Petra Polyak | University of Pecs (original) (raw)

Books by Petra Polyak

A felsőoktatási felvételi rendszer 1948-49-től kezdődő átalakítása a pártállam új, rendszerhű ért... more A felsőoktatási felvételi rendszer 1948-49-től kezdődő átalakítása a pártállam új, rendszerhű értelmiségi rétegének kinevelését és az első ötéves terv szakember-szükségletének biztosítását szolgálta. A tervgazdasági logika az egyetemekre és a főiskolákra is kiterjedt: a voluntarista létszámtervek teljesítése kötelező volt - „a hallgatóknak meg kellett lenni”. Ennek érdekében a pártállami oktatásirányítás korábban nem tapasztalt mértékű kontrollt kívánt gyakorolni az egyetemi-főiskolai hallgatóság létszáma és összetétele felett oly módon, hogy a beiskolázást egy üzem termeléséhez hasonlóan tervezhető, irányítható és ellenőrizhető folyamatnak tekintette.

Papers by Petra Polyak

European Review of History: Revue européenne d'histoire , 2023

Based on the example of university party organizations, the article discusses the function of inf... more Based on the example of university party organizations, the article discusses the function of information scarcity in the daily work of lower-level functionaries in the Stalinist period of Hungarian state socialism (1948–56). In order to implement party policies efficiently, the functionaries of the Hungarian Workers’ Party needed to acquire information about the goals, possible methods and evaluative frameworks of their tasks and their social environment. The article argues that the uncertainty caused by the scarcity of reliable information from and about society could have been reduced by consistent orientation from the higher party levels. In the first years of open sovietization, the party leadership successfully presented itself as the only true and all-knowing guide towards communism, which provided stability when the Stalinist style of discipline, work and practice was introduced into the organizational culture. However, the contradictory and watered-down central interpretations about the modifications of the Soviet model during the New Course and after the Twentieth Party Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union proved to be insufficient to make sense of the party policies’ twists and turns and made functionaries unable to deal with the new challenges. The perception of not being adequately informed resulted in a gradual loss of loyalty towards the actual party leadership by the eve of the revolution of 1956. Elaborating functionaries’ confusion in the context of universities also shows how the control of students slipped through the party’s fingers and provides further explanation of why universities became hotbeds of opposition and resistance against the communist regime.

Pontes. A PTE BTK Történettudományi Intézetének Évkönyve, 2022

Socialist Legality’ of the Disciplinary Procedures in Institutions of Higher Education during the... more Socialist Legality’ of the Disciplinary Procedures in Institutions of Higher Education during the Rákosi Era

Th e New Course, the de-Stalinization programme of Prime Minister Imre Nagy introduced the concept of ‘socialist legality’ in the summer of 1953 in the official political discourse. Without challenging the legitimacy of the Communist regime, it promised political easement, reduction of repression, as well as correction of unlawful acts that encouraged many formerly expelled students to appeal for revision of their cases by the Ministry of Education. The new mantra of ‘socialist legality’ allowed them to interpret their experien-ce as violations of their rights, gave them rhetoric tools to motivate the Ministry and the hope of having some control over the unpredictable and arbitrary disciplinary procedures. Their submissions, however, based on a more rational, more fair, more righteous, but still somewhat ‘socialist’ understanding of legality. The willingness of the regime for a limited self-correction generated some level of trust in the central institutions of the party state, but the moving force of the concept of the ‘socialist legality’ showed itself more apparently, as the expectations about the legal remedy did not meet the reality. The lack of responsi-bility, the still arbitrary decisions and the stubborn adherence to the logic of class struggle made the newly chanted promises of the ‘socialist legality’ after the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1956) less believable. The need of legal remedy became evident which legitimized the individual experiences as violation of rights without formal institutional correction. Although driven by diff erent motivations, the oddities of rehabilitation connected the ever-growing mass of people who demanded not only indi-vidual but systemic correction with ordinary participators of unlawful acts who showed themselves ready to draw moral conclusions of their decisions, however, did not want to bear the responsibility alone.

