. 4(1); April 2015 The Intercultural Communicative Habits of Noncolonizable Székely Identity: Áron Tamási’s Ábel Trilogy Dr. Erzsebet Dani University of Debrecen Hungary In the European Union of the 21st century minority versus majority issues also the minority policy of certain countries, the question of national identity, various forms of intercultural communication or its impossibility are topics more and more foregrounded—at least that is the way it should be. This is what makes perennial Ábel of Áron Tamási’s 1934 novel-trilogy1 timely again. Ábel, who has become by our days the classical Székely- Hungarian2 representative of minority strategies of identity management, is probed in various majority environments of diverse cultural make-up in the course of his adventures and never fails the test. So let us take the Ábel-trilogy in hand again and see what changes Ábel’s Székely-Hungarian identity does or does not undergo in the post-Trianon world as the story takes him from the Székely Land countryside of the Hargita-mountain pinewoods (Nature) through “the country” (of Transylvania) to America and back to Székely Land. Let us examine what it is that ensures his firmness in resisting identity colonization, what his identity reflexes are, and what role of his identity backbone plays in shaping his attitudes3—in times when (as a result of the Treaty of Trianon) his Székely-Hungarian community is subjected to the assimilative pressure exerted by hegemonic Romanian majority rule. Does intercultural communication function here in open and closed multicultural space and what forms does it assume? Is the “I” identity of the individual enough or the sustaining strength of “we” identity is indispensible too (Jan Assmann’s well-known terms)? How do the forms of cultural mimicry appear in various situations of assimilation/identity colonization in Ábel’s case? In search of possible answers I will apply some insights of Homi K.
    [Show full text]
  • Budapest, 1900-1918
    The First Nyugat Generation and the Politics of Modern Literature: Budapest, 1900-1918 Maxwell Staley 2009 Central European University, History Department Budapest, Hungary Supervisor: Gábor Gyáni Second Reader: Matthias Riedl In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts CEU eTD Collection 2 Copyright in the text of this thesis rests with the Author. Copies by any process, either in full or part, may be made only in accordance with the instructions given by the Author and lodged in the Central European Library. Details may be obtained from the librarian. This page must form a part of any such copies made. Further copies made in accordance with such instructions may not be made without the written permission of the Author. CEU eTD Collection 3 Abstract This thesis investigates the connections between arts and politics in fin-de-siècle Hungary, as expressed in the writings of the First Nyugat Generation. Various elements of the cultural debate in which the Nyugat writers participated can illustrate the complexities of this relationship. These are the debate over the aesthetics of national literature, the urban-versus-rural discourse, and the definition of the national community. Through close reading of the Nyugat group’s writings on these topics, two themes are explored, relating to the ambivalence with which the Nyugat writers implemented their project of westernizing Hungarian culture. The first is the dominant presence of the nationalist discourse within an ostensibly cosmopolitan endeavor. This fits in with a general artistic trend of Hungarian modernism, and can be explained with reference to the ambiguous position of Hungary within Europe and the subsequent complexities present in the national discourse.
    [Show full text]
  • Hungarian Studies ^Vieiv Vol
    HSK Hungarian Studies ^vieiv Vol. XXVI, Nos. 1-2 (Spring-Fall, 1999) Special Volume: Women and Hungary: Reclaiming Images and Histories Edited by Marlene Kadar and Agatha Schwartz Essays in Politics, History, Literary and Art History, and Biography HUNGARIAN STUDIES REVIEW HUNGARIAN STUDIES NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CANADA SZECHENYI LIBRARY VOL. 26, NOS. 1-2 (SPRING-FALL 1999) EDITORS GEORGE BISZTRAY N.F. DREISZIGER University of Toronto Royal Military College of Canada GUEST EDITORS FOR 1999 MARLENE KADAR AGATHA SCHWARTZ York University University of Ottawa EDITORIAL ADVISERS OLIVER BOTAR GEZA JESZENSZKY University of Manitoba Budapest and Washington ILONA KOVACS MARIA KRISZTINKOVICH National Szechenyi Library Vancouver, B.C. BARNABAS A. RACZ THOMAS SAKMYSTER Eastern Michigan U. University of Cincinnati THOMAS SPIRA S.B. VARDY U.P.E.I. Duquesne University JOZSEF VEKERDI Budapest SUBSCRIPTIONS MANAGER EVA TOMORY Toronto Correspondence should be addressed to: The Editors, Hungarian Studies Review, University of Toronto, 21 Sussex Ave., Toronto, Ont., Canada M5S 1A1 E-mail: [email protected] Articles appearing in the HSR are indexed in: HISTORICAL ABSTRACTS and, AMERICA: HISTORY AND LIFE. Copyright © (1999) the Hungarian Studies Review. ISSN 0713-8083 (replacing 0317-204X) The Hungarian Studies Review is an interdisciplinary journal devoted to the publication of articles and book reviews relating to Hungary and Hungarians. Since its launching in 1974, the Review has been a forum for the scholarly discussion of issues in Hungarian history, politics and cultural affairs. Subscriptions are $12.00 per annum. Membership in the Hungarian Studies Association of Canada includes a subscription to the journal. For further informa- tion, visit our web-page: http://www.ccsp.sfu.ca/calj.hsr Statements and opinions expressed in the HSR are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the journal's editors.
