Victor Karady
The Overall Survey of Educated Elites in Pre-Socialist Hungary - 1867-1948. (Issues, Approaches, Sources, Preliminary Results)[1]
An overall empirical study of elite groups has been recently accomplished in Hungary (2003-2007) thanks to the generous support of several Hungarian and foreign public and private agencies, with the aim to produce a large set of electronic data banks in the country covering the process of elite formation (mostly those with educational credentials) since the end of feudalism and the birth of the nation state (marked by the 1848 Revolution and the 1867 Compromise with Austria) till the socialist era and, in some respects, till today.. In this presentation I will focus on the historical survey related to the pre-socialist period only, since the sources, the methodology and the prosopographical contents of the survey reaching up to the present period are utterly different from the historical survey. The last one has drawn essentially upon archival sources, while the previous one has exploited a large collection of published materials in national encyclopaedias, biographical dictionaries and other printed serial funds.
Let me start with stating that our survey is meant to be a breakthrough in the historical study of educated elites, both in Hungary and elsewhere, since this is the first time that the whole population having benefitted from higher (post-secondary) education over the long period of post-feudal modernisation has been targeted for study in the strict sens of the establishment of a biographical documentation for each student or graduate identified in the sources.
Before presenting our survey, let us give here a reminder of the main stages of the historical development of Hungarian society since the official dismantlement of feudalism, starting with the 1848/49 Revolution and War of Independence to which the main transformations of the institutional framework of elite selection, elite training and the ’circulation’ of elites within the given social hierarchies was linked.
Historical stages and sociological scope
A preliminary remark should be dedicated here to the geographical scope of our study. Hungary was, before 1919, a large multi-ethnic kingdom, the frontiers of which had been largely fixed in feudal times since the early 11th century. The Hungarian state occupied the whole territory of the so called Carpathian basin, that is, together with the central regions now making up contemporary Hungary, large peripheral territories including today’s Slovakia, Romanian Transylvania, Ukrainian Subcarpathia, Serbian Voivodina, Croatia and Austrian Burgenland. Since the First World War and the consecutive Trianon Peace Treaty Hungary has been reduced to its central territories of Transdanubia (West), Trans-Tisza regions of the Central Plain (East) and the territories in between. In our study we have dealt with educated elites within the given frontiers of the Hungarian state, which – to be sure – received a significat proportion of university graduates from beyond the borders of what came to be called the Rump State. Since Croatia achieved a full administrative autonomy, just like Hungary, within the the Habsburg Empire after 1867, (while it maintained symbolic connections with Hungary as ’a state under the Hungarian Crown’), our treatment of pre-1919 elites excludes those born or established in Croatia .
Our survey is broken down into three long periods, differing by the territory concerned (pre-Trianon „Big Hungary” from 1867 till 1919 and afterwards the post-Trianon Rump State[2]), by the ethnic and social set-up of the pool of selection of elites, by the institutional scope and structure of the educational provision instrumental in the training of members of the elite, as well as – very importantly – the sources we could rely upon.
The first period to be dealt with was covered by the process of liberal-nationalist nation-building in the historic kingdom, which was indeed a uniquely multi-ethnic empire. The 1848 Revolution, though it failed to bring about the complete independence of Hungary, succeeded in laying the foundations of a modern constitutional kingdom with the abolition of feudal privileges of the ruling nobility (except its voting rights), an elected Parliament (based though on limited male suffrage only), the legal equality of citizens, land reform liberating peasant serfs from feudal bonds, the separation of executive, legislative and judicial powers and the beginning of the secularisation of the state. Though the Revolution and the War of Independence was followed by a period of absolutist repression, the Hungarian nationalist leadership could eventually negotiate with the imperial government the famous 1867 Compromise (Ausgleich) which guaranteed the internal autonomy of the Hungarian state, while maintaining the links with Austria via the ’common affairs’ (diplomacy, defense and the finances connected to the latter two).
In this ’Dualist’ Hungary’ (1867-1918) the nation building process was carried out to its utmost consequences by an old noble elite which was quickly supplemented and in some functions even substituted by upcoming new elite groups. These social movements generated a number of conflict zones related to the redistribution of property and economic power, the position of ethnic minorities and that of religious status groups in the ruling class.
