Bálint Hóman
Encyclopedia
Bálint Hóman was a Hungarian
politician, who served as Minister of Religion and Education twice: between 1932–1938 and between 1939–1942.
. He started his career when he has been student yet, worked for the University Library of Budapest. He was appointed director of the National Széchényi Library
in 1922, and of the Hungarian National Museum
in 1923, which position was hold until 1932 by him.
Hóman hulled serious scientific works during his life. The centre of his researches was the history of the Hungarian nation during the Middle Ages
. At the beginnings he dealt with the economic history
, social history
and the auxiliary sciences of history
. He wrote about the Hungarian towns during the Árpád era, the social class, the first state tax and about the Magyar tribes
who arrived to the Carpathian Basin. His bulky work was published with a title of History of the Hungarian Currency 1000–1325, he systematized the Hungarian currency of the Middle Ages' chronology, metrology and history. His other fundamental work was The finance affairs and economic policy of the Kingdom of Hungary during the reign of Charles Robert.
He published many essays and books together with Gyula Szekfű. Their most notorious work is the Hungarian history. According to his point of view that is necessary to take it into consideration at the time of the analysis of the ancient Hungarian
words the Sumerian
and Hattian
–Hurrian
literary monuments.
and Kálmán Darányi
. After one-year gap he was appointed minister again. He was the deputy chairman of the Party of National Unity from 1938.
He opposed the peace negotiations of 1943 with the western allies
. He also took a part in the legislation after the German occupation
(March 1944) and the coup d'état of the Arrow Cross Party
(October 1944). When the Red Army
entered the Hungarian border in December 1944, he moved to Transdanubia
along with the other Arrow Cross Party members (including Ferenc Szálasi
). Later he escaped to Germany, but the American troops captured him. The People's Tribunal sentenced to life imprisonment
because of charge of war crime
s in 1946. Hóman spent his punishment in Vác
, where his biological organisation carried the trials difficultly. According to reports the grew man lost 60 kilograms of his weight during short time. Hóman died on 2 June 1951.
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
politician, who served as Minister of Religion and Education twice: between 1932–1938 and between 1939–1942.
Academic career
He was born onto a Roman Catholic family. He finished his studies in BudapestBudapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
. He started his career when he has been student yet, worked for the University Library of Budapest. He was appointed director of the National Széchényi Library
National Széchényi Library
The National Széchényi Library is a library in Budapest, Hungary. It is one of the two Hungarian national libraries, the other being the University of Debrecen Library.-History:...
in 1922, and of the Hungarian National Museum
Hungarian National Museum
- History:The Hungarian National Museum is said to have been founded in 1802 when Count Ferenc Széchényi set up the National Széchényi Library. This would then be followed a year later by the donating of a mineral collection by Széchényi’s wife. This led to the creation of the Hungarian National...
in 1923, which position was hold until 1932 by him.
Hóman hulled serious scientific works during his life. The centre of his researches was the history of the Hungarian nation during the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
. At the beginnings he dealt with the economic history
Economic history
Economic history is the study of economies or economic phenomena in the past. Analysis in economic history is undertaken using a combination of historical methods, statistical methods and by applying economic theory to historical situations and institutions...
, social history
Social history
Social history, often called the new social history, is a branch of History that includes history of ordinary people and their strategies of coping with life. In its "golden age" it was a major growth field in the 1960s and 1970s among scholars, and still is well represented in history departments...
and the auxiliary sciences of history
Auxiliary sciences of history
Auxiliary sciences of history are scholarly disciplines which help evaluate and use historical sources and are seen as auxiliary for historical research...
. He wrote about the Hungarian towns during the Árpád era, the social class, the first state tax and about the Magyar tribes
Magyar tribes
The Magyar tribes were the fundamental political units whose framework the Hungarians lived within, until these clans from Asia, more accurately from the region of Ural Mountains, invaded the Carpathian Basin and established the Principality of Hungary.The locality in which the Hungarians, the...
who arrived to the Carpathian Basin. His bulky work was published with a title of History of the Hungarian Currency 1000–1325, he systematized the Hungarian currency of the Middle Ages' chronology, metrology and history. His other fundamental work was The finance affairs and economic policy of the Kingdom of Hungary during the reign of Charles Robert.
He published many essays and books together with Gyula Szekfű. Their most notorious work is the Hungarian history. According to his point of view that is necessary to take it into consideration at the time of the analysis of the ancient Hungarian
Hungarian language
Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
words the Sumerian
Sumerian language
Sumerian is the language of ancient Sumer, which was spoken in southern Mesopotamia since at least the 4th millennium BC. During the 3rd millennium BC, there developed a very intimate cultural symbiosis between the Sumerians and the Akkadians, which included widespread bilingualism...
and Hattian
Hattian
The word Hattian may refer to:* An ancient people of Anatolia, the Hattians.* An extinct language spoken in that region, the Hattic language....