    [Show full text]
  • Articles by Book Reviews By
    Hungarian Studies Review, Vol. XLIV, Nos. 1-2 (Spring-Fall, 2017) Articles by Zoltán Fejős Ágens Széchenyi Vilmos Erős Andras Becker Anna Menyhért Book reviews by Howard Lupovitch Steven Jobbitt Katalin Fábián Andras Becker Peter Czipott Nándor Dreisziger William Weisberger Hungarian Studies Review, Vol. XLIV, Nos. 1-2 (Spring-Fall, 2017) CONTENTS Articles: Hungarian Folk Art Exhibitions in the USA in 1914 ZOLTÁN FEJŐS …………………………………………. 5 A Hungarian Author in the World of Cinema: Lajos (Ludwig) Biró (1890-1948) ÁGNES SZÉCHENYI ………………………………….... 37 Ethnohistory in Hungary between the two world wars: Elemér Mályusz and István Szabó VILMOS ERŐS ..…………………………………………. 53 British Strategy in Hungary in 1944 and the Hungarian Jewish Commandos of the Special Operations Executive ANDRÁS BECKER …………………………………… 81 The Acknowledgement of Helplessness: the Helplessness of Acknowledgement, Imre Kertész: Fatelessness ANNA MENYHÉRT ……………………………..…….. 105 Book reviews: Mary Gluck, The Invisible Jewish Budapest: Metropolitan Culture at the Fin de Siècle. Reviewed by Howard Lupovitch ….. 135 Robert Nemes, Another Hungary: The Nineteenth-Century Provinces in Eight Lives. Reviewed by Steven Jobbitt…… 138 Agatha Schwartz and Helga Thorson, eds. Shaking the Empire, Shaking Patriarchy: The Growth of a Feminist Consci- ousness across the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. Reviewed by Katalin Fábián ……. 143 Steven Renner. Broken Wings. The Hungarian Air Force, 1918-45. Reviewed by Andras Becker ……. 147 Mihály Vörösmarty, Csongor and Tünde; bilingual edition with Eng- lish translation by Peter Zollman. Reviewed by Peter V. Czipott .…. 150 Imre Faragó, Ber Bere Berény avagy helynévadás a Kárpát-térségben. Reviewed by Nándor Dreisziger …… 153 Csaba K. Zoltani, ed. Transylvania Today: Diversity at Risk. Reviewed by R. William Weisberger …… 156 Books received .…...…………………………………………… 161 Our contributors ...……………………………………………… 163 Hungarian Studies Review, Vol.
    [Show full text]
  • October 30, 1956 Working Notes from the Session of the CPSU CC Presidium on 30 October 1956
    Digital Archive digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org International History Declassified October 30, 1956 Working Notes from the Session of the CPSU CC Presidium on 30 October 1956 Citation: “Working Notes from the Session of the CPSU CC Presidium on 30 October 1956,” October 30, 1956, History and Public Policy Program Digital Archive, TsKhSD, F. 3, Op. 12, D. 1006, Ll. 6-14, compiled by V. N. Malin. Published in CWIHP Bulletin 8-9, pp. 392-393. http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/document/113647 Summary: The Presidium decides to promulgate a declaration on Hungary in which Soviet withdrawal and relations with the new government will be addressed. Members discuss the language of the new declaration and the advice of the CPC CC regarding the status of Soviet troops. The declaration is also intended to address the broader crisis in Soviet relations with people’s democracies. Original Language: Russian Contents: English Translation Working Notes from the Session of the CPSU CC Presidium on 30 October 1956(1) (Re: Point 1 of Protocol No. 49)(2) Those Taking Part: Bulganin, Voroshilov, Molotov, Kaganovich, Saburov, Brezhnev, Zhukov, Shepilov, Shvernik, Furtseva, Pospelov On the Situation in Hungary Information from Cdes. Mikoyan and Serov is read aloud.(3) Cde. Zhukov provides information about the concentration of mil.-transport aircraft in the Vienna region.(4) Nagy is playing a double game (in Malinin's opinion). Cde. Konev is to be sent to Budapest.(5) On Discussions with the Chinese comrades. (6) (Khrushchev) We should adopt a declaration today on the withdrawal of troops from the countries of people's democracy (and consider these matters at a session of the Warsaw Pact), taking account of the views of the countries in which our troops are based.
