Some Observations on Hungarian-American Ties and Contacts - Zsolt Virágos

8/11/2019 Some Observations on Hungarian-American Ties and Contacts - Zsolt Virgos

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SOME OBSERVATIONS ON HUNGARIANAMERICAN

TIES AND CONTACTS

Zsolt Virgos

University of Debrecen, Hungary

[1] Intro!"tor# r$%&r's

There is no theory of HungarianAmerican contacts. Indeed, it continues to be a

laborious exercise even to come up ith a sufficiently descriptive single noun to apply to

the varied topography of !that hich "oins or relates,! !cements and unites! beteenHungary and the United #tates in either or both of these countries or beteen Hungarians

and Americans anyhere in the orld$ diplomatic relations and other institutional lin%s,

scholarly and scientific cooperation, chance encounters, artistic or technologicalinfluence, etc. The top contenders for such a term could be relation, relationship, contact,

link, interaction, connection, tie, or bond. &erhaps even meeting point.'either are there absolutely reliable data available regarding the actual number of

Hungarians in the 'e (orld) the overall figure is estimated to be anything beteen *.+to million. In the U.#.A., census figures for the year - indicate that a mere *./

million American citi0ens responded in the affirmative to the 1uestion hether they

regarded themselves Hungarian. This number is *2*. feer than it as during theprevious census a decade before. Despite the uneven distribution of the Hungarian stoc%

in the fifty statesi and the traditional lac% of consensus among Hungarian American

communities, the million and a half or so populace ith a Hungarian bac%ground is stillsufficiently potent to %eep ethnocentric impulses alive. Despite the fact, I should add, that

in the United #tates, Hungarian America, in the classic sense of the orld, is a thing of

the past. Ironically, the dindling mass of Hungarians in the U.#.A. appears to be noimpediment to the mounting intensity of study and research of Hungarian3Americancultural ties and contacts.

[(] A%$ri"&n St!i$s &n t)$ st!# o* H!ng&ri&nA%$ri"&n lin's

In Hungary, besides the fact that a sort of popular aareness of HungarianAmerican

lin%s and contacts has been part of the national consciousness, thestudyof these ties andrelations is relatively recent, if not belated, and it has become largely institutionali0ed.

This primarily means that for the past fe decades, together ith the unprecedented

outgroth of American #tudies in Hungary 4!ameri%anis0ti%a! as a self3contained

discipline surfaced in Hungary in the early *5s6, this particular brand of interculturalstudies has become integrated into the curricula of most of the ma"or Hungarian colleges

and universities. 7f course, in theory you do not need American #tudies to teach and

research HungarianAmerican ties and contacts. #ince, as indicated above, HungarianAmerican relations have no specific theory, thus no distinctive methodology either,

cultural history has proved an ade1uate tool. #uch study, as e shall see, had existed ell

before the very concept of American #tudies emerged.

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Hoever, it helps if such intercultural in1uiry is made visible as an integral

component of a larger field of study and research. Under Hungarian conditions, the

favored sites of institutionali0ation of the fact and concept of HungarianAmerican tiesare, ithin the institutions mentioned, one, the curriculum, thus ultimately the classroom

and, to, the disciplinary recognition of this intercultural in1uiry as a legitimate field of

study and research. As regards the first, no student of 8nglish at the ma"or Hungarianuniversities, for instance, can graduate ithout substantial previous exposure to U.#.

culture and institutions. As regards the legitimacy of in1uiry, disciplinary sanctions come

from various sources, one of them being a landmar% publication entitled Bevezets azamerikanisztikba 4Introduction to American #tudies) *59-6 by :;s0l< 7rs0;gh 4*59

*52/6, one3time professor of the Department of 8nglish at Debrecen=s >ossuth University

4no the University of Debrecen6, the founder of American #tudies in Hungary. In this

boo%, a special subchapter is devoted to !8urossuth hile the latter visited the U.#.A., or the

Hungarian origin of the epitaph in Far% Tain=s novel of Coan of Arc. :ater histories of

the literary cultureGfor instance my The Modernists and OthersGpoint out Hungarian

contributions to American culture such as Ela Eart


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massive output of the entertainment industry6, and American ends and means in general.

An intriguing 1uality of this intrusive flood is that it is happening so fast that e do not

alays notice that, for instance, e are adopting ays of doing things ithout %noingthat e are ac1uiring American modes of operation.

