Mira Kovacs: Prayerbook and petticoat
Methodological guidance for teachers on the possible uses of Mira Kovacs’ Prayerbook and petticoat
prepared by Lajos Oláh
BASIC METHODOLOGY PRINCIPLES
Diary is recollection, recollection is personal history: a precious historical source. The narrative is based on the writer’s personal experience, and this quality defines several aspects of the methodology of its historical processing. On one hand, this is exactly what makes it valuable: history is assembled from human stories whose participants are living human beings the same as the students and teachers at class. Processing the source however requires comparatively more work from both teachers and students. These recollections are by their nature incapable of fathoming the historic background of the events in question, and a special effort is thus required for its processing. This brings the students excitement in the form of discovery and research, through their activities rather than as passive recipients. Treating these recollections as purely historical sources does give rise to difficulty. The story of the Holocaust, undoubtedly the twentieth century’s greatest debacle, poses essential questions toward our concepts of humanity and inhumanity. These questions are difficult enough to voice, let alone even attempt to answer, whilst facing a scale much too vast to comprehend. The fate of 5-6 million anonymous victims defies empathy. A person with a face and a name is much easier to relate to. This definitive aspect should be kept in mind throughout the processing, as well as the advantages one can and should utilize. This of course expands the possibilities of interpretation beyond the scope of source analysis. Core educational issues may be addressed during the diary's processing. These two approaches are conjoined,forming the two aspects of a single process rather than two separate directions. This duplicity calls for adequate historical background knowledge, compassionate attention, human and moral sensitivity from students and teachers alike. The following material aims to assist this complex task.
RECOMMENDED AGE GROUP
Processing the full text of the memoir in the fields described below is recommended for high schools. Selected excerpts of the text may be used in middle school classes (7th-8th grade).
HISTORICAL SOURCE INTERPRETATION
History classes are highly suitable for this type of processing at high school 12th and elementary 8th form in the regular Hungarian curriculum.
HISTORY OF THE HOLOCAUST, HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
The story of Mira Kovács is an especially valuable memoir, presenting the broadest possible historic background through the tale of a Transylvanian Hungarian Jewish family hit hard by the Trianon peace treaty. As Hungarian citizens, they had to pay in order to work in Romania. When this defied their means, they were obliged to move to Hungary, deported and dispossessed. The whole ordeal stems from the father's refusal to take up Romanian citizenship. In Hungary they are consequently exposed to the Anti-Jewish laws. This twofold misfortune is a frequent facet of twentieth-century Hungarian Jewish fate: Hungarians are considered non grata in post-Trianon countries, while in Hungary proper they are persecuted as Jews. A major starting point in the antisemitic ideology of the Horthy regime (fluctuating between its stronger and weaker phases, but an ideological staple nonetheless) was blaming the Jews for the tragic aftermath of the First World War. The pacifist policy of the Károlyi government and the internationalism of the Societ Republic in Hungary were collectively referred to as "Jewish Crime" whereby the Jewish members in both governments were identified with the Jewish people, who were in turn arraigned. Discussing these topics we may also go into the social and ideological distortions that followed in the wake of the Trianon treaty, as well as discussing effects of prejudice, stereotypes and generalization.
The next important issue could be how the family and Mira personally were affected by the discriminatory Anti-Jewish laws. What these laws were, what important differences there were between them. As a child, Mira was strongly affected by antisemitism and discrimination at her school. She remembers it was a tragedy of her childhood that because of her ethnicity she was barred from being a Girl Scout and was refused an excellent mark in physical education. She sees racism and discrimination arriving from the world of adults: the German teacher is the active norm enforcer, she "educates" by declaring the five Jewish members of the class inferior. The gym teacher is passive, a compassionate but norm-adaptive silent accomplice.
As the Anti-Jewish laws are passed and enforced, Mira is barred from her studies beyond the 4th grade. March 1944 brings tragedy to her private life as well as society as a whole. Both events are decisive to her fate: on the 3rd of March her mother dies, and on the 19th the German Army occupies the country. The family is wrenched from "relative safety" to direct mortal danger. Discuss what this "relative safety" meant. Elaborate the events of Europe up to that point, and the fate awaiting Jews in territories occupied by the Germans. What had transpired in Hungary, who were persecuted because of their creed, who were faced with mortal danger. (We may mention Kamenyec-Podolszkij and the institution of labour service.) Discuss the changes noticeable immediately after the arrival of German forces. (Arrival of Eichmann, the role of László Endre and László Baki, the Ghetto and Yellow Star Acts, the deportation of countryside Jews.)