    [Show full text]
  • GUILTY NATION Or UNWILLING ALLY?
    GUILTY NATION or UNWILLING ALLY? A short history of Hungary and the Danubian basin 1918-1939 By Joseph Varga Originally published in German as: Schuldige Nation oder VasalI wider Willen? Beitrage zur Zeitgeschichte Ungarns und des Donauraumes Teil 1918-1939 Published in Hungarian: Budapest, 1991 ISBN: 963 400 482 2 Veszprémi Nyomda Kft., Veszprém Translated into English and edited by: PETER CSERMELY © JOSEPH VARGA Prologue History is, first and foremost, a retelling of the past. It recounts events of former times, relates information about those events so that we may recognize the relationships between them. According to Aristoteles (Poetica, ch. IX), the historian differs from the poet only in that the former writes about events that have happened, while the latter of events that may yet happen. Modern history is mostly concerned with events of a political nature or those between countries, and on occasion with economic, social and cultural development. History must present the events in such a manner as to permit the still-living subjects to recognize them through their own memories, and permit the man of today to form an adequate picture of the events being recounted and their connections. Those persons who were mere objects in the events, or infrequently active participants, are barely able to depict objectively the events in which they participated. But is not the depiction of recent history subjective? Everyone recounts the events from their own perspective. A personal point of view does not, theoretically, exclude objectivity – only makes it relative. The measure of validity is the reliability of the narrator. The situation is entirely different with historical narratives that are written with a conscious intent to prove a point, or espouse certain interests.
    [Show full text]
  • On the Verge of History Rupture and Continuity in Women's Life
    On the Verge of History Rupture and Continuity in Women’s Life Narratives from Hungary, Romania and Serbia Op de Rand van de Geschiedenis Breuken en Continuïteit in de Levensverhalen van Vrouwen uit Hongarije, Roemenië en Servië (met een samenvatting in het Nederlands) Proefschrift ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor aan de Universiteit Utrecht op gezag van de rector magnificus, prof. dr. G. J. van der Zwaan, ingevolge het besluit van het college voor promoties in het openbaar te verdedigen op 11 januari 2013 des middags te 12.45 uur door Izabella Agárdi geboren op 15 augustus 1978 te Szeged, Hongarije Promotor: Prof. dr. M. L. Waaldijk Co-promotor: Dr. Habil. A. Pető Financial support for this project was partly provided by the European Union, Marie Curie Fellowship (EU Sixth Framework Programme). 2 On the Verge of History Rupture and Continuity in Women’s Life Narratives from Hungary, Romania and Serbia Contents Acknowledgements 6 Introduction 8 The Birth of the Topic 8 Structure 13 Chapter 1 - Writing History with Oral Life Narraives 16 1.1. Theoretical Premises of Oral History 17 1.2. Sampling, Data Collection and Position 23 1.3. Transcription: From Talk to Written Text to Narrative Segments 27 1.4. Analytical Practice 29 Chapter 2 - Life Stories and Historical Research 40 2.1. Hungarian History 42 2.2. Social and Agrarian History 50 2.3. Transition Studies 60 2.4. Gender History 67 2.5. Memory Studies 73 2.6. Oral History 82 Chapter 3 - Memories of Childhood and the Interwar Period 88 Introduction 88 3.1.
