Gudrun Wolfschmidt

Institute for History of Science
Hamburg University

Introduction:
Konkoly and the Foundation of the Hungarian National Observatory

In the last quarter of the 19th century the Hungarian astronomy flourished and thanks to the activity of Nikolaus [Miklós] Konkoly Thege^*

Very clear is here the orientation of the periphery (Hungary) with respect to the center of development (Germany).^*

When Konkoly became director of the Hungarian National Institute for Meteorology and Terrestrial Magnetism in Budapest in 1890, he was so busy and had no time left for astronomical observations that he tried to get his observatory in O'Gyalla under state control. This initiative for institutionalisation of Hungarian astronomy with the help of the Astronomische Gesellschaft was successful. Already in the following year 1899 O'Gyalla became a national institute with the name Royal Hungarian Astrophysical Observatory - Radó von Kövesligethy (1862-1934) was vice-director from 1899 to 1904.^*

László Detre and the Study of Hungarian Astronomers Abroad

Left: László Detre (until 1933: László Dunst) (1906-1974). Right: Collegium Hungaricum in Berlin, founded in 1924

At the beginning of the 1920s, after WWI Hungary tried to get in closer connection to the cultural and scientific life in Europe: During the reign of the minister Kuno Graf Klebelsberg scientific and cultural institutes, the Collegia Hungarica, were opened in Vienna and Berlin in 1923/24. The Collegium in Berlin, Dorotheenstraße, under the director Professor Robert Gragger was in close cooperation with the Hungarian institute of Berlin university. The main task was the encouragement of talented young Hungarian scholars and artists. Living in Berlin, they should build up fruitful and long lasting contacts to Germany. Two decades very successful work was done until the building was destroyed in 1945.^*

Like Konkoly in the 19th century also another director (since 1943) László Detre^*

After his dissertation he went to Kiel in 1929 and to Vienna in 1930.^*

The whole staff in Budapest had got the training in Germany:

• Like Detre also his assistant Dr. Fr. Krbek studied in Berlin in 1927-29, then in Bonn in 1929-30 with Prof. Ernst Kohlschütter (1870-1942).
• The adjunct Dr. Károly Lassovszky got a grant for Babelsberg observatory in 1932 as a cooperator of Prof. Paul Guthnick (1879-1947).
• The assistant Károly Móra (1899-1938) could go to Leipzig observatory in 1932 - Prof. Josef Franz Hopmann (1890-1975) - and then in 1933 to Heidelberg, Hamburg-Bergedorf and Göttingen.
• Also Loránt Dezsö (1914-2003), the later leader of the Hungarian Heliophysical Observatory,^*

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  * The Heliophysical Observatory was in Budapest in the 1950s, then in Debrecen from 1958 on.

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  went to a German speaking country. He visited Prof. Max Waldmeier (1912-2000) in Zürich in 1939.

The result of Detre's long stay in Germany was not only that he made a lot of friends but also his research method and scientific work was influenced very much. german ^*

German-Hungarian Cooperation from 1870 to 1945

German-Hungarian cooperation from 1870 to 1945

If you look at the graphic of cooperation (Fig. 2), you will see a large activity in the 1880s - in the time of Konkoly. Besides contacts inside of Hungary there were cooperations with Bothkamp near Kiel, Potsdam, Göttingen, and Leipzig. Abroad one should mention Vienna, Prague, Zürich, and Italy. In the eastern foreign countries there was only one cooperation with Russia on the occasion of a lunar eclipse.

- German-Hungarian Cooperation from 1870 to 1919

German-Hungarian cooperation from 1870 to 1899. Z: Cooperation, FKV: Scientific Travelling, Conferences and Lectures, G: Guests in Hungary, TG: Guests during a meeting in Hungary (here AG meeting 1898)

By analyzing the German-Hungarian contacts (cooperation, scientific travelling of Hungarians, guests from abroad in Hungary) from 1870 to 1899 (Fig. 3), one recognizes that Germany is in front compared to other western countries and there is only one example for a contact to eastern countries. During the meeting of the Astronomische Gesellschaft in 1898 in Budapest (cf. column TG) there were 53 astronomers: 29 Germans, 6 Austrians, 13 Hungarians and 5 more from Sweden, Russia, Denmark, and Italy. The executive council consisted of 4 Germans, one Austrian, one Swede, one Russian, and one Dutch in 1898.