Mira's story and fate is well representative of the Jews in Budapest. They were forced to move into a Starred House. Discuss the meaning of these star-marked houses. It is remarkable that Mira notes not all of the former residents had moved out.
Mira's father was meanwhile arrested. Mira earns her living by clearing rubble. The Allies are regularly bombing the main towns of Hungary at this point. Discuss the historical events and background. What is the progress of World War Two? At which point are the military events directly relevant to Hungary?
Following the Arrow-cross Coup, the situation escalates further. Labour duties are extended to women, too. Mira and her family are obliged to report to the KISOK sports grounds. As yet, they are taken away to work: they dig tank pits. There are indications that the frontline is approaching, the Soviet army has reached the outskirts of the capital. Mira notes that several of their overseers were decent. The gendarmes however, used force, goading the detainees to work faster. The role of the gendarmerie in the Hungarian Holocaust can be dealt with on this note.
The Germans are on the march back (around the end of November 1944, the Soviet Red Army attempts to rush Budapest after their victorious tank battle at Debrecen, their push forward is thwarted however). Mira and family are herded to the town of Rákoskeresztúr, a scene of robberies and murder. We may elaborate the effect of military events on the lives of the persecuted. Make a parallel timeline, possibly using a map, presenting Mira's ordeal and the main stations and events described in her memoir (Rákoskeresztúr, Budafok, Lőrinc, Óbuda Brickworks, Vienna highway etc.) and the parallel events of the frontlines. Observe how Mira's fate reflects the common fate of a portion of Budapest Jews. They were called to assemble at the KISOK field and marched to labour service, participating in Budapest's fortification work at Lőrinc, then reassembled at the Óbuda Brickworks., marched west on foot. They reach Austria through Gönyű to Lichtenwörth, where the survivors are liberated by the Russians.
The mention of Wallenberg in the memoir is a good opening to review humanitarian rescues and their stories.
The memoir's post-war part is also significant in many historical aspects, with source-value assertions. Mira and her family are orphaned, and "it was no good by myself", as Mira sums it up with a dramatic abruptness. She becomes involved in the Zionist movement. Discuss the aims of the movement, and how these were altered as the war came to a close. We may proceed to discuss the circumstances of the forming of the State of Israel, in light of how these circumstances gave rise to events that have an impact on international politics today. There are plenty of leads in the story we might use well, such as the British mandate, the British internment camps on Cyprus.
Observe the child's vantage point in the recollection. Mira was aged 11 at the time of the first Anti-Jewish laws, and in 1944 she was 17-18. During her adolescence, the life of Hungarian Jews became more and more difficult. How does Mira see and interpret this process? For corresponding age groups, her expulsion from the Girl Scouts, the loss of her beloved bicycle or the lace petticoat may better illustrate the everyday implications of this process. (“The banality of evil.”)
For the discussion of these issues we recommend the questions and tasks marked Hh and Hb.
SOCIOHISTORICAL ANALYSIS
The story we're reading is about a rural Jewish family. The maternal branch of Mira's family is from Yugoslavia (of the 20's), and her father's side from Transylvania. We can discuss the story of a Jewish family integrating into Hungarian society based on their account. Her mother, we may read, comes from a wealthy religious family while her father wasn't religious, in fact she says he "had no idea about religion". We're told that the family observed the major Jewish festivals and the Sabbath. Her father's identity is unambiguous: he still insists on keeping his citizenship when this comes at a great cost of discrimination in Romania. Consider the difference between integration and assimilation. Which are its main stations, how far did Mira's family come down that road, how and why was the road eventually closed to them. It might be an interesting socio-historical point to examine the role of the Jews in the development of Hungarian citizenship. Mira's father uses his wife's dowry for his continuous enterprises, with more or less success, usually in industrial ventures. From this we may uncover the peculiarities stemming from Hungarian society's congestion. We may discuss the effects of the destruction of a social layer especially willing and able to make up for Hungary's social deficit in citizenship.
