| Gyula Germanus | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 6, 1884 Budapest, Hungary |
| Died | November 7, 1979 (aged 95) Budapest, Hungary |
| Resting place | Budapest, Farkasréti cemetery |
| Nationality | Hungarian |
| Known for | Academic |
| Website | |
| http://davkis.freeweb.hu/ggyeng.html | |
Gyula Germanus (6 November 1884, Budapest – 7 November 1979, Budapest), alias Julius Abdulkerim Germanus, was a professor of oriental studies, a Hungarian writer and islamologist of Jewish origin, member of the Hungarian Parliament and member of multiple Arabic academics of sciences, who made significant contributions to the Arabic language science, language history and culture history. He was a follower of the famous orientalist, Sir Ármin Vámbéry and became a scholar of world repute.
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He was a language professor at the Hungarian Royal Eastern Academy from 1912, and a teacher of Turkish and Arabic from 1915. During World War I he had several secret missions in Turkey. In 1915 he was there as member of the Turkish Red Crescent and also joined the fights at the Dardanelles.
Julius Germanus was born in Budapest on 6 November 1884 into a middle-class family. Both of his grandfathers were soldiers in the Hungarian Revolution of 1848-’49. His father, Alexander Germanus (1852–1940), was leather merchant and shoemaker; his mother, Rosalia Zobel, was of Zipszer German origin. Julius had a brother, Francis and a sister, Johanna.
The young did not do well in the early years of high school and, sometimes got very low marks. Despite of that in 1902 graduated with brilliant results. His mother spoke German more than Hungarian. Despite this Hungarian became his mother tongue. Maybe this confusion led him to the difficulties in studying languages but accompanied with his incredible strength of mind to multilinguism, as well: just after finishing the high-school sat for exams on Greek and Latin languages, both widespread in the intellectual class in the region, that time. Besides the classical and foreign languages reading, and even writing books on history, literature and history of music became his other speare-time activity. Germanus was devouring historical books in original French and German. His first own work titled The artillery lieutenant (A tüzérhadnagy), which discuss the siege of Strasbourg in the year 1870-’71, carried off the first prize of 20 Crown.
From his early childhood played the violin with a good soul but he felt irresistible affection for piano-playing he same time. The parents couldn’t afford to acquire not even a pianino and of course they didn’t want to see their son killing his time with another hobby instead of bettering his notes. Julius adapted himself to the situations and began to practice in secrecy on a keyboard made of straw-board. He wasn’t very talented in music but the immense exercise had its effect and at 13 with his sister interpreted some pieces of Bach and Mozart.
The young Germanus adored the nature and couldn’t help going into the stable, while staying on countryside, and petting the horses and the cattles. “Once, out on the pasture, the herd set me on the back of the steer at my request. I was only five and scarcely weighed anything. My mother caught her breath and turned pale when she saw the herd of cattle coming in the village with the bull in its head and me sitting on the bull."
Passed the youthful years, Germanus’ interest besides history turned gradually but definitively to the Eastern studies, arts and literature. He got his first deep impression on East turning over the pages of the German paper titled Gartenlaube. There was a wood-print with the magic view of an unreachable eastern town. “The picture presented small, flat-roofed houses raising among them here and there some dome shaped cupola. The light of the half-moon, twinkling on the dark sky, lengthened the shadows of the figures squatting on the roofs”. This was the moment when the affection for East was born.
Soon after it Julius started to pick up the Turkish language himself, without any help. We should remember, as he wrote it in his great work, the Allah akbar, the languages had been medium of transmission to eastern culture, art and literature, and he had acquired a handful of languages not just for linguism, or some type of affection for foreign tongues, he was seeking for the Muslim mentality, “soul of East”. How the Turkish writers of history gaze upon the Turkish supremacy on Hungary it was always in his interest from the beginning. However he should have come on soon that a lot of sources wouldn’t be reached without knowing Persian and Arabic languages. He took it on his head that he would be master on these, as well, but got some difficulties with the former one.
