Their Traces | Part 4

Centuries - Personalities - Signatures

István Bethlen Prime Minister (1922)National Archives of Hungary

The Bethlen Consolidation and the Horthy Era

 

Hungary's history between two world wars was determined by the governor's personality that his name marks the whole era. How did Miklós Horthy come to power, and how did Prime Minister Bethlen consolidate the country?

Charles I of Austria’s letter to Miklós Horthy concerning his return to Hungary pg. 1. (1920-05)National Archives of Hungary

Charles I of Austria’s letter to Miklós Horthy concerning his return to Hungary.

Charles I of Austria’s letter to Miklós Horthy concerning his return to Hungary pg. 3. (1920-05)National Archives of Hungary

Charles IV tried to retake the throne of the already independent Hungary in two attempts.

Charles I of Austria’s letter to Miklós Horthy concerning his return to Hungary pg. 4. (1920-05)National Archives of Hungary

The so-called Battle of Budaörs in October 1921, led to the defeat and arrest of the former ruler, who was later forced into exile.

The so-called "Bethlen-Peyer Pact" pg. 1. (1921-12-22)National Archives of Hungary

Summary about the negotiations between the Hungarian government and socialist leaders, the so called “Bethlen-Peyer Pact”. The minutes were retained in the archives of one of the participants, Zoltán Bencs, ministerial councillor, head of the Social Policy Department of the Council of Ministers.

The so-called "Bethlen-Peyer Pact” pg. 22-23. (1921-12-22)National Archives of Hungary

Petition of Mihály Babits, poet, writer and translator, to the Ministry of Religion and Public Education (1927-03-18)National Archives of Hungary

Petition of Mihály Babits, poet, writer and translator, to the Ministry of Religion and Public Education, in which he defended himself and summarized his activities during the dictatorship of the Hungarian Soviet Republic in 1919.

Letter from Anna Kéthly to Ferenc Keresztes-Fischer, Minister of the Interior, on the affair of Polish civilian refugee, Szaniszló Timcziszin. (1943-12-22)National Archives of Hungary

Letter from Anna Kéthly to Ferenc Keresztes-Fischer, Minister of the Interior, on the affair of Polish civilian refugee, Szaniszló Timcziszin.

Kuno Klebelsberg Minister of Religion and Education (1920)National Archives of Hungary

The Era of Kuno Klebelsberg

Kuno Klebelsberg played a prominent role in the reconstruction of Hungary after World War I. As Minister of Interior, and as Minister of Religion and Public Education of the Bethlen Government, he determined the educational and cultural policy between the two World Wars.

Kuno Klebelsberg’s letter to the Council of the National Hungarian Collection University (1922-11-18)National Archives of Hungary

Kuno Klebelsberg’s letter to the Council of the National Hungarian Collection University, in  which donated 10 million Hungarian korona (crowns) for the expansion of its library holdings.

Attila József’s letter to László Cs. Szabó, head of the Radio’s Literary Department (1936-11-30)National Archives of Hungary

Attila József’s signed letter to László Cs. Szabó, head of the Radio’s Literary Department, in which he asks him to select the poems he is going to read out in the Hungarian Radio’s broadcast. He also reports about his umpteen move, and his current works.

Portrait of Attila JózsefNational Archives of Hungary

Zoltán Kodály's letter about the revision of his disciplinary case pg. 1. (1922-06-15)National Archives of Hungary

Zoltán Kodály's letter about the revision of his disciplinary case.

Portrait of Zoltán KodályNational Archives of Hungary

The Hungarian art of music between the two World Wars was of a very high standard. Both progressive and traditional works of Béla Bartók and Zoltán Kodály, the two most outstanding and also internationally acclaimed artists, achieved great success home and abroad as well.

Zoltán Kodály's letter about the revision of his disciplinary case pg. 5. (1922-06-15)National Archives of Hungary

Béla Bartók's letter to Kuno Klebelsberg (1922-03-03)National Archives of Hungary

Béla Bartók, lecturer of the Royal National Hungarian Academy of Music, asks for a leave for six weeks, because of his performances of his stage works abroad, from Kuno Kebelsberg, Minister of Religion and Public Education.

Béla Bartók's letter to Kuno Klebelsberg pg. 2. (1922-03-03)National Archives of Hungary

Albert Einstein physicist (1930/1940)National Archives of Hungary

Legends of Science

Numerous inventions from the 20th century are connected to Hungarian scientists. The industrial upswing, the growing significance of psychics, and the cultural and educational policies of the era between the world wars contributed to the successes.

The patent application of the “refrigerator” entitled by Albert Einstein and Leó Szilárd (1929-12-05)National Archives of Hungary

The patent application of the “refrigerator” was handed in to the Royal Hungarian Patent Jury by Dr. József Wirkmann and Róbert Bérczi (entitled by Albert Einstein and Leó Szilárd) authorized patent administrators on December 5, 1929.

The patent application of the “refrigerator” entitled by Albert Einstein and Leó Szilárd pg. 22. (1929-12-05)National Archives of Hungary

They began to work together on a new type of refrigerator. It was inspired by a dreadful tragedy: a family suffocated by poisonous gas, that derived from the malfunctioning valve of the refrigerator and infiltrated into the bedroom at night.

Portrait of Leó Szilárd (1940/1950)National Archives of Hungary

The scientists have designed a new type of fridge to avoid these kind of accidents.

Letter of Kálmán Tihanyi to the Royal Hungarian Patent Jury regarding his invention the Radioscope (1926-03-16)National Archives of Hungary

Patent of the Radioscope, which was handed in to the Royal Hungarian Patent Jury by Kálmán Tihanyi on March 16, 1926.

Patent of the Radioscope pg. 4. (1926-03-16)National Archives of Hungary

In the description of the radioscope, he explicated the theory of charge storage and cathode ray tube television system. This method was introduced in cable, wireless, and color image transmission variants as well. The invention already contained all the basic features of television storage technologies.

Letter of János Neumann to János Pelényi, Ambassador of Hungary in Washington pg. 1. (1939-09-21)National Archives of Hungary

Letter of János Neumann to János Pelényi, Ambassador of Hungary in Washington.

Letter of János Neumann to János Pelényi, Ambassador of Hungary in Washington pg. 2. (1939-09-21)National Archives of Hungary

János Neumann (John von Neumann) lectured and researched at University of Princeton during the 1930s. At the beginning of his scientific career, he focused on set theory, quantum theory, and logic, and later, he laid the foundations of game theory, a new, interdisciplinary field of mathematics.

László Pongrácz’s report on the lecture of Prof. Albert Szent-Györgyi at the University of Paris pg. 1. (1938-11-09)National Archives of Hungary

László Pongrácz’s (employee of the Hungarian Institute of Paris) report on the lecture of Prof. Albert Szent-Györgyi at the Medical Faculty of the University of Paris.

Portrait of Albert Szent-Györgyi (1950)National Archives of Hungary

Dr. Albert Szent-Györgyi, Nobel Prize-winner physician and biochemist, isolated the vitamin C in the early 1930s and vitamin P in 1936. He also played an important role in discovering the citric acid cycle.

Credits: Story

THEIR TRACES

This online exhibition is curated by László Sándor Németh with help of Gergő Paukovics and Ábel Takács.

The content of the exhibition is based on the temporary exhibition "Their Traces: Centuries-Personalities-Signatures", held at the National Archives of Hungary, Budapest from 15 March 2016 to 15 March 2018.
For more information please visit
NYOMOT HAGYTAK | THEIR TRACES

Credits: All media
The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.

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