    [Show full text]
  • Budapest and Its Heroines in Fin-De-Siècle Hungarian Literature
    Hungarian Studies Review, Vol. XXXIX, Nos. 1-2 (2012) Budapest and Its Heroines in Fin-de-Siècle Hungarian Literature Agatha Schwartz The end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, generally referred to as the fin de siècle, brought about dramatic shifts in the development of many a European city. Budapest experienced a rapid modernization as it was redefining itself as the capital of a nation that had finally acquired self- government after centuries of Habsburg domination. With the 1867 Compro- mise, Hungary received its long-coveted autonomy, and shared only foreign affairs, defence, and common customs and revenue policies with the Austrian half of the Habsburg state (Dreisziger 27). Budapest1 became the fastest growing city of the Dual Monarchy. Between 1870 and 1910, its population tripled in size, from 270,685 to 863, 735 (Sármány-Parsons 85), a rate of growth nine times faster than that of the country as a whole. Hungary needed to validate a capital different from Habsburg Vienna. Thus Budapest quickly developed into one of the most modern cities of Europe and into Hungary’s true economic and cultural centre. Its public transportation system was ahead of many other European cities: Budapest had an electrical tramway as early as 1889 and, in 1896, Swiss engineers built the first underground railway in continental Europe (Johnston 344). New boulevards crossed the centre of the city and many new buildings were erected, including the Parliament building, which was finished in 1902 and became the largest Parliament building in the world at the time (Lukacs 49).
    [Show full text]
  • Cultural Institutions and Scenes in Miskolc, 1830–1930
    STUDIA HISTORYCZNE549 R. LVI 2013, Z. 4 (224) PL ISSN 0025-1429 Éva Gyulai CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS AND SCENES IN MISKOLC, 1830–1930 Abstract In the Reform Age, the market town of Miskolc gained a distinguished cultural status in Hungary: it boasted a printing press, a permanent theatre, casinos, an 8-grade school, a famous seminar for young ladies, bookshops, a scholars’ private society and a liberal intellectual elite. During Dualism no buildings were erected for cultural purposes as culture was not top priority for the business elite. After WWI Miskolc acquired new social and cultural functions in the region, but some facilities were lacking: a Palace of Music was built, but there was still no public library. Key Words: Urbanization of Miskolc, cultural institutions, museum, casinos, cultural scenes. Słowa kluczowe: urbanizacja Miszkolca, instytucje kultury, muzea, kasyna, sceny teatralne. The century between 1830 and 1930 can be regarded as the age of modernisation for both Hungary and Miskolc. The investigation of such long historical periods brings us nearer to a successful comparative analysis of Central European cities and their level of urbanisation. It seems expedient to divide this century-long period into three parts in accordance with the events of both the national history of Hungary and the urban history of Miskolc. The first part, the period lasting from the 1830s to the 1860s, is called the Reform Age or the post-revolutionary period (following the Revolution of 1848) in Hungarian historiography. This period includes the final decades of the pre-modern social order as well as the first period of capitalism and embour- geoisement.
    [Show full text]
  • Full Text In
    ACTA UNIVERSITATIS SAPIENTIAE, PHILOLOGICA, 8, 3 (2016) 177–179 DOI: 10.1515/ausp-2016-0040 Variants of Identity – Identity in Change Erzsébet Dani: Identitásgyarmatosítás Erdélyben. Identitásdrámák és interkulturális stratégiák a Trianon utáni székelymagyar irodalomban [Colonization of Identity in Transylvania. Dramas of Identity and Intercultural Communication in Székely- Hungarian Literature after Trianon] Pro-Print Publishing House, Miercurea-Ciuc, 2016 Review by: Katalin LAJOS Sapientia University Faculty of Economics, Socio-Human Sciences and Engineering, Miercurea-Ciuc, Department of Human Sciences [email protected] Erzsébet Dani’s volume represents an interesting approach to twelve novels written by eight Hungarian writers between the two world wars . It is interesting from more points of view . First of all, the chosen novels have some common particularities: most of them are written by “Székely”-Hungarians who were born in the eastern part of Transylvania, a region which was detached from Hungary and attached to Romania according to the terms of the Treaty of Trianon following World War I, in 1920 . The second similarity is the main topic of the chosen novels: how the characters can (or cannot) manage their identity in a new socio-political context, when a new state authority tries by all means to “integrate” them into a new national identity . Secondly, it is an interesting study due to the interdisciplinary approach to the subject: it fructifies the terminology and the conclusions of a wide range of social sciences in the interpretation of the types of identities and the strategies of the characters to manage their identity . It uses the theoretical background of the assimilation theories, the theory of colonialism-postcolonialism, various theories of identity, the theories related to the study of cultural memory, communication, and intercultural communication .
    [Show full text]