Studies
Závodszky, Géza
An Extraordinary Hungarian Story
(Count Dániel Vay’s Path to Writing History)
Count Dániel Vay was one of the most promising politicians of the 1840s. His oratorical skills were on par with that of his contemporary Kossuth. Not much older than twenty years old, he already had a command of German, French and English and had read the most important works of German and French thinkers and was familiar with the United States Constitution. His articles on the debate surrounding his Széchenyi Academy speech contain the most specifics. An interesting period document testifying to the original perspective of his political analysis was published in Leipzig. He was the opposition speaker in the upper house of Parliament in 1847-48. How is it possible that comprehensive works on the period do not even mention his name? His political career was ended when he refused a challenge to a duel; that is the only act to gain mention. But his joie de vivre and creative power did not dry up. His name is attached to a pioneering work of the dissemination of historical knowledge: the voluminous History of Hungary. This study attempts to return his person to its proper place in Hungarian history through an analysis of his works and his parliamentary role as well as sketch his biography which cannot be found in a single encyclopedia article.
Katona, András
The Precursors to the Introduction of the Primary School in Hungary – From the Aspect of History Teaching
Now more than 70 years ago, Hungary’s Temporary National Government published the prime minister’s decree establishing the primary school, just two weeks before the start of the school year in September 1945, after the country suffered defeat in another war. Since 1867, the National Assembly had always decided on such important questions of educational affairs and school organization. But the situation was extraordinary. A good part of the country lay in ruins, and the former political system was figuratively buried, too. What is little known is that there was half a century of precursors before that unexpected measure. Granted, the issue concerned an eight-grade public school, not the establishment of a primary school.
Latest issues
Simon, Bálint
The Sadness of Resurrection
The Devastation of Debrecen in WWII and Its Reconstruction after the War
National Secondary School Study Contest (OKTV) paper
University of Debrecen Kossuth Lajos Teacher Training Secondary and Primary School
Advising teacher: Dr. Pankotai, László
This paper presents in detail the destruction of Debrecen, Hungary’s second-biggest city, in WWII and the reconstruction of “Civis City” after the war. The author presents in separate chapters in the first half of the paper the main facts about the devastation of Debrecen during the war: the Allied air raids, the destructive acts of the German army and their collaborators, and the losses suffered after the siege and looting by the occupying Red Army. The author concentrates first of all on the material losses, but presents the human tragedy, too. He strives in all instances for a source-based, objective presentation, free of emotion, discussing the events based not on ethical considerations, but with scientific objectivity. In the second half of the paper, the author presents the circumstances of the reconstruction, before and after the start of the three-year plan. At the same time, the paper offers a picture of the gradual build-up of the communist dictatorship on the local historical level. The author’s generous use of archive source material as well as a detailed appendix of archive images adds to the paper’s value.
Workshop
Szerző
Roles and Other Stories
(Immersion, imagining and emotional development in the history lesson)
This essay was written with the aim of contributing to the modernization of secondary school history teaching with conclusions that have generated controversy. It attempts to draw the person of the past closer using the tools of imagination and mental visualization. The outlined practice not only develops skills, it also develops intuition, which is considered to be in short supply. All of this is necessary for the practice of self-awareness and finding task-awareness, which is the hallmark of being a good citizen. The paper outlines both 21st century opportunities and difficulties.
Molnár-Kovács, Zsófia
Universal Hungarian Secondary School History Textbooks Covering the Dualist Period and Their Modifications
The universal Hungarian secondary school textbooks covering the Dualist Period form a special group, the authors of which “were expected to serve the stated goals in line with curriculum standards in force at the time….The textbooks had to fit in with the previous and the following year’s materials”, as highlighted by Károly Bartos. Within the framework of the study, we offer a broad picture of universal secondary school textbooks covering the Dualist Period as well as all of their known publications. The textbooks or textbook series are presented in chronological order from their first publication year (where possible from the first publication to the last) according to author.
Sándor-Schmidt, Barbara
Questions Concerning an Analysis of Printed and Digital Textbooks and Teaching Devices – 1956 in Ukrainian History Textbooks
In the course of my study, I researched the subject of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution and War for Independence in Ukrainian language history textbooks. The city of Beregszász (Berehove in Ukrainian), in the heart of Transcarpathia, provided a special location for the research. There most of the population still speak Hungarian and identify themselves as such. The problem was caused by the lack of professional Ukrainian language literature and textbooks in local libraries (the Apáczai Csere János Library and the Beregszász District Library). Nevertheless, a number of papers have been written on how Hungarian history is covered in Ukrainian schools, how Hungarian historical identity is presented in education. There proved to be the following problems: the textbooks do not deal with the topic at all, or only marginally, even though the Transcarpathian intellectual class has seized every opportunity to foster Hungarian history. We can offer no better example of this than by quoting from Dr. Ildikó Orosz’s speech at the presentation of the book Transcarpathian Documents of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution and War for Independence: “Hungarians, as all other nationalities, have been shaped by the impact of their historical fate and shared experience. These experiences define our consciousness. And this shared consciousness was sufficient for those living here to empathize in spirt and in deed with the events of 1956, even though they did not belong to the Hungarian political nation. Listening to Kossuth Radio and, in secret, Radio Free Europe, the hearts of everyone beat for the fates of their brothers and sisters.” Thus the future generation has a good chance of getting to know Hungarian history and its most important events.