Discussion of the socio-historical effects of the Trianon treaty (in further detail than above) may also prove interesting. We are after all reading about the ordeal of a Hungarian family that has lost its livelihood because of the treaty. The ordeal's stations are Kolozsvár (Cluj), Arad, Szeged, and Budapest respectively.
The events following the War may also be the starting point for discussing several major issues. How is integration broken off by the trauma? Is it at all possible to carry on living in a country which has persecuted a significant fraction of its citizens, given them over to a foreign power that was bent on their destruction, and in fact actively participated in preparing their doom.
Mira joins the Zionist movement. She participates in the training programme with enthusiasm. Discuss why she and many who shared her fate decided to stay in Hungary after all.
Mira's second husband is non-Jewish, and her daughter chooses a Catholic husband. Mixed marriage is a significant indicator of a level of assimilation-integration. Discuss how it intensifies the absorption of a minority. We may make a comparison to the fate of present-day Hungarians minorities living in Hungary's neighboring countries. In connection to her grandchildren, Mira finds it important to note how they have managed to reconnect to their Jewish identity. Why does she write: "it is very hard being a Jew in the world today"? Discuss what the process Mira describes might mean: either a cessation of integration or the emergence of a new, double identity.
To present the process of integration we may use the other two memoirs also available on our webpage. (Péter Kutas' memoir When Clouds Wept Blood... is about a Budapest family, Ágnes Bartha's recollections about a rural family.)
For the discussion of these issues we recommend the questions and tasks marked Sh.
DISCUSSING MORAL AND HUMAN ISSUES
We've already mentioned that Mira had experienced the events of the Holocaust as an adolescent and young adult. Interaction between her and the environment is intense and delicate. Consider how the social situation gradually entwines and increasingly strains Mira's life. Discuss with the students the typical forms of teacher's conduct that are prevalent at the school. The German teacher is an active and dedicated antisemite. Mira has a high opinion of her class-mistress, but receives no protection from her, rather she tries persuading Mira to be deferent toward the German teacher, whose ”husband and son were both killed in the war." Mira remarks, "after all this, I couldn't pity her". Why had the class-mistress reacted this way? Could she have done otherwise? The gym teacher's conduct is also typical, "I'd give you the highest grade, but since you're a Jew I can't do that." This is a genuine example of fear and social conformity. How do these incidents contribute to the final onset of tragedy? Discuss the significance of individual conduct within those circumstances where it would appear inconceivable, and historical coercion makes it appear as if the state totally defines the scope of society even on an individual level. "I felt no anti-Jewish sentiment among children", Mira writes. What does this comment allude to?
Recount all those whose behaviour aided or thwarted the family's survival. We may compare the behaviour of the two groups - the memoir indicates their key roles pro or contra - with the inhuman behaviour of the gendarmes. We may mention the overseer who follows her and gives her bread, the vandals at the Brickworks who wreck their temporary shelters, or the story of the girl from Gönyű who is shot by the Arrow-cross men for giving bread to the prisoners.
During our discussion of these human issues we must keep in mind that the story is told by an adolescent girl who is left utterly alone without adult help. When she is summoned to labour service she is more concerned with packing her grownup women's clothes than a supply of proper food in her backpack. It is this backpack Mira says farewell to at Rákoskeresztúr, when she feels her life is about to end: " I saw there were wagons, and I saw the tracks. I laid my backpack on the ground, slipped it off as I walked, assuming the end is now near." Fate dictated otherwise: they are herded onward. "At the Tolbuchin market, people spat on us", Mira reports. Discuss how could such a thing happen that people receive the persecuted in this manner.
Mira finds another backpack. She later finds it contains bread and tinned food. How many miracles did it take to see her through? What is the role of the “accidental” in survival? These are questions worthy of contemplation!
Discuss the opportunities of individual action and the individual's dilemmas and decisions. Mira does not step out of line when Wallenberg appears, instead she refuses to abandon her sister.
Mira writes that at the time when she was obliged to move into a starred house, there was great unity among the inhabitants. They organized an amateur performance. Consider how this is a frequent episode of Holocaust history. The persecuted strive to remain human amid inhumane conditions, and need to unwind from the tension of day-to-day survival. Find more historical examples of this from the Holocaust years!