German-Hungarian cooperation from 1900 to 1919. The legend is explained in the caption to Figure 3.

It is obvious that the contacts decrease after the turn of the century (Fig. 4). But one has to consider that the annual reports given by Kövesligethy since 1900 are less detailed. And in addition there were no meetings in that time.

As honorary members of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences three Germans were elected until 1914: Arthur von Auwers (1838-1915), Berlin Academy of Sciences, in 1890, the director of Munich and Heidelberg observatories, Hugo von Seeliger (1849-1924), in 1899 and Max Wolf (1863-1932) in 1908 - in respect to their predicate to be president of the Astronomische Gesellschaft. These 3 astronomers from abroad in the Academy should be compared to 36 scholars from science (4 physicists, 6 chemists, and 7 mathematicians) and 60 scholars from the humanities.

- Development in the 1920s and 1930s

The Konkoly Observatory in Budapest, 1926

After WWI O'Gyalla was part of Czechoslovakia and was renamed to Stará Dala (today: Hurbanovo, Slovakia). Just in time - in 1921 - the instruments and the library of the observatory O'Gyalla could be transported to Budapest-Svábhegy. The building of the new National Observatory was finished in 1926 (Fig. 5).

The observatory in Budapest was named after its founder Konkoly.^*

In the postwar period - with the collapse of the Habsburg monarchy, when Hungary lost two thirds of its territory - Germany continued to be in scientific and cultural respect the orientation point. Thus in the years 1920 to 1939 the main contacts are to be found with Germany (Fig. 6).

Anton [Antal] Tass^*

German-Hungarian cooperation from 1920 to 1945. The legend is explained in the caption to Figure 3. Since the 1920s there was a prominent increase in the German-Hungarian relationships in comparison with the pre-war period. In addition one can recognize that contacts to eastern countries are practically totally missing. During the Budapest meeting (1930) (cf. column TG) there were 50 German participants, 13 Hungarians, 6 Austrians, and 27 other participants from western countries, here even from outside Europe: USA, Japan, and South Africa. Only 9 participants came from eastern countries: Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Yugoslavia.

Even during WW II some cooperations with abroad existed: on one hand with Sweden where the ``neutral bureau'' was erected in Lund in order to keep up the exchange of important urgent astronomical information, but also on the other hand with Switzerland and the USA (Mt. Wilson Observatory) especially in the field of solar physics.

- Visits of meetings and research travels until 1945

Research travels from 1870 to 1945

If one looks at the development of research travels, study visits and visits of meetings, one recognizes especially in the 1930s, in the period of Detre, a remarkable activity, especially visits in Germany, in the observatories Berlin-Babelsberg, Potsdam, Heidelberg, Göttingen, Hamburg, Bonn, Leipzig, and Munich and to the AG meeting in Danzig in 1939 (Fig. 7).

Travels to the western countries concern the meeting of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in Stockholm, in addition visits in Vienna, Zürich, and Denmark. In the eastern countries only Kraków was visited in 1938.

László Detre and Júlia Balázs travelled in 1939 to Danzig to the meeting of the Astronomische Gesellschaft and visited the observatories Berlin-Babelsberg, Potsdam, and Leipzig.

Even during WWI (1940) there existed study visits of 5 month in Germany in the context of the German-Hungarian cultural agreement, financed by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG - German Research Organisation): german Die letzten nennenswerten direkten Kontakte mit der Astronomie in Deutschland fanden um 1940 herum statt. Dr. Detre - noch nicht als Direktor - und Dr. Julia Balázs akzeptierten je ein kurzfristiges Stipendium (4-6-8 Monate?) zum Besuch der Münchner Sternwarte (1940 oder 1941?). Wegen der Entwicklung der Kriegslage erwies sich das als kein glücklicher Schritt und beide Wissenschaftler haben sich, Jahre später, wiederholt und mühsam - aber offensichtlich mit Erfolg - rechtfertigen müssen. (Wie behauptet, hatten sie die noch ruhige Forschungsatmosphäre des dortigen Instituts der von Befeindungen und Intrigen nicht ganz unbewährten Atmosphäre in Budapest (sowohl an der Universität wie auch am Schwabenberg) vorgezogen.^*

A further research stay was given to Lassovszky and Detre in Göttingen in 1941.

