The Stock of National Knowledge
The stock of knowledge about the nation is presented as a collective system of interpretation and motivation whose constituents are readily available to all members of the national community. The primal constituent in the stock is the name by which the national group is distinguished from external, alien groups outside the national frame. The name of a nation ties in wiht a realm of other phenomena to do with its existence. The deepest layer of significance is formed by the symbols of the nation, whose mythical, tribal quality summons us specific archetypal patterns from a dim collective past, and sustains, at least on a psychological level, the now obsolete functions of primordial groups. The faith component of the stock projects an image of probability reinforced by the psychological need for inner balance, stability and adjustment-inner predictability-rather than by emprical evidence. The stock of knowledge that contributes to the people's awareness of their affiliation to the nation sheds a special light on their view of the world through a process of thematic interpretation. This information on the reality which has undergone thematic treatment the becomes cognitively acceptable through typification, the creation of schematic programs for handling information that allow swift and smooth orientation within the sign-language associated with the quality of being national. The selective mechanism for comparing and assessing the relevance of components in the stock of knowledge functions parallel with the mechanisms that allow existence to be determined. By accepting particular values, people become aware of the relevant factors that enable them to decide what deserves, whar should be aimed at, what should be furthered, and what should be exchewed.
Állam, nemzet- és a sziget
The Corsicans Are Different!
After providing a brief background of the island and the history of its inhabitants, the author analyzes the process of cultural and economic division that has been taking place since French occupation of the island in 1769. Forced French-language education and administration has led to the formation of associations and movements to protect the particular characteristics of Corsican identity as early as the 19th century. Two-thirds of the Corsicans who fought in World War I perished, and many of the survivors became fierce nationalists. For example, Petru Rocca also decided to serve Corsican nationalism during the course of the War. Next, the author reviews the yearbooks and periodicals (A Cispra, A Muvra, L'Annu Corsu) written in the spirit of Corsican nationalism. She also provides a brief history of Corsican drama and regionalist/autonomist movements and organizations. Finally, the author provides two explanations for why the propaganda encouraging unification with Italy was not successful in Corsica either before or during World War II.
Is There a Corsican Nation? Jacobin Democracy and Minorities
The author analyzes the principles underlying 1) the 1990-91 debate in the French Parliament concerning the „Corsican nation" and 2) the law amending the constitutional court decision of May 9, 1991 supported by the parliament. From the beginning, the largest debate has centered around the determination whereby „the Corsican nation, forming a living historical and cultural community, is a constituent part of the French nation". Those who oppose the above determination primarily reffered to the constitutional, historical and political principles of a homogeneous France. The arguments that support and amend the draft law introduced by the socialist government emphasized the need to continue the decentralization process begun in 1982 and to strengthen the island's autonomy status. With reference to the Constitution of 1958, the French constitutional court refused to recognize the Corsican nation and amended the article of Corsican law that addresses Corsican language education. As a result, students are no longer required to learn Corsican. Finally, the author summarizes the lesons to be drawn from the Corsican autonomy law, applying the far-reaching consequences to East-Central Europe.
Fejezetek az asszimiláció történetéből
Settlements and Colonies in Komárno and Its surroundings
This paper is a survey of the Czech and Slovak colonization of Southern Slovakia, specifically the city of Komárno and its surrounding territories, between the years of 1919 and 1950. Although the study focuses on a particular city and region, it also touches upon the universal rules of colonization. Land reform policies were initiated by the governments of the successor states of the Austro-Hungarian Empire — Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and Romania — in an attempt to solve the agricultural problems left unmanaged by the former Empire. However, these land reforms were also means to weaken the demographic strength of the ethnic Hungarian minorities living in those successor states. A deliberate colonial expansion was begun with the establishment of Czech, Slovak, Romain and Serb settlements, thereby diluting and decreasing the ethnic Hungarian populations by several millions.
CASBI: The Function of the Treasury for the Administration and Supervision of Hostile Property in Romania 1945-1948
The Treasury for the Administration and Supervision of Hostile Property was established in the spring of 1945 on the basis of the Soviet-Romanian Treaty of Armistice signed on September 12, 1944. The Treasury dealt primarily with the management of German and Hungarian citizens' property in Romania: the central administration in Bucharest and the county divisions took and inventory of these properties. Introduction of the category of „endangered enemy", in effect, provided ample possibility for the abuse of 30 000 Hungarian Romanians, for it allowed the Treasury to supervise any property in Northern Transylvania, an area that belonged to Hungary during the war years. The author provides a detailed account of the Hungarian Association in Romania met with little success. The Groza government did attempt to settle the CASBI question; however, the provisions did not include the property confiscated — without compensation — during the 1948-4949 Romanian nationalization campaign. In the appendix, the author provides a partial list of Hungarian state and private properties.
The Southern-Campaign: Relocation of Hungarians to Bohemia in 1949
Drawing on documents that have just recently been made public, the author outlines the Czechoslovakian situation in 1948 after the Communist takeover and its preceding events between 1945 and 1948 in the context of the last large-scale Czechoslovak campaign directed against the ethnic Hungarian minority in Slovakia. One of the major conflicts erupted following the mass return of ethnic Hungarian who had been forcefully carried off to Bohemia between 1945 and 1947. This conflict, in the form of property rights debates, arose because Slovak „commissaries" took possession of the houses and land of those Hungarians who had been carried off. In the beginning, the Southern-campaign aimed to settle these property-rights debates. But gradually, by autumn 1949, the emphasis was placed on the supplementary campaign-plan be relocated to Bohemia. The author provides a detailed analysis of the compilation of the lists of those to be relocated and the criteria involved in the selection of those individuals. The result of the selection, which also considered class and nationality factors, was that in September 1949, the organizers of the campaign chose to relocate 1 000 (instead of the originally planned 3 000) families. Although Slovak communist headquarters put a stop to relocation after the first transport, they continued to engage in eradication of „class enemies" in Hungarian populated Southern-Slovakia.
