I regret to report that Professor George Frederick Cushing passed
away in London on 12 April 1996. (Reported on the obituaries page
of The Independent, Monday 29 April 1996, with a write up by Laszlo
Peter.)

Born 1923, Prof. Cushing was a great scholar and a great friend of
Hungary. He read Classics at Cambridge and joined SOE during the war.
After the war he developed great mastery of the Magyar language and
profound knowledge of Hungarian culture. He served on a large number
of public and social bodies in Hungary and Britain and that is where
I met him as president of the British Hungarian Society in London in
the early 1990s.

In conversation with Prof. Cushing he related how he learnt Hungarian
and Romanian in SOE with the object of being parachuted into Hungary/
Romania in 1943 to help turn those countries against the Nazis. This
mission was envisaged before the Kursk campaign of Summer 1943 and
was mighty fanciful at the time, as he acknowledged, with a smile,
but then truth can often be stranger than fiction! I'm not sure whether
this matter is still an *official secret* so will just lament the fact
that we have lost a most extraordinary person. Other academics (a world
not unknown for its pomposity and egotism) would be amazed at the
natural friendliness and accessibility of the man: despite cutting
a most distinguished figure he was totally without any kind of pose.

God bless and RIP.

--
 George Szaszvari, DCPS Chess Club, 42 Alleyn Park, London SE21 7AA, UK
 Planet Earth, Milky Way Galaxy * Cybernautic address: 
 Acorn..RISC OS * IBM PeeCee..PCDOS..Win-OS/2 * NW London Computer Club
 ICPUG..Commodore=64 ** Interested in s/h chess books? Ask for my list!

I wrote yesterday that the paper Magyar Hirek will be also on the Web very
soon. There is a sight already: www.mhirek.hu but no actual paper yet; just
a promise that they are working on it.

I should read "the paper Magyar Hirlap will be also on the Web very soon.
The sight is http://www.mhirlap.hu

Sorry, Eva Balogh

Gabor Fencsik, quoting Bela Batkay:

>> Hooray to Eva Balogh for saying what I have felt for a long time--
>> Hungary's modern misfortunes began with the end of the Empire.  The
>> ,,kuruc" position is all very well--romantic, full of pride, and so
>> on--but all it achieved was death and destruction, plus the creation of
>> lots of music and folk legends.  Once the Hunyadi dynasty came to end,
>> our fate was inexorably tied to the Habsburgs, and when was Budapest so
>> glorious as when it was co-capital of the Empire?

        And then asks:

>Was 1848 a regrettable mistake, then?  Should the March 15 national
>holiday be abolished?

        No, March 15 should be a national holiday because it commemorates a
bloodless revolution which established a constitutional monarchy with a
responsible government, introduced a modern parliament, abolished the
distinction between nobles and commoners, gave land to the peasants without
recompensation, and so on and so forth. But going so far as insisting on the
post of minister for foreign affairs, for example, or demanding an entirely
independent defense was, in my humble opinion, provocative and unnecessary.
A less strident attitude, more willingness to compromise and not to threaten
the unity of the lands of the imperial and royal crown would have been
wiser, especially when the Magyar component of the country was inherently
weak, given the fact that the majority of the population was of non-Magyar
stock. But somehow our Hungarian leaders, including Kossuth, never seriously
considered that fact. They didn't realize that their "national aspirations"
were not unique to the Hungarian nation; the Slovaks, the Romanians, the
Ruthenians, just to mention some ethnic groups within the borders of the
Kingdom of Hungary, also developed their own brand of nationalism. And they
were offended by the Hungarian attitude. I am not at all surprised that
under the circumstances they were giving a helping hand to Vienna. It is
another matter, that the Habsburgs were not sufficiently grateful afterward.

