Saving the cultures, on-line

How to help a culture to still remain present, despite the decresing number of its representatives? The on-line, virtual environment it's creating a huge opportunity in this respect. In this case, the museum-without-walls about the Jewish culture in Poland, iniatiated and maintained mostly by non-Jews.

Jewish Assimilation in Hungary

by far, one of the most interesting example of integration in Central and Eastern Europe.

One single example, to be found in many other cases: the mathematician Lipót Fejér (1880-1959) was born Leopold Weiss. Around 1900, he changed his name, to make himself more Hungarian.

But this decision wasn't enough to be fully considered a Hungarian, and on the occasion on his appointement, in 1911, to the chair of mathematics at the University of Budapest the following incident took place:

Although already world famous and warmly endorsed by Poincaré on the occasion of the awarding of the Bolyai Prize, Fejér's appointment to a chair at the University had been opposed by anti-semites on the Faculty. One of them, knowing full well that Fejér's original name had been Weiss, asked during the occasion of Fejér's candidacy: 'Is this Leopold Fejér related to our distinguished colleague on the Faculty of Theology, Father Ignatius Fejér?' Without missing a beat Loránd Eötvös, Professor of Physics, answered "Illegitimate son". After that the appointment sailed through smoothly.

K Tandori, The life and works of Lipót Fejér, Functions, series, operators, Colloq. Math. Soc. János Bolyai 35 (Amsterdam-New York, 1983), 77-85.

The never ending battle with the past

in Central and Eastern Europe.

The issue at stake is how to start a capitalist future without having a clear property situation. Poland and the Czech Republic are good examples of a good post-communist capitalist start and are successful EU and NATO members. Still, the restitution problem is dealing with the ways to solve the past problems. In countries as Ukraine, Russia or Serbia this process is just at the beginning if not started at all, meaning that, sooner or later the issue will be solved following the death of many of the possible individuals who would have something to request.