Stephen Sisa : The Spirit of Hungary

A Day of Mourning

On October 6, 1849, one of the most shocking events of Hungarian history took place within the walls of the city-fortress Arad: in an abominable act of revenge thirteen of the ablest generals of the War of Independence were executed, some by firing squad but most by the hangman's rope.

At dawn the first four were granted the "mercy" of facing the firing squad. In full view of the other prisoners three of them, Vilmos Lázár, Arisztid Dessewffy and Joseph Schweidel died instantly after the first volley, but Ern Kiss survived it, and he himself called out the order to fire the second, fatal, volley.

Two hours later the executions of the remaining nine generals began. One after the other they followed each other to the gallows: György Lahner, Károly Knezich, Ern Pöltenberg, Lajos Aulich, József-Sándor Nagy, Ignácz Török, Leiningen, József Damjanich and, finally, Károly Vécsey.

Ranking general Damjanich had wanted to be the first one to be executed, saying, because "I was always at the front in leading my men into battle; I don't want to have it otherwise now." His request was denied. Before his turn came, General Leiningen wrote a note to a relative: "If, in happier days my friends ever desire to avenge my death, let them remember that humanness is the best political wisdom." As Leiningen approached the hangman's rope, one of the guards offered him his wine-flask. "Thank you, my friend," said the General, "I want no wine to give me courage - bring me a glass of water."

Since the gallows were built low and unstable in the soggy ground, the hangings of the two tallest generals - Leiningen and Damjanich - were awkwardly slow and agonizing. Each of the condemned had said a last good-bye to those still alive, except the last to die, General Vécsey, whose parting gesture was to step up to the dangling corpse of Damjanich, with whom he had not been on good terms, and kiss his hand in a final act of reconciliation.

Perhaps the most macabre event of the day was the hanging of a dead man. General Ignácz Török had been shouting at the commandant of the execution, Colonel Tichy, calling him a "butcher," when he suddenly collapsed dead from stroke, but he was hanged nevertheless.

On the same day, another execution took place in Pest, that of Lajos Batthyány, who had been the premier of the Hungarian cabinet in 1848. Condemned to the gallows, he foiled the plans of his executioners by stabbing himself in the throat the night before with a dagger smuggled in by his wife. Since his wound made it impossible to hang him properly he was shot by the firing squad. He refused to have his eyes covered and commanded the soldiers to fire with words taken from three languages: "Allez Jaeger, éljen a haza!"

No execution was more deeply resented abroad than Batthyány's and the western press uniformly condemned this barbaric act, which the London Times compared to the execution of Egmond by the Duke of Alba.

Not long after the tragic events of October 6, another mass "execution" occurred in Buda-Pest but this time without victims. 75 prominent Hungarian exile-leaders were hanged in effigy, including Lajos Kossuth and the highly talented, dashing young diplomat, Count Gyula Andrássy for whom Kossuth, in happier times, had promised a "splendid future." Following his "execution" Andrássy was dubbed "le beau pendu" (The handsome hanged man) by friends and foe alike.

A Day of Jubilation

Eighteen years later, at four in the morning on June 8, 1867, Buda-Pest echoed with 21 cannon shots proclaiming the dawning of the day on which Emperor Francis Joseph would be crowned King of Hungary.

Never before had the city witnessed a more splendid scene. The Hungarian tricolor was hanging from windows everywhere and crowds lined the streets to

watch the coronation procession. The King, in full coronation robes and wearing the sword and crown of Saint István was surrounded by the greatest dignitaries of the Hungarian Court and by a score of prelates in their richest vestments. At the Church of Matthias the King dismounted, stepped upon a platform, and holding a Crucifix in his left hand, raised three fingers of his right hand and swore to uphold the Hungarian Constitution and to preserve the territorial integrity of the country.

