{"id":6702,"date":"2023-12-16T12:28:25","date_gmt":"2023-12-16T11:28:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumszemle.eu\/?p=6702"},"modified":"2023-12-16T12:28:25","modified_gmt":"2023-12-16T11:28:25","slug":"laszlo-tost-mayor-of-kosice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumszemle.eu\/en\/2023\/12\/16\/laszlo-tost-mayor-of-kosice\/","title":{"rendered":"L\u00e1szl\u00f3 Tost, Mayor of Ko\u0161ice"},"content":{"rendered":"

Szeghy-Gayer Veronika: Tost L\u00e1szl\u00f3, Kassa polg\u00e1rmestere [L\u00e1szl\u00f3 Tost, Mayor of Ko\u0161ice]. Kassa\/Ko\u0161ice, Kassai Magyarok F\u00f3ruma, 2022, 220 p.<\/strong><\/p>\n

P\u00e9ter V\u00e1czy, possibly regarded as the \u201cmost Slovak historian\u201d2<\/sup> by the Hungarian minority public between the interwar period due to his connections to both Vr\u00fatky and Ko\u0161ice, serves as an undisputed reference point. His 1931 study on local history, when viewed nearly a century later, can serve as a significant starting point for Veronika Szeghy-Gayer\u2019s new monograph on L\u00e1szl\u00f3 Tost, and offer a broader interpretation of it.<\/p>\n

V\u00e1czy\u2019s regrettably relatively overlooked study primarily focuses on the methodology of local history, concentrating on the identification and meticulous analysis and methods while placing the historian\u2019s personality in the background. According to this perspective, the general understanding of history and historiography, which relies on synthesis, fails to consider the nuances of local history. In other words, overarching summaries of social, political, economic, and cultural tendencies are susceptible, and their findings may be reduced to mere outlines because they often neglect the concept of relativity. When it comes to the region (in V\u00e1czy\u2019s case, the countryside), he advises against historical generalizations, as they are unable to provide detailed portraits and, being somewhat detached from empiricism, may not resonate with \u201ctoday\u2019s individuals.\u201d Nevertheless, he does not overly idealize specifics either. V\u00e1czy does not perceive a competition between these two historiographical approaches; instead, he suggests that gener alized approaches should draw from the results of local research. The fundamental question revolves around how a historian, when examining local patterns, processes individual \u201csets of facts.\u201d It is a common understanding that \u201cavailable sources dictate the path to follow.\u201d[1]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

His thought process is indeed inspiring, but I modify one point of it, or rather, my fundamental approach differs: I do not exclude “the variable value of the writer\u2019s personality\u201d from my investigation. This is because I also seek to understand the motivations behind SzeghyGayer\u2019s\u00a0 research, which is rooted in place and personality (V\u00e1czy succinctly phrases it as: \u201cThe historian is the one who embodies the current state of historiography in\u00a0 a non-existing personality\u201d4<\/sup>). However, I also aim to shed light on \u201cthe advantages and disadvantages of the local history method.\u201d<\/p>\n

Veronika Szeghy-Gayer stands out as one of the most versatile members of the younger generation of Hungarian historians in Slovakia. Her research encompasses the history of the Hungarian and Jewish minorities, the political elite, and variations and changes in Central European memory culture, and also displays an interest in social history-based urban and regional history.<\/p>\n

Szeghy-Gayer places the \u201cbiographical canvas\u201d on V\u00e1czy\u2019s above-mentioned theoretical and local history frame (encompassing the geographical areas of Buda and Ko\u0161ice and the geographical regions of Orava, S\u00e1ros, and Zempl\u00e9n). She meticulously employs all relevant and usable sources to depict the somewhat fragmented, obstacle-ridden, and tragic life of L\u00e1szl\u00f3 Tost, along with the history of the family\u2019s former gardening dynasty, spanning from the turn of the 18th<\/sup> and 19th<\/sup> centuries to the 20th<\/sup> century.<\/p>\n