Korall, 2018

University and Discipline. Aspects of Judging the Behaviour of University Students before 1956 T... more University and Discipline. Aspects of Judging the Behaviour of University Students before 1956

The party state’s economic and social aims, based on the Marxist–Leninist ideology, significantly affected the definition of the types of behaviours considered insubordinate, the means of sanctions, as well as the operation of the authorities dedicated to enforce them. In the re- and over-politicised atmosphere of universities and colleges (much like that of the rest of society), actions such as asking inappropriate questions, cheating at exams, even simple truancy, were liable to gain unfavourable political charge, which were organised along the easily recognisable labels of current politics and ideology – “reactionary,” “clerical,” “kulak,” “right-wing tendencies” – affixed upon the accused students. The documentation of the disciplinary procedures, however, are informative not only about the zeal to create and expose the enemy, but also about the accused students’ motivation behind their actions.
While Hungarian historiography studies the “anti-regime” behaviours (or those labelled as such) of higher education students and responses of the authorities mostly in the context of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, German higher education research assumes a more nuanced and in-depth approach to the same topic. The toolkit developed to instigate regime-friendly behaviour, as well as the forms of repression exerted upon both students and educators are both of central importance in studies of East German higher education history and monographs published on institutional histories. Their approach is largely determined by the methodology and terminology developed through decades of research in the field of East German social resistance (Opposition und Widerstand). While this approach rightly stresses the opportunities for individual action and the limitations of attempts of total social control, it mainly focuses on finding confrontational contacts which means that it is not entirely sufficient for the exploration of the multi-layered relational web between authorities and students in itself.
As the present examination of the pre-1956 behaviour of university students does not seek evidence for student resistance, the chosen approach – while utilising the methodological considerations and terminology of opposition research – attempts to synchronise it with the concept of Eigen-Sinn (c. self-will), which has a stronger hermeneutic power in exploring the relationship between individual and authority. The present analysis of the 1955 disciplinary action against the students of the Russian department at the University of Szeged, thus, merges the theoretical and methodological approaches of both opposition research and Alltagsgeschichte.

Múltunk, 2019

The students and the regime. Disciplinary procedures and regime critics in Hungarian higher educa... more The students and the regime. Disciplinary procedures and regime critics in Hungarian higher education institutions before 1956 //
The paper focuses on students’ reactions toward tensions generated by the claims of the Hungarian Working People’s Party in order to achieving complete domination within almost every area of society. By analysing the disciplinary procedures against students, I examine those forms of behaviour which were considered as “hostile” by the regime, as well as how students as a specific social group perceived the scope of actions of its own in the everyday life during the Rákosi Era. Considering both the possibilities expressing counter-opinions, and the retaliatory measures, the government programme of Prime Minister Imre Nagy as the “new course” (1953) indicated an obvious caesura. Before that time, apart from a few, more or less open (and almost always immediately sanctioned) statements, the various practices to evade indoctrination, and the passive and anonymous forms of expressing opinions signed the students’ aversion against the party’s goals. Although during these years the dominant form of everyday resistance mostly remained the absences from events of indoctrination, after 1953 the critical voices reached partially freer, public forums, often by taking over the existing spaces and events of communist agitation. The students’ critics were intensified by the specific social position of them: due to the overstraining of political issues, and the ever-circulating process of re-learning the same parts of communist ideology over and over again, they could draw up relevant critic about ideological questions and political circumstances, beyond complaining about their own existential conditions. They perceived the political climate of the “new course” not just a more tolerant one, but also as it explicitly requires a more “honest”, but critical position from them. Thus, their “wilful” (“eigensinnig”) behaviour, whether they aimed it or not, contributed to the undermining of existing power relations. Therefore, the changing relationship between students and the regime shows various stages of a process, where long-time everyday resistance lead through from an open, partially critic to more conscious forms of political resistance, and even to a revolution at the end.