        Eva Balogh

I was astonished that readers of this list were surprised to find
out that the "lowest of the low" (as Eva Balogh called Horn)
is Prime Minister in Hungary today. Now that readers learnt,
Gyula Horn once betrayed Freedomfighters and the whole Nation
by his siding with foreign oppressors (the Soviets, at that time),
readers probably wonder what sort of people, and what kind of
*parties* support this criminal communist?  (Hint, hint: those
who are lower than the "lowest of the low"). Since Horn's elder
brother was killed by Freedomfighters (who fought Soviet
communists and traitors in a life or death struggle of a World-
admired armed revolution) we know that the head of the leading
party of the coalition is not only a traitor, but a traumatized criminal
with a vengeance against agains decent Hungarians, who despised
the Horn Brothers for their treason.

A party (MSZP) headed by such a monster could never hang on to
power alone, although (technically) they had 54% of representatives.
Because of antidemoratic features of communist-installed "new"
system, however, their actual support amounted to only about one
third (nowhere near majority!) of those who actually voted -- and
we know that many tens of thousands of Hungarian citizens were
discriminated against and deprived of their rights to vote altogether!
Just as Soviets could not have consolidated their bloody oppression
after the 56 revolution without the services of the "lowest of the low"
 (traitors), Mr. Horn would not be Prime Minister today, if no party
 joined this gang of murderer traitors -- for their share in the loot.

Yes, there was, again, a lower than "lowest of the low" in Hungary,
a scum who did exactly that. The Party SZDSZ (liberals) shelved
their decency (if they had any) and said "never mind that he has double
reason for betraying Hungarian interests!" and  joined Horn's Party
for a coalition in what ensued (aptly labelled by the Western paper of
La Repubblica of Italy as "Kleptocracy" or "The robbery of the
Century"). Of course, again, they served together foreign oppressors,
but this time not the Eastern tanks of the Soviets, but Western banks
of IMF & WB. No loyalty to Hungarian interests whatsoever.

If you wonder what kind of man leads a party that would join
a traitor, a despised former member of murderer communist
thugs, here comes Ivan Peto -- head of SZDSZ, son of a
lieutenant general of the AVH (Hungarian "KGB"). Well, let's
not dwell on who his father was, I hear. All right, let's talk
about -- his mother. There is a dark story there, as well. In fact,
not one, but two. Ivan Peto was raised by a *stepmother*, who
was not in the AVH --but in the Police (comment omitted here).
However, it comes from eyewittness that Ivan Peto's entry to the
files of Hungarian Parliament stated as his real mother's maiden
name "Eva Kallai". For those who don't know, Eva Kallai was
the Officer of the Budapest Central Committee of Communist
Party, who in 1956 jumped out of the window (to her death,
after an agony of a several weeks) in her mortal fear of those
storming the Party HQ.

There has not been any investigation at all if Ivan Peto's
real mother had indeed been Eva Kallai, as it was entered to
the files, or not, as he told a confused story later.

Why is this relevant at all, and why would he (be advised)
to deny his parents' identity? (Remark: Ivan Peto denied even
his father's AVH membership, in court, hoping that all files
had been destroyed, but written document was found to
prove in court his father's membership and rank). Mrs. Keri
(his accuser) lost the lawsuit only because she claimed that
*both* of Peto's parents were AVH officers, and stepmother
was technically *not* in AVH -- but in the Police. (Eva Kallai
was -technically- in neither; as she was a high ranking officer
of the Central Committe of the Communist Party, the boss of
*both* AVH and Police).

Hungarians know that head of one party of the coalition
has vengeance against the decent part of the population since
his brother was killed as a communist traitor. They are entitled
to know from a proper investigation if the head of the other party
in the coalition has also a vengeance against the decent part
of the population; since his mother jumped to her death for fear
of the anticommunist majority of Hungarians. If only half the
story is lower than "the lowest of the low" -- what makes the
two combined???

Do you think there cannot be "lower than the lowest of the
low"?

Well... try "lower than the lower than the lowest of the low":

Try a SUPPORTER of such Coalition of Filth, and/or supporter of
the Party which enabled Horn to deliver on his vengeance.
Look at someone, who works so hard on generating credence and
fabricating ideology for them *from the West*, why they should
give up their souverenity to make their being raped more convenient
for the foreign perpetrators. Why should they sell their factories for $1!
Why their university and health service system should be driven into
the ground, a la Burundi. All this disseminated by the Internet as the
elegant message of Yale. Representing Western "Hungarians" though
she has no loyalty to Hungary or Hungarians whatsoever.