The author\u2019s motivation serves as an exemplar (inspired by the former Tost house): by delving into the past, she aims to gain a better understanding of the present while breathing life into history. In a way, her approach resembles that of a novelist: she taps into the power of imagination, as she expresses it: \u201cThe unique building was suddenly populated with flesh-and-blood people before my eyes\u201d (p. 11). However, this atmosphere is imbued with the tragic essence of life. Szeghy-Gayer focuses on the intricate interconnections in L\u00e1szl\u00f3 Tost\u2019s life, examining a selected slice that is not arbitrarily chosen. She works with small-scale narratives, where the characters \u2013 especially the widows, whose fates reveal distinct stories \u2013 occupy their rightful places.<\/p>\n

It is important to highlight (and the author does not conceal this fact) that she worked with less-than-ideal sources and information. This is because the Tost legacy as a closed archival unit does not exist. Thus, the reconstruction of not only L\u00e1szl\u00f3 Tost\u2019s figure but also the history of the Tost family is fraught with interruptions due to limited source material. However, it is precisely this scarcity that has propelled her towards innovative approaches while carefully weighing the significance of general or national historical events. She provides a well-justified explanation for this situation and the associated research challenges at the conclusion of her book.<\/p>\n

The book, well-crafted and captivating (with a harmonious blend of text and illustrations), comprises 15 chapters and is accompanied by thorough notes that do not overwhelm the narrative. The volume concludes with a section on sources, a bibliography, and a brief author profile.<\/p>\n

Veronika Szeghy-Gayer\u2019s book effectively illustrates that in our narrower geographical context, social history writing is gaining prominence. The previously less favorable scenario, marked by the dominance of political history and the marginalization of social historians, as observed by Vilmos Er\u0151s a decade ago,[2]<\/sup><\/a> is gradually giving way. The social history perspective is experiencing significant and positive transformations within the realm of historical thinking among the Hungarian community in Slovakia.<\/p>\n

\u0160tefan Gau\u010d\u00edk <\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Szeghy-Gayer Veronika: Tost L\u00e1szl\u00f3, Kassa polg\u00e1rmestere [L\u00e1szl\u00f3 Tost, Mayor of Ko\u0161ice]. Kassa\/Ko\u0161ice, Kassai Magyarok F\u00f3ruma, 2022, 220 p. P\u00e9ter V\u00e1czy, possibly regarded as the \u201cmost Slovak historian\u201d2 by the Hungarian minority public between the interwar period due to his connections to both Vr\u00fatky and Ko\u0161ice, serves as an undisputed reference point. His 1931 study on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":602,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[555,844],"tags":[],"post_year":[883,906],"coauthors":[391],"class_list":["post-6702","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-forum-social-science-review","category-reviews","post_year-883","post_year-2023-5"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nL\u00e1szl\u00f3 Tost, Mayor of Ko\u0161ice - F\u00f3rum T\u00e1rsadalomtudom\u00e1nyi Szemle<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/forumszemle.eu\/en\/2023\/12\/16\/laszlo-tost-mayor-of-kosice\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"L\u00e1szl\u00f3 Tost, Mayor of Ko\u0161ice - F\u00f3rum T\u00e1rsadalomtudom\u00e1nyi Szemle\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Szeghy-Gayer Veronika: Tost L\u00e1szl\u00f3, Kassa polg\u00e1rmestere [L\u00e1szl\u00f3 Tost, Mayor of Ko\u0161ice]. Kassa\/Ko\u0161ice, Kassai Magyarok F\u00f3ruma, 2022, 220 p. P\u00e9ter V\u00e1czy, possibly regarded as the \u201cmost Slovak historian\u201d2 by the Hungarian minority public between the interwar period due to his connections to both Vr\u00fatky and Ko\u0161ice, serves as an undisputed reference point. 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