Romanian Eugenic Sub-Culture and the Allure of Biopolitics, 1918–39

By the late 1920s a considerable body of eugenic literature in Romanian, Hungarian and German had been produced in Romania, illustrating the growing importance afforded to science and evolutionary theories of human improvement in this country. Engaging with this literature, this article investigates the emergence of a Romanian sub-culture in Transylvania and the Banat, sanctioned through eugenics and biopolitics, and promoted by cultural associations and prominent intellectuals and politicians. In so doing, this article contributes not only to a new appraisal of the relationship between ethnic minorities and majorities in interwar Romania, but also to a new understanding of the ways in which eugenics and biopolitics were harnessed to Romanian narratives of nation-building during the interwar period

Redemptive Family Narratives: Olga Lengyel and the Textuality of the Holocaust

Memoirs written by Holocaust survivors and (in some cases) their testimonies retain a salience unmatched by other historical sources. This article discusses one such memoir, Olga Lengyel’s Five Chimneys, alongside her 1998 testimony, aiming to engage with broader methodological issues relating to the history of the Holocaust, particularly those about memory, narrative and textuality. Through a detailed discussion of certain moments shaping Olga Lengyel’s personal experience, both pre-and post-arrival in Auschwitz, the article captures the tensions and contradictions characterizing the harrowing story of one woman’s loss of family in the Holocaust

Colonialism, eugenics and ‘race’ in Central and Eastern Europe

The legacies of eugenics in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and their connections to global colonialism remain uncharted. Therefore, it is worth pondering over this relationship, which requires a historical perspective and a repositioning of the recent postcolonial ‘turn’ in CEE to include the history of eugenics. For the most part of the 20th century, eugenics took shape within both colonial and nation-building projects. Eugenic strategies devised to preserve the colonial system outside Europe have always coexisted with programmes designed to improve the well-being of nations within Europe. This convergence between colonial, racial and national dimensions of eugenics requires a critical rethought. While this key line of inquiry has been a major focus in Western Europe and the US, it remains under-theorised in CEE. By highlighting the colonial implications of nation-building in the region, we attempt to destabilise the all-too-pervasive historiographic misconception that CEE nations are largely untouched by the global circulation of eugenics and scientific racism

The invention of prestige: 'People on the mountain' and the politics of the national

People on the Mountain (Szőts, 1941) enjoys special standing in Hungarian film historiography: critics have hailed its use of real locations, deep humanity and sympathy for the downtrodden, and saw in it a precursor of Italian neorealism. This article argues that celebrations of the film’s humanity and claims of its position apart from the ideologically inflected films of the period are misplaced, and that such critical readings are simply not justified by the historical context. The article shows that People on the Mountain is the product of a state-controlled film industry, and that claims of the film’s kinship with neorealism are greatly overstated. The article further shows that contrary to accounts of unfavourable official reception, the film was very well received by industry bosses and state officials. Finally it argues that People on the Mountain makes use of a radical nationalist discourse which claimed for Hungarians precedence in Transylvania

MENTE: Terminal year end reports

MENTE is a partnership comprised of aspiring student entrepreneurs, Mr. Kenneth Eufracio, Ms. Taryn Espiritu, Mr. Dylan Mackun, Mr. Evan Nelle, and Ms. Angelika Turda. The business sought to provide people with a more convenient and satisfying coffee experience through coffee drips and other ingredients that give a richer taste to coffee. In doing so, MENTE distributed five (5) products to the market during its business operations. MENTE first distributed Bean Boxes in two flavors which are the Mocha coffee kit and the Latte coffee kit. Later on, the business added diversified products which are Mocha Syrup kit, Latte syrup kit, and coffee drip pouch. MENTE used locally sourced materials such as Arabica coffee beans produced in the country in order to be part of the support for the domestic economy. The MENTE Terminal Year-End Report (TYER) narrates, in a substantial yet direct way, the outcomes of the business and the experiences of the partners throughout the course program. Chapter one (1) of the TYER outlines MENTE’s highlights of the performance which are the objectives they set and were able to achieve. The first chapter also details how MENTE strategized on its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The partners contemplated their setbacks and how they pushed forward to lead the different departments with the management team which is discussed further in the second chapter of the TYER. Chapter three (3) is a more quantitative analysis of the business by comparing the different planned targets with the actual targets met. Succeedingly, chapter three of the TYER points out the success factors, best practices, challenges, and actions of MENTE for each department. What bears fruit from all those is also the significant learning the partners had which they convey in Chapter 4. With CSR activities, the partners also gave back to the communities, as shown in chapter five. Lastly, each member’s future plans are shared in chapter six of the TYER. The partners did not continue the business but plan to use their learnings for their forthcoming ventures

Therapeutic fascism: re-educating Communists in Nazi-occupied Serbia, 1942-44

This article probes the relationship between psychoanalysis and right-wing authoritarianism, and analyses a unique psychotherapeutic institution established by Serbia’s World War II collaborationist regime. The extraordinary Institute for compulsory re-education of high-school and university students affiliated with the Communist resistance movement emerged in the context of a brutal civil war and violent retaliations against Communist activists, but its openly psychoanalytic orientation was even more astonishing. In order to stem the rapid spread of Communism, the collaborationist state, led by its most extreme fascistic elements, officially embraced psychotherapy, the ‘talking cure’ and Freudianism, and conjured up its own theory of mental pathology and trauma – one that directly contradicted the Nazi concepts of society and the individual. In the course of the experiment, Serbia’s collaborationists moved away from the hitherto prevailing organicist, biomedical model of mental illness, and critiqued traditional psychiatry’s therapeutic pessimism