Preceding the procession there had been an unusual coronation ceremony that differed from ancient tradition in more than one respect. Hungary's ancient coronation rites do not provide for a double coronation: but the Hungarian nobles were so anxious to see the Queen at Franz Joseph's side that they abandoned custom. Actually it was Queen Elizabeth, riding in a glass-panelled, richly gilt carriage drawn by eight white horses, who stole the show from her husband. The ceremony in the Church of Matthias reached its dramatic climax when the Premier of Hungary, after crowning the King, touched with the Crown of Saint István Queen Elizabeth's head. Elizabeth, one of the most beautiful women of the age, trembled at the touch of the Crown. At this moment thousands of voices thundered "Éljen Erzsébet!" (Long live Erzsébet!).

Another reason why this coronation surpassed the ordinary was the fact that the Prime Minister who performed the coronations in lieu of the Primate of Hungary was none other than "le beau pendu," the "handsome hanged man," Count Gyula Andrássy.

Kossuth had been right after all, when he predicted a "splendid future" for Andrássy.

The Architect of Change

The time span between the Day of Mourning and the Day of Jubilation just described, was eighteen years. What had happened during these eighteen years to bring about such a dramatic about-face in the relations between Hungary and the Habsburg Dynasty?

The chief architect in bringing Hungary from the dark abyss of defeat to a peak of splendor and reconciliation was Ferenc Deák (pronounced Deyak) who went down in history as "The Sage of the Fatherland" (A haza bölcse) and as "The advocate of the nation."

Deák's personal life began with as much tragedy as the era that was ushered in by the executions at Arad.

Deák's birth cost his mother's life and because of this "matricide" his father, unable to bear the sight of his newborn son, gave him over to the care of relatives, separating him from his six brothers and sisters.

As Ferenc Deák grew into manhood, he attended various Catholic schools and graduated at the top of his class in 1817, whereupon he entered the Royal Academy in Gyr to study law. One of his classmates was Lajos Batthyány, the future Prime Minister of Hungary. From early on he showed himself to be quiet and peace-loving, not at all drawn to that part of his family's coat-of-arms, which was a battle hammer. This was the reason, he used to say jokingly, he had never married.

After receiving his diploma in Buda-Pest, Ferenc began his career with modest jobs on the country level until his appointment as surrogate alispán (vice county-chief) replacing his brother Antal Deák, who had been delegated as the representative of County Zala at the National Diet. (The Hungarian county system is similar to that of England.) Ferenc's judiciary talent was first discovered by his brother Antal, who, after resigning his job as a delegate, recommended that Ferenc take his place, saying: "I will send you as my replacement a young man who has more knowledge and talent in his little finger than I have in my whole body"

At the Diet he joined the Liberal Party (the party of reforms) where his speeches on the question of emancipation of the serfs attracted public attention, not so much for their oratory as for their crystal-clear logic and the wide knowledge of the history of the country. He spoke convincingly against the death penalty and for the immediate admission of Polish refugees fleeing from an aborted revolution in Poland. The Diet of 1839-40 already saw him as one of the leaders of the liberal opposition instrumental in bringing about the King's amnesty for political

prisoners, including Lajos Kossuth. The most important result of the Diet of 1840 was, however, the law that allowed the peasants to own land and to buy their freedom.

So great was Deák's contribution to the success of the Diet that at last meeting Count István Széchenyi shook his hand saying these words of farewell:

"It is to your merit that the Diet achieved what it did. God bless you, my dear friend, continue your watch over our motherland's welfare. The steering of our affairs is in your hands, thanks be to God, and allow me to say in farewell: "Tu es Petrus, et super hanc petram aedificabo ecclesiam meam." (You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my church.)

"Christ said it to Peter" - Deák replied modestly.

Master of Political Survival

The differences among Kossuth, Széchenyi, Deák and Wesselényi, the "Big Four" of the age, could not have been greater. Kossuth was a fulminating orator, a "workaholic" always on the attack. Széchenyi was a neurotic, self-tormenting man of quickly changing moods, who worked in fits and, when angered, could spew sarcastic venom at his foes. Wesselényi was a thundering giant, a man of daring with great compassion for the weak. Deák was an imperturbable, self-effacing man without any ambition for titles, with unfailing good sense, and an encyclopaedic knowledge of law and history and a penchant for telling anecdotes to illustrate his points. He was happiest sitting in his armchair in quiet contemplation smoking his pipe.

