Béla H. Bánáthy
Encyclopedia
Béla Heinrich Bánáthy (December 1, 1919 – September 4, 2003) was a Hungarian linguist, systems scientist and a professor at San Jose State University
and UC Berkeley
. Bánáthy was the founder of the White Stag Leadership Development Program
whose leadership model was adopted across the United States. He is also founder of the International Systems Institute with its innovative "conversation"-oriented conference structure, co-founder of the General Evolutionary Research Group, an influential professor of systems theory
and a widely-read and respected author.
, Hungary. The oldest of four sons, his father Peter was a minister of the Reformed Church in Hungary
and his mother Hildegard Pallmann was a teacher. Peter Bánáthy had earned the honorary title Vitéz
for his service during World War I
, and Béla, as his oldest son, would inherit the title.
Tamas Feri. Tamas was about 13 years old and from a poor gardener family. Tamas took Bánáthy on his first overnight camp out with his patrol to a small forest near Gyula
. Bánáthy's father then became the Scoutmaster of the "small scouts" troop (similar to American Cub Scouts).
When Bánáthy was nine years old, he became the troop leader and during one national holiday
, led the troop in a parade. About that time, the entire troop spent two weeks camping at a church camp at Leányfalu
, north of Budapest
. The church groups lived in wooden barracks, but Bánáthy's troop stayed in tents, "as Scouts are supposed to do".
The family moved about 84 kilometres (52.2 mi) from Bánáthy's birthplace of Gyula, to Makó
, Hungary, about 202 kilometres (125.5 mi) southeast of Budapest
. He joined the regular scout program of the Hungarian Scout Association and "Csanad Vezer" Troop 92. The troop had over 50 Scouts and 30 "small scouts" during the 1930s. They held their monthly troop meetings on Sunday in a large gimnazium
and met weekly every Saturday as a patrol. Bánáthy reported: "Our weekly patrol meetings focused on scoutcraft
and Scout spirit and guiding us to move through the various stages of advancement in rank."
The Hungarian Scout program had four stages. During the first three years, Bánáthy advanced three stages. The last stage required Bánáthy to earn 25 merit badges. This last stage was called Turul
, after the mythical bird of Hungary. From spring to fall, as weather permitted, the patrol had many outings. Every summer the troop went on a two- to three-week long summer camp.
Members of Bánáthy's troop attended the 4th World Scout Jamboree
in 1933, where he would make a life-changing decision. Up to this time, Bánáthy had decided to follow his father into the ministry. Bánáthy wrote,
While at the Jamboree, he briefly met Joseph Szentkiralyi, another Scout from Hungary. Hungarian Sea Scout
Paul Ferenc Sujan and American Maurice Tripp also attended, and all three men would more than 20 years later play a key role in helping Bánáthy build a leadership program for youth in the United States.
Also in 1933, Bánáthy attended the regional patrol leader training week. Later in 1934, Bánáthy and six other members of his troop traveled to the National Jamboree in Poland. They camped in a large pine forest and visited Krakow
and Warsaw
. The Polish government hosted a banquet for all of the Scouts in the Presidential Palace
. In 1934, he was awarded the best notebook prize of the national spring leadership camp and in 1935, he was invited to serve on the junior staff of the same camp at Harshegy, Budapest
.
In 1935, the troop traveled to the Bükk Mountains in northeastern Hungary for their summer camp. As a Senior Patrol leader, Bánáthy and two others took a bicycle tour in advance of the summer camp to preview the camping site.
In 1937, Bánáthy entered the Ludovika Akadémia, as was the custom for young men aspiring to military careers. In 1940, at age 21, Bánáthy was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant
in the armored infantry
. Later that year and met his future wife Eva Balazs during this time.
Pál Teleki
, whom Bánáthy had met at the 4th World Scout Jamboree
in 1933, was Chief Scout of Hungary and Prime Minister of Hungary. He and Regent
Miklós Horthy
tried to keep Hungary out of the war, though their national pride prompted them to seek a reversal of what they felt was the unjust geographic division of Hungary by the 1920 Treaty of Trianon
. Germany promised this to them. Through the Munich Agreement of 1938
the country was reunited with a portion of Czechoslovakia that had been part of Hungary, and via the Vienna Awards they regained additional territory that had formerly been Hungarian lands.
When Yugoslavia's government fell in a bloodless coup d'état
, Germany's southern flank was exposed, and its planned invasion of Russia was threatened. Germany responded with a plan to invade and compel Belgrade
's support for the Axis and suggested that Hungary should also attack. Teleki refused, and the Germans asked permission to transport their troops across Hungary.
The British, with whom Teleki had had a long relationship, sent word via the Hungarian Minister in London that they would declare war if he assented. Teleki heard soon afterward that Regent Horthy and General
Henrik Werth
, Chief of Staff
of the Hungarian Army, had permitted the Germans to cross Hungary's borders. On 3 April 1941, Teleki took his own life. General Farkas was soon named by Regent Horthy as the country's new Chief Scout.
Bánáthy served two tours on the Russian front
in World War II
as an armored infantry officer. In 1941, Bánáthy's unit advanced during a severe November ice storm within 140 kilometres (87 mi) of Moscow. Wounded, he returned from the front to Budapest and married his fiancé, Eva Balazs, with his arm in a sling. In 1942, he returned to the Russian front with the Hungarian Second Army (Second Magyar Honved) at the Don River bend, supporting the German attack on Stalingrad
. Having grown the peace-time Hungarian Army very quickly from an initial force of 80,000, the rank-and-file of the Hungarian Army had undergone only eight weeks of training.
