The Tsangos of Romania - Corvinus Library - Hungarian History

Pátria. Unfortunately only a few copies were made and so theyare hard to find. The names of the two families were kept secretsince they were afraid that the Rumanian Government wouldfind out that they sang and told stories in their native tongue andwould imprison them.Pál Péter Domokos, also compiled a book of the songson the LP and sent it to the son of one of women singing on it,who was a doctor. This man later became a priest and wasordained in Rome, but when the Rumanian Government foundthis out, they arrested him in 1986 and tortured him to death.CSÁNGÓS IN BARANYAHere in the Hungarian County of Baranya, in thevillages Egyházaskozár, Szárász, Bikal, Mekényes there can stillbe found Csángós who had come to Hungary in the 1940's. Ivisited Egyházaskozár where I met some of the old people whostill remembered coming from Moldavia. They told me that theyleft their home in 1941, when a decision was made after theSecond Viennna Award, that everyone should join his or herown nation. They were promised many nice things in return forleaving their home, such as: potatoes as big as a baby's head, nowinter, and no mountains either. Their first stop was in Gajcsawhere they spent a few days then moved on to Csiksomlyówhere they lived in camps, and with families for ten weeks.They were told that the delay was because their houses whichwere supposed to have been built on land taken away frompriests was not yet finished. Finally, they were taken to Bácska(Voivodina, Yugoslavia now) on trains where Hungarians fromBukovina and Bosznia had already arrived. The Serbs, whowere settled there after 1919, on land taken from HungarianChurches or landowners were deported since this land wasreacquired by Hungary in the war. In 1944 these people had toflee again, this time to Hungary since Bácska was regained bythe Serbs. The trip to Hungary was long and arduous. For ninedays and nights these people were on the road and slept on theroadsides. They settled first in a village in Tolna, then after theSecond World War was over, they moved to Egyházaskozárwhich was a village that had already existed in the time of Árpádand which had been uninhabited from time to time. During thereign of Mária Terézia, Germans settled down in the villagewho also had to leave when the war was over. After that