One problem the Diet of 1839-40 had not been able to settle was the abolishing of tax exemptions for the nobility - a privilege they had been hanging onto for centuries. The agitation against tax reform of any kind was so strong in Deák's own district that the majority voted against paying taxes, and compelled its representatives in the Diet to vote likewise. Since Deák could not square such a view with his own conscience, he refused to accept the mandate and did not attend the Diet of 1843-44. Then he voluntarily joined the taxpayers' ranks along with 204 other nobles in the County of Zala, emulating Kossuth and his friends in order to make a break in the nobles' tax exempt status that smothered social progress in Hungary. Deák's bold action provoked some very real fire in Zala - opponents fired bullets into his residence in Kehida.

Deák's absence from the Diet of 1843-44 also removed him from another great debate of that session - whether the Magyar language ought to be established as Hungary's "official" tongue. The Diet voted in the affirmative, though Deák, together with Széchenyi adopted the higher, humanistic view that "If one speaks Magyar, it does not necessarily mean that he is Magyar in his feelings."

On November 7, 1847, Ferdinand V opened the new Diet in Pozsony, the last Diet of the feudal type to be held in Hungary. Within a few months most of the remaining pillars of the feudal order - including the tax exempt status of the nobles, the siség (entail) which had prohibited the sale of the nobles' estates, and the obligatory robot (labor) of the serfs for their landlords - were washed away by the waves of reform.

Though Deák did not attend the deliberations themselves, due to illness, he nevertheless made his mark on them as a "conciliator." Siding with Kossuth, but substantially editing his Declaration of the Opposition to make its language more conciliatory, he played a major role in convincing the nobility to bow to the spirit of the times, and dismantle some of their long-held privileges.

Actually, his own spirit of conciliation did not ride well with the revolutionary fervor of 1848-49, and he was not in favor of breaking with Austria. Still, he dutifully accepted the position of Minister of' Justice in Lajos Batthyány's cabinet. However, he resigned on the eve of the War of Independence and withdrew to his estate in Kehida.

One of his friends, Gábor Kazinczy tried to persuade Deák not to leave the reins of the country entirely to Kossuth, whereupon Deák responded with this anecdote:

"Some time ago I went out with a friend for a drive. His horses were very unruly, jumping to the right and to the left and finally running away with the coach. At a dangerous spot, afraid of being overturned, I tried to grab the reins. But my friend warned me with these words: "If I hold the reins by myself then our wagon will either turn over or not; if both of us try to handle the reins we will certainly turn over.'"

After the Habsburgs were dethroned Deák was convinced that the war would be fought to the bitter end. Nevertheless, in January, 1849, he and Batthyány tried to negotiate an armistice with Windisch-Graetz - without success.

In 1850 a military court summoned him from his refuge in Kehida to review his behavior during the war. But Deák had not been present at the dethronization in Debrecen and the court could find nothing against him.

Haynau's Terrorism - Bach's Suppression

The years immediately following the surrender at Világos were a dark period in Hungarian history. The darkest of these years were 1849 to 1850 when the Viennese government unleashed the sadist General Haynau to exact retribution. General Haynau had become infamous internationally through his conduct in Brescia, Italy, where besides ordering the mass execution of Italian patriots, he had ordered the flogging of insurgents, including women of noble birth. From then on the western press had dubbed him the "Hyena of Brescia" in a derisive pun on his name.

Now, he set his sights on Hungary, establishing military courts well before the end of the war. "I shall make order here," he wrote to his superior, General Radetzky, "and I shall have hundreds shot with the best of conscience." He also declared that he would see to it that the Magyars would not attempt a revolution again for a hundred years. The fact that the Honvéd army surrendered to the Russians rather than to Haynau's forces at Világos had humiliated him and contributed to his desire to wreak vengeance. The execution of the thirteen Magyar generals in Arad was a prelude to the mass executions that followed.

