Keyword – political Catholicism

Szénási, Zoltán:

Changes in Új Nemzedék’s Ady-image between 1919 and 1929

In 1919, Új Nemzedék, a political daily founded in 1913, was re-launched as an outlet for the radical right. It evinced a strongly anti-Semitic rhetorical stance after the fall of the Hungarian Republic of Councils, which also dominated the discussion of actual cultural events. It made an effort to create a Christian-national literary canon in the post-1919 years in an attempt to integrate not only the representatives of national conservatism into the canon, but also the “Christian” authors of Nyugat (Ady, Babits, and Móricz). After 1922, a change in the editorial board brought about a change in the opinion on Ady. His poetical significance was not at all doubted later, yet the political and moral objections which characterised the nationalist conservative literary perspective of the period resurfaced. In addition to describing the changing Ady-image of Új Nemzedék, this paper aims to explore how the process related politically to the history of journalism and criticism.

Keywords: anti-semitism, conservativism, cult of Ady, Új Nemzedék, political Catholicism, radical right

Lajkó, Ádám:

Freemasonry and the First World War

The theory about Masonry’s responsibility for WWI was a popular idea among interwar far-right intellectuals in Hungary. This paper examines the origins and the context of this interpretation and shows why it could become one of the emotional reference points in the emerging far-right worldview. It demonstrates that speculation about this link appeared in the Hungarian press as early as 1914. The idea first emerged within a radical branch of political Catholicism, hostile to the civic radicals, a francophile ideology closely linked to Masonry. The theory’s focal point was the question of nationality and territorial integrity, its proponents portrayed the irredentist threat against the dual Monarchy as a tool of the Freemasons. After Italy’s entry into the war the idea also appeared in the pro-government conservative daily Budapesti Hírlap. The paper shows that the public diplomacy and geopolitical rhetoric of the Entente states had a catalytic effect on the development of this theory: its proponents interpreted the Hungarian civic radicals as a force representing the interests of the Entente. Finally, the paper shows that this early interpretation played a founding role in the birth of the theories attributing the Trianon Peace Treaty to the influence of the Masons.

Keywords: civic radicals, far-right world view, first world war, masonry, nationality question, political Catholicism