Travelling in Transylvania 1987–88
Travelling in Transylvania 1987–88

Summary/Abstract: I came to Hungary in the autumn of 1987 as a Senior Fulbright Lecturer in American Studies at Kossuth Lajos University that has since become part of the University of Debrecen. Hungary at that time was a police state under dictatorial communism with an active Secret Police, especially in Eger where my wife’s phone was tapped and her mail read. During that academic year 1987–1988 I made two trips with her to Transylvania (Erdély), Romania. The area known as Transylvania had been an integral part of Hungary for over 1000 years until the treaty ending World War I which gave away two thirds of Hungary’s territory to various neighbouring countries with the largest chunk, Transylvania going to Romania. In that instant three million Hungarians found themselves suddenly outside the political borders of their country, becoming the largest ethnic minority in Europe – a minority then subjected to a series of decrees and restrictions by their new government that might accurately be described as “cultural genocide”.

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