There is no space here to go into details of Haynau's terroristic behavior in Hungary which cannot be understood by mere statistics. According to an Austrian report published in 1851, the Habsburg courts tried 4628 Hungarian rebels. About 500 of these were sentenced to death, of whom only 120 were actually executed. About 2000 were sentenced to prison terms, varying from ten to twenty years, to be spent in chains. Many of them died in captivity. Numerous clergymen were among the condemned, including the Catholic bishop of Nagyvárad who was given twenty years - as an act of mercy. However, those who survived had all been set free by the end of the decade through amnesties, which also allowed many exiles, including Count Gyula Andrássy, to return to Hungary.

Haynau's military dictatorship was short-lived, though long-remembered. Vienna, embarrassed by world-wide consternation over his sadism, relieved him of command in 1851. As General Radetzky remarked, "Haynau is like a razor: after it has been used, it should be placed back in its case.

Actually, Haynau's "case" turned out to be a large estate he had acquired in Hungary, but his retirement was a very lonely one. No one in Hungarian society would appear in his company: he was avoided like the plague.

Haynau's era of hot persecution was followed by an era of cold oppression under a new administrator. Baron Alexander Bach, whose avowed aim was the centralization and Germanization of the Habsburg provinces, primarily Hungary. German was declared the official language all over the Empire: Hungary's ancestral county-system of local government was to be dismantled as was the country itself. Transylvania was made a separate province. Croatia with the port of Fiume was sliced off', and finally in the South an entirely new district, Vajdaság (Voivodina), comprising four counties was created and placed under Austrian, not Serbian administration. The autonomy and the separate Diet of Croatia that had existed for 750 years within Hungary were also lost. Not even the Transylvanian Saxons were granted their previous autonomy while Wallachian (Rumanian) hopes for a favored treatment were similarly crushed by the new order.

As a Hungarian statesman, Ferenc Pulszky said, not without irony, "the nationalities who were allies of Austrian absolutism in the past struggle received as a reward the same treatment meted out to the Hungarians as punishment." Another Hungarian politician, Antal Csengery remarked. with a touch of sarcasm,.- "All nationalities now received equal rights with the Magyars - to become Germans"

An enormous bureaucracy - supported by Austrian troops - was set up to implement the grandiose germanization scheme devised by Bach who had ordered many thousand Austrian and Czech officials to Hungarian communities to administer and enforce the new order. Through them a vast network of secret police, censorship, intrigue and informers was created, permeating the entire society. To make their presence less conspicuous they were given Hungarian-style uniforms which, however, soon made them the objects of scorn and ridicule in the eyes of the public, who labeled them "Bach Hussars."

Despite the atmosphere of fear and suspicion, the

arrests, persecutions, imprisonments and executions of "rebels and conspirators," the tactics of the oppressors were ridiculous indeed. Their suspicions were aroused by petty things: The wearing of dresses of "revolutionary cut" and crane-feathered "Kossuth" hats were forbidden; speaking Hungarian in public places was regarded as a sign of rebelliousness. Nonsmoking among men was frowned upon as a kind of sabotage since an important source of income for the Treasury was the tobacco tax.

Besides ridicule, the Magyars' answer to the Bach regime was passive resistance, which manifested itself in many forms: non-payment of taxes, avoidance of military service, refusal to hold public office, dropping litigations to avoid appearing before Austrian judges, pretending ignorance or German even by those who were fluent in the language - and addicted smokers gave up the habit.

The passive resistance gradually created a general inertia that paralyzed Bach's system. But while the nation's external life faltered, its internal life intensified. Magyar families would seek consolation and self-defense by cultivating personal relationships. The wearing of national costumes became a fashionable expression of patriotism and the youth were inculcated with Magyar spirit in the family circle. When friends and families got together they danced Magyar dances, recited or read patriotic poems and other writings, and sang patriotic songs in a general escape back to the glorious past of Hungary. To fuel the patriotic spirit the nation's poets and writers resorted to allegories in their work to foil ever-present censorship.

