Collaboration Instead of Enmity. Historical Lessons from the Activities of Hungarian Intellectuals in Slovakia in the Interwar Period Cover Image

Gyűlölködés helyett összefogás. Adalékok a két világháború közti csehszlovákiai magyar értelmiségi és diákmozgalmak történetéhez
Collaboration Instead of Enmity. Historical Lessons from the Activities of Hungarian Intellectuals in Slovakia in the Interwar Period

Author(s): Imre Molnár
Subject(s): History, Oral history, Social history, Recent History (1900 till today), Interwar Period (1920 - 1939)
Published by: Fórum Kisebbségkutató Intézet
Keywords: interwar Czechoslovakia;student movements;
Summary/Abstract: The interviews in this volume have been produced by the oral history method based on individual life story telling. The primary objective of making them was to gain detailed impression on this forgotten form of the Hungarian minority´s social life in Czechoslovakia between the two world wars, as it had been experienced by the interviewees. They had not only recalled the past events so important from their point of view, but they also “commented” and supplemented them. During the interviews they spoke with strong feeling, reliving their stories with intense emotions, thus helping us gain a more direct, privileged insight into the micro-historical processes of the interwar period, and enabling us to recreate our concept about this historical moment, and assess its significance.Obviously, this does not mean that we could reasonably expect the recallers to objectively remember the past events in precise details. For this reason, besides readers interested in the topic, we recommend this book as a kind of source publication especially to historians dealing with the era. We believe that the period between the two world wars, and within that the history of the Hungarian youth movements, have many unexplored spots rich in values which certainly deserve further historical research. This book is about an almost forgotten part of history of the Hungarians in (Czecho)Slovakia and this, as such, could provide many good examples for the current generation of young people having taken responsibility for their national identity. The main actors of this volume have already become historical figures whose entirely different stories have one important thing in common: they all have devoted their lives to the service of the part of the Hungarian nation disintegrated from Hungary and annexed to (Czecho)Slovakia. And, they have largely remained steadfast in their youthful determination. As a legacy for posterity, they have left an excellent example of humanity, patriotism, and love for one´s nation. Will there be current followers of the past legendary generations?

  • Print-ISBN-13: 978-80-89249-90-9
  • Page Count: 312
  • Publication Year: 2016
  • Language: Hungarian