Try someone who supports those who betrayed the Nation, and
in the process herself betrays, by denial, (in her outrageous lie!) those
very Freedomfighters she all in her life was yearning to be identified
with!  Try someone who allows herself to be defended by an
"arbiter" of the question if we call 1956 "Szabadsagharc" in Hungarian,
though the idiot has never set foot in Hungary, nor does he speak
Hungarian.

The English language is a bit clumsy at times. We saw in earlier examples,
nothing beats the original Hungarian expression ("semmi sem ragadt
rajuk"). How could someone translate adequately to the incomparable
Hungarian language, with a marvalleous sense of comprehension:

Who is who betrays her own  -  for alien interests ?
"Lower than the lower than the lowest of the low"?

Shorter and better:
"Szar ember".

The name of Ivan Peto's is Laszlo Peto and his mother's maiden name was
Katalin Lantos and he was born in August 1946. (Ki kicsoda, 1996) Eva
Kallai's husband name was Miklos Szanto whom she married in 1946. And yes,
she jumped out of the window of the Headquarters of the Communist Party
during the revolution and died of her injuries in April 1957. (Source:
Magyar eletrajzi lexikon, 1967) Therefore, unless she was married to two
different men at the same time, it is unlikely that Eva Kallai gave birth to
Ivan Peto by Laszlo Peto while she was married to another man, Miklos Szanto.

        Eva Balogh

Dear list members,

Reacting to Eva Balogh's hint (although addressed to a different Gabor) I
have translated the much talked about TGM article into English. I also had
it reviewed for correctness by Eva Balogh. However, the material is
copyrighted by the Magyar Narancs magazine and so far I was not able to
obtain their permission for publication in the Hungary list. If anyone is
interested, please write to me and I will lend you my translation for
review. If and when I will get the permission, I will send it to the list.

Gabor D. Farkas

>
> Hooray to Eva Balogh for saying what I have felt for a long time--Hungary's
> modern misfortunes began with the end of the Empire.  The ,,kuruc" position
> is all very well--romantic, full of pride, and so on--but all it achieved
> was death and destruction, plus the creation of lots of music and folk-
> legends.  Once the Hunyadi dynasty came to end, our fate was inexorably
> tied to the Habsburgs, and when was Budapest so glorious as when it was
> co-capital of the Empire?
>
> Eljen a habsburgi birodalom!
>
> Udv.,
> Be'la

I've heard that this dual monarchy relied on repression of all
the other nationalities living in the area... This was revenged
by chopping Austria/Hungary to size somewhat... causing most of the troubles
we have now. Just like the demise of the brits was so arranged,
that the "divide and rule" principle was left behind for Pakistan/
India, Cyprus, Ireland, Israel etc, etc.
Wishing back such a system seems to be wierd.  Now if you're thinking
about a federation of democratic countries (not on the multinational
interest-lines as in the EU) - than thats different.
Eva Durant

In Igal (small town in Somogy) there is a legend of two
brit parashuters landing on what was in the 80s a grassy
football field towards the end of the war. Any information?
Eva Durant

I was surprised to see a few years ago in HUngary, that
everyone shaved bold with a boot was considered a fascist.
In England skinheads usually mean people from the anti-nazi
league, more akin to punks.   But yes, some skinheads are fascists
here, too, I think they wear more realistic military style
cloths, but lately they shrunk from the scene - no need for them
when the tories and labour take over the role of the extreme right...
Eva Durant

Szia Aniko,

My last post was directed to the 3 of you, but forgot to add Szalai and Stowe's
addresses. Sorry for the confusion.

Regards,
Janos

Haliho,


Sam Stowe wrote:

>Oh great -- Jancsi and I love a lot of the same music. I can't buy a
>break.

No shit??


>Jancsi, if you had paid attention early on in this whole debate,
>you'd have noticed that what I dislike about Szucs is that he attacked Eva
>Balogh so viciously on such ludicrous grounds. I would love to hear what
>some actual participants in the Revolution of 1956 have to say about
>Szucs. It might actually shut him up.

