SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I GO?!
Life Among the Ruins of the
Austro-Hungarian Monarchy
International Competition for High School Students
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DESCRIPTION
The twentieth century began with the devastation of the First World War. During the war and after its end, ordinary people faced the consequences. By autumn 1918, the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy fell apart and ceased to exist. More often than not, the defeated were tremendously hurt, and the victors triumphant. Everyone had to try to survive on the imperial ruins while the living conditions totally changed. Some decided to move, some stuck to their old dwellings. Others were relieved because, finally, they had become citizens of nation-states where they were members of the titular nation. Of course, others rather found themselves as minorities within these new states, as citizens but not co-nationals. Whatever their decisions, they had to conform to the rules and regulations of these new states.
With this international competition, you have the opportunity to take a look at the lives of ordinary people of that time on the grounds of the newly formed countries. The teams will choose a real or fictious historical character through whose eyes they can see a glimpse of everyday life in post-imperial Austria, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Yugoslavia, Poland, or Hungary. The competition will have two online rounds, after which a final round will take place in Pécs, Hungary where the best teams meet for a weekend and compare their knowledge and talents live, in real time. The work of the teams is supported by a selected bibliography, primary sources, and the recent research results of the European Research Council project Negotiating post-imperial transitions (ERC Nepostrans) of the Institute of Political History in Budapest.
APPLICATION
Teams in this competition will consist of 3 members each. The language of the competition is English. We kindly ask each team to create a distinct gmail address dedicated to this competition in order to make communication and uploading exercises and documents easy.
You can register by
- submitting the completed exercises of the first round no later than midnight (23:59), January 6, 2023 to nepostrans.contest@gmail.com, and
- completing this REGISTRATION FORM to provide details about your submission.
PERSONAL STORY
The teams must follow and carry on with the personal story of the selected character through the years 1918–1921 during the whole competition. The choices of personal stories (version 1 or 2 or 3) may be one of the followings:
- Personal Story 1: Fleeing. This person, or his/her family, chooses flee from his/her home because that area now belongs to another country after the conclusion of the postwar peace treaties. He/she continues his/her life in a new place.
- Personal Story 2: From Majority to Minority. This person, or his/her family, does not flee, but on the contrary stays in the same home, an area within the administrative conditions and structures of a new postimperial successor state. Although he/she remains in his/her original place, he/she does so as a person who now belongs to a minority group in the new state.
- Personal Story 3: From Minority to Majority. This person, or his/her family, remains in his/her home and regards the new state as his/her motherland following the treaties. He/she considers himself/herself as part of the majority group in the new state.
DEADLINES
Deadlines of submitting the documents for the rounds:
- First Round: 23:59, 6 January, 2023.
- Second Round: 23:59, 6 March, 2023.
FINAL ROUND AND AWARD
The best 4 teams meet for a weekend and compare their knowledge and talents LIVE, in real time:
- Date: 21-23 April 2023
- Venue: Pécs, Hungary
We provide a 2-day weekend program (accommodation, guided programs, travel costs, meal) in the fifth largest city of Hungary, which has been recognized for its cultural heritage, including by being named as one of the European Capital of Culture cities in 2010. As part of the programme, the students will also participate in a historical-memorial workshop with international researchers from the ERC Nepostrans project. This will involve a joint comparison of the historical memory of the successor states of the Monarchy for the period covered by the quiz.
EXERCISES
FIRST ROUND
1. Structured Document
Description of the Exercise
The period following the First World War was complex. Imagine that a “Commission of the League of Nations on the Ruins of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy” was created which would like to get a clear picture about the relationship between the majority and the minorities in each new postimperial successor state. Based on the provided text, create a mind map or outline where the changes following the treaties are gathered and summarized in a way that can be easily traced. This structured document could be a mind map, a traditional outline, or a flowchart—it is up to the teams to decide. Just make sure that the “Commission” can understand your scheme clearly. This document can be completed digitally or on paper as well.
The reading can be found here.
Evaluation
See the table below for the categories and point values of the evaluation. It is appreciated if your outline is completed in a creative spirit and nicely designed. Remember that the text must be based on the reading and the main points have to be explained briefly, in 1–3 pages. It should not be a simple synopsis type of document! If you produce your document on paper, handwritten, please send a scan or high-resolution image so that it is legible after submitted to the competition’s email address.
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Main points are present in the document and based on the reading |
30 Points |
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Document elements are clearly structured/arranged |
25 Points |
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Design |
25 Points |
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Creativity |
15 Points |
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Bibliography is included |
5 Points |
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TOTAL |
100 Points |
2. Diary
Description of the Exercise
The lives of families drastically changed in the period 1918–1921, whether they decided to stay where they had always been, or, on the contrary, if they chose to leave; whether they became part of a minority or found themselves belonging to the state’s new majority. Your task is to take notes on their lives in transition. You have to write three (3) diary entries from the point of view of your chosen character. The diary can be written digitally or on paper. The entries can be illustrated as well.
Here’s what to include:
- Three short summaries of minor or major historical events should be included in the diary, e.g., French troops occupy Szeged, the lead-up to and day of the Carinthian Plebiscite, the Hungarian Red Army fights against the Czechoslovak military at Levice/Léva/Lewenz, the Romanian administration takes over in Oradea/Nagyvárad/Großwardein, or the Yugoslav state takes over in Kikinda/Nagykikinda, etc.
- The personal opinion of the character or his/her family affected by the historical event.
- The consequences of these events in everyday life, e.g., the change of the official language in the new state, new currencies, changes in the street names, prices, national holidays, circumstances in the schools, workplaces, etc.
You can use actual archival sources or printed texts from the period as samples as well, including diaries, memoirs, the press of that period, court cases, and so on. If you are lucky enough to have your own family sources, feel free to include them too. If not, you can also create fictive stories based on real findings. You may decorate your diary entries with drawings, photos, or stickers too. Be creative! An entry may be complemented with smaller bits of daily notes on different topics.
List of recommended readings and good examples can be found here.
Evaluation
Having a proper bibliography is important. If you produce your document on paper, handwritten, please send a scan or high-resolution image so that it is legible after submitted to the competition’s email address. Design and creativity matter!
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Three (3) Diary Entries |
60 Points |
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|
|
|
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Design |
15 Points |
|
Creativity |
15 Points |
|
Bibliography included |
10 Points |
|
TOTAL |
100 Points |
3. Walk
Description of the Exercise
The history of your chosen character and his/her family is not only textual, but appeared in space as well. Design a virtual walk so that the evaluators can trace where your character turned up during 1918–1921 depending on whether they fled (first personal story) or stayed (second and third personal stories). The walk must have six locations. Each location has to be described briefly. The spots should also provide information on the role they played in the life of the chosen character, that is, why they are significant for the character. Enrich the entries of these spots with audio-visual content.
Use this app: https://storymap.knightlab.com/ to complete this exercise. The StoryMapJS editor uses your group’s Google account for logging in. Ensure that if you have a fictious personal history it appears in a real historical context.
Evaluation
You can use your own photos for the walk. As always, creativity and design matter!
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Six (6) Locations with: |
70 Points |
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1. Descriptions |
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2. Summary of location’s significance |
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3. Audio-visual content |
|
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4. Presence of real historical context |
|
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Creativity |
20 Points |
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Bibliography included |
10 Points |
|
TOTAL |
100 Points |
SECOND ROUND
1. Video Interview
2. Press Review
3. Virtual Exhibition
DOWNLOAD
Download all this information in PDF format here.
CONTACT US
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