Period of Isolation from 1945 to 1956/59

german Durch Detres Person haben ausgezeichnete Studien und konsequente Forschung viel von der besten deutschen Forschungstradition und Methoden auf dem ``Schwabenberg'' Wurzeln schlagen können.^*

- Scientific cooperation since 1945

Cooperation or team work should be understood as a first step of contacts; this could be the exchange of observing results - like photographic plates for reduction - or for discussion about the interpretation; finally the results can be published together - in this case there is no need that any person travels. german Vielleicht in Verbindung mit jenem Aufenthalt [in Berlin 1940], möglicherweise aber noch vorher und so unabhängig davon, entstand eine interessante Möglichkeit zur Zusammenarbeit: die Göttinger Professoren O. Heckmann und H. Haffner haben (wie ich mich erinnere) 5 Platten, 3 Blau- und 2 Rotaufnahmen, des ``rätselhaften'' alten Sternhaufens M 67 dem Budapester Institut zur Verfügung gestellt; die Platten waren mittels der Methode der Halbfilter-Photometrie aufgenommen. Man war vielleicht etwas entmutigt durch die relativ geringe Anzahl der Platten, auch war die Unsicherheit der Nachkriegsjahre nicht gerade der Forschungsarbeit bestens förderlich - die Ausmessung ging nur schleppend voran, bis dann die erste präzise, lichtelektrische Photometrie des bemerkenswerten Haufens 1955 von Johnson und Sandage publiziert wurde. Heute, im Rückblick, erscheint wohl, daß hier eine gute Forschungsgelegenheit vertan wurde.^*

Cooperation from 1945 to 1990

The building up of contacts after the war started with different cooperations, which were only based on exchange of material; no travels were necessary. In the 1950s the contacts to the west dominated; it was only a small number but at least twice as much as the contacts to the east; there were no contacts to the GDR. Since the 1960s there existed a stronger contact to the countries of the Eastern European Bloc and also with the GDR; contacts with the west decreased. A maximum of cooperation with the east was reached in the 1970s (Fig. 8).

A further chance came up through Detre's participation, since 1943 director of the Konkoly Observatory, in the IAU meeting in Zürich in 1948: german Diese Teilnahme brachte, als erfreuliche Konsequenz, wenn auch nicht eine direkte Kooperation, wenigstens eine Verbindung mit der amerikanischen Astronomie: Auf der Züricher Tagung übergab Prof. Harlow Shapley [Harvard, Cambridge/Mass.] für die astronomische Forschung in Ungarn (und - glaube ich - in Polen und der CSR) je eine Elektronenvervielfacherröhre Typ RCA 931A, die in diesen Ländern noch nicht erhältlich war. Die ersten Versuche am 60cm-Spiegel (die allerdings nur hellere Sterne bis zur 5. oder 6. Größenklasse erreichen konnten), verliefen 1949/50 mit der Unterstützung des Physikdozenten Péter Faragó; die erste kurze, aber erfolgreiche Messreihe bezog sich auf die August 1950-Bedeckung von Zeta Aurigae.^*

In the beginning of the 1950s there existed a first cooperation with an Eastern partner: german Eine nicht sehr intensive Kooperation, die nur auf Korrespondenz beruhte, wurde später (1953/54?) mit dem Institut für Theoretische Astronomie in Leningrad eingeführt. Es handelte sich um Bestimmung von Näherungs-Positionen ausgewählter kleiner Planeten, meist auf astrographischen Platten von relativ kleinem Feld. Dies war ein einfaches, aber durchaus sinnvolles Programm, doch infolge begrenzter Arbeitskräfte und Kürze an verfügbarer Teleskop-Beobachtungszeit blieb die Ausbeute sehr bescheiden.^*

- Personal Contacts before 1956

german Man weiß heute, nach 50 Jahren rapider Entwicklung in der Astrophysik, wie wichtig persönliche Erfahrungen, Ideenaustausch, Konferenzen auf internationaler Ebene, Studienreisen und so fort sind, für eine gesunde Entwicklung naturwissenschaftlicher Forschung. Anfang der 50er Jahre haben sich die Astronomen der Budapester Sternwarte (jetzt auch Konkoly Sternwarte genannt) stark isoliert gefühlt und sie waren, in der Tat, außergewöhnlich isoliert.^*

