From Rustics to Model Hungarians: The Transformation of Szeklers in Interwar Hungarian Academic Discourse

Abstract

This paper explores the shifting academic and political constructions of Szekler identity in interwar Hungarian discourse, tracing how a once rustic and peripheral ethnic group came to be reframed as a racially pure and culturally exemplary pillar of the Hungarian nation. Beginning with nineteenth-century nationalist representations that saw Szeklers as traditional but backward border-dwellers, the study examines how post–World War I territorial losses and the rise of völkisch ideology triggered a reevaluation of their role. Interwar Hungarian scholars, influenced by German Volksgeschichte and ethno-essentialist thinking, reimagined Szeklers as martial, racially untainted, and spiritually aligned with the alpine ideal of national authenticity. This image served not only political revisionism but also popular and scientific narratives, including ethnography, tourism, and eugenics. At the same time, conservative and historicist currents pushed back against this essentialism, emphasizing historical contingencies and integration into a multiethnic kingdom. The paper situates this identity transformation within broader European trends of reactionary modernism and transnational cultural transfer, highlighting the interplay of domestic nationalism and imported conceptual frameworks. Ultimately, it shows that the Szekler image was instrumentalized in multiple, competing visions of the Hungarian nation, reflecting deeper anxieties and ambitions regarding statehood, ethnicity, and modernity in the interwar period.