Ey no most of the things that tend to be absorbed, retained and accommodated by

Hungarian culture in this ay have been extensively ritten about and these ta%e theform of a sort of ell3rehearsed list$ TO game shos, tal% shos, standardi0ed series,

installment buying, "a00, rap music, de3emphasi0ing lunch 4the 1uic% bite) indeed,

Hungarians are also becoming a nation of fast3food eaters6, computers, IT 4informationtechnology6, shopping malls, supermar%ets, pla0as, business education, some ban%ing

practices, mail3order purchasing, comic strips, soap operas, crop dusting, the ready3to3

ear trend. And, less significantly, cheing gum. And, more importantly, an increasingly

better understanding of the nuts and bolts of America=s diverse and multi3layerediconography and the relatively recent reali0ation that in an international context image

ban%s are the alphabet of another culture.

(hich ultimately means that decoding !the America phenomenon! and the give3and3

ta%e process referred to above is a learning process in hich the potential %noer 4thestudent of things American6 is burdened ith added responsibilities for the simple reason

that he is also bound to be implicated in a moral sense. The moral dimension is expectedto surface inevitably in transactions ithin the tin domains of national pride and pious

patriotism. Indeed, it can be safely claimed that the loosely defined affective 0one, here

enthusiasm can easily outrun reason, tends to be !contaminated!$ sub"ectivi0ed andmythici0ed for the simple reason that nationalistic urges and ethnocentric impulses, either

!benign! or !malignant,! are proverbially difficult to control$ they are often li%ely to be

1uestionable and contingent.

[4] T)$ ot)$r si$ o* t)$ "oin

Despite these cautionary remar%s pertaining to the potential ris%s of assessing thefactuality and impact of cross3cultural exports versus imports, there is no avoiding the

other side of the coin$ the Hungarian contribution to the ma%ing of America. There is a

groing recognition of the fact and significance of this massive and dramaticcontribution, an increasingly more solid belief in the Hungarian national consciousness

that a slice of the American pie has a Hungarian filling.

The presence and undeniable impact of this !Hungarian filling! in science and

technology 4the Fanhattan &ro"ect, the hydrogen bomb, computers, aeronautics,astrophysics, designing the Fodel T ord, etc.6, the Hollyood film industry, the concert

halls of America, the Eroaday theaters, sports and 7lympic coaches, etc. have been

discussed and amply documented in the relevant literature. Fost of these facts andaccomplishments have been preserved in the HungarianAmerican consciousness as a

series of episodes, ith some of them clearly anecdotal or mythici0ed$ the Hungarian

origin of America=s Bhristian name 4see belo6) a Hungarian creman 4Tyr%er6 and :eif8ricson) an 8nglish expedition to America in *+2P 4that of #ir Humphrey Jilbert6 and a

Hungarian scholar 4&armenius6 as creman) Jeorge (ashington=s !Hungarian ancestry!)

Bolonel Bommandant Fichael de >ov;ts, military hero, ather of U.#. Bavalry) the

!Hungarian Toc1ueville! 4i.e., #;ndor E?l?ni3ar%as6) the unforgettable reception of the

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Alexander >orda, film director6, Cohn von 'eumann, Artr 78s5tl$r 4author Arthur

>oestler6, Fih;ly 7$rt9s5 4Fichael Burtis, 7scar3inning film director of

!Basablanca!6, :e< #0il;rd, CenN (igner, 8ndre :ri$%&nn4alias Kobert Bapa, photoartist6. An e1ually impressive, by no legendary, stories could be told about the

Hungarian contribution to American civili0ation in areas as diverse as the development

of Hollyood 4indeed Hungarians such as Adolph u%or @*29P3*59 and (illiam ox@*2953*5+-, founders of &aramount &ictures and Tentieth3Bentury ox, respectively,

ere not only prime movers of the early American film industry but, indirectly, the

disseminators of the mass entertainment version of the American ay of life6, as ell asabout the roles Hungarians played, as conductors, instrumentalists, and musical directors

at several of America=s ma"or symphony orchestras, etc.

7n the level of both institutionali0ed and spontaneous social consciousness

Hungarians have been ready to embrace the Hungarian contributors to the ma%ing ofAmerica as their on heroes, and ith good reason. Thus, for instance, a community of

outstanding scientists as duly recogni0ed a couple of years ago hen the (all of

#cientists at Eudapest=s (est 8nd Bity Benter as erected ith * Hungarian 4or

Hungarian3born6 'obel3&ri0e inners duly recogni0ed as culture heroes of the Fagyars.Again, ith good reason. In the spontaneousGand predominantly affectiveGrealm the

increasing amount of relevant information has fanned patriotic pride. It has also beenboth natural and inevitable that in this affective 0one ethnocentric impulses should be

triggered and boosted, ith a firm belief in the various myths about a uni1ue Hungarian

talent and the exceptionalism of the Fagyars. In Hungary today, a dispassionateassessment of the extraordinary Fagyar performance in the U.#. lies somehere beteen

neglect and heroification bordering on hagiography. A useful explanation for the

!mysti1ue! of Hungarian contribution has been offered by #teven Eela Oardy, ho

claimed more than to decades ago in a boo% published in the U.#.A. that !@their nativetalents and their natural desire to excel, combined ith the uni1ue opportunities offered

by this unusually tolerant land, have brought the best out of the Hungarian immigrants

and their descendents. And thus they have made discoveries and achieved goals that theycould never have made and achieved ithin the confines of their much3loved but small

homeland, ith its limited opportunities. And this process of achievement is still

continuing, ith perhaps many surprises in the remaining years of our millennium! 4The"ungarian!mericans, *9-6.