The Identity of Slovaks in Hungary
Based on surveys conducted in 8 towns with a majority Slovak population, the authors analyze marcro and micro sociological factors that influence the life of the Slovak national minority group. In a study of the status, demographic characteristics and institutional support system of the minority group, significant differences were detected between Slovak minority and Hungarian majority groups in the areas of education and occupation. The authors provide a detailed analysis of one kind of institutional support in particular: religion. By looking at the institution of religion, the authors seek to determine the correlation between religious affiliation and linguistic socialization. In the Slovak groups that were part of the study — the data being based both on self-identification and native language — the majority of the people, 64%, can be considered to have a Hungarian identity, 10% a dual identity, and 26% a Slovak identity. These figures reflect advanced stages of assimilation. Strong assimilation tendencies were also discovered through analysis of the role of language use and cultural attitudes in the formation of ethnic identity. However, the above analysis also revealed that despite self-identification, a majority of the Slovak population is characterized by dual national ties to both the Slovak and the Hungarian nation.
The Public Use of Minority Languaes in Hungary
The particular characteristics of language and language use are among the most significant causes underlying the assimilation of national minorities in Hungary. This study analyzes the public use of minority languages — outside the family — on the local and national levels. In the absence of local survey data, the author analyzes the statistics of minority cultural organizations, the language use survey data of Pest county, and the data base of minority settlements. On these grounds, the author concludes that in minority communities, minority languages are used close to 50% of the time in vocal administration and minimally in written administration. There is a serious lack of linguistic assimilation is the dual-glossary use of the native language and the majority Hungarian language. In other words, the native language is used in some areas of everyday life, whereas forming a dichotomy in an individual's glossary. On the national communities that could increase the autonomous minority communities' chance for integration in the assimilation-integration dilemma.
Magyar és német kisebbségek
Spatial Aspects of the Socioeconomic Transformation of German Hungarians in the 20th Century
The author analyzes the regional characteristics of the German minority in Hungary between 1920 and 1980 (1990) by looking at 64 German settlements classified according to the following three categories: 1) border setting (in Western Hungary), 2) compact setting (in Baranya, Tolna and Veszprém Counties), and 3) enclave setting (in Somogy, Tolna and Veszprém Counties). In his analysis of the number of German Hungarians, the author shows that between 1920 and 1980, with the exception of the compact German settlements in Baranya County, the decrease in the population of native German speakers was over 95%. Based on the data of supplementary nationality statistics gathered in 1920, the author concludes that in 1920, the German nationality group had a greater chance of survival in those townships whose ethnic German population exceeded 80% than in multi-ethnic or minority German townships. Only small changes can be detected in the German minority's occupational structure between the two World Wars. In the decades after World War II, there has been an increase in the proportion of ethnic Germans in industry, expecially in concentrated German settlements.
National Politics of the Soviet Union and the Hungarian Minority of Sub-Carpathia
The author evaluates the nationality politics of the former Soviet Union as a practice of Sovietization. The politics based on an intertwining of privileged nations and privileged party membership subjected national populations to „dual internationalization": an existence at the mercy of both Soviet centralization measures and local „national" ambitions. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the national politics of the Ukrainian Republic poses the greatest challenge for the Hungarian national minority of Sub-Carpathia. The author considers the establishment of the Cultural Association of Sub-Carpathian Hungarians — an organization created on February 26, 1989 in order to protect the interests of ethnic Hungarians in that region — to be an important step in securing the rights of the Hungarian minority. In addition to promoting the minority's struggle to attain recognition of certain cultural interests, the Association is also involved in the establishment of Hungarian autonomy in that region. In conclusion, the author analyzes the preconditions and prospects for the realization of Hungarian autonomy in Sub-Carpathia.
Rendezni végre
Dialogue on the Common Fate of Hungarians and Slovaks
Basing his introductory discussion on the results of public opinion polls administered in Slovakia, the Slovak historian indicates the persistence of anti-Hungarian prejudice among Slovaks. In his paper, he points to the historical roots of this prejudice. The basis of the misunderstandings continne to be a faulty interpretation of historically multi-national Hungary's fight for national emancipation and Hungarian-Slovak tensions and conflicts in the first half of the 20th century. Despite Hungarian and Czech attempts at attain supremacy, by the end of the 20th century the Slovak nation has attained complete equality. The author voices his fear that the unsettled historical questions will reemerge in present-day Czech-Slovak debates, creating difficulties for the constructive management of national minorities issues. In his reply, Emil Niederhauser considers the common Hungarian-Slovak historical problems in sequence, agreeing with Alner's critical views regarding the period between 1848 and 1918. He suggests that a more precise evaluation be given to the Trianon peace, which Hungarians to this day consider unjust because it ceded compact Hungarian areas. Regarding the management of the question of national minorities, he does not consider Hungarian-Slovak reciprocity to be a feasible route. Regarding the settlement of historical questions, it is most important to keep in mind the rue historical facts regarding state and national development.
Szemle