Deák Comes to the Fore

With the passing of years the bankruptcy of Bach's grand design was becoming more and more evident and the conviction grew that his absolutist system could not last long. Actually, in some respects the Bach regime was beneficial for Hungary: following a European trend, industry, transportation and agricultural productivity were encouraged. The food industry developed on a large scale and 2000 km of new railroad tracks were laid. As an unforeseen benefit, Hungary's complete incorporation with Austria gave her a chance to catch up, to a degree, with Austria's industrial development,

Economic improvements notwithstanding, it was the regaining of national independence that preoccupied the Magyars as they slowly emerged from the numbing effects of defeat, persecution and oppression. Actually, Hungarian political attitudes varied widely at that time. The old revolutionary spirit had not died; Kossuth's agitation from exile fueled the fire in many a heart as he remained in close contact with his homeland through secret emissaries and correspondence.

It was in these years that Ferenc Deák in his self-exile at Kehida became the symbol of the nation's passive resistance and its will to survive quietly until the coming of better times. The mood of the country was perhaps best depicted by a little episode from Deák's life.

At the time of the Bach era a prominent German put this question to Ferenc Deák:

- Do you think it impossible that Hungary will become germanized?

- There is nothing impossible in it.

- Then why don't you give up your resistance?

- Well, my friend, if a doctor tells you that you could live for a while yet, but you can die today if you want, what would you do?

- I would live as long as I could.

- Now, you see, we are trying to do the same thing: to live as Magyars as long as possible.

On an other occasion Deák compared the Magyar nation to an egg: the longer you boil it, the harder it gets.

In contrast, Deák and his followers, who soon included Count Gyula Andrássy, advocated the idea of accommodation to Austria, provided that it respected Hungary's historic rights and her needs.

Although the atmosphere in the country was changing, the dark clouds of oppression were still hovering over Hungary when, unexpectedly, a thunderbolt struck. It came not from the sky but from the pen of Count István Széchenyi whose pamphlet The Blick was published in London after the manuscript had been smuggled out from the Sanatorium of Döblin where he had written it. In this pamphlet Széchenyi, who had regained full possession of his

mental capacity, delivered a blistering attack on the Austrian government and satirized Alexander Bach murderously. Bach was relieved from his position the next year.

The Road to the Compromise

The year 1859 brought a significant change in Deák's waiting game. The Imperial army had suffered a disastrous defeat at the battle of Solferino against the French; thereupon Emperor Franz Joseph, with his position weakened, gave all his lands a new constitution called the "October Diploma." It allowed the convocation of the Hungarian Diet but refused to recognize the reforms of 1848, and denied the existence of an autonomous Hungary. The Diet was convoked in 1861 and Deák set to work to reach some kind of settlement with the Emperor. After one Address to the Crown was rejected, he prepared another one leaving no doubt that on the Hungarian side there would be no bargain over the Hungarian Constitution.

"The Hungarian people will endure as their ancestors endured and suffered in their struggle to preserve the rights of their country. What we have lost through violence and force, time and fate may restore, but the restoration of what the nation voluntarily relinquishes because of its fear of suffering is always difficult and doubtful," Deák declared.

It was during these years that Kossuth's popularity flared up again; the land echoed his name together with that of Garibaldi, the hero of freedom of Italy. The lower class idolized Kossuth; his portrait became a fixture in many Hungarian homes.

After the dissolution of the Diet, Deák retired once more, devoting his time to writing his "Contribution to Hungarian Public Law" which has become a standard work on the subject.

Meanwhile, time was working for the Magyars. Before long, the Emperor's confidants dropped broad hints that he would welcome overtures towards a compromise from the Hungarian side. This prompted Deák to publish an unsigned article, which went into history as the Húsvéti Cikk (Easter article). Deák declared that Hungary was ready to harmonize its legislation with the security of the Empire, and acknowledged that there were "common affairs," such as defense, finance, and foreign policy, which should be negotiated between the two countries for their mutual interest. He tactfully suggested that the Emperor could do much to reconcile his Hungarian subjects by an act of magnanimity. The Emperor took the hint and made a gift from the Privy Purse to the Hungarian Academy, came to Pest to meet the Hungarian leaders, and finally convoked the Diet in 1865.

With this move, the negotiations began in earnest, but the road to final reconciliation was a long one.