Hasn't quite worked, though.

>I'm glad none of us have yet accused you of homophobia. Otherwise my hard
>drive might be clogged with megabytes of confessional stuff about how much
>you love the Village People, Freddie Mercury and RuPaul.

To save you those Mb's you need. I hate disco, never was into Queen, and
RuPaul.....No.


>P.S. -- I never thought you were racist. But I do think either your
>reading and analytical skills aren't up to snuff

Well being at work, I no real time to sit-n-ponder.

>or you really agree with what Szucs is spouting but are much too clever to be
seen siding with him
>publicly.

Please.

>P.S.S. -- Is it true ska is making a comeback of sorts here in the States?

In a big way. Bigger, maybe, 2Tone was in England.


Hey, do I see an olive branch???

Udv.,
Czifra Jancsi

Szia Aniko,

My last was directed to the 3 of you, but forgot to add Szalai and Stowe's
addresses. Sorry for the confusion.

Regards,
Janos

Gabor Farkas kindly translated a rather difficult text which speaks
to the issue of the current debate on the freedom of speech. TGM (Tamas
Gaspar Miklos--in the Hungarian order of things) is an interesting man.
Originally from Transylvania, born and raised in Cluj/Kolozsvar (like Gabor
Farkas himself) he studied at the University of Cluj and at the University
of Bucharest. Was the editor of a Hungarian-language periodical in Cluj and
after 1978 he moved to Hungary. There he taught briefly in the University of
Budapest's philosophy department but because of his participation in the
Hungarian democratic opposition his contract was not renewed. He speak
several languages, visited England and the United States several times and
taught at the University of Chicago.

        Please anyone more familiar with his career and political
philosophy, please give corrections and additions.

        Eva Balogh

I hate to break news to Eva Balogh at her advanced age about
"facts of life". Still, for the sake of accuracy I must point out
that she is totally wrong that the *marriage* of a man defines
which woman gives birth to a particular child. An other seminal
event is determinant. (Oh boy! Now it is "basic biology", after
"basic math".  It is worse than I feared! )

Eva Balogh must also be unaware of "free love", "community love"
and other ultraliberal (and nonexistent decent) moral standards that
communists, especially AVH criminals, were infamous for advocating
(on top of practicing).

At her age and having lived in the United States long enough Eva Balogh
surely must know something about "out of wedlock"  children and
their confused and troubled psychic condition, laden with inferiority
complex - and worse.  Add a horrific picture of a mother calling her son
- at his tender age of ten! - to her deathbed, to see him for the last
time, before she dies of her injuries suffered when she jumped out
the window.  And think, just for a second, that she leaped out of
fear of Hungarian Freedomfighters (whom she called "fascists", of
course). If this is how it happened -- it MUST be investigated! --
enter a son to become a psychiatric case, by any standard.

To further enlighten Eva Balogh about the "ruthlessness of the rootless",
let's take some *historical* examples (there is no shortage of
"facts of life" books - I don't feel obliged to reveal basic biology
to her).  To educate a "historian", remember another communist
leader (and another butcher of Freedomfighters), Janos Kadar.
Born Janos Csermanek, whose biological mother also did not have
the benefit of being married to the biological  father, to raise an out
of wedlock child in even reasonably civilized psychological
conditions. Then remember the cruelty of how Janos Kadar, as Police
Minister, had Laszlo Rajk (fellow communist) tortured and
hanged. Isolated incident? Then remember the fact that Kadar
personally made sure that Prime Minister Imre Nagy (fellow communist)
was also hanged after Janos Kadar betrayed not only the Nation by
his siding with Soviet tank bataillons, but also his written word for
Nagy's immunity. Finally, Janos Kadar watched with his very eyes
(probably orgasmed) when Imre Nagy was murdered to his order.
And, oh yes, he had "judges" appointed to execute Freedomfighters,
judges with a personal vengeance (usually because their family members
were killed by the Freedomfighters) to make sure that they took revenge.
These were the monsters who sentenced schoolboy Peter Mansfield to death,
but since he was a minor (15)  not only at the time of his (nonexistent)
offenses but also at the time of his death sentence --  had him executed
on his 18th birthday, on 21 March, 1959. (When, three years after
the Revolution, Kadar totally consolidated, "offenses" of a fifteen
year old (!) represented zero danger to communist power. It was 100%
pathological vengeance, on top of violation of international norms)