Gerundium, 2019

"Unknowable Students". "Searching for the enemy" at the Hungarian Universities in the beginning o... more "Unknowable Students". "Searching for the enemy" at the Hungarian Universities in the beginning of the fifties

The Communist Party organization of Hungarian universities, in order to fulfil one of their main tasks, i.e. to "unmask the enemy", attempted to gather a lot of information about the students. They collected data through admission procedures about their class-origin, which was reckoned as basic indicator of their political reliability, while functionaries tried to force them to verbalize their opinion and to comment daily political events in obligatory courses of Marxism Leninism and in other formal and informal discussions. Besides the identification of the "enemy", the forcing of political statements had the purpose to get the chance to correct them. However, the overstraining of political issues, the circulating process of re-learning the same parts of Communist ideology over and over again, along with the overreaction of functionaries to politically "incorrect" opinions led to an unwanted effect. Reports on the effectiveness of contemporary practices of indoctrination stated several times that the ideological dissemination of knowledge does not provide some students with a world view, but rather a practical knowledge: the students, instead of revealing their real thoughts "learned to speak Marxism".

“Class Aliens” at University The social and education policy of the party state treated the highe... more “Class Aliens” at University
The social and education policy of the party state treated the higher education aspirations of various social groups differently. While students of worker or peasant origin were supported at university admissions, ‘class aliens’ were excluded from higher education altogether, leaving them only the loophole of ‘individual assessment’ to appeal to. In order to segregate those who benefitted and those who were barred, in 1949 the education administration developed a system of data collection and management to maximise the information known about each student. Students were allocated into categories by origin, following a painstaking collection of minute details about their parents’ income and financial situation. However, due to the professional/political differences of the assessors and the lack of clear methodology, the interpretation of the collected data was arbitrary on every level. From 1949/50 onwards, the higher education institutions exposed a large number of ‘interloping class aliens’ who were charged with withholding pieces of information which would cause their exclusion from higher education. Besides sanctioning any attempt to hide from the omnipresent control of the establishment, disciplinary actions taken for ‘withholding information’ focused on the students’ life stories and the (still very much arbitrary) interpretation thereof. The author examines disciplinary cases between 1950–1956 to find out whether ‘withholding information’ was indeed a conscious strategy of ‘class aliens’ to gain admission to higher education. The students’ arguments suggest that many of them were aware that providing ‘real’ information about themselves would result in their exclusion and they did indeed keep certain details from the admissions officers. Others, however, tried to legitimise the self-description of their social standing in order to deny the charges of deliberate misrepresentation and ‘withholding’. Upon more detailed examination, Polyák concludes that most of the disciplinary cases concerned the continuation of studies rather than admissions. For some students ‘withholding information’ was not a strategy to gain admission since their right to continue their studies in higher education was questioned only after their enrolment.

Pedagógiatörténeti Szemle, 2019

Discipline in the Hungarian higher education at the beginning of the fifties In the universities... more Discipline in the Hungarian higher education at the beginning of the fifties

In the universities of the Rákosi era, classroom absence, late arrival or failure, as well as dropping out of school often led to disciplinary penalties. On the field of principles, this practice was based on the interpretation of learning and studying as working, while in practice, on the role of the higher education as making of a â€œnew intelligentsiaâ€. Through the communist regulations of learning the discipline became a primary condition of getting a degree, therefore learning difficulties of students were interpreted exclusively as a lack of discipline, even if they came from the mechanisms of the Soviet-type higher education themselves.

Pilkhoffer Mónika - Wéber Adrienn (szerk.:) Pécs-Baranya évszázadai 1. Csorba Győző Könyvtár - Pécs Története Alapítvány, Pécs., 2022

dezső Krisztina A 19-es pécsi honvéd gyalogezred. Fokos című első világháborús tábori újságja Gőz... more dezső Krisztina A 19-es pécsi honvéd gyalogezred. Fokos című első világháborús tábori újságja Gőzsy zoltán Pécs város igazgatása és jogi helyzete az 18. század első felében. az 1740-es években felvett tanúvallomások tükrében Gyánti istván "Magyarok voltunk, magyarok vagyunk…" Néphatározat Pécsett, 1918. december 3-án Kis-Halas Judit A domb, a kincs és a szentek. A siklósi Göntér-domb a népi elbeszélő hagyományban, a helyi emlékezetben és a történeti narratívákban Kiss zoltán-Kisszabóné trapl ivett Egy baranyai írónő: Dénes Gizella MoHr szilárd A pécsi fiúgimnáziumok és a második világháború naGy iMre Gábor Négy nemzedéken át Baranya vármegye szolgálatában. A Horváth család története polyáK petra Egy ízetlen tréfától a fasiszta provokációig. Az 1949-es pécsi Gólyabál-ügy raposa vivien Kitti "Jogunk van a megélhetést biztosító munkához". A Turul és az Emericana diáksegélyezési tevékenysége és harca a friss diplomások magas munkanélküliségi arányának csökkentéséért A kötet szerzői