The Hungarian scientists in the post-war time suffered from the large isolation:^*

The affiliation of Hungary in the International Astronomical Union (IAU) already in 1948 was very different from the development after WW I, when besides Germany among others Hungary was also excluded from international societies during the 1920s.^*

Inspite of acceptance by the IAU the Hungarian astronomers suffered due to the isolation. In the beginning of the 1950s there were no external guests in Hungary, not even from the Eastern Bloc; no Hungarian astronomer was allowed to travel to a meeting or to travel for an observation or research stay abroad - with one rare exception only the director: german Von 1945 bis 1955 [hatte] kein einziger Kollege aus dem Ausland die Sternwarte besucht und - abgesehen von Dr. Detres glücklicher Teilnahme an der IAU Generalversammlung in Zürich, konnte oder durfte kein ungarischer Astronom eine Auslandsreise tun, um die Arbeit einer großen, modernen Sternwarte an Ort und Stelle zu studieren; letzteres war besonders hinderlich für die jüngeren Astronomen, die noch nie eine wirklich bedeutende Institution gesehen hatten. Ich nehme an, ein ähnliches Problem bestand auch für die Astronomen der DDR - aber dort waren doch immerhin mehrere Universitäten und mehrere aktive Observatorien vorhanden (insbesondere [Berlin-]Babelsberg, [APO Potsdam], Sonneberg, auch Jena, später Tautenburg), die ein Maß von innerem Verkehr und Austausch hätten ermöglichen können.
Kontakte mit der Astronomie in der DDR aufzunehmen erschien aussichtslos. Selbst Versuche, Kollegen in den Nachbarländern zu treffen, führte zu keinem Ergebnis. Detre versuchte, zum Beispiel, den rumänischen Astronomen Dr. Armeanca (Cluj?) einzuladen - wie wir später erfuhren, hatte ihn die Einladung nie erreicht.
Wir fanden auf jeden Fall die Situation, täglich und jahraus-jahrein, zum selben kleinen Kreis von 4 bis 5 Kollegen zurückzukehren, sehr frustrierend und sogar hinderlich, was die Qualität der Forschung betrifft. Gewiß, wir lasen mit großem Interesse die Forschungsberichte und versuchten uns daran zu orientieren, aber ein Durchbruch in der herkömmlichen Arbeit war nicht zu erwarten.^*

The first meeting, which could be visited by many Hungarian astronomers, took place in Pulkovo Observatory near Leningrad, May 1954: german Eine wesentliche Verbesserung der trostlos anmutenden Situation erfolgte jedoch im Jahr 1954, vielleicht Auswirkung der spürbaren (aber noch keineswegs einschneidenden) Änderungen im politischen System von Ost- und Mitteleuropa (``Tauwetter''). Im Mai 1954 erfolgte die Wiedereröffnung der im Krieg arg zerstörten, inzwischen neu aufgebauten Pulkowaer Sternwarte bei Leningrad. Aus diesem Anlaß hatte die Sowjetische Akademie der Wissenschaften eine viertägige Konferenz organisiert (20.-23.5.1954), mit unzähligen einheimischen Teilnehmern, aber auch mit großzügigen Einladungen aus dem Ausland. Eingeladen waren einige sehr bekannte, als ``führend'' geltende Astronomen aus dem Westen: die Professoren Oort [Holland], Danjon [Frankreich], Cowling [England], B. Lindblad [Schweden], Minnaert [Holland] unter anderen, Dr. Oosterhoff (Sekretär der IAU), Dirk Brower und D. Nassau aus den Vereinigten Staaten, weiterhin kleinere, 2- bis 9-köpfige Delegationen aus den sog. Volksdemokratien und 8 Astronomen aus China. Westdeutschland war leider nicht vertreten, die DDR mit drei Astronomen (J. Dick, C. Hoffmeister, O. Singer). Die Konferenz 1954 in Pulkowa war doch sehr wichtig sowohl für Ungarn als auch für die DDR.
Nach der Eröffnung gab es eine Möglichkeit, Leningrad und Moskau zu besichtigen und interessierte Teilnehmer hatten auch eine Einladung bekommen, die totale Sonnenfinsternis am 30. Juni 1954 vom Nordkaukasus aus, unweit von Pyatigorsk, mit ihren eigenen, mitgebrachten Instrumenten zu beobachten. So ergab sich für viele Gäste die Gelegenheit, fast zwei Monate in der Sowjetunion zu verbringen. Obwohl die erstaunlich zahlreiche ungarische Delegation (6 Astronomen, ein Mathematiker, ein Höhenstrahlungsphysiker und ein Beamter der Akademie) eigentlich kein eigenes Instrument vorweisen konnte, sind sie ebenfalls mitgefahren, dabei waren sie häufig zusammen mit der DDR, auch mit der tschechischen Delegation. Wichtige persönliche Kontakte wurden dabei angeknüpft, die zwei Jahre später eine nicht geringe Rolle spielten.
Dies war der Anfang der sich langsam normalisierenden internationalen Beziehungen.^*

