Table 9

This has been done even while the total number of Hungarian books has been reduced. A confidential internal directive prohibits Kriterion from publishing works which deal with studies on Hungarian folklore. Thus, Kriterion has had to discontinue its series of ethnographical notes and its "Source" series presenting the work of new authors. In addition, the publication of works of fundamental importance have been held up for years because they have not been given a publishing permit (e.g., Volume 5 of Transylvanian Hungarian Etymology and Volume 2 of the Hungarian Literary Encyclopedia of Romania). The regime's contempt for the minorities is further demonstrated by Kriterion's obligation to publish some unabashedly antiHungarian books which serve the government's nationalistic aims and policies.

The drastic reduction of popular books and specialized works on Hunganan ethnography. history, cultural history, and sociology has dealt a serious blow to Hungarian social scientists in Romania. This follows on the heels of behig deprived of an independent Hungarian institutional and organizational network. Restrictions have also become wide-spread as political considerationas have circumscribed literary opportunities. These and other political disadvantages affecting the minorities have prompted several authors and men of letters to emigrate to Hungary. Those who have remained behind struggle to maintain their professional integrity. Within the limitations imposed by the totalitarian order, they have lodged their own forms of protest against these repressive policies. In 1987, for example, Sandor Kanyadi, the renowned Transylvanian poet, resigned in protest from the Romanian Writers'Association.[73]

Hungary has attempted to support Hungarian book publishing in Romania. Pursuant to a book-trade agreement between publishers and booksellers of lhe two countries. Hungary purchases Hungarian books in large quantities from Romania in order to make the publication of such books "profitable." Hungary has also undertaken to pay a growing share of the expenses of their publication. In the early 1980s this share was about 30% and has since increased even further. However, it is worth mentioning that this book-exchenge agreement with Hungary has been consistently undermined by Romania. The original agreement was that Hungarian books published in Romania would be supplemented by imports from Hungary, inchiding Hungarian classics and contemporary Hungarian literature, scientific and technical works, and encyclopedias. Such supplemental imports were already insufficient in the 1970s (see the memorandum of former university rector Lajos Takats) [74] andhave since been gradually eliminated almost completely.

Public collections, including Hungarian-related library materiais dating back more than 15-20 years, are virtually inaccessible to both Romanian and foreign researchers, particulariy to Hungarian scholars. [75] The priceless treasures of Catholic and Protestant church archival collections, which document the important role played by the churches in the cultural history of the minorities, are not only unused, but are wholly or partially in danger of destruction. [76] This is due. on the one hanld, to an absence of quaiified archivists and finalicial resources necessary for the upkeep and preservation of these documents. It is also due on the other hanld, to a policy of willful neglect aimed at inducing a collective "amnesia" on the minority populations. This state of affairs has already led to the deterioration of numerous archival documents, which have either suffered serious damage or have been rendered totally inaccessible. The archives and library of the former Nagyvarad (Oradea) diocese, for example, have been closed. The archives of the Cluj Catholic Status (to be discussed in the following chapter on religious affairs) have also become imccessible to the public.

In the great museums of Transylvania, evely trace of the expertly displayed former exlubitions and works of art have been removed which mirrored the coexistence of the various minorities. Medieval and recent archival materials (e.g.. the muniicipal archives of Cluj) pertaining to Hungarinis, Germans, and Jews have been placed into storage and are exposed to ultimate decomposition as a result of neglect and improper care. Part of the bibliographcal and archival records pertainng to the Hungarians and the other nationalities are now stored outside Transylvaluia. [77] The Kajoni Codex discovered in 1986, as well as other historically invaluable manuscripts, are now located in Bucharest. The archival materials relating to former church schools are now als benig takell from the churches and added to state collections in a haphazard fashion.

The lustorical consciousness of Hungarians has been undermined in still .another way. In recent decades Romanian historical studies have arrogated more and more of the outstanding figures of Hungarian lustory and culture who have been of Transylvanian ongin. In this way many Ronanian school texts and even some historical works translated into foreign languages, have Romanianized such prominent Hungarian figures as Gyorgy Dozsa and Gyorgy Rakoczi I, as well as the entire family of the latter. Even Bela Bartok has been arrogated in this way on the pretext of his collection of Romanian folk songs. All this is done consciously to undermine the historical consciousness of Hungarians in Romania and to loosen the cultural links they have with other Hungarians throughout the region. [78]

These historical claims are not an accurate reflection of Romanian national self-definition but serve the manipulative objectives of Romanian despotism. The prevailing official state natiolialism is hostile not only to minority cultures but to culture in general. It restricts the education of minorities and also effectively isolates the Romanian school system from modem influences. Finally, it is also discriminatory against the minority intelligentsia because it is hostile to the role of intellectuals as a whole. It fears the historical memory and international comparative judgment of the intellectuals who represent Romaniall culture in its entirety.

