Hungary's brief, golden age lasted from 1867 until 1914, during the half century of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. Even though Budapest was badly destroyed in the Second World War and subsequently suffered from four decades of Communist-era neglect, the city is still a marvel of fin-de-siecle architecture, and we can see and feel her greatness. During these times, Jews came fully out of the ghetto and into society and were passionately patriotic. There were Jewish bankers and industrialists, Olympic winning athletes and Nobel Prize winning scientists, award winning playwrights and internationally known novelists. There were even Jewish counts and barons. But this golden age died in the First World War, and while Hungary's Jews had a difficult time between the wars, nothing would prepare them for the horrors that swept down upon them in March 1944.
Study Guides
HISTORY OF HUNGARY
This short movie covers Hungarian history from the time of the Dual Monarchy (1867-1914) to Communism.
To learn more about Hungarian history, take a look at this time-line from the BBC and read about the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy.
The movie mentions Hungary's rapidly developing cities and industry at the beginning of the twentieth century. Read more about the Austro-Hungarian economy during the Dual Monarchy and about the modernization of Hungary between 1867-1914.
This golden age began in 1867 and came to an end with the outbreak of World War I. Learn more about Austria-Hungary's participation in World War I. In order to learn more about and the situation of Hungary after the end of World War I, read this article on the Treaty of Trianon of 1920, which was signed by the allies and Hungary after the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy.
In this short movie, the speaker refers to the people that excluded those who were not 'Hungarian enough'. This process of discrimination is often described as Magyarization. Read the definition of the concept of Magyarization.