My opinion is, that the role of historians (in the style of Solzhenitsin)
is to reveal and help verify all, or even some, of these horrendous crimes
and their perpetrators, such that the civilized World makes sure they are
at the least stripped of their *presently existing* powers. My opinion is
that a historian cannot even afford to be "neutral" -- but if she betrays
Freedomfighters by denial and actively supports their *presently existing*
powers, she is unworthy not only of being referred to as "historian",
but also as a decent person.

Dear fellow-listmembers,

I just wanted to let everybody know that after his latest posting,
the entity (real or virtual) calling itself Andras Szucs has been
removed from the list of subscribers to .

I apologize to Eva Balogh for waiting to take this action, but I
hope that at least as a result everyone who has continued to
bother reading this creature's "contributions" now recognizes just
how likely it is that he will ever figure out how to argue over things
in an atmosphere of free exchange of opinions, respect for differences,
and free speech.  I also apologize for repeating sections of that
letter below, but some members of the list may automatically delete
postings coming from "Szucs" without reading them.

I wonder if some of the postings of other contributers, which I think
personally have pushed the envelope a little in regard to ad hominem
comments, may not have contributed to "Szucs"'s inability to read the
atmosphere of the list correctly?

I wish "Szucs" joy of his martyrdom for his cause.

God preserve Hungary from such "patriots"!

Sincerely,

Hugh Agnew

> ============================================================================

>Try a SUPPORTER of such Coalition of Filth, and/or supporter of
>the Party which enabled Horn to deliver on his vengeance.
>Look at someone, who works so hard on generating credence and
>fabricating ideology for them *from the West*, why they should
>give up their souverenity to make their being raped more convenient
>for the foreign perpetrators. Why should they sell their factories for $1!
>Why their university and health service system should be driven into
>the ground, a la Burundi. All this disseminated by the Internet as the
>elegant message of Yale. Representing Western "Hungarians" though
>she has no loyalty to Hungary or Hungarians whatsoever.
>
>Try someone who supports those who betrayed the Nation, and
>in the process herself betrays, by denial, (in her outrageous lie!) those
>very Freedomfighters she all in her life was yearning to be identified
>with!  Try someone who allows herself to be defended by an
>"arbiter" of the question if we call 1956 "Szabadsagharc" in Hungarian,
>though the idiot has never set foot in Hungary, nor does he speak
>Hungarian.
>
>The English language is a bit clumsy at times. We saw in earlier examples,
>nothing beats the original Hungarian expression ("semmi sem ragadt
>rajuk"). How could someone translate adequately to the incomparable
>Hungarian language, with a marvalleous sense of comprehension:
>
>Who is who betrays her own  -  for alien interests ?
>"Lower than the lower than the lowest of the low"?
>
>Shorter and better:
>"Szar ember".

Dear List Members,

I was offered a teaching job in Budapest and now the school there tells me
that I can not get a work permit there becasue I don't have a College
degree yet ( I am still in school ). I called the Hungarian Embassy in LA
and they told me that I should have no problem getting one. I know that I
need to call the school that hired me but do any of you now anything
about work permits in Hungary?  Thanks for your help!

Carolyn E. Daley

On Mon, 29 Apr 1996, Eva S. Balogh wrote:

(snip)
> The sight is http://www.mhirlap.hu
      ^^^^^

Well, Eva, it may also be a sight, but you probably meant "site" in this
case!

> Sorry, Eva Balogh

No prooooooooooooooblem,  :)
Martha

P.S. And who said this language was easy????  Those blasted homophones!

