The First World War in the hungarian protestant press

Abstract

The study examines how the Hungarian Protestant press reacted to the series of social changes caused by the First World War. The first reaction in 1914 was an overflowing patriotic enthusiasm and a general justification for the war, which, however, underwent significant changes later on. At that time, the Protestant press was an internal forum for a narrow group of pastors and intellectuals with close ties to the church, where critical and self-critical opinions could appear due to the relatively limited publicity. As the initial enthusiasm waned, especially from 1916 onwards, the authors increasingly expressed doubts about the leadership of the joint army, the pastoral care of Protestant soldiers, and the power of social solidarity, while warning their colleagues in the congregations of the importance of intensive pastoral care, community organization and showing a good example.