Dualist Hungary inherited typically post-feudal social and economic structures, many aspects of which demonstrate the long term survival of the Ancient Regime. First of all it was characterized by the large scale maintenance of the feudal system of land owwnership : 1 % of all landowners with 48 % of landed estates over 100 acres. The historic aristocracy succeeded in keeping its large latifundia, all the more that much of its properties continued to be protected by feudal right of ’non alienability’ (mainmorte). This was not so for the lower gentry which was losig rapidly its landed estates, but kept its social networks and historic authority.
§ Maintenance of the social prestige and political hegemony of the gentry (59 of MPs were still noblemen in 1890, 50 % in 1910)
· Heavy share of the titled aristocracy in governments
§ industrialisation and economic modernisation in charge of ’newcomers’ in the elites : Jews, Germans, Slavs, non nobles
- the nation-building ’titular elite’ represents only an ethnic minority (or minorities) in the country
o no more than 40-42 % of ethnic Magyars (magyar speakers) at mid-19. century, just 50 % in 1900, following a long period of ’assimilation’
o some minorities accept (Jews, many Germans and Slovaks), others refuse (like most Romanians, Serbians, Ukrainians, some Slovaks, Transylvanian Saxons) the agenda of the Magyar nation state
o hence the whole nation building process included a heavy stress on the ’Magyarization of minorities’ :
§ a vast conflict area with some minorities in terms of schooling, symbolic geography, social integration in ruling elites, economic competition, etc.
- a multi-denominational set-up without any religious majority
o in 1910 Roman Catholics : 49 % (Magyars, Germans, Slovaks)
Greek Catholics (Uniates) : 11 % (Romanians and Ukrainians)
Greek Orthodox : 13 % (Romanians and Serbians)
Calvinists : 14,4 % (Magyars)
Lutherans : 7,5 % (Slovakians, Germans, Magyars)
Unitarians : 0,4 % (Transylvanian Magyars)
Jews : 5 %
o Conflicts and competition between the Churches a denominational clusters, especially
§ Between Roman Catholics and Protestants
§ Between Western (Magyar, German, Slav) Christians and Eastern Christians (Romanians, Serbians)
§ Between Christians and Jews (Antisemitism in the lower clergy)
§ survey of both the graduates of higher (post-secondary) education and of ’reputational elites’ independently from their educational credentials
o
o 1919-1948 : authoritarian anti-Liberal regime (involvement in World War 2 and Nazi adventure followed by Liberation via the Red Army)
§ survey of both graduates and ’reputational elites’
o Communism and post-Communism (Stalinist and post-Stalinist Communist regime after 1956, post-Communism since 1989)
§ Survey of members of ’reputational elites only’
- since my eminent colleague Peter-Tibor Nagy will report presently on the survey on ’reputational elites’, I will give here only an introductory report on the survey concerning graduates in the Liberal period
All the above social cleavages are closely reflected in the formation of educated elites, especially in terms of inequalities of
- access to higher education (starting with secondary education)
- choice of the level of studies (2-3 years vocational colleges, 4 years Legal Academies or University Faculties)
- choice of the branche of studies (Law, Medicine, Arts and Sciences)
- study successes, performances, qualifications
- post graduation career patterns (often between civil service of free professions)
- intellectual activities and creativity in the career (publications, organisational or leadership roles, certified status as member of learned societies, distinctions and prizes obtained, etc.)