Two members of Konkoly Observatory, who were not present in Pulkovo, Júlia Balázs und I. Izsák, were allowed to visit in 1954 a Variable Star Conference in Moscow which lasted one week.

A real highlight was the travel of the director Detre to the meeting of the IAU in Dublin in 1955 and then a first travel to West Germany: german ...1955 ...wurde ein überaus wichtiger Kontakt mit der Forschung in Deutschland endlich wiederhergestellt: Detre und Julia Balázs haben an der Tagung der AG [Astronomischen Gesellschaft] in Hannover teilnehmen können.^*

Since 1956 the important tradition of the Variable Star Colloquia of the IAU has been started. During the first colloquium there were not yet western participants, but four from eastern Germany (Ahnert, Güssow, Hoffmeister, and Schneller); the total number was 29 participants.^*

- The events of the year 1956 - the Hungarian Revolution

Starting with a student demonstration in October 23, 1956, a revolution all over Hungary against the regime developed quickly. With the second Soviet intervention in November 4, 1956 a mass escape began over the border to Austria. As a whole, more than 189,000 people left the country; half of them went overseas (mainly USA and Canada), the other half stayed in Europe, 20,000 in UK and 14,000 in Germany.

german Eine wichtige und zunächst ganz unerwartete Nebenwirkung der Konferenz [in Budapest 1956] war, daß die angeknüpften persönlichen Beziehungen sich in den Plänen der bald flüchtig gewordenen Sternwartenmitglieder deutlich bemerkbar machten. Dieser Exodus hat die Sternwarte und die ungarische Astronomie tief beeinflußt, später praktisch gespalten. Ihre Geschichte ist hier kurz skizziert wie folgt:
Zunächst schien in der Sternwarte eine neue Epoche begonnen zu haben: man plante verschiedene Kooperationen, besonders mit den DDR-Sternwarten aber auch mit Italien (Asiago). Diese Pläne wurden aber durch die rasch anrollenden Ereignisse des Oktoberaufstandes in den Schatten gestellt. Die Sternwarte hatte einen recht bescheidenen, aber aktiven Anteil an den Ereignissen und nach der fatalen Rückkehr der sowjetischen Truppen am 4. November 1956 tauchte sehr bald die Idee einer Flucht aus dem Lande auf. Furcht vor Retorsionen aber auch die damals anscheinend hoffnungslose Lage für zukünftige Forschung machten dies hauptsächlich zu einem Problem der jüngeren Leute.^*

Left: Imre Izsák (1929-1965) - Right: Tibor Herczeg (* 1929)

Imre Izsák (1929-1965), a specialist for celestial mechanics (Fig. 9), was the first who left the country:^*

