Identity Statement

Reference Code

HU OSA 368-1-3

Title

Nation-wide Representative Research on the Roma

Date(s)

1970 - 2007

Description Level

Series

Extent and medium (processed)

7 Archival boxes, 0.88 linear meters

Context

Name of creator(s)

Kemény, István

Content and Structure

Scope and Content (Abstract)

In 1970, István Kemény was commissioned by the Council of Ministers to conduct a survey about the Roma population of Hungary. The institutional framework for the research was provided by the Sociological Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. This research was the first representative survey of the Roma in Hungary. While the final research paper was completed in 1973, it was not published only as late as in 1977 by the Institute of Sociology.

In Kemény’s definition, a Roma is someone who is regarded as Roma a Rom by their non-Roma environment. The research team studied the various degrees and the process of integration, as well as the factors facilitating or hindering it. Two percent of the Roma population was interviewed, with information on 6,400 persons. An indication of the significance of the survey is that it has been a fundamental source and reference for all researchers working on the topic ever since. The research covered the non-Roma attitudes too, establishing that both the depictions of the Roma as the romantic natural man and fears of the demographic growth of the Roma population were in total contradiction with the reality of society.

The research team was put together by recruiting. István Kemény instructed candidates to apply a survey questionnaire and conduct a recorded interview with a Roma in his/her home. Those selected for the team constituted the group which regularly attended Kemény’s illegal seminars.

Following the initial research project for the study of the Roma in 1970-1971, it was repeated twice, first in 1993, shortly after Kemény’s return to Hungary from the West, and again in 2003.

Following the research in 1970-1971, István Kemény was contracted by film director Pál Schiffer (1939-2001) as a consultant for Schiffer's documentary film project, the later award winning film titled Gyuri Cséplő.

The archival series consists mainly of transcripts of interviews conducted in 1970 and 1971. It also contains administrative files of all three research projects, 1970-1971, 1993 and 2003.
Furthermore, it includes some essays and studies analyzing the research findings, as well as other publications where the authors made use of the sociological research.

The last part of the series is made up of the background material and scripts of Pál Schiffer’s film Gyuri Cséplő.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information

During the course of processing no materials have been removed from the series.

Accruals

Not Expected

System of arrangement

The series is arranged in alphabetical order.

Conditions of Access and Use

Conditions governing access

The collection is open for research. General restrictions apply.

Conditions governing reproduction

Az OSA kutatótermében oktatási és kutatási célra digitálisan másolható.

Languages

Hungarian

Physical characteristics and technical requirements

The series contains paper documents of good physical condition.

Description Control

Archivist's note

Processed by János Dávid, Gábor Havas, János Köllő, Júlia Varga, Krisztina Passuth and Örs Lehel Tari, September 21, 2016.