Hence the main analytical thrust of our survey would concern the objectification of these social inequalities of the formation process of graduates in elite education
4 parallel procedures :
1. study of ’reputational elites’ (as presented by Peter-Tibor Nagy)
2. systematic collection of aggregate data on intellectuals and elites
o publications of data banks on the distribution of certified schooling credentials in 1910 (with Peter-Tibor Nagy) by five factors:
§ gender
§ region (counties and cities)
§ age groups
§ denomination
§ levels of schooling (4-6-8 secondary classes, writing knowledge, illiterates)
o ex. Table below
Intellectual Professionals by Religion in 1910[3]
|
|
Roman Catholic |
Greek Catholic (Uniate) |
Calvinist |
Lutheran |
Greek Orthodox |
Unitarian |
Jewish |
|
Agriculture, forestry |
5,3 |
2,1 |
4,8 |
4,2 |
1,5 |
4,5 |
4,4 |
|
Industry, mining, metallurgy |
9,6 |
2,0 |
4,6 |
12,3 |
2,6 |
3,7 |
21,1 |
|
Trade, banking |
9,6 |
4,2 |
7,4 |
10,9 |
9,8 |
5,6 |
34,2 |
|
Transports (public, private) |
11,0 |
4,0 |
8,6 |
8,1 |
2,9 |
8,0 |
5,2 |
|
PRIVATE ECONOMY |
35,5 |
12,3 |
25,4 |
35,5 |
16,8 |
21,8 |
64,5 |
|
Physicians |
1,3 |
1,1 |
1,7 |
2,7 |
1,4 |
1,6 |
4,5 |
|
Lawyers |
2,7 |
4,7 |
4,1 |
3,6 |
5,1 |
5,7 |
8,2 |
|
Engineers, chemist, |
0,5 |
0,2 |
0,4 |
0,7 |
0,3 |
0,6 |
0,9 |
|
Journalists |
0,4 |
0,1 |
0,4 |
0,4 |
0,3 |
0,6 |
0,9 |
|
ADMINISTRATIONLEGISLATION |
21,0 |
14,5 |
25,3 |
18,1 |
16,9 |
23,5 |
3,5 |
JUSTICE |
9,4 |
10,7 |
12,3 |
8,2 |
11,0 |
14,9 |
10,2 |
|
Judges, prosecutors |
1,3 |
1,3 |
2,4 |
1,3 |
0,4 |
2,8 |
1,9 |
|
HEALTH SERVICES |
3,7 |
2,5 |
4,1 |
5,9 |
2,5 |
4,1 |
6,8 |
|
CHURCH SERVICE |
5,8 |
28,1 |
8,2 |
5,4 |
24,3 |
8,4 |
3,9 |
|
EDUCATION |
14,7 |
28,5 |
17,7 |
17,5 |
23,0 |
20,4 |
6,1 |
|
Private teachers, Talmudists |
0,6 |
0,4 |
0,5 |
0,5 |
0,3 |
0,6 |
2,8 |
ARMY OFFICERS |
6,1 |
1,9 |
3,0 |
5,7 |
3,1 |
2,8 |
0,4 |
|
ARTS, SCIENCES LITERATURE, |
2,9 |
0,9 |
2,7 |
2,3 |
1,3 |
2,4 |
2,8 |
|
OTHER |
1,0 |
0,5 |
0,8 |
1,1 |
0,9 |
1,6 |
1,2 |
|
Together |
100,0 |
100,0 |
100,0 |
100,0 |
100,0 |
100,0 |
100,0 |
|
N = |
110.841 |
8.988 |
31.676 |
20.797 |
10.792 |
1.587 |
61.560 |
|
% (in line) |
45,0 |
3,7 |
12,9 |
8,4 |
4,4 |
0,6 |
25,0 |
|
% of the population[4] |
49,3 |
11,0 |
14,3 |
7,2 |
12,8 |
0,4 |
5,0 |
3. Special overall survey of graduates of secondary education
- collection of published statistical data from yearly reports of each school
- prosopographic study of secondary graduates with marks (grades) obtained in various school subjects in the 8th class (before graduation)
o from the list of pupils in secondary schools
o from school archives (inscription files)
o a population of some 120 000 – 150 000 pupils between 1850 and 1918)
§ see ex. Table on performances of Budapest secondary school graduates by religion
4. Graduates and students of higher education : a prosopographical survey
- the field of higher education (nationalised, state managed and funded, tuition in Hungarian only – state language since 1844) :
o 2 classical universities (Budapest, Kolozsvár, both with Law, Medicine, Arts and Sciences – additionally with Catholic Theology in Budapest)
o 1 Polytechnical University in Budapest (4 years of study)
o 12 Law Academies in the provinces (4 years of study but no doctorates)
o state vocational colleges (3 years of study)
§ 5 in agronomy
§ 3 commercial academies
§ Ludovika Academy (school for the training of officers for the national Honvéd Army + training schools in Austria for the ’Common Army’)
§ Academy of mining and forestry in Selmecbánya (Bergschule)
§ theological seminars and colleges run by the Churches to train priests, clerics and ministers
· (1 State Rabbinical Institute in Budapest for the training of conservative ’reform’ rabbis)
· special teacher training seminars for the dual (theological and lay) education of members of ’teaching congregations’ (Piarists, Benedictines, Cistercians, Jesuits, Prémontrés)
- the aim of the prosopographical surveys is to be
o complete (exhaustive) for graduates of universities
