The Aftermath of Defeats in War by Ibrahim M. Zabad

Author:Ibrahim M. Zabad
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9783030137472
Publisher: Springer International Publishing

2 National Self-Image

Hungarian national self-image could be described as inflated, self-absorbed, obsessed with greatness and pride, always in search of a place in the sun. There prevailed certain images and myths—as could be seen from historiography, popular histories, intellectuals’ writings, and political discourses in general—that made up this inflated national self-image: unflinching belief in some sort of a manifest destiny; a “maniacal insistence on Hungarian greatness”;19 a commanding sense of cultural superiority over other minorities coexisting with Hungarians or living on what is perceived to be the Hungarian realm; a belief in a “pre-destined Hungarian preeminence in the Carpathian Basin;”20 an unwavering sense of Exceptionalism, reinforced by the Holy Crown Doctrine21; and a passionate attachment to glorious historical memories, real or imagined. Hungarian elites, especially in the late nineteenth century, displayed imperial thinking and became haunted with a vision of Hungary as a great power.

The Hungarian traumatic, grievance-based reaction to their defeat is deeply related to the blown-up pre-war expectations and the grandiose, inflated national self-image that prevailed among the elites. The period preceding the war was one of heightened expectations of realizing the dream of St. Stefano and the creation of a “thirty-million Magyar” nation. The failure to realize those expectations, the element of suddenness and unexpectedness, exacerbated and deepened the trauma of defeat and the disillusionment that struck Hungarians after their loss.22

Historical memories are integral to national identity , and this is particularly true when there is a perceived glorious past entrenched in collective memories. Perceptions of a glorious past nourish present national goals. Until the end of WWI, Hungary perceived itself as “a great power, the key part of the Dual Monarchy, the thousand-year-old Empire of Saint Stephen.”23 Hungarians perceived Hungary as one of the oldest states in Europe, the largest Habsburg territory that enjoyed a “privileged status” in the empire.24 They believe they had a glorious history of a thousand-year kingdom—the first Hungarian King, Stephen I, received the Crown from the head of the Roman Catholic Church in the year 1000 AD. Their ancient history provided them with basis for their belief in empire. By the end of the twelfth century, the Hungarian Kingdom became one of the largest states in Europe as its borders were “washed by three seas.”25 The ancient Kingdom reached its peak during the reign of King Matthias Corvinus (1485–1490) during whose time the Hungarian monarch was equal in rank to other European monarchs and the Hungarian state marveled in its organization and army.26 Hungary evolved to become one of the most advanced countries of Central Europe between the eleventh and the fifteenth centuries after it embraced Christianity and became involved in the political and intellectual currents of the age.27 Once Hungary accepted Christianity, it was brought into the tangle of regional politics. The Mongol invasion of Hungary in 1241–1242 was followed by several centuries of conflict with the Ottoman Empire and resulted in the consolidation of the idea of Hungary as the last bastion of Christianity, antemurale christianitatis, which “became a building block of national identity .

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