SOME OBSERVATIONS ON HUNGARIANAMERICAN

TIES AND CONTACTS

Zsolt Virgos
University of Debrecen, Hungary
[1] Intro!"tor# r$%&r's
There is no theory of HungarianAmerican contacts. Indeed, it continues to be a
laborious exercise even to come up ith a sufficiently descriptive single noun to apply to
the varied topography of !that hich "oins or relates,! !cements and unites! beteen
Hungary and the United #tates in either or both of these countries or beteen Hungarians
and Americans anyhere in the orld$ diplomatic relations and other institutional lin%s,
scholarly and scientific cooperation, chance encounters, artistic or technological
influence, 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 the
previous census a decade before. Despite the uneven distribution of the Hungarian stoc%
in the fifty states
i
and the traditional lac% of consensus among Hungarian American
communities, the million and a half or so populace ith a Hungarian bac%ground is still
sufficiently 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 no
impediment to the mounting intensity of study and research of Hungarian3American
cultural 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, the study of these ties and
relations 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 *5,.s6, this particular brand of intercultural
studies 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, Hungarian
American 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.
*
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 ties
are, 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 Hungarian
universities, 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 az
amerikanisztikba 4Introduction to American #tudies) *59-6 by :;s0l< 7rs0;gh 4*5.9
*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 !8ur<pai3ameri%ai %?lcs?nhat;so%! @8uropean
American interrelationsA.
This intercultural aareness can be ell observed, for instance, in recently created
histories of the American literary culture published in Hungarian, by Hungarian authors,
in Hungary. The commendable added feature of the earliest of these, a history of
American literature published in *5,9 by the above3mentioned :;s0l< 7rs0;gh, is that
the author usefully explored and registered a ealth of information pertaining to
HungarianAmerican lin%s and relations that he considered relevant$ from Baptain Cohn=s
#mith=s ties to Dsigmond E;thory, &rince of Transylvania 4*+22*+596, via the
impressions of early *5
th
3century Hungarian travelers in America, to ho (hitman
personally met 4or ent to hear6 >ossuth 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 EHla Eart<%=s indirect influence on American
modernism, Ierenc Foln;r=s unprecedented success on Eroaday, the role of Coseph
Jalambos in designing the famous Fodel T as Bhief 8ngineer at Iord Fotor Bompany
from *5., to *5/+, etc.
[+] ,Anglisti',
7f course, intercultural studies of this sort ere not invented by the practitioners of
American #tudies. Indeed, if e ta%e a brief bac%ard glance at the overall status of
philology in Hungary during the first half of the -.
th
century, e can see that ith the sole
exception of Jerman #tudies, modern philology as in its infancy. The university
curriculum even at Eudapest=s Institute of 8nglish offered only a four3semester course
4basically lectures cum follo3up seminars6 of British literature, hich meant a bird=s3
eye3vie survey from Beowulf to the mid3*5
th
century. Kesearch concentrated on a rather
peculiar territory$ nglistik, as it as called. The Jerman ord as meant to designate
the investigation of nglo!"ungarian contactsGcultural, political, literary, and personal.
This research orientation had been dominant in Hungary ever since Arthur Lolland,
former 8nglish !le%tor! and resident native spea%er, became &rofessor of 8nglish and
Bhair of the Eudapest department of 8nglish in *5.2. He turned all his academic interest
to the study of the intercultural study of binational contactsGand made his colleagues
and students do the same. 7ne typical study of this sort as, for example, this$ !Cames
-
Eogdani, a Hungarian painter in the courts of (illiam III and Mueen Anne! published in
Hungarian 4!Cames Eogdani magyar festN III. Oilmos Hs Anna %ir;lynN udvar;ban!6 in
volume II of ngol #ilol$giai Tanulmnyok @#tudies in 8nglish &hilologyA in *5P9.
Although the excessive priority given to this field of study as somehat delimiting,
there can be no doubt about the relatively high scholarly standard achieved in the
published material of interdisciplinary research of this nature. Foreover, needless to say,
things Eritish ere given a high priority, and U.#.3related aspects ere to ta%e a bac% seat
in comparison.
[-] T)$ n&%$ o* A%$ri"&
'o consideration of HungarianAmerican ties, indeed no chronology of the Hungarian
American past can be complete ithout at least a side glance at the possible Fagyar
source of the name of the Americas. In this assumption, it is claimed that the name
merica, thus the name of hat is meant by the Americas, as suggested after
Bolumbus=s time by a Jerman geographer, Fartin (aldseemQller, in a pamphlet
published in *+.9. It is also believed that indirectly and by ay of Italy a Hungarian
saint, the son of #tephen I, contributed to this geographical designation. This is the %mre
R &meric R merigo R merica line. The narrative behind this naming event is that
the Hungarian #t. 8meric as popular ith the Italians and in */+* 'astagio Oespucci, a
notary of Ilorence, named his ne son Amerigo Oespucci 4*/+**+*-6 after the
Hungarian saint. In Italian the ord 8meric becomes Amerigo.
