A Survey of the Croatian National Minority’s Development in Hungary

Doseljavanje hrvatskog stanovništva s područja Bosne, Hercegovine, Like i Dalmacije bio je dugotrajan proces. Uglavnom do sredine 18. stoljeća arhipelaški doseljenici su naselili ne samo rubna područja današnje NR Mađarske prema SR Hrvatskoj, već unekoliko i zapadna i južna područja današnje Mađarske. Doseljenici, uz pomoć svoga pučkog svećenstva, poglavito fratara, ostali su vjerni katoličanstvu ali i hrvatstvu. Došavši iz različitih krajeva, njegovali su i različite tradicije, posebno govor. Ta je činjenica otežavala njihovu integraciju pod jedinstvenim hrvatskim nacionalnim imenom. Procese takove integracije usporavao je i nedostatak domaće inteligencije koja bi se oduprla pritiscima asimilacijske politike kao svojevrsne konstante odnosa mađarskog velikodržavlja prema narodnostima. Od vremena do vremena taj bi pritisak popuštao, nastupalo bi razdoblje tolerancije. Nerijetko se ta razdoblja podudaraju s razdobljima srdačnih dobrosusjedskih odnosa Jugoslavije s njihovom »novom« domovinom. Suradnja pripadnika hrvatske narodne manjine s pripadnicima slovenske, te posebno srpske narodne manjine imala je u ranom poratnom razdoblju presudnu ulogu za jačanje i poboljšanje položaja narodnosti kao političkog bića. Naše narodnosti dočekuju budućnost i sve promjene koje mogu djelovati na ubrzavanje asimilacijskih procesa kao zajednica(e) koja je kadra obogatiti kulturu sredine u kojoj već stoljećima žive, ali i kulturu svojih matičnih naroda u staroj domovini. A ulogu manjina kao mosta koji spaja a ne razdvaja nepotrebno je pobliže i objašnjavati.The immigration of the Croatian population from the regions of Bosnia, Herzegovina, Lika and Dalmatia was a longstanding process. Mostly until the mid-18th century they settled the borderline between what is today the People\u27s Republic of Hungary and S. R. Croatia and formed their archipelagos there, as well as, in part, the western and southern areas of the Hungary of today. The immigrants, supported by their secular priests, especially friars, remained faithful to Catholicism, as well as to Croatianness. Having come from various parts, they maintained diverse traditions, and especially their dialects. This fact made their integration under a uniform Croatian national appellation more difficult. The processes of such an integration were slowed down by an absence of the local intelligentsia that would counteract the pressures of an assimilation policy – a constant characteristic of the Hungarian hegemony over the nationalities. From time to time, the pressure would be relieved, and a period of tolerance would replace it. More often than not, such periods coincided with the periods of cordial and neigbourly relations of Yugoslavia with the nationalities\u27 “new” homeland. Co-operation between members of the Croatian national minority and members of the Slovene, and particularly Serbian national minorities had a key role in the early postwar period for an improvement of the position of the nationalities as political entities. The nationalities concerned await their future and all the changes that can affect an acceleration of assimilation processes as communities capable of enriching the culture of the environment they have inhabited for centuries, as well as the culture of the mainstay nations in the old home country. And there is no need for a further elaboration on the role of minorities as a uniting, rather than a separating, bridge