Az Év Levéltára 2020.: A 2021. április 13-án tartott konferencia előadásai. Pécs, Magyarország : PTE Egyetemi Levéltár, 2021. 67-84., 2021

Közelmúlt, 2018

A keletnémet egyetemi ellenállás kutatása és emlékezete Németországban A Német Demokratikus Köztá... more A keletnémet egyetemi ellenállás kutatása és emlékezete Németországban A Német Demokratikus Köztársaság (NDK) múltjával való "birkózás" az újraegyesített Németországban több szakaszban zajlott. A kilencvenes évek elejének múltpolitikáját a diktatúra jogi és törvényes eszközökkel való lebontása, intézményrendszerének integrációja, politikai elitjének leváltása és a lusztráció kérdései határozták meg. 1 Az NDK delegitimizálása és az örökségével való mielőbbi és kíméletlen szakítás érdekében a múltfeltárás ti. az átlagpolgárok számára addig rejtve maradt, a diktatúra totalitását érzékeltető összefüggések leleplezése a nagy nyilvánosság előtt és annak aktív részvételével zajlott. Az egykori keletnémet intézményrendszer és személyi állományának -különböző területeken eltérő mélységűátalakítását és cseréjét követően a múltpolitika helyét a történelempolitika vette át, és elsősorban az a kérdés: hogyan is kell és/vagy lehet az NDK-ra emlékezni. 2 A nyilvánosság fokozott érdeklődése, az ezt kiszolgálni kívánó kutatástámogatási politika, valamint a korábban elzárt levéltári iratokhoz való hozzáférés 1990-től az NDK történetének rendkívül intenzív kutatását eredményezte. 3 A felsőoktatás mint az oktatás-, a tudomány-és az intézménytörténet metszéspontjaiban elhelyezkedő témakör több tudományterület kutatóinak figyelmét is felkeltette, de a tudományos feldolgozásokon túl kifejezetten sok visszaemlékezés és dokumentumkötet is napvilágot látott, köszönhetően az egykori oktatók és hallgatók átlagon felüli publikálási képességének és hajlandóságának. 4 Az 1945 1 Timothy Garton Ash: Vier Wege zur Wahrheit. Machen wir es richtig? Wie machen es die anderen? Eine Zwischenbilanz. Die Zeit, 1997/41. https://www.zeit.de/1997/41/Vier_Wege_zur_Wahrheit; letöltés: 2018. április 23.; Jürgen Kocka: "Fordulat" vagy "forradalom"? 2000, 2009/11. http://ketezer.hu/2009/11/fordulat-vagyforradalom, letöltés: 2018. április 30.; Daniel Hechler -Peer Pasternack: Traditionsbildung, Forschung und Arbeit am Image. Die ostdeutschen Hochschulen im Umgang mit ihrer Zeitgeschichte. Leipzig, 2013. (Hochschulforschung Halle-Wittenberg) http://www.hof.uni-halle.de/web/dateien/pdf/Traditionsbildung-Forschung-und-Arbeitam-Image.pdf, letöltés: 2018. április 30. 71-75.