7nomatologists offer a basically similar but more complicated alternative. EHla
>;lm;n, a linguist, for instance, also claims that the name of the American continent has,
to some extent, some Hungarian prehistory as ell, but he ta%es us bac% to the name
"enrik 4Henry6, the first element of hich is of uncertain origin$ it may have been
"aimr'k =home ruler.= In this version, Hungary=s first Bhristian %ing named his son
"aimr'k, probably after the monarch #tephen I=s Jerman father3in3la. In Hungarian the
name as first transformed into %mrik . &mrik, then became %mreh . %mre. Irom the
Hungarian form &mrik the :atini0ed version became &mericus, and it as by this name
that Imre became one of the !saints.! 7ing to the Hungarian saint, the name became
1uite popular in Hungary in medieval times. During the campaigns of 'agy :a"os 4:ouis
the Jreat6 the name as introduced in Italy as ell, here it as, even if not extensively,
used. !In form the name! &rofessor >;lm;n argues, !is distinctly separate from Henri% in
Italian, too, because this in Italian is &nrico, hile Imre became &merico, in dialect
&merigo . merigo! 4PP6. In this ay, the first name of the Italian seafarer and explorer
after hom America as named, Amerigo Oespucci, is an Italian variant of the
Jermanic3originated Hungarian name.
[/] H!ng&ri&nA%$ri"&n ti$s0 & gi1$2&n2t&'$ 3ro"$ss
As vieed today, the nature and history of HungarianAmerican lin%s and contacts, both
spontaneous and institutional, can be best understood as a sort of give(and(take
relationship. 7ne side of the coin is the steady intrusion of American economic, political,
technological and cultural influence into Hungarian life, a tric%le that has by no become
a flood$ a flood of American technology, %noho, popular culture 4especially the
P
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 %noing
that 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 the
form 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 4information
technology6, 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 multi3layered
iconography 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 4the
student 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 expected
to 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 and
mythici0ed 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 the
factuality 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 dramatic
contribution, 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 Iord, 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 and
accomplishments 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 :eif
8ricson) 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, Iather of U.#. Bavalry) the
!Hungarian Toc1ueville! 4i.e., #;ndor E?l?ni3Iar%as6) the unforgettable reception of the
/
Hungarian !Torch of :iberty! 4Jovernor >ossuth6 in 'e Lor% Bity in December *2+*)
the Hungarian Bommander of the !American Bharge of the :ight Erigade! 4Bolonel
Bharles D;gonyi=s !Death Kide of #pringfield! during the Bivil (ar6) Coe 'amath and
:arry Bson%a in the American Iootball Hall of Iame) Hungarian3American fencing
champions of the U.#.) the Hollyood scene$ Adolf Du%or, (illiam Iox, Fichael Burtis,
EHla :ugosi, Tony Burtis, Fi%l<s K<0sa, etc.) ho !The Eomb! as born) music$ CenN
7rm;ndy, Antal Dorati, Irit0 Keiner, Tibor >o0ma, #ir Jeorge #olti, etc., and much
further relevant information on outstanding Hungarian3American artists 4e.g. Coseph
Dom"an, :a"os #0alay6, "ournalists and publishers 4the best %non being Coseph &ulit0er,
*2/9*5**6, businessmen 4e.g. investment ban%er Jy?rgy #oros6, etc.
&erhaps the most glorious chapter in the history of HungarianAmerican contacts has
been ritten by our scientists ho received their education in Hungary and ho later
ere involved in a special %ind of brain drain that contributed a large number of expertly
trained Hungarian scientists to the U.#. In his merica)s mazing "ungarians #tephen
#isa devotes a separate chapter to !The Fagnificent #even! ho, the author claims, not
only affected millions but hose or%s !have been of universal significance! 4-96$ :eo
S5ilr 4*2523*5,/, 'obel3&ri0e inning physicist, involved in the Fanhattan &ro"ect6,
CenN 6ign$r 48ugene (igner, *5.-3*55+, 'obel3&ri0e inner, co3developed the atomic
bomb6) C;nos N$!%&nn 4Cohn von 'eumann, *5.P3*5+9, mathematician, co3developed
the atomic bomb, father of binary code and computer programing6, 8de T$ll$r 48dard
Teller, *5.23-..P, father of the hydrogen bomb6, T<dor 7r%n 4Theodore von
>arman, *22*3*5,P, aeronautical engineer, !father of the "et age!6, Albert S5$nt2G#8rg#i
4*25P3*52,, 'obel &ri0e for his discoveries in connection ith the biological combustion
process ith special reference to vitamin B and the catalysis of fumaric acid6 and Dolt;n
B&# 4*5..3*55-, the founder of a ne branch of physics$ radar astronomy6. It is not an
exaggeration to claim that the "oint intellectual achievement of the !magnificent seven!
superachievers largely contributed to American and universal science. #isa=s !magnificent
seven! could become the !magnificent nine! if e add to other greats to the group$
Jeorge von B$'$s# 4*2553*59-6, a biophysicist ho obtained his doctorate in Eudapest,
"oined the staff of the &sychoAcoustic :aboratory at Harvard University 4*5/96, and
as aarded the *2,* 'obel &ri0e in medicine and physiology for his findings
concerning !the stimulation of the cochlea of the ear!) Jeorge Ol) 4*5-96, ho, after
being trained in chemistry in Hungary moved to the U.#. in *5+, and received the *55/
'obel &ri0e for the study of hydrocarbons, the ingredients of crude oil and natural gas,
and his discovery of ne ays to use them.
