Between States: The Transylvanian Question and the European Idea during World War II. By Holly Case. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. 2009. Pp. xix+349. Cloth $60.00. ISBN 978-0-8047-5986-1.

摘要

In the introduction of her monograph, Between States: The Transylvanian Questionrnand the European Idea during World War II, Holly Case sets her book in dialoguernwith the work of the “new generation of historians” of east central Europe.rnWhile she acknowledges the importance of returning agency to the eastrncentral European people in the larger continental context, she aims at refocusingrnhistorical attention toward small states (Hungary and Romania) in shaping thernidea of Europe through state policy and everyday practices linked to Transylva-rnnia. This claim seems to me less of a departure than other authorial choices,rnwhich indeed suggests that Case is part of a new generation of scholars of eastrncentral Europe. The most important novel aspect of this book is the honestrnand thorough attempt on the part of the author to offer a comparative analysisrnof the “Transylvanian Question” by paying attention to many of the actorsrninvolved in the political, military, diplomatic, and cultural debates over the iden-rntity and political fate of this region. For non-specialists this might seem like arndoable feat; but for anyone who has tried in earnest to represent the dazzlingrnvariety of linguistic, political, and cultural aspects of all the relevant factorsrninvolved in this issue, constructing an evenhanded and clear representation ofrnthe Transylvanian Question has been notoriously difficult, especially sincernethno-nationalism on the part of both Romanians and Hungarians (both inTransylvania and especially beyond) still has a great deal of traction. The book isrnindeed careful and quite successful in moving back and forth between the posi-rntions of politicians, intellectuals, scientists, clergy, army personnel, and on rarernoccasions, average people who claimed allegiance to Romania or Hungary.