Later four more members of the observatory fled, so that only half of the staff was left by the end of 1956. german Der Weggang, besser gesagt die Flucht von weiteren drei oder vier jüngeren Mitgliedern der Sternwarte spielte sich unter wesentlich weniger Geheimhaltung ab, drei oder vier Wochen später. Auf jeden Fall wußte [der Direktor] Dr. Detre Bescheid und riet uns, zuerst nach Wien, in die Sternwarte zu gehen. Aus dieser Position wäre es möglich, wie es in der Tat möglich wurde, die neugewonnenen persönlichen Beziehungen zu deutschen Astronomen bestens zu nutzen. Zu dieser Gruppe gehörten die wissenschaftlichen Mitarbeiter T. Herczeg und I. Ozsváth, der ``Aspirant'' Karl Balogh und der Mechaniker István Vidéki. Die ``Drehscheibe'' des Unterfangens bildeten Balogh's Eltern, die nur 3 bis 4 km von der österreichischen Grenze, in dem früheren Grenzsperrgebiet wohnten. Durch diese Möglichkeit wurde die Flucht Anfang Dezember erfolgreich durchgeführt, so daß Herczeg, Ozsváth und Vidéki über die österreichische Grenze schlüpfen konnten und in 1 bis 2 Tagen Wien und die Wiener Universitäts-Sternwarte erreicht haben. Die drei Ungarn aus der Sternwarte in Budapest wurden in der Wiener Sternwarte sehr freundlich, ja herzlich aufgenommen. (Balogh kehrte nach Budapest zurück, um seine Familie und Frau Ozsváth nachzuholen, fand aber dort eine wesentlich veränderte, schwierigere Situation vor und machte den ``Sprung'' nach Wien erst viel später - aber noch 1957 - möglich.)^*

How is the escape mentioned in Detre's annual report of the Konkoly Observatory? german In den letzten Jahren wurde allmählich eine Gruppe junger Astronomen zusammengestellt, die große Hoffnungen erweckt hat, was die Zukunft der ungarischen Astronomie betrifft. Die Vorkommnisse des Oktober/November 1956 veranlaßten die meisten jungen Mitarbeiter, das Land zu verlassen. Sie haben Arbeit in verschiedenen internationalen Institutionen übernommen. Die stellarstatistische Gruppe hat folgende Leute verloren: die wissenschaftlichen Mitarbeiter Izsák Imre, Herczeg Tibor und Ozsváth István, den ``Aspiranten'' Balogh Károly, die Aushilfskraft Miklós János und auch den Mechaniker Vidéki István.^*

- The Development after 1956

Cooperation, research travels, conferences, and guests after 1956

In Fig. 10 the three years from 1957 to 1959 are analyzed. The contacts to the Eastern bloc countries and to the GDR increased considerably, the contacts to the West and to the German Federal Republic were only possible in a restricted way.

Scientific Cooperation from 1960 to 1990

- The Development in the 1960s

A large variety of sources was available for analyzing the development from the 1950s to the 1980s.^*

German-Hungarian relationships from 1874 to 1985

After a certain transition time of a few years a positive development came up with the motto ``Who is not against us, is for us''. The rules were interpreted in a more liberal way; practically everybody was at least one time abroad, in the Western countries.^*

- Extension of the Contacts in the 1970/80s

One possibility for a visit in Germany was to get a Humboldt-Stipendium; this was given to István Jankovics (^* 1943) in 1981/82 for Heidelberg. As a success of his research travel he emphasized the new personal contacts as well as the scientific profit (e. g. common publications and cooperations in the future). He reported: I was very glad, that I had the possibility, german die schöpferische Atmosphäre an der Landessternwarte zu erfahren. Ich bedanke mich für die mir gewährte Förderung, womit die Stiftung mir zwei Jahre lang die Mitarbeit in einer Spitzengruppe der Deutschen Astronomie ermöglicht hat. Auf diese Weise konnte ich die modernsten Beobachtungs- und Auswertungsmethoden in der Praxis kennenlernen. Das führte dazu, daß mich mit den Kollegen nun nicht nur berufliche, sondern auch sehr gute persönliche Kontakte verbinden. ...Auch nach meiner Heimkehr bestehen gemeinsame Forschungsinteressen. Wir planen die langfristige spektroskopische und photoelektrische Überwachung junger Veränderlicher Sterne der Orion-Population. ...Für dieses Projekt ist eine Bildwandlerkamera geplant. Mit Heidelberger Kollegen werden gegenwärtig detaillierte Konstruktionspläne ausgearbeitet.^*

The Budapest University (Béla Balázs) started official relationships to Jena University (Pfau, Zimmermann); already in the middle of the 1960s it became partner university.

Research travels from 1945 to 1990

In the 1970s and 1980s mainly the Soviet Union and the GDR were predominant for the studies and research travels. Thus Jankovics got a further grant in 1986/87 for Potsdam, GDR. Since 1992 he has been director in Szombathely, where he further on kept good relationships to Heidelberg - a tradition which has started already in the time of the Gothard brothers.