Among the most recent crop of published researched material on outstanding
Hungarian achievers in the U.#.A. a brief mention ill be made of the Hungarian3
American "ournalist, >ati Farton=s best3selling boo% The *reat &scape+ ,ine -ews .ho
#led "itler and /hanged the .orld 4-..,6, hich focuses on the stories and portraits of
Ceish3Hungarian personalities ho ecaped 'a0ism, became successful in their
respective fields of excellence in their chosen country, the United #tates 4or, in the case of
>oestler, Jreat Eritain6. 'ot only did these nine people become orld famous as 'obel3
&ri0e inners and 7scar aardees, Farton asserts, but some of them also turned out to be
the shapers of orld affairs at some dramatic "uncture of human history. Farton=s
spectacular gallery of extraordinary individuals includes 8dard Teller, Andor 7$rt9s5
4alias AndrHSAndre >ertes0, acclaimed photographer6, #;ndor 7or& 4i.e., #ir
+
Alexander >orda, film director6, Cohn von 'eumann, ArtTr 78s5tl$r 4author Arthur
>oestler6, Fih;ly 7$rt9s5 4Fichael Burtis, 7scar3inning film director of
!Basablanca!6, :e< #0il;rd, CenN (igner, 8ndre :ri$%&nn 4alias Kobert Bapa, photo
artist6. 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 Du%or @*29P3*59,A and (illiam Iox
@*2953*5+-A, founders of &aramount &ictures and Tentieth3Bentury Iox, 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 as
about 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 of
America 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 been
both 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 dispassionate
assessment 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 !@tAheir native
talents 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 they
could 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$1$%$nt &s & %&r'$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 up
hether 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 Fagyars
should be livingU 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 matterU Does this concern
,
Hungarianness in a direct or subtle ayU Is the fact that a man by the name of Oilmos
Iriedman 4of Tolcsva6 later became %non as (illiam Iox of Hollyood=s Tentieth3
Bentury Iox relevant to the average Fagyar=s sense of identityU (hen a Hungarian loo%s
at 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 the
Hungarian3born nespaper %ing and philantropistU Is it important that a certain American
lama%er=s grandfather as HungarianU Is it significant that one of Coyce Barol 7ates=
grandmothers as Hungarian, that &hilip Koth has a Hungarian bac%ground, that ithout
Co0sef Jalambos 4*22**5++6 the Fodel T Iord ould have been a less efficient
automobileU
(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 of
Hungarian3American ties and and a niche in the intercultural pantheonU 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, *5,5.
>;lm;n, EHla. The .orld of ,ames+ 0tudy in "ungarian Onomatology. Trans. Dsolt
Oir;gos. Eudapest$ A%adHmiai >iad<, *592.
#isa, #tephen. The 0pirit of "ungary+ 1anorama of "ungarian "istory and /ulture.
Toronto$ K;%<c0i Ioundation, -
nd
ed. *55..
#isa, #tephen. merica)s mazing "ungarians. private publication, *529.
Tele%y, Kichard. "ungarian 2hapsodies+ &ssays on &thnicity3 %dentity and /ulture.
#eattle$ U of (ashington &, *559.
Oa"na, Tam;s. !Iilms0Wnh;0 a0 egHs0 vil;g. Fagyaro% a mo0iban I.! "4* 5"eti
4ilggazdasg6 Cune --, *55,. 2P32/.
Oardy, #teven Eela. The "ungarian(mericans. Eoston$ Tayne, *52+.
9
O;rdy, EHla. Magyarok az 78vilgban+ az szak(amerikai magyarsg rendhagy$ t9rtnete
@Hungarians in the 'e (orld$ An Unorthodox History of Hungarian3
AmericansA. Eudapest$ A Fagyar 'yelv Hs >ultTra 'em0et%?0i T;rsas;ga, -...6.
Oir;gos, Dsolt and Oarr< Jabriella. -im/row 9r9k9sei+ M'tosz s sztereot'pia az amerikai
trsadalmi tudatban s kult7rban. Eudapest$ 8?tv?s, -..-.
Oir;gos, Dsolt. The Modernists and Others+ The merican :iterary /ulture in the ge of the
Modernist 2evolution. Debrecen. University of Debrecen$ Institute of 8nglish
and American #tudies. -..,. +** pp. 4-..9. rev. ed. +/. pp.6
2
i
The -... 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 Ilorida 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.