Joe Szalai wrote at length about the "repugnant and undemocratic" charac-
ter of monarchy in general and, presumably, the Habsburgs in particular.
Maybe, but I was reminded of my last visit to the Kaisers Gruft in Vienna,
where the Habsburg sarcophagi are kept in the basement of the Augustiner
Kirche (except for Karl, who remains buried in Madeira because of some
legal issue).  The tombs of Empress Elizabeth (Sissy), Empress/Queen Zita
(Otto's mother) and, I think, Franz Joseph were almost literally covered
with wreaths and ribbons from various scouting, women's and other groups
from Hungary.  Either the people who travelled all the way from Hungary to
place them are part of some kooky fringe group, or else the memory of the
last Habsburgs is something quite other than "repugnant."  I ope for the
latter view.

Udv.,
Be'la

Eva Balogh provided an excellent introduction to the biography and career of
 TamTamas Gaspar Miklos.  I will only add that I met him a decade or so ago at
Columbia, when he was a Soros exchange researcher at the East European Insti-
tute.  His English was flawless and idiomatic, and I gather his other langu-
ages are equally good.  When I asked where/when/how he learned such fluency,
he just shrugged, smiled, and said he had taught himself from movies, TV,
and so on.  He wrote a very insightful and critical article in either HVG
or 168 ora last spring, about the lack of a civic culture in Hungary.  I
can't imagine that his views endear him to too many people there.  He is
brilliant, I think, but more than a little strange.

Udv.,
Be'la

Gabor Fencsik adds a note of perhaps necessary historical realism to the
discussion of the Habsburg Monarchy.  But the fact remains, I think, that
by the end of the 19th century the Habsburgs were the best thing on offer
for the Hungarians and others of the Empire's peoples, subject or not.
Of course, I am not suggesting that March 15 be abolished, indeed, I at-
tended last year's commemoration in Debrecen with patriotic fervor and
a piros-feher-zold "boutonniere."

Who knows what would have happened *had* Kossuth et al succeeded.  But what
we do know is that what followed the dissolution of the monarchy was an
unmitigated disaster for all concerned, not least, I might add, for the
Jews.

Re: the songs from the Rakoczy period, Muzsikas has a tape of a tanchaz that
includes a marvellously Turkish-sounding kuruc tune--very Janissary-like.
Neat!

Udv.,
Be'la

Eva Balogh has put her finger, perhaps inadvertently, on the central issue--
nationalism. Once nationalism was let out of the bottle, so to speak--and by
the Transylvanian Romanians, by the way, in the *Supplex libellus Wallachor-
um*, addressed to the emperor Joseph II--it could not be pput back in.  And
once nations were defined in *ethnic* terms, not citizenship terms, the
fateful die was cast.  Ethnic nations demanded ethnic states, or nation-
states, and the Habsburgs, Ottomans, et al, were doomed, sooner or later.
The USSR was the last to go, but go it did.  And the results?

No doubt, there is a moderate, non-ethnic nationalism that might actually
improve the human prospect, but if there is, the East Europeans have not
discovered it yet.  1848 was perhaps the last moment when they might have
opted for the rights of *citizens*, but they chose instead to grab for
rights as ethnic nations.  And individual citizens have been suffering ever
since.

Udv.,
Be'la Ba'tkay

At 05:11 PM 4/30/96 -0400, you wrote:
>On Mon, 29 Apr 1996, Eva S. Balogh wrote:
>
>(snip)
>> The sight is http://www.mhirlap.hu
>      ^^^^^
>
>Well, Eva, it may also be a sight, but you probably meant "site" in this
>case!
>
>> Sorry, Eva Balogh
>
>No prooooooooooooooblem,  :)
>Martha
>
>P.S. And who said this language was easy????  Those blasted homophones!
>
        I often make this stupid mistake! The sight by the way is not that
great: big black letters saying that they are not ready as yet. However,
Nepszabadsag is well put together and that site is functioning. Petofi Radio
seems to have been very busy in the last 10 days: over 2,000 people listened
to it. And by the way, the radio program appears daily in Nepszabadsag!!

        Eva Balogh

Bela Batkay:

>He wrote a very insightful and critical article in either HVG
>or 168 ora last spring, about the lack of a civic culture in Hungary.