A normán innen és túl, 2017

The manipulated publicity of the retaliation system was one of the most prominent characteristics... more The manipulated publicity of the retaliation system was one of the most prominent characteristics of the disciplinary mechanisms in the Hungarian one-party state. The most spectacular forms were the so-called ‘social courts’ in factories. Formally, these were not legal institutions, but an informal forum, where those who belonged to the immediate surroundings of the accused – first of all, his colleagues – discussed his delicts, and decided upon the appropriate sanctions. These ‘courts’, as social institutions, aimed at a double disciplinary effect. On the one hand, social courts tried to force repentance out of the accused in the very presence of his co-workers. On the other hand, it was a demonstration for the public: they made it evident what was considered deviant, they demonstrated the
workings of the informal system of social sanctions, and aimed to prevent similar acts in the community. Moreover, by the implementation of the mechanisms of public deliverance and open voting, they made it inevitable for the community to be considered part of the ‘juridical’ process and thus somehow share responsibility for the verdict.
The appearance of social courts in the system of higher education was an inevitable consequence of the communist interpretation of the functions of higher education in general. Similarly to the factories, the institutions of higher education formed part of the communist five-year plans, these institutions were therefore also considered ‘factories’, where the students’ ‘work’ was to learn. Thus, the students’ school records were interpreted within the context of the process of the building of socialism. Truancy, a failed class, or even neglecting taking notes could
make the ‘delinquent’ seem as the enemy of the whole social-political system. Most of the cases brought to ‘social courts’ were academic misdemeanors or were related to the concealment of one’s class background (being ‘classalien’), especially if they were considered useful by the proctors to fulfil the aforementioned double-edged disciplinary aims.
Public ‘social courts’ were basically the reproduction of formal legal processes carried out by official proctor committees, but in the presence of a much larger audience. Thus, the most important effect of this procedure came from the derogatory comments made by the members of the community, though public opinion was consciously controlled by the organizers of the trials. Though the interpretative context of the misdemeanors were precisely set beforehand for participants, the formulation of individual opinions was encouraged, so that ‘inappropriate sentiments’ and other ideological ‘faults’, as well as the identity of opinion leaders could be unveiled during the event.
In ‘social courts’, the disciplinary mechanisms of the one-party state were shown in action. The events were probably considered by most participants as false, fake and untrue, but if they wanted to avoid being accused themselves, their opinion could only be expressed by indirect means, which could also be traced in the documents. This evidence supports the conclusion that the institution of ‘social courts’ was not self-regulatory, but a ‘disciplining theatre’ where opinions could be made homogeneous.

University and Universality: the Place and Role of the University of Pécs in Europe from the Middle Ages to Present Day: International University History Conference: Conference Volume, 2017

The evocation of an institution’s past by university jubilees has a practical aim, i.e. the eleva... more The evocation of an institution’s past by university jubilees has a practical aim, i.e. the elevation of historical traditions in which institutional identity has been rooted in, and on which the present (and future) unique characteristics of the university has been (and will be) based on. Celebrating (or even not celebrating) of a given institutional anniversary mainly depends on how these evocable historical traditions could be inserted into the general framework of the institution’s actual and dominant self-identity, and into the socio-politico-cultural circumstances as a whole. Hence, the acts of remembrance not just tell a lot about the past, but as well as the very present of the jubilarians.
In the case of Pécs, the fact whether the university wanted or not to celebrate a given jubilee during the 20th century was fairly depended on how much the jubilarians intended to conciliate the ancient, but discontinuous history of higher education in Pécs rooted in the Middle Ages with the origin of the university’s modern, but a bit more continuous predecessor: the Elisabeth University which was, however, founded in Pozsony (Bratislava), and moved to the city only in 1923. Between the two World Wars, the university and its professors were keeping alive the traditions of the university’s Bratislavan origin continuously and consciously, which also supported the Hungarian revisionist politics on a symbolic playground. Nevertheless, their endeavor overshadowed the medieval heritage of higher education in Pécs despite of all the efforts made by the city’s representatives to maintain it. On the other hand, after 1945, keeping alive the symbolic attachment of the university to its Bratislavan origin became not just impossible, but even objectionable, which intensified the importance of medieval heritage of Pécs’s higher education. Moreover, at the end of the 1950s, this ancient heritage suddenly became vital for the university existed in Pécs for only a couple of decades yet.