[;] N$< 6orl &")i$$%$nt &s & %&r'$r o* H!ng&ri&n i$ntit#=

(hat has been so far discussed ill still leave us ith do0ens of unansered 1uestions as

to hether and to hat extent Hungarian performance impinges upon a hypothetical

sense of Hungarian identity of the Fagyars. Thus the 1uestion inevitably comes uphether the individual items of the incredibly long lists of Hungarian3born American

achievers can be counted as iconic signifiers, thus ultimately, as mar%ers of cultural

identity. Do these define the Hungarianness of Fagyars, no matter here these Fagyarsshould be living At this moment, hile I am spea%ing here as a conference contributor, a

HungarianAmerican space tourist by the name of Bharles #imonyi is orbiting the earth

in a spaceship. Does the fact that in the history of space travel he is the second

Hungarian3born individual to have ventured so far and high matter Does this concern


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Hungarianness in a direct or subtle ay Is the fact that a man by the name of Oilmos

riedman 4of Tolcsva6 later became %non as (illiam ox of Hollyood=s Tentieth3

Bentury ox relevant to the average Fagyar=s sense of identity (hen a Hungarian loo%sat or thin%s of the #tatue of :iberty, is it significant for him to %no that Coseph &ulit0er

raised the money for erecting the pedestal and that the cost of illuminating America=s

perhaps most idely %non icon at night also comes from a fund created by theHungarian3born nespaper %ing and philantropist Is it important that a certain American

lama%er=s grandfather as Hungarian Is it significant that one of Coyce Barol 7ates=

grandmothers as Hungarian, that &hilip Koth has a Hungarian bac%ground, that ithoutCo0sef Jalambos 4*22**5++6 the Fodel T ord ould have been a less efficient

automobile

(e are obviously tal%ing here about a idely dispersed culturalVprimarily

intellectualVproperty, hich ma%es defining !onership! difficult. It is certain, hoever,that Hungarians possess an indubitable birthright to appreciate and feel proud of every

orthy manifestation of Hungarian3born talent in the U.#. (hich also means that the

ansers to the 1uestions posed above should all be in the affirmative. #o should Bharles

#imonyi, ho is no orbiting the earth, be honored ith an episode in the history ofHungarian3American ties and and a niche in the intercultural pantheon The anser is

yes. 8ven if the spaceship is Kussian.

6or's Cit$

Jrac0a, Ke0soe and Fargaret. The "ungarians in merica. Finneapolis, FI'$ :erner

&ublications Bompany, *55.

>;lm;n, Ela. The orld of ,ames+ 0tudy in "ungarian Onomatology. Trans. solt

Oir;gos. Eudapest$ A%admiai >iad


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O;rdy, Ela.Magyarok az 78vilgban+ az szak(amerikai magyarsg rendhagy$ t9rtnete

@Hungarians in the 'e (orld$ An Unorthodox History of Hungarian3

Americans. Eudapest$ A Fagyar 'yelv s >ultra 'em0et%?0i T;rsas;ga, -6.

Oir;gos, solt and Oarr< Jabriella.-im/row 9r9k9sei+ M'tosz s sztereot'pia az amerikai

trsadalmi tudatban s kult7rban. Eudapest$ 8?tv?s, --.

Oir;gos, solt. The Modernists and Others+ The merican :iterary /ulture in the ge of the

Modernist 2evolution. Debrecen. University of Debrecen$ Institute of 8nglishand American #tudies. -. +** pp. 4-9. rev. ed. +/ pp.6

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iThe - census shos that the largest number of Hungarian Americans continue to live in the state of 7hio 4*5P,5+*6,hich is folloed by Balifornia 4*PP,5226, &ennsylvania 4*P-,*2/6, 'e Cersey 4**+,*+6. The top four states are closely

folloed by Fichigan and lorida 4both registering a Hungarian presence "ust belo the *, mar%6. The demographic

indicators in the rest of the states sho figures ell belo the +, level.

Some Observations on Hungarian-American Ties and Contacts - Zsolt Virágos

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