The first aid came from one of the best acknowledged orientalist and linguist of that time, Sir Ármin Vámbéry. “Several periodical, like Mesveret and some other shorter or longer reviews of similar subject with complimentary copies of books were arriving to Vámberys address in Pest. In which the Professor wasn’t interested throw into a bathtub for me, from where I could fish papers, books which I preferred.” Father Alexander Germanus frowned his sons dreaming, he was worried about Julius not to get into evil ways, but Vámbéry stood up for his beloved apprentice. “Mr Germanus, your son is of great promise. Don’t obstruct his career, let him study. Don’t’ consider his necessity for books as giddiness! Please, help him; I warrant that you won’t be disappointed.”
Having graduated in the high-school Germanus decided to spent the in Bosnia, the nearest Islamic country to Hungary. This was his first personal meeting with Muslims. The visit of Bosnia provided reinforcement in his decision to study further oriental studies, in the same time. (about his commemoration on the Bosnian journey)
The parents former would mark him out for engineer. But after coming home Germanus enrolled for the University of Sciences in Budapest (since 1950 Eötvös Loránd Tudományegyetem) to read Latin and History. Among his professors we can mention Ignác Goldziher, considered one of the founders of modern Islamic studies; Bálint Kuzsinszky, professor in antique history; Ignác Kúnos, authority in Turkish languages; István Hegedűs professor of Greek and Henrik Marczali lecturer in Hungarian history.
“Germanus was always speaking about Goldziher with the deepest fondness and honour. It was however Vámbery who stand much nearer to him personally. Germanus considered him as real mentor and supporter.” In 1903 through the Eastern Academy he became a scholarship to better his Turish knowledge in Constantinople. He settled by an Armenian family and was reading law on the University of Constantinople. In his staying in the Ottoman Empire Julius got involved in the movement of Young Turks, a coalition of various groups favouring reforms in the administration of the realm. The movement intended to overthrow the monarchy of Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II. Because of his involvement, Germanus was accused for espionage and imprisoned. After the trial he was condemned to death by the regime. It was just in the last minute when the Austrian consul brought him off the gallows and get him out of the jailhouse. After the incident Germanus cut himself adrift from the movement and started a journey to roam the Empire. That he saw and felt on his trip that fulfilled the dreams of his youth. After he got back to home his first scientific work was published in 1905 in the volume of his Turkish teacher, Ignác Kúnos under the chapter Arabic and Persian Elements in Turkish. His way led him not only towards East. He was even attending balkanology, archeology and German literature in Leipzig and in Vienna.
In 1906 his study, titled Geschichte der osmanischen Dichtkunst (History of the Ottoman Poetry) was brought out. In 1907 he got finally his degree as Doctor of Philosophy with summa cum laude in Turkish and Arabic language and literature, literature and world-history.
With his work Evlija Cselebi about Turkish trade guilds in the XVIII. century obtained a scholarship to Great Britain, where he could spend three years between 1908 and 1911 on the Oriental Department of the British Museum. The recommendatory letter from his teacher, Ármin Vámbery, the greatest expert of Islamic studies at that time, brought him much. His skill in English language was helpful not only for his works and study but he edited English course books, dictionaries, too. Germanus was fencing and swimming competitively from his childhood. iI England he tasted boxing, as well, nevertheless his favourite sport was riding. He took good places in it. It was England, too, where the first love found him. His relationship to the beloved Gwendolyn Percyfull remained long-lasting, even though after a few years not in a romantic form. They changed letters also more than 50 years later.
During the war years, between 1914 and 1919 he got a position on the Prime Ministers Office to check the foreign press. As soon as the war started, Germanus had to set in his extraordinary knowledge of languages in secret missions in Turkey then allied with Hungary. He had to escort the special embassy carriages as deputy of Hungarian department of Red Crescent. It was so on the occasion e.g. when a train was sent to pass medicines, bandages and hidden among weapons and explosives to Anatolia, in July 1915.
That time the Sultanate was already the past and a parliamentary state was established, however the conflicts among the minorities of this multinational country were inflamed, discordances for power raised, and seeing the government debt, the war casualties and the consequent poverty of enormous levels imbued his heart with sorrow. Germanus had deeply disappointed in the fellows, known once in the years of his scholarship spent in Constantinople. They filled now high positions of the state and played a determining roll in the Armenian Genocide, among other charges.