In the 1960s until the 1980s a permanent increase of the Eastern travels (maximum around 1980) is obvious; examples are visits, common projects for cooperation, travels for studying or astronomical observations. Already in the 1950s there existed more contacts in this field with the East and the GDR than with the West. Since the 1970s the travels to the German Federal Republic preponderated in comparison with travels to the GDR. Regarding the travels one can recognise that the Hungarians preferred contacts with the GFR to the GDR.

Guests in Hungary, 1945-1990

The guests from the Eastern Bloc increase from the 1950s until the 1970s; in the 1970s there is a maximum of guests from the GDR (three times more from the GFR) (Fig. 13). The interest of the Western side concerning visits in Hungary was relatively small in comparison to the East.

Detre as director of the Konkoly Observatory kept the contacts to the Western and Eastern astronomers, but also the international relationships. In September 1968 a meeting of the Commission 27 of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) took place in Budapest; there were 66 lectures and 93 participants: 7 GFR, 3 Austrian, 40 further participants from the West, 9 Hungarians, 9 GDR, and 26 from the East.^*

Conference travels, 1945-1990

In the 1950s the travels to the East predominated. In the middle of the 1960s there was a large increase of conference and lecture travels to the east, but also to the West. In the 1970s regular annual colloquia were introduced, where astronomers from the Eastern Bloc could meat each other, especially the Hungarian astronomers could meet the GDR astronomers (Fig. 14).

Travels to the German Federal Republic were possible in a larger amount not before the 1960s. In the first half of the 1970s twice more GFR-travels were undertaken as compared with the GDR-travels. In the 1980s the GFR-travels decrease; this is difficult to understand and to interpret, perhaps there are fewer important meetings in this time in the West; at least the Bamberg Colloquia on Variable Stars stopped in 1983.

Hungarian Members in the Astronomische Gesellschaft

Although the Astronomische Gesellschaft, founded in 1863, had its place of business and legal seat in Germany, but it represented with an amount of foreigners of 60% of the members the international astronomical society until the 1930s. The amount of Hungarians was from 1913 to 1935 around 2-3%, for example in 1913 there were 13 Hungarians in comparison to 421 members in the Astronomische Gesellschaft, in 1930 there were 16 Hungarians out of 509 members.

In the time after WW II the Astronomische Gesellschaft had lost its reputation as an international society, it included then mainly the German linguistic area; for example there were three Hungarians in 1962 (Detre (until 1974), Herczeg, and Ozsváth) out of 322 members (cf. six from Czechoslovakia, one Rumanian, and one Yugoslav) or in 1978 five Hungarians (Balázs B., Herczeg, Ozsváth, Pauliny-Tóth, Szeidl) out of 433 members, finally in 1996 six Hungarians (Balázs Béla, Herczeg, Jankovics, Kelemen János, Pauliny-Tóth, Szeidl) out of 793 members.

Language in the Publications

In Konkoly's time the German language was without concurrence the language of science. The publication series Mitteilungen der Konkoly-Sternwarte was published from the 1920s until around 1950 overwhelmingly in German.

Language of the publications from 1932 to 1950

Regarding the histogram in Fig. 15, one can recognize, that until 1950 mainly German was used, practically no English; Hungarian was used especially in the case of popular astronomical journals.^*

In the 1950s a discussion started, whether German is the suitable language for the publications further on. german Die Publikation [über die Bedeckung von Zeta Aurigae] war die erste englischsprachige aus Budapest und auch der Titel der Reihe wurde zu ``Contributions'' geändert, allerdings als zweiten Titel ``Mitteilungen'' beibehaltend.^*

Language of the publications from 1950 to 1985

Since the middle of the 1960s one recognizes a strong increase of the English and thus a decrease of the German publications; a certain part of publications in Russian can also be found besides some Hungarian publications (Fig. 16).

Language of the publications from 1978 to 1986, University Budapest

Looking at the publications of Budapest University from 1978 to 1986, one recognizes English as the prominent language, but here no Russian is present (Fig. 17).

Comparison of the used languages during meetings from 1945 to 1985

In analyzing the language used in meetings or for guest lectures (taken from the title of the lecture in the programme or in the annual report), one recognizes, that German played still an important role, but English increased in its significance. Only in the 1970s Russian was used several times; but it is not clear, whether the lecture was presented in Russian or it was translated (Fig. 18).