It was Hungary's good fortune that there was a "guardian angel" of Hungarians at the Emperor's side who could promote Magyar interests as the Magyars themselves could not. This "angel" was none other than Franz Joseph's own wife, the Empress Elizabeth who played a crucial role in promoting the Magyars' cause during the negotiations.

Whatever Elizabeth's persuasion may have been worth, the decisive factor in convincing Franz Joseph was the force of Prussian arms that defeated the Emperor's army at Koenigraetz on July 6th, 1866. It was a catastrophe of the first magnitude for the Habsburg Empire, dramatically weakening Vienna's negotiating position. But the Magyars proved chivalrous and the Emperor was astounded when Deák declared "The Hungarian nation asks no more, but no less, from Vienna now than before Koenigraetz."

With this chivalrous attitude, the ice was finally broken and after complicated negotiations lasting more than six months a reconciliation agreement, the so-called "Compromise" (Kiegyezés - Ausgleich in German) was signed. It formed the basis of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, signaling a new beginning after a struggle that had lasted for 350 years. Through the Compromise, Hungary regained its independence and territorial integrity and became an equal partner in the Empire. Parliamentary government was re-established and the laws of 1848 were restored almost in their entirety. Croatia received a sort of home rule within the Hungarian state, and Transylvania was reunited with Hungary. Ties to Austria remained, not only through a common monarch, but also through joint ministers of foreign policy, defense, and finance and a commercial and customs union renewable every ten years.

Although the office of premier was offered first to Deák, he declined it because of advanced age (63) and recommended his partner in hammering out the Compromise, Count Gyula Andrássy, for the position. His suggestion accepted, it was the dashing Magyar aristocrat Andrássy who performed the double coronation ceremony on June 8, 1867, which introduced the long era of the Dual Monarchy.

Deák, the chief architect of the Compromise, retired at the pinnacle of his career from public life to his room at the Queen of England Hotel. He refused any honor the nation and the dynasty would gladly have conferred upon him. "It was beyond the King's power to grant him anything, except the clasp of his hand," said Andrássy. Finally, Deák received a gift he could not turn down entirely: the portraits of the King and Queen, set in valuable frames. He kept

the paintings, but returned the frames with a deep "thank you."

The royal couple were sincere admirers of the "Sage of Hungary". Back in 1865, before the Compromise, Franz Joseph had said to Deák:

"You are a man to be envied, you have a larger Party than I do."

"And I consider it my good fortune, Your Majesty, to belong to your Party." came the reply.

Admiration for Deák was also implanted in the young Crown Prince, Rudolph, who, at his mother's insistence, received a Hungarian education from Mihály Horváth, Kossuth's former minister, and professor Jácint Rónay.

Jácint Rónay recalled this dialogue with his young charge:

- Professor Rónay, if I were a grown-up and a king, I would like to give Deák something, something big.

- But he would not accept it.

- But if someone won't accept reward, how can you expect great services from him?

- Because the greatest reward is inherent in doing service to king and country.

- And Ferenc Deák would never accept anything from his king?

- He would accept a wreath on his coffin after his death.

- But what kind of wreath should it be? Golden laurels sprinkled with diamond, ruby and emeralds?

- It should be a wreath of forget-me-not's.

- Then, if I were a king when I grow up, I could not give anything to Deák?

- But yes, the same thing that your father had given him.

- What did my father give him?

- Something that he could give and yet keep.

- What can you give and yet keep?

- Your word.

- Thank you, Professor Rónay... I shall never forget today's lesson.

Indeed, Ferenc Deák was never forgotten. When he died in 1875, his beloved Queen Elizabeth, dressed in black from head to toe, prayed at his catafalque upon which a cypress branch had been placed on behalf of his bitter adversary abroad, an enemy of the Compromise, Lajos Kossuth. It was a symbolic meeting of friend and foe at the coffin of the eternal reconciliator. Ferenc Deák was buried in a grave filled with lumps of soil sent from all 52 counties of Hungary, resurrected to her ancient glory. and whose boundaries now reached from the Carpathian Mountains to the Adriatic Sea.

Stephen Sisa : The Spirit of Hungary