Per Aspera ad Astra, 2016

Student Disciplinary Procedures related to the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 at the Faculty of La... more Student Disciplinary Procedures related to the Hungarian Revolution
of 1956 at the Faculty of Law and the Teacher Training College of Pécs
(Summary)
The retaliations following the Hungarian Revolution of October 1956 reached the institutions of higher education at the end of April 1957. However, in Pécs the first disciplinary procedures had been started almost a month ahead of the central executive order, due to university-college party organizations, as well as the initial difficulties surrounding the Young Communist League. The reason behind this is that both the Hungarian Socialist Workers’ Party and the Hungarian Young Communist League movements found their position rather precarious in the movement, when they were founded in February-March, 1957. For them, the disciplinary procedures served as the primary tool to restore and expand their influence. While it allowed the regulation of the students and lecturers who opposed the restoration, it also made the old and new positions redistributive within the party and the youth organizations. The records of these disciplinary trials as well as the appeals of the students both confirm and support the historical conclusion that causal relationship between activity during and retribution after the Revolution was not essential. The conscious creation of an Enemy was evident to some of the accused students as well.

A pártállami felsőoktatás kialakítása az 1948-49-ben induló, majd -a kívánt, látványos eredmények... more A pártállami felsőoktatás kialakítása az 1948-49-ben induló, majd -a kívánt, látványos eredmények elmaradásával -az ötéves terv alapján újradefiniált egyetemi "reform" keretében történt meg. A korábbi időszak követelményrendszerének marxista-leninista ideológiai alapokra helyezése jelentősen kitágította és átalakította a normasértőnek tekintett magatartásformák elleni fellépés elvi (ideológiai) megítélését és a szankcionálás gyakorlatát is. 1 A felsőoktatásnak, illetve a hallgatóknak a szocializmus építésében kijelölt helyét és feladatait, valamint a "rendbontó" magatartással szembeni fellépés formáit először az 1951-ben kiadott, egységes tanulmányi és fegyelmi szabályzat 2 határozta meg, melyet 1953-ban, 3 majd 1955-ben miniszteri utasítással módosítottak. 4 E szabályzatok a felsőoktatás társadalmi funkcióját rendszerhű, marxista-leninista világnézettel és tudástartalommal rendelkező szakemberek kibocsátásában határozták meg. 5 A hallgatók felsőoktatásban való részvétele a dolgozók művelődéshez való "alkotmányos" jogából levezetett jogot, s egyben a pártállam és a haza iránti "megtisztelő" és "becsületbeli" kötelességet, azaz 1 A kutatás négy intézményben, a Pécsi Tudományegyetem Állam-és Jogtudományi Karán (PTE ÁJK), a Pécsi Orvostudományi Egyetemen (POTE), a Pécsi Pedagógiai Főiskolán (PPF), valamint a Szegedi Pedagógiai Főiskolán (SzPF) 1950 és 1955 között lefolytatott fegyelmi eljárások dokumentációjának vizsgálatára terjedt ki. 2 Pécsi Tudományegyetem Egyetemi Levéltár (továbbiakban: PTE EL) VIII. 205. 41. d. 518/1950-51. A Vallásés Közoktatásügyi Miniszter, a Földművelésügyi Miniszter és az Egészségügyi Miniszter 1400-65-11/1951. VII. VKM. számú rendelete az egyetemek és főiskolák általános tanulmányi, fegyelmi és vizsgaszabályzatának megállapítása tárgyában, 1951. febr. 12. 3 A felsőoktatási miniszter 85-1/1953. FOM számú utasítása az egyetemi és főiskolai hallgatók fegyelmi szabályzatáról. Törvények és rendeletek hivatalos gyűjteménye: 1953. Bp. 1953. (továbbiakban: 85-1/1953. FOM) 163-165. 4 Az oktatásügyi miniszter 81/1955. (O.K. 18.) O. M. számú utasítása az egyetemi és főiskolai hallgatók fegyelmi szabályzatáról. Törvények és rendeletek hivatalos gyűjteménye : 1955. Bp. 1956. (továbbiakban: OM 81/1955.) 261-264. Az 1955-ben kiadott utasítás 1956 után is hatályban maradt, s a forradalmi eseményekkel összefüggő fegyelmi ítéleteket is e szabályzat alapján hozták meg. Annak ellenére sem változtattak rajta, hogy szövege szerint a vizsgálóbizottság hallgatói tagját -az akkor már nem létező -Dolgozó Ifjúság Szövetségének (DISZ) kellett volna kijelölnie. Kézdi György: Fegyelmi eljárások a felsőoktatásban 1956-1990. Magyar Felsőoktatás 2000 A korabeli, militarizált politikai nyelvhasználatot követő megfogalmazás szerint: a felsőoktatásnak "megfelelő létszámú és minőségű parancsnoki gárdát" kellett képeznie "a szocialista építés különböző frontszakaszaira". Ágoston György: A fegyelemre nevelés néhány kérdése. Felsőoktatási Szemle, 1952. 456.