Observatories and Instrumental Equipment

- Provenience of the Instruments from 1870 to 1945

Origin of the instruments, 1870-1945

A compilation of the instruments used by Konkoly in his observatory O'Gyalla is given in Fig. 19. Around 66% came from German makers and 17% from abroad, half of them from England.^*

- Observatories since 1945 in Eastern-Western Comparison

In the following the existing and newly founded observatories in the German states and in Hungary should be compared. In Germany there were 16 observatories around 1900 and this number did not change until 1945.

After WW II there existed eight observatories in West Germany (Bamberg, Bonn, Freiburg, Göttingen, Hamburg-Bergedorf, Heidelberg Landessternwarte, Kiel, München) and four in East Germany (APO Potsdam, Potsdam-Babelsberg, Jena, Sonneberg). In the GFR 14 institutes/institutions for astronomical research were founded,^*

In 1945 Hungary had the Konkoly Observatory as a national observatory and a chair for astronomy at Budapest University.^*

In 1958 the institute in Debrecen was founded as a solar observatory (Dezsö director). In 1982 this Heliophysical Observatory and the Konkoly Observatory were unified as the Astronomical Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.

- Instrumental Equipment since 1960

In the 1960s Szombathely, followed from Gothard's Observatory in Herény (founded in 1881), was used again as an observatory. In Szombathely an observing station was erected for tracking soviet satellites already in the 1960s. In 1977/78 the university of Budapest took over the observatory and bought a 60-cm-reflector from Carl Zeiss Jena.

Since the 1960s smaller observatories have been built in Szeged (Odessa-Telescope, 40 cm Cassegrain) and in Baja (1966).

The Piszkéstetö Mountain Station (in the Mátra mountains) of the Konkoly Observatory is especially important, because it enlarged the possibilities of observation for Hungary considerably.

• As a first instrument in 1961 - when Detre was the acting director - a 60 cm Schmidt-telescope, correction plate 90 cm, was acquired from Zeiss of Jena.^*

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  * According to an information from Hans G. Beck (May 12, 1998), former head of the department astronomy of Zeiss in Jena, four such Schmidt-telescopes (technical dates: 600 mm, correction plate 900 mm, focal length 1800 mm) were made in the end of the 1950s and delivered apart from Budapest also to Jena, Torún [Thorn], and Beijing.

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• In 1966 a 50 cm Cassegrain-reflector was delivered.

• In 1974 the observatory was provided with a 1 m Ritchey-Chrétien-Coudé.^*

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  * According to an information from Hans G. Beck in Jena (May 12, 1998) the 1 m telescope with an English mounting EM 1 saw first light in 1974 thanks to Béla Balázs who was very active in getting this telescope for the observatory.

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Looking at the equipment of the Hungarian observatories, Zeiss of Jena - like you would expect - is dominating: Satellite observing cameras, Schmidt cameras, blink comparator, coordinate measuring machine.^*

Observing possibilities for Hungarian astronomers existed also with the large telescopes on Crimea, in Byurakan, with the 2 m reflector in Bulgaria, and with the Schmidt reflector of Tautenburg Observatory near Jena, GDR.

Conclusion

At the end of the 19th century Hungary as a country at the periphery used as an orientation always a country in the center of scientific development - this was at that time Germany. The predominance of Germany in choosing the emphasis of fields of research is very easy to recognize and also in choosing the instrumental equipment (transfer of technology).

But the contacts had not only one direction; Hungary emancipated itself in scientific respect since the 1920s and developed in the direction to a scientifically equivalent partner by delivering important contributions. The appreciation of the Hungarian achievements is obvious in electing Tass in the managing committee of the Astronomische Gesellschaft in 1930.

Looking at the further development after WW II, where László Detre had an important influence, one can distinguish four periods:

in the 1990s - new research landscape. Also in the second half of the 20th century one can apply the model of center and periphery. With the taking over of the leading role in astronomy of the USA or in general the Western English speaking countries Hungary started already in the 1960s to use this development as an orientation. This is obvious already in the 1950s e. g. by starting to use the English language in the publications. But up to a certain point there was inevitably also an orientation towards the Soviet Union as a second center of scientific development. Apart from this orientation the relationships of Hungary were always - in respect to amount, continuity and intensity - the strongest with both German states.

 

László Detre and Júlia Balázs

 

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