§ some, for Kolozsvár, is actually destined to be published
§ see book on Medical students in Kolozsvár
o selective, based on large samples for university students
o based on large historically representative samples for the rest of the student population
Topical approaches and problem areas explored in the prosopographical surveys :
- evaluation of general access chances to higher education (students) and to intellectual elites (graduates) following the main ’independent’ social factors (variables) observable in the survey :
o father’s professional (social class) standing
§ profession, noble status, rank, title
o ethnicity
§ by mother tongue and by the national character of surname (family name), including the Magyarization of surnames
o religion
o regional ties (origins or background)
§ by place of birth
§ father’s residence
§ place of secondary schooling or/and graduation
o this would include observations of inequalities of access by various combinations of the above variables
§ see some examples in the following tables :
§ by regional-territorial units
· ex. opposition between Transylvanian Lutheran Saxons and other Lutheran Saxons of the West or the North
· differences between Lutheran and Catholic Slovakians
· distinctions between nominally Magyarized and othger Jews
- study options and levels following the same ’independent factors’
o by university faculties, academies, vocational schools
- drop out rates and probabilities of graduation, once enrolled following the same factors
- ages of entry, graduation, doctor’s degrees, etc. following the same factors
o see below the table 7 for Kolozsvár medical students
Age of taking the Matura among Kolozsvár/Cluj medical students by denomination and ethnic background (character of surname)
7/A. Age of Matura examination in years
|
|
17 and under |
18 |
19-20 |
21 and over |
Total |
Number |
% |
|
Roman Catholics Hungarian German Other Calvinists Hungarian Other Lutherans German Other Greek Catholics Romanian Other Greek Orthodox Romanian Other Other Christians (Unitarians) Jews Hungarian Other |
6.4 8.9 10.1
6.0 4.3
2.0 4.1
5.1 6.5
4.4 10.3
3.7
13.7 12.0 |
40.3 44.9 44.9
42.5 47.8
40.6 45.4
26.1 29.9
21.3 24.1
46.7
51.3 47.8 |
43.4 44.3 38.4
44.8 44.9
53.5 45.4
54.5 48.1
54.4 48.3
42.7
27.4 32.4 |
9.8 1.9 6.5
6.7 2.9
4.0 5.2
14.2 15.6
19.9 17.2
7.3
7.7 7.8 |
100.0 100.0 100.0
100.0 100.0
100.0 100.0
100.0 100.0
100.0 100.0
100.0
100.0 100.0 |
357 158 138
504 69
202 79
176 77
136 29
82
117 383 |
14.1 6.3 5.5
20.0 2.7
4.1 3.8
7.0 3.0
5.4 1.1
3.2
4.6 15.2 |
|
% total |
7.1 |
41.0 |
43.5 |
8.3 |
100.0 |
|
100.0 |
|
Number |
180 |
1.036 |
1.099 |
210 |
|
2.525 |
|
- Observation of divergent career patterns
o by indicators of intellectual creativity : publication of books (following national bibliographies)
o career tracks following professional lists, like
§ members of Lawyers’ chambers (since 1874)
§ civil sevants (from yearly reports on the Civil Service)
§ lists of university professors
- indicators of scholarly orientations and public success
§ membership in learned societies, the Academy of Sciences
§ those obtaining prizes, official distinctions, titles, ranks, etc.
[1] This presentation ows a lot to the generous support of the Hungarian Offie for the Support of Development and Research (NKFP), to the London based Rothschild Foundation as well as the Research Support Scheme of the Central European University in Budapest.
[2] In this respect we have obviously taken into account the transitory extension of the territories between 1938 and 1944, due to the ’Vienna Decisions’ with German and Italian sponsorship of november 2, 1938 (annexation of Southern Slovakia and part of Subcarpathia) and of 30 August 1940 (annexation of Northern Transylvania, as well as to the Hungarian military invasion and occupation of Yugoslav Voivodina (Bácska) in April 1941.
[3] Source : Magyar statisztikai közlemények, 56, 308-313, 646-649.
[4] Magyar statisztikai közlemények, 42, Without 0,1 % of unidentified.