–Hurrian
Hurrian language
Hurrian is a conventional name for the language of the Hurrians , a people who entered northern Mesopotamia around 2300 BC and had mostly vanished by 1000 BC. Hurrian was the language of the Mitanni kingdom in northern Mesopotamia, and was likely spoken at least initially in Hurrian settlements in...
literary monuments.
Political career
Hóman represented the German orientation of the Hungarian politics from the 1930s. He served as Minister of Religion and Education in the cabinet of Gyula GömbösGyula Gömbös
Gyula Gömbös de Jákfa was the conservative prime minister of Hungary from 1932 to 1936.-Background:Gömbös was born in the Tolna County village of Murga, Hungary, which had a mixed Hungarian and ethnic German population. His father was the village schoolmaster. The family belonged to the ...
and Kálmán Darányi
Kálmán Darányi
Kálmán Darányi de Pusztaszentgyörgy et Tetétlen was a Hungarian politician who served as Prime Minister of Hungary from 1936 to 1938. He also served as Speaker of the House of Representatives of Hungary from 5 December 1938 to 12 June 1939 and from 15 June 1939 to 1 November 1939...
. After one-year gap he was appointed minister again. He was the deputy chairman of the Party of National Unity from 1938.
He opposed the peace negotiations of 1943 with the western allies
Western Allies
The Western Allies were a political and geographic grouping among the Allied Powers of the Second World War. It generally includes the United Kingdom and British Commonwealth, the United States, France and various other European and Latin American countries, but excludes China, the Soviet Union,...
. He also took a part in the legislation after the German occupation
Operation Margarethe
During World War II, the Germans planned two discrete operations using the codename Margarethe.Operation Margarethe I was the occupation of Hungary by German forces on 19 March 1944. The Hungarian government was an ally of Nazi Germany, but had been discussing an armistice with the Allies...
(March 1944) and the coup d'état of the Arrow Cross Party
Arrow Cross Party
The Arrow Cross Party was a national socialist party led by Ferenc Szálasi, which led in Hungary a government known as the Government of National Unity from October 15, 1944 to 28 March 1945...
(October 1944). When the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
entered the Hungarian border in December 1944, he moved to Transdanubia
Transdanubia
Transdanubia is a traditional region of Hungary.-Traditional interpretation:The borders of Transdanubia are the Danube river , the Drava and Mura rivers and the foothills of the Alps roughly along the border between Hungary and Austria .Transdanubia comprises the counties of Győr-Moson-Sopron,...
along with the other Arrow Cross Party members (including Ferenc Szálasi
Ferenc Szálasi
Ferenc Szálasi was the leader of the National Socialist Arrow Cross Party – Hungarist Movement, the "Leader of the Nation" , being both Head of State and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Hungary's "Government of National Unity" for the final three months of Hungary's participation in World War II...
). Later he escaped to Germany, but the American troops captured him. The People's Tribunal sentenced to life imprisonment
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
because of charge of war crime
War crime
War crimes are serious violations of the laws applicable in armed conflict giving rise to individual criminal responsibility...
s in 1946. Hóman spent his punishment in Vác
Vác
Vác is a town in Pest county in Hungary with approximately 35,000 inhabitants. The archaic spellings of the name are Vacz and Vacs.-Location:...
, where his biological organisation carried the trials difficultly. According to reports the grew man lost 60 kilograms of his weight during short time. Hóman died on 2 June 1951.
Publications
- A magyar városok az Árpádok korában [Hungarian towns during the Árpád era] (Budapest, 1908)
- Magyar pénztörténet 1000–1325 [History of the Hungarian Currency 1000–1325] (Budapest, 1916)
- A magyar királyság pénzügyei és gazdaságpolitikája Károly Róbert korában [The finance affairs and economic policy of the Kingdom of Hungary during the reign of Charles Robert] (Budapest, 1921)
- A Szent László-kori Gesta Ungarorum és a XII–XIII. századi leszármazói [The Saint Ladislaus aged Gesta Hungarorum and its ancestors of the 12th–13th century] (Budapest, 1925)
- A magyar hun hagyomány és hun monda [The Hungarian Hunnic tradition and Hunnic legend] (Budapest, 1925)
- A forráskutatás és forráskritika története [History of the source research and source criticism] (Budapest, 1925)
- Magyar történet [Hungarian History] (1458-ig, a továbbiakat Szekfű Gyula írta; Budapest, é. n. )
- Egyetemes történet [World history] (I–IV. Szerk.: H. B., Szekfű Gyula, Kerényi Károly; Budapest, 1935–1937)
- Ősemberek – Ősmagyarok [Prehistoric men – Prehistoric Hungarians] (Atlanta, 1985)
- A történelem útja. Válogatott tanulmányok [The way of the history. Selected studies] (Vál.: Buza János; Budapest, 2002)