Borsi-Kálmán Béla: Hungarian Exiles and the Romanian National Movement, 1849 - 1867 - East European Monographs 331. Atlantic Studies on Society Change 67. (New York, 1991)
Chapter II: The Hungarian Emigrés' Evaluation of the Romanian Situation between 1849 and 1863. Opinion, Plans, Negotiations, and Pacts
Béla Borsi-Kálmán 154 it was not until Bertalan Szemere, the minister of the interior, intervened at the request of his friends that he was released. See Russo, op. cit., XXVI-XXVTEL Kogálniceanu, on the other hand, spoke of Kossuth as a "great Hungarian patriot" and a "Titan," See Kogálniceanu, lnterpelajiunea privire la expulsarea Románilor de peste Car pa{ i, adresatá guvernului, 9; and idem, Texte social-politice alese, 363. A. Papiu Ilarianu's views as outlined in his Independent constitutional a Transiluaniei (Bucure؛ti, 1861) have been described by Veress, A magyar emigrcUio a Keleten, II, 410-415, and analyzed by Kovács, op. cit., 397- 401. Contemporary Romanian historiography has not shown more understanding of Kossuth. V. Curticápeanu, for instance, in his study "Alexandra loan Cuza §i Transilvania,” ignores Kossuth's plan for a Danubian Confederation, and merely states: "Kossuth's unshakable and consistent intolerance toward the non- Hungarian peoples of Hungary in general, and toward the Transylvanian Romanians in particular led to the failure of Hungarian-Romanian negotiations in the summer of 1863 [sic]" in Cuza Vodá. In memóriám, 442. Gh. Cristea, who likewise makes no mention of the Danubian Confederation in his "Independen؛a ؛Srii ؛؟؛ ideea units؛؛؛ na؛ionale a poporului román in obiectivul politicii externe a domnitorului Alexandra loan Cuza," 31-57, is satisfied to characterize Kossuth as follows: "that overbearing and uncompromising patriot, Kossuth...," ibid., 32- 33. 20. This is how Kossuth put it on September 12, 1848: "Of all the peoples of Europe, Hungarians and Wallachians [Romanians] are the ones which, if they want to live on, are destined to show the greatest sympathy and understanding for one another. ...I believe that for these two peoples, liberty lies in harmony, friendship and brotherhood; and liberty shall be the incentive to our strengthening the ties which will be instrumental in our nullifying those insidious machinations which air at suppressing the freedom of Hungary and of Hungary's Romanian-speaking population." Quoted in Szabad, Kossuth politikai pályája..., 150. 21. Kossuth, Irataim..., II, 135-136. 22. Ibid., 143. A practically literal translation of the above is given in Louis Kossuth, La question des nationalités. L'Europe, I'Autriche et la Hongrie, (Bruxelles, 1859), 11-13. Kossuth's own positive self-image as a member of the Hungarian nobility is reflected in an earlier passage: "With unprecedented liberality, the Hungarian nobility has always left open the door of its privileged and constitutional prerogatives to everyone who proved himself worthy and like unto the nobility in deed, and contributed to the defense of the country and its liberty," Kossuth, Irataim..., H, 137-138. 23. A similar account is found ibid., 137. For Kossuth's ideas about the nation and the nationality question, see Sándor Kávássy, "Kossuth Lajos nemzetelmélete," Szegedi Tanárképző Főiskola Közleményei (Szeged, 1966) and, idem, "Kossuth a nemzetiségi kérdésről emigrációs irataiban," Az Egri Ho Si Mink Tanárképző Főiskola Tudományos Közleményei (Eger, 1970) VII. 24. Kossuth to Helfy, S. Francesco d’Alboro, March 28, 1862, Hungarian National Archives, R 65, Les. l.t. In Béla Borsi-Kálmán, "A Kossuth emigráció és a nemzetiségi kérdés. Dilemmák és alternatívák," Kritika, no. 12 (1981), 3.