It is now well known that the Romanian govemment has not valued the preservation of the architectural heritage of Romanian national history . (The recent redevelopment of downtown Bucharest reflects this.) Such indifference is more oflen coupled, however, with deliberate efforts of assimilation. A case in point is the destruction of minority built structures and memorials. Hundreds of Transylvaluan mansions, churches, fortresses, and historical cemetaries are in good condition, but their continued existence has become threatened durnig the past few decades. Architectural monuments and town sections of art-historical value (e.g., typical streets and building complexes in downtown Oradea) are destroyed under the pretext of urban development. In addition, the authorities have sometimes prevented the renovation of churches, even though the cost of such renovations would be borne by charitable contributions. (This happened in the case of three Huligaria churches - in Arcus (Arkos), Chiurus (Csomakoros), and Sfintu-Gheorghe - all of which had been damaged by an earthquake in the early summer of 1986). [79]

Following the dissolution of the Hungarian Autonomous Region in 1968, the removal of Hungarian inscriptions (names of streets, shops, institutions) was accelerated throughout the entire area. Durilig the 1980s, even in settlemelns having a Huligarian majority, street names linked to Hungarian history and culture have been Romanianized.

Transylvalna's Huligarian theatrical arts, which have a fine tradition and date back to the 18th century, have been reduced to only two independent theatres, one at Clul; and the other at Timisoara. Four other theatres have Huligaris sections, those of T;rgu-Mure5, Oradea, Sfintu-Gheorghe, and Satu-Mare. (In 1987, the theatrical troupe of Sfintu-Gheorghe was reduced to a section attached to the Romanian theater.) Cluj also has a Hungarian opera company, which shares the premises of the Hungarian theater. Drama training in Hungarian since 1954 has been carried out in the Istvan Szentgyorgyi Dramatic Institute. [80] From the beginning of the 1970s, however, it, too, has been reduced to the level of a Romanian branch of drama training, and the number of students has steadily declined to a level of only 2-4 students per class in recent years. Many Hungarian actors and directors have also been leaving Romania in recent years to settle abroad, mainly in Hungary. Due to this emigration and to limitations in the supply of actors, the remaining body of theater professionals is shrinbking and is composed largely of older theater veterans.

Budget cuts and anti-intellectual policies, have drastically reduced the subsidization of theaters. The Hungarian theaters have also been undermined by the nationalistically-biased distribution of the limited available funds. For example allocations for stage scenery and costumes in the Romanian National Theater of Cluj in 1987 was ten times higher than the corresponding allocations to the Hungarian theater in the same city. [81]

In addition to these unfavorable financial conditions, the state-controlled repertoire policy has increasingly hindered Hungarian theaters from fulfilling their role in the preservation and transmission of culture. A regulation requires the majority of plays produced to be contemporary Romanian works. Most Hungarian classics and all contemporary Hungarian dramatic works are banned. Moreover, in recent years for political reasons, the staging of plays by a few noted Hungarian playwrights of Romania has become next to impossible.

The government does its utmost to keep the cultural life of the minorities on the level of amateur theatricals. At the same time it deprives this popular culture activity of its original function. A glaring example is the annual festival Cintarea Romaniei (We sing thee, Romania). Initially it secured a kind of amateur forum for the culhure of ethnic minorities, but then in recent years it has been less and less a cultural event and more and more a political farce for diletantes of the Ceausescu cult.

Hunganan folk-dance gatherings and amateur theater groups, as well as voluntary literary, popular culture and folklore study circles, all of which mobilized thousands of young people a couple of decades ago, have been either abolished or reduced to a quasi-illegal status. [82] They are subjected to constant police surveillance and harassment. The work of rural sociologists and collectors of Hungarian folklore is impeded by the authorities whenever possible. Substantiated reports are available on these harassments. Hungarian folklore collections have been confiscated from field workers and other atrocities perpetrated against individual researchers, e.g., in the Szekely region, in the vicinity of Cluj, and above all, in the Moldavian districts inhabited by the Csango Hungarians. [83]

Bela K. Kiraly: The Hungarian Minority's Situation in Ceausescu's Romania