Studies
Martos, Ida
On the Teaching of the Histories of Anti-Semitism*
Conflicts between different human communities have always accompanied the history of mankind. Concrete examples of these conflicts can be traced back to very different reasons, they take place in different ways and end with different results. Among these conflicts is a special type that occurs when the cohabitation of communities that have different identities in a given area becomes problematic and may be encumbered by latent or sudden and manifest antagonism. The events of the past century have clearly shown how these types of “unmanageable” questions can lead to enormous cataclysms, but if we look around in the present day, we do not see that the appalling lessons of the 20th century have been successfully disseminated in a broader circle. The role and responsibility of education was always significant in the humanisation of society, and the excavation and familiarisation of the past is precisely the calling of history teaching.
Conflicts are never without precedents, they never flare up unexpectedly. Their prefaces can be uncovered and precisely this uncovering is necessary to understand how bad responses are and can be made, how one community can arrive at the idea of liquidating and abolishing another community thought by them to be a problem, and from there which path leads to actions.
Varga, András
Some Questions About the Introduction of the Subject of Military Fundamentals
One of the big challenges of history teaching today lies in finding methods and motivations with which we can preserve national sentiments in young people in a way that Hungarian consciousness together with European identity is an incentive strength for them. The feeling of belonging somewhere, to a smaller or bigger community is desirable for everybody. The Hungarian Defence Forces have their own place in the structure of social policy, as the conservator of traditions, national unity, Hungarian consciousness and historical customs. The voluntary military organisation wants to ensure from year to year the reinforcement of knowledge of the profession and of the armed forces with an eye to conservative values. A large part of middle school graduates can get out of this because of the particularity of the age group. With this in mind, the defence forces portfolio treats with elevated importance the broadening of the defence forces vision, naturally – among other means – using experiences gained in the course of teaching history. In the interest of bringing this forward, great efforts are being made to introduce a new subject, Military Fundamentals, and target increasingly more groups of students.
Latest issues
Damjanovics, Bence
A Masked Transdanubian Castle and its Estates
The Middle Ages, and within this the Turkish Age, is one of the most hectic periods in the history of Hungary. The young author presents the castle which is the topic of the paper and the settlement that belongs to it, Devecser, as well its noble family, the Chorons.
By reading the paper we can learn how the representatives of the Choron family rose from the gentry of Kemenesalja to become nobility, and how they advanced to the highest rank at regional level, becoming the Lord Lieutenant (first of Zala, then of Sopron). The author of the paper also shows the scale of the effect the family had on Devecser, which made up their estates, as they succeeded in building a castle which had great significance in the city’s history and stands till this day (albeit, it has been rebuilt many times since). Additionally, the author examines how the castle affected the establishment of the Transdanubian line of border fortifications, the ever-present danger of the Turks and the wartime situation of Devecser and the surrounding settlements.
School: Lovassy László Gymnasium, Veszprém
Advising teacher: János Isztl
Workshop
Albert B., Gábor
The Historical Sources for Research of the Hungarian Textbook Revision Movement Between the Two World Wars
A number of international teaching affairs and other organisations were established after World War I in the interest of editing textbooks in an even-handed spirit and eliminating representations that were misshapen or damaging to other peoples. The starting point for a review of the international textbook revision movement between the two world wars is the 1932 French version and the expanded 1933 English version of a report on the collected work of the International Institute of Intellectual Cooperation entitled “School text-book revision and international understanding”, a period document seen from today, as well as UNESCO publications that are indispensable to the further processing of the topic. A mention among the international professional literature produced lately is earned by the writings of the staff of the research institute in Braunschweig. It is great news that an overview of the international textbook revision movement can be read in Hungarian, too, thanks to Ágnes Dárdai. Although a number of smaller studies have been published on the Hungarian textbook revision movement during the two world wars, an expansive, systematic-historical digest of the entire topic has not been made up to the present day, in spite of the richness of the historical source materials that are available. It is an overview of this source material that we attempt.
Gyertyánfy, András
The Teaching of Hungary’s Historical Topography in the History Hour
I explain in my essay how I teach the topography of historic Hungary in elementary and secondary school. Borbála Bak, professor of the Faculty of Arts of ELTE University developed such a method for students and described it in Magyarország történeti topográfiája a honfoglalástól 1950-ig (Topography of Historic Hungary from the Settlement of the Magyars in Hungary to 1950) appeared in 1997. My pupils attending an ’elite’ school generally prove to be poor in topography – especially that of historic Hungary –, which makes them understanding History rather difficult. That is why I adapted the method for specific school purposes.