Germanus was present on behalf of the Red Crescent in Gallipoli campaign by the Dardanelles, where he was wounded and taken prisoner. After his get-out became acquainted with the commander 19th Division attached to the Fifth Army, Mustafa Kemal Pasha, who later, known as Atatürk, founded the Republic of Turkey (1923). Germanus in Turkey got in touch with the Sultan Mehmed V. (1909–18) in 1915 and with the heir of the throne Abdul Medsid, son of Mehmed VI. (1918–22) in 1918. Germanus was given an Mecidiye order from the first and an Osmanie order from the later. During that sojourn in Turkey became sick with malaria. His illness was detected just much later which led to a prolonged recovery of more than two years. It is the same year, 1918 when he married Rózsa Hajnóczy (1892–1944) originated from Upper Hungary. She was a faithful and fond partner during the Indian years.
In 1925 Germanus published a Turkish grammar, a stop-gap work, for the Hungarian readership. Next year he was marked out as the secretary of the Hungarian PEN Club founded by John Galsworthy, English novelist and playwright. Later it was Germanus who established the Bulgarian (1928) and the Egyptian (1934) PENs. The era between the two World Wars brought storming changes in the young Republic of Turkey. The changing situations spurred him to write two works, first La civilisation turque moderne and the other the Pensées sur la révolution turque (1928) about the political turn in the Near Eastern country and the founder and leader of if, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. As answer to these publications he got an invitation anew, this time from the new government.
Germanus saw how the dreams on positive changes in Turkey of his youth had gone wrong during the past years. Getting out of the financial crisis and poverty, the country of former sultans was facing with increasing Europeanization leading to loss of the ancient costumes, the same time inserting power of capital and western rush, elements which would destroy the Eastern soul and mentality. Just wherever he looked, he could see only European heredity: western clothes, Latin letters in recent published books, motorisation. Former bazaars, lifestyle, eastern feeling and mentality, that was all of the past right then.
His Turkish-language book was published in 1925. The Hungarian readers welcomed it with great interest. He became the secretary of the Hungarian PEN Club, with the recommendation of John Galsworthy. He organized the Bulgarian PEN Club in 1928, and the Egyptian PEN Club in 1936.
He wrote two essays about the Turkish cultural transformation in French: La civilisation turque moderne ("The modern Turkish Civilisation") and Pensées sur la révolution turque ("Thinking about the Turkish Revolution", about the role of Kemal Atatürk in the revolution). The new Turkish government invited him to Turkey in 1928. Travelling there he could see the transformation of Muslim Turkey into a new European country. He got resignated so that he stopped the trip and visited Bulgaria, Macedonia, Sofia and Belgrade instead. Here he met Nikola Vaptsarov and other national leaders and writers.
By means of his knowledge in history, cultural history, politics and literature of the Muslim world provided Germanus an exceptional opportunity. In 1928 Rabindranath Tagore invited him to India in order to organize and then lead as first professor the Department of History of Islam (now Department of Arabic, Persian, Urdu & Islamic Studies) on his university Visva-Bharati University in Santiniketan. He gave lectures in Lucknow, Lahore and Dhaka. In December, 1930 he was invited to Delhi. He met dr. Zakir Hussain, later prime minister of Republic of India, and Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, former prime minister of India. He spent three years in Bengal with his wife Hajnóczy Rózsa and taught an always a growing group of Islamic pupils under the open sky.
Next to his engagement he could dedicate much time to improve himself (e.g. began to study Sanskrit) and work on other smaller projects. During these years Pál Teleki, the Hungarian prime-minister asked him to study the Maori and Munda languages from a linguistic point of view.[1] The muggy Indian summers he and his wife spent traveling. They visited the tomb of Sándor Kőrösi Csoma, the famous Hungarian orientalist, in Darjeeling. They traveled through Cashmere.[2][3]
In December 1930 he was welcomed in Delhi to work at the Aligarh Muslim University, where got acquainted with Zakir Hussain, President of University (the first elected President of India in 1967) and with Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan former President of India.
