What Was the Secret of Hegedüs? The Coping Strategy of a Hungarian Financial Minister in the Interwar Period

Rab, Virag (2015) What Was the Secret of Hegedüs? The Coping Strategy of a Hungarian Financial Minister in the Interwar Period. In: 24th Annual Convention of the Global Awareness Society International, 2015. május 21-24., Philadelphia, USA.

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Abstract

The turbulent history of Hungary in the 20th century is exceptional with its nine changes of regime. These political transitions had serious consequences. Firstly, they caused a crisis both in the society and in the lives of the individuals. Secondly, they contributed to the formulation of a misapprehension which is still often referred to today and which often paralyses the majority of Hungarians when, in order to solve a crisis situation, the first step should be taken. The core of this idea is the following: “We can never decide about our own fate.” Its explanation is as follows. Our revolutions have always failed and we have always got the circumstances shaping our lives and also our paternalist leaders ready and accomplished. In my view, this is a major heritage of Hungarian changes of regime. The above idea is still so vivid that I would like to show a nearly century-old example of an opposite conduct, a pattern of behavior or rather a coping strategy which was and is still worthy of attention. My example is Loránt Hegedüs, who lived from 1872 to 1943 and was the Minister of Finance of Hungary in 1920–1921. My conclusions are based on roughly 2000 pages of primary documents written by and about Hegedüs.

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