A Brave Nation (dedikált példány) [antikvár]

PREFACEWe seem to live in an age of proliferation of information on the hand, and fading histoncal memory on the other. While it has become a truism of an "information explosion" (or perhaps even a giut of information), made possible by contemporary technology, surveys in a number of different countries suggest that more and more people are growing up with only a shallow sense of the past, with slight knowledge of their own country's history, and almost none of others'.Cynics might suggest that this is a good thing, pointing to ethnic violence, for example, tn the former Yugoslavia, as a product of excessive attachment to the memory of historical grievances. The appropriate rejoinder to this view is that such strife is not the result of historical memoriesper se, but of their callous and cynical manipulation by politicians whose claim to legitimacy and popular support might otherwise have been tenuous. A deeper knowledge of historical events in all their complexity might help to safeguard against such misuse of the past.It is safe to say that Hungárián history is lerra incognita for most non-Hungarians. This is a pity, as Hungarians have contributed more than their fair share to modem European culture and thought. It is alsó unfortunate, as a knowledge of Hungárián history can significantly enhance our appreciation of the rich complexities and tragic complications of the history of the past century. To take one example: people in English-speaking countries are accustomed to viewing the First World War as a morally justified struggle of Western Allies against an undemocratic Germán Empire which flouted intemational law, firstly, in invading Belgium, secondly, in pursuit of unrestricted submarine warfare. If the focus shifts to Central and Eastern Europe, these morál certainties can no longer be relied on for orientation. The then govern-ment of Romania, for example, did enter the war against Austria-Hungary for the sake of such high principles, but for motives rather less laudable. The extent to which the subsequent Treaty of Trianon, the counterpart of the Treaty of Versailles affecting Hungary, helped pave the way for fature catastrophes is made clear in Anna Ambrosy's work. This book will help non-Hungarians appreciate why the peace settlement of 1920 was such a thom in the side of Hungárián national consciousness. It is alsó a sincere tribute to the memory of those who feli in the Hungárián uprising of 1956.I do not think Anna Ambrosy would be offended if I were to describe this book as clearly the work of a Hungárián patriot. Nonetheless, in compiling the work, she has drawn an, and quoted generously from, a rangé of sources, many of them now difficult to obtain. It is to be hoped that somé readers, both within the Hungárián community and beyond, will thus be encouraged, and enabled, to pursue farther researches. It might alsó be hoped that readers will gain from this work a sharpened sense of the dilemmas which have faced Hungarians during the past violent century.Dr. Andrew Bonnell Department of History University of QueenslandFOREWORDThroughout my career I have had cause to search for source material conceming Hungárián history. It struck me as odd that I found almost none in Australian libraries that are otherwise fali of historic data of other immigrant nations. What is even more peculiar is that 99% of the meagre material I located in Hungárián community libraries is written in Hungárián.Since the late 1970s, Hungárián immigration to Australia has progressively diminished and in the 1990s it slowed to a trickle. Consequently the number of first generation immigrants who are fluent in Hungárián is decreasing. Many of the second generation speak colloquial Hungárián, but their command of the language is insufficient for serious read-ing and most of the third generation have assimilated to the degree that they don't speak or read Hungárián at all. Yet many of these latter two generations are not indifferent to their roots, to their ethnic and cultural ancestry; indeed I found a positive revival of ethnic consciousness among young Hungaro-Australians. Alsó, if I consider the Australian intellec-tuals, scholars, historians, authors interested in and dealing with the people and history of Central Europe, I must find the lack of Hungárián source material written in the English language saddening.This is why I find that this work of Anna Ambrosy's fills a longstanding need. According to an old Germán adagé an ideál home must be clean enough to be hygienic and dirty enough to be comfortable. In a sense "A Brave Nation" fits this profilé. It is scientific enough to satisfy the searching scholar, but not too dry to discourage the simply curious reader. It gives a brief background of the 1000-year history of the Hungarians in the Carpathian Basin without dwelling on it too much, just enough to put the events of the 20th century into historic context. The main emphasis is on the two world wars, the Soviet occupation of Hungary and the 1956 freedom fight that shook the world.Finally, I feel that a special mention should be made of the painstaking research Ambrosy employed in compiling her material. At the end of the book she lists not less than 124 source references and with this alone she opens the door for even the most meticulous scholar wishing to investigate this period in farther detail.Alexander S. METZ