This period of life was enormous rich in experiences and development of his notion and emotion on being Muslim, he acquired a lot of additional details on Islamic culture and history. By this time he was living the Qur'an and took part in the Friday prayers in Jama Masjid, Delhi. One time he have a speech to a crowd of 5ooo people. It was about the new blooming of Islam and got such popularity that he had to escape from the thankful people, and possible death from pressure. Reputation of Germanus' speech spread round the entire Muslim world. Leading articles were published in newspapers about him and hundreds of believers went on pilgrimage to his humble flat to get advices. The proceedings and his experiences made a great impression on him. He chose himself a Muslim name, Abdul-Karim ("servant for the gracious God").
In 1934 from state subvention he travelled through the Middle East, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Travelling through England he meet T. E. Lawrence. Landed in Cairo he ran into difficulties trying to enter the gates of Al-Azhar University. He got support and help from his Egyptian writer friends. They could mellow the rigour of grand sheik Muhammad al-Ahmadi al-Zawahiri, the uncompromising head of University, who didn’t want to leave Europeans to enter his Institute.
At the end Germanus could be for some month student, then member of the teaching staff of the thousand year mosque-university in heart of Cairo. That time there was deep poverty among the students of Al-Azhar but for Germanus that was like Mecca, being able to taste the feeling of being a Muslim student, moreover for inspiration of the Quran studies, and the everyday life of the pupils. By means of friends he could get in contact with the most famous members of the contemporary Egyptian literature, like Mahmud Taimur, the most influential 20th century Egyptian writer Taha Hussein, Muhammed Abdullah Enan, the poet Ibrahim Naji, the drama composer Tawfiq el-Hakim, the novelist and philosopher Muhammad Husayn Haykal, furthermore Sauki Amin, the secretary of Academy of Sciences in Cairo and the romantic writer Abbas Mahmud al-Aqqad.[4][5]
Leaving behind Egypt shipped to Saudi Arabia to stay first in Jeddah then to change to Mecca. In 1935 Germanus reached Mecca among the first Christians to perform the Hajj. That time travelling incognito through hidden territories of the Arabian Peninsula, however it wasn’t without any danger, even though he had been living after Qur'an's law. If his national status would have turned out the infuriated believers might kill him without any other reason, entitling him as a spy. In addition to this Germanus was hiding his favourite Hungarian flag under his ihram clothing and a pocket camera, a unique machine that era. Next to the photos he made several descriptions about wall inscriptions and documents, never seen in Western Europe. He was able to investigate even the Black Stone, since he was once among the best students on Geology. Germanus considered a great honour when he was invited to the royal tent of King Abdul Aziz ibn Saud during the Hajj.[4]
The book about his journeys in the Holy Land came out one year later (1936) first in Hungarian, and after a great success it was translated in German (Allah Akbar. Im Banne des Islams) and Italian (Sulle orme di Maometto).
Fulfilled the annual pilgrimage the Hungarian hajji went to Medina to visit the tomb of Prophet. The two week journey with the caravan under the scorching sunshine, the unbearable heat wore out his health that he fell ill to bed with fever. He had to hang up his scientific research work and to return to Europe. To recover from the illness he spent several days in Athens.
Since had to leave behind Medina so suddenly forced by an illness, Germanus considered his work uncompleted. He surmised that he was the only who enter to the holy territories of Arabia to finish further studies. Anyway the return seemed even more circumstantial because of the wartime and Hungary’s clogging diplomacy. Finally on 23 September in 1939 he embarked into ship Kassa, later changing to ship Duna after the shipwreck of the former, and went through Bosphorus to Alexandria as member of the staff. In that time he fills his 55 years; he writes about himself: “I’m the oldest sailor in the world”. That wouldn’t be enough; he was awarded with honours of high degree for his standing in the gap and became first class sailor. The ground for it was that he with his sailor companions succeeded in preserving the ship from a total going down in a terrible storm.
Arrived to Egypt Germanus visited his writer and scholar friends again. After some weeks he went to explore all over Lebanon, Saudi-Arabia. In Mecca, Medina and in the city of Badr he accomplished the research work and also his second Hajj.
In the course of his journeys he has passed through the Wadi Djadak and Ghureir as the first European. On the man proving 28-day trip the caravan lost his last portion on food and water. There was nothing to do but to eat the meal, blood of the carcase camels and even the excrement of them. After three days without any water Germanus lost his consciousness. His companions thought that his life had already despaired of, but his faithful Arab friend was intractable and didn’t let the others to leave the European traveller in the desert and to cut down his camel.
