Identity Statement

Reference Code

HU OSA 466

Title

Péter Hanák Personal Papers

Date(s)

1945 - 2000

Description Level

Fonds

Extent and medium (processed)

24 Archival boxes, 3.0 linear meters

Context

Name of creator(s)

Hanák, Péter

Administrative / Biographical history

Péter Hanák (1921–1997) was an influential figure in historical studies in Hungary from the late 1940s until his death, a renowned scholar of the Austro-Hungarian Compromise and the Dual Monarchy period, and researcher of the societies (and idea) of Central Europe, who played a crucial role in channeling Hungarian history writing into the international discourse. As a lecturer, in 1989, he joined the Inter University Centre courses in Dubrovnik, and founded the Department of History at the Central European University (CEU) in 1991, and served its first chair until 1995.


A comprehensive professional biography of Péter Hanák was published, in 2023, by Péter Csunderlik, titled *Egy különleges közép-európai történész. Hanák Péter pályaképe* (An exceptional Central-European historian. The career of Péter Hanák. Napvilág Publishing House, 2023).

Archival history

After Péter Hanák's death in 1997, the legacy was, according to historian Péter Csunderlik, arranged by a student (Mohácsi, first name unkown), under the supervision of historians Éva Somogyi and Gábor Gyáni, but remained in the late historian's home. Eventually, it was moved to his son, András Hanák's home, where, in the early 2020s, Csunderlik consulted the records while working on his monograph on Hanák. In 2022, the Péter Hanák Personal Papers were donated to the Archivum by the Hanák family, thanks to the mediation of Csunderlik.

Content and Structure

Scope and Content (Abstract)

The first two series in the fonds primarily comprise Hanák's typewritten manuscripts, proofs, and handwritten notes, as well as documents capturing his academic and public role.

Scope and Content (Narrative)

In a 1985 survey of his published and unpublished works, marked "Bequeath," Hanák requested that, "As editors . . . frequently removed parts from the articles, please check, in all cases, the published article against the original." (HU OSA 466-0-2:1/1 [[(Auto)Biographical Documents and Writings: CVs, publication lists]](https://catalog.archivum.org/catalog/KpWA3bB8v9))

The first two series in the fonds primarily comprise his original typewritten manuscripts, proofs, and handwritten notes, as well as CVs, publication lists, and a collection of interviews conducted with him. The first series covers his academic activity, from scholarly publications to conference lectures and to editorial works. The second series reflects his professional and public role, through biographical documents, articles and appearances in non-academic media, and a collection of opinions and peer-reviews written by him. Future series currently being processed will contain Hanák's research materials (including copies of documents from a range of archives), correspondence, and personal records (acknowledgments, photographs).

Accruals

Not Expected

System of arrangement

The papers arrived at the Archivum in binders containing documents in envelopes. To preserve this structure—believed to have been created by Péter Hanák—as much as possible, folders in the first two series of the fonds correspond to envelopes, arranged according to original binders. Binders were labelled with subject headings, which are indicated in folders' titles in brackets.

Conditions of Access and Use

Languages

English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Russian

Allied Materials

Publication note

Péter Csunderlik, Egy különleges közép-európai történész. Hanák Péter pályaképe (Napvilág Kiadó, 2023). Éva Somogyi (ed.), Polgárosodás Közép-Európában: tanulmányok Hanák Péter 70. születésnapjára (MTA Történettudományi Intézete, 1991); Marius Turda (ed.), The garden and the workshop : disseminating cultural history in East-Central Europe: in memoriam Péter Hanák (Central European University, 1998

Description Control

Archivist's note

Arranged and described by Miklós Zsámboki, July 2023–June 2024