A pécsi bölcsészképzés kezdetei az 1912-ben alapított pozsonyi magyar királyi Erzsébet Tudományeg... more A pécsi bölcsészképzés kezdetei az 1912-ben alapított pozsonyi magyar királyi Erzsébet Tudományegyetem (ETE) Bölcsészet-, Nyelv-és Történettudományi Karáig nyúlnak vissza. A Kar 1918-ban kezdte meg az oktatást, s ugyanebben az évben a középiskolai tanári képesítést nyújtó Középiskolai Tanárvizsgáló Bizottság is létrejött, ám az első bölcsészdoktori és tanári okleveleket már Budapesten állították ki. Az első világháború utáni, 1918-19-es események következtében ugyanis az egyetemnek el kellett hagynia Pozsonyt (bár a jogi kar 1921-ig még a városban maradhatott). Az orvosi és a bölcsészkart ideiglenesen Budapesten helyezték el, ahol 1920 és 1923 között a szintén menekülni kényszerült kolozsvári tudományegyetemmel együttműködve végezték az oktatást. A két egyetem elhelyezéséről az 1921. évi XXV. törvénycikk rendelkezett, mely a kolozsvári egyetemet Szegedre, a pozsonyit pedig Pécsre helyezte. Az oktatás megkezdését azonban a város szerb megszállása hátráltatta, így az első pécsi tanévet csak 1923 októberében nyitották meg.

Per Aspera ad Astra, 2014

Die institutionellen Namensvariationen der Elisabeth-Universität (Zusammenfassung) In der ers... more Die institutionellen Namensvariationen der Elisabeth-Universität
(Zusammenfassung)

In der ersten Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts bestand die offizielle Bezeichnung der
ungarischen Universitäten aus vier Elementen. Nach der Ortsbezeichnung stand das Attribut ungarisch-königlich (bzw. im Fall der Universität von Budapest königlich-ungarisch), dem folgte der Namensgeber und zuletzt stand die Bestimmung des Institutionstyps, also Universität.
Nach der Gründung 1912 wurde die offizielle Bezeichnung der Elisabeth-Universität
von Preßburg – die Namensgebung im Gründungsjahr inbegriffen – fünfmal verändert. Da die einzelnen Namenselemente verschiedene, zu der institutionellen Selbstdefinition nötige, identitätsbildende Inhalte darstellten, lösten alle Bestrebungen und äußere Aufforderungen, die sich nach der Änderung der einzelnen Namenselementen strebten, immer heftige Reaktionen (der Ablehnung) und symbolische Entscheidungen an der Universität aus. Dazu gehörten z. B. die Ablehnung der Angabe des neuen Universitätssitzes (Pécs) in dem offiziellen Namen der Universität und damit im Zusammenhang das (schließlich erfolgslose) Festhalten an der Bezeichnung des Gründungsorts (Preßburg) in der Hoffnung der möglichen Rückkehr sowie die Bemühungen um die Bewahrung von Elisabeth nach 1945, als es sogar versucht wurde, dem neuen politischen Kurs anpassend die „demokratischen“ Umstände der Namensgebung 1912 zu erweisen.
Die meistens zwangsläufigen Veränderungen der einzelnen Namenselemente der Elisabeth-Universität kennzeichneten die wichtigsten (bildungs-) politischen Wendepunkte von Ungarn in der ersten Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts. Sie sagten auf eine merkwürdige Weise das Schicksal der Universität voraus. Als sie 1947−48 aufgefordert wurde, als offizieller Name die Bezeichnung Universität von Pécs zu verwenden, existierte die Elisabeth-Universität de iure nicht mehr.

Book Reviews by Petra Polyak