Arriving to the Oasis of Hamellie, Germanus came to his senses after five days of unconsciousness. The caravan ended in Riyadh where King Abdul Aziz ibn Saud received the Hungarian scholar.[6]
In 1941 he became the director of the Eastern Institute. During the II. World War he was on the streets of Budapest to help the family, friends and the university, to hide people and secure them, to save lives and goods. His library remained miraculously untouched. His wife, Rozsa Hajnoczy was suffering from the attacks, so he decided to find a calm place in a village for her. By the time he got back to Budapest she committed suicide. She could not live with the feeling that her husband's life is in continuous risk under the Nyilas regime. One person helped him through these days. He met Kajari Kato, at an exhibition in 1939. He found a good student, a helpful colleague and a good wife in her.[7]
In 1948 he became director of the professorship of Italian culture and economical policy. His works were published in Italian. The book - "Sulle orme di Maometto" /1938, Milan/, the translation of "Allah Akbar". The Eastern Institute closed and teachers were dismissed, with no hope of any development.
He worked at the Turkish philologic professorship in the Peter Pazmany University, Eötvös Loránd University from November, 1949., under the leadership of Gyula Nemeth. In 1955 he took the place.
These years he prepared a work about the life of Ibn al-Rumi, the big Arabic poet.
1958-1966: He became member of parliament in Hungary. He was a university delegate and did not join the communist party. He worked at the professorship of Arabic literature and cultural history as a lecturer. Later he became the senior lecturer. He was released from duty only in 1964, at the age of 8o.
Between 1955 and 1965 he traveled again. His book "Eastern Lights" is about these experiences. He accepted the invitation of the Scientific Academy of Cairo, other universities in Alexandria, Kairo, Damaskus, and eight Indian university to give lectures about the islamic cultural history in English and Arabic. Accompanied by his wife and follower, Kato Kajari, at his age of 71, he hit the road again.
On the 30th of dec. 1957 he kept his inaugural speech at the Academy of Sciences in Cairo. In honour of him his Egyptian colleagues organized a special Germanus lecture-week. He also had the pleasure to visit Dina bint 'Abdu'l-Hamid, the queen of Jordan, and Talal ibn Abd al-Aziz, prince of Saud.
He revisited Indian cities to refresh his memories of Bombay, Delhi, Aligarch, Patna, Agra, Hydarabad, Calcutta, Lucknow and Santiniketan. Jawaharlal Nehru, the prime minister of India invited him for a visit. Here he witnessed the development and rapid change of Muslim societies. In febr., 1961 he gave lectures in Morocco, at the universities of Fez, Rabat, Casablanca. He kept his inauguration at the Academy of Baghdad in 1962. The topic was the history of islam in Hungary. He was also invited to the festival for the 1200th anniversary of the foundation of Baghdad. In febr., 1964 the government of the United Arabic Republic /the union of Egypt and Syria/ asked him to give lectures in the refurbished school of Al-Azhar Mosque for the occasion of 1000th anniversary of its exist. On the 15th of march in 1965, the ambassador of Saud visited Germanus in Budapest with the invitation of king Faisal of Saudi Arabia. He was awaited to visit Mecca /for the third time/, to take part of the islamic conference /see Organisation of the Islamic Conference/ . The task was enormous both for the scolar in his 80s and his wife, Aisha, also Muslim by that time. The trip meant to walk round the sacred place and run the way between Saba and Marva seven times on the hot surface in the huge crowd. He accepted the invitation.
He was working all his life till his last days. His last wish was to see the third reprint of his book about the history of the Arabic literature. So he could get the quick print of the first pages into his hand. His last word in his death-bed summarizes his life: "I believe that the universe was made from a strong moral power, and the unselfish love maintains that. The meaning of life is beauty and kindness. This confidence led me through my life, and the wish to get rest in the shadow of the big spirit. ... There I will get rest. Because power means esthetic, art and kindness, and not hathred and greedyness. ... Hungary became lonely. ... He will never come back from East again. ...".[7]
(the list contains solely the latest editions of each work)