        I read an interview with him in *168 ora* about two years ago, right
after he returned from the University of Chicago where he taught for a
semester. I was so intrigued by him that I immediately asked my relatives to
look around and get me anything they can find written by him. I happened to
be lucky. Just about that time he published a rather large volume of his
selected essays. Some of them were published in samizdat, but most of them
in the free Hungarian press after 1990. The title of the book was very
clever: *Masvilag* as opposed to *Mas vilag." The first word--written as one
word--means: the other world, the beyond, the hereafter. But if you write it
as two words, it simply means, "a different world," not the same as before,
clearly refering to the change of political regimes. (By the way, this
particular book is no longer available, according to the Hungarian Books in
Print.)

        I was very impressed with some of the articles and then being still
a naive soul I thought that I would share some of his insights with the
readers of the Forum. Oh, my God! What a foolish move that was. It turned
out that GMT is absolutely despised by the right; not just the extreme
right, but even by the more moderate national right. They consider him
unstable, if not worse, because they claim that during his lifetime he
expounded several different political philosophies from anarchism to
neo-conservatism. This is the kinder description. Since the publication of
the essay, "Practical Republicanism" (kindly translated by Gabor Farkas),
the extreme right calls him an outright fascist. That's why I would suggest
to read the piece either in English or in the original in Magyar Naracs #61
(either through HIX (Web site [I almost did it again!] under Archives) or
under soc.culture.magyar on Usenet). I would be especially curious what
Andras and Gabor Fencsik think of it.


>He is
>brilliant, I think, but more than a little strange.

        Perhaps Gabor Farkas knows him personally.

        Eva

Bela Batkay:

>The tombs of Empress Elizabeth (Sissy), Empress/Queen Zita
>(Otto's mother) and, I think, Franz Joseph were almost literally covered
>with wreaths and ribbons from various scouting, women's and other groups
>from Hungary.  Either the people who travelled all the way from Hungary to
>place them are part of some kooky fringe group, or else the memory of the
>last Habsburgs is something quite other than "repugnant."  I opt for the
>latter view.

        Queen Elizabeth (Sissy), victim of an anarchist while in
Switzerland, was absolutely beloved in Hungary and still is. I was
introduced to her as a child and as a teenager I read her Hungarian
lady-in-waiting's (Ida Ferenczi, I think her name was) memoirs about her.
Since she was fairly closely related to the mad Ludwig of Bavaria (friend of
Wagner), her mental state left something to be desired. Most likely she was
a manic depressive (this is just a guess on my part, but perhaps there have
been medical-historical studies on her illness. If not, one should certainly
write one. By the way, she may have been also an enorexic. At the same time,
she was absolutely gorgeous--anyone who has not seen that famous picture of
hers in that long dark dress, should go and get a book about the Austrian
imperial-royal family just to see her picture. And she adored the
Hungarians--perhaps just because her mother-in-law and her young husband
were not crazy about them. Perhaps because, as rumor has it, she had a crush
on Count Gyula Andrassy. In any case, she learned Hungarian and spent months
on end in Hungary, especially in Godollo, the Hungarian summer house of the
family. She adored horses and was an excellent horsewoman, on side saddle.

        Franz Joseph was first hated but later in life very much
appreciated. He was extremely careful about protocol. When a Hungarian
politician had an audience with him he kept switching languages depending on
the topic. If the topic was Hungarian internal affairs, he switched to
Hungarian, if common affairs, he switched to German.

        Queen Zita was not that well known in Hungary but I do remember that
about 200,000 Hungarians went to her funeral in Vienna, and that was the
time when a trip to Vienna was not an everyday affair. Why, I don't know.
Curiosity, nostalgia. Most likely both. And that reminds me of that
excellent, excellent Czechoslovak film "Main Street," which takes place in
Slovakia and it is about a Hungarian-Jewish lady and a Slovak man who gets
the old lady's shop on Main Street. There was a lovely scene, when our
Slovak is thinking back to the good old days, during the monarchy, when on
Sundays the military band was playing on the main square, and people were
coming from the church and walk along the promenade. He was one of those
people, tipping his hat and smiling broadly in lovely spring Sunday morning.
It was terribly moving for those of us who are from that region.

        Eva Balogh