They were charged with protecting the 8th Italian Army's
's northern flank between the Novaya Pokrovka
on the Don River
to Rossosh
, part of the larger force defending the drive by the German 6th Army against Soviet General Vasily Chuikov
's 62nd Army
, which was defending Stalingrad.
On 13 January 1943, the Russian troops, an overwhelming force in numbers and equipment, began the Voronezh
-Kharkov
Strategic Offensive Operation on the Bryansk
, Voronezh
, and Southwestern Fronts. They rapidly destroyed the Hungarian Second Army in which Bánáthy served near Svoboda
on the Don River
. During Second Hungarian Army's 12 months of activity on the Russian front, from an initial force of about 200,000 Hungarian soldiers and 50,000 Jewish forced laborers
, about 100,000 had been killed, 35,000 wounded, and 60,000 taken prisoners of war. Only about 40,000 returned to Hungary, scapegoated by Hitler for the catastrophic Axis defeat. "No nation lost as much blood during World War II in such a short period of time." Bánáthy was seriously wounded and returned to Budapest, where he spent seven months recuperating from his wounds. After recuperating, he became a junior officer
of the Royal Hungarian Army
and served on the faculty of the Ludovika Akademia under Commandant
General Farkas. Farkas sought a volunteer to teach junior leader training at the academy. Bánáthy, who had met Farkas at the 1933 Jamboree, volunteered. Farkas also asked Bánáthy to organize a Scout Troop for the young men, 19 years and older, which was a common practice within the Hungarian Scout Association
at the time. Bánáthy found a passion in training the young men in officer's leadership skills and became the voluntary national director for youth leadership development and a member of the National Council of the Hungarian Scout Association.
In July 1944 Bánáthy's mentor Colonel-General (Hungarian
: Vezérezredes) Kisbarnaki Ferenc Farkas was Commander of the Hungarian VI Army Corps which had been garrison
ed at Debrecen
. He replaced General Beregfy, loyal to the Arrow Cross Party
. During that month, Farkas' VI Army Corp was instrumental in beating back a Red Army
attack across the Carpathian mountains
. On 15 October 1944, Farkas was named commander of the Pest bridgehead and then Government Commissioner for Evacuation. In early November 1944, the first Russian units appeared on the southeastern edge of Budapest. As an associate of Farkas, Bánáthy likely had advance notice of the Russian advance. He also knew he would probably be executed if captured. Bánáthy was able to get his wife Eva, one year old son Béla
and two-week old son László out of Budapest. Bánáthy's family, along with other officers and their families, found shelter at first in farmhouses, and later in bunkers, caves, and trenches.
When the Hungarian Second Army was disbanded due to a lack of equipment and personnel on 1 December 1944, the remaining units of the Second Army, including Bánáthy's, were transferred to the Hungarian Third Army. The Siege of Budapest began when the city was first encircled on 29 December 1944 by the Red Army
. Bánáthy fought with the remainder of his unit against the Russians until after Budapest fell on 13 February 1945. The Axis was striving to protect the last oil fields they controlled in western Hungary around Lake Balaton
. However, by late March 1945, most of what was left of the Hungarian Third Army was surrounded and destroyed about 40 kilometres (24.9 mi) to the west of Budapest in an advance by the Soviet 46th Army towards Vienna. The remaining shattered units fought on as they retreated progressively westward through the Transdanubian Mountains towards Austria.
Bánáthy's family with the other family members of the remainder of his and other military units made their way west, along with tens of thousands of other refugees, about 250 kilometres (155.3 mi) into Austria, trying to stay ahead of Russian advances. Temperatures through the time of their flight remained near 0 °C (32 °F).
. They were housed in a single 6 by room in a wooden barrack which served as their bedroom, kitchen, living room and firewood storage area. Food was extremely scarce and they subsisted on around 600 calories per person per day for five years. They were among 1.4 million displaced persons in Austria at the time while there was a worldwide food shortage. Food was also severely restricted by punitive U.S. policies including directive JCS 1067, which in 1947 resulted in German citizens surviving on 1040 calories a day.
Bánáthy later traded for milk to give two-year-old Béla and one-year-old László enough protein. With extremely little food available in the camps, in early 1947 his wife's twin sister came from Hungary and took the two older sons back to live with her older sister. The Pallendal family, Bánáthy's in-laws, was well-educated and relatively wealthy, so they had access to more food than what was available in the camps, and they intended to return the boys after a year. Beginning in early 1948, when the Cold War
ensued, it became virtually impossible for refugees or displaced persons to cross from the border of one country into another, or even from one Occupation Zone
to another. The two boys were now behind the Iron Curtain
.
In 1948, shortly after their third son Tibor was born, the family was moved to another camp, near a Marshall Plan
warehouse, where Bánáthy began unloading sacks of wheat from railroad cars. He contacted the World Scouting Movement
for assistance and was successful in organizing Scouting in the camps
. During 1947, Bánáthy was named the Hungarian Scout Commissioner for Austria and led training for Hungarian Scout leaders along with his former commanding officer, Kisbarnaki Ferenc Farkas
. He was ordained by the World Council of Churches
and became minister for youth among Hungarian refugees. He served as director of religious education of the Protestant Refugee Service of Austria, was editor of a religious youth service and of a Scout publication.
In 1948 Bánáthy's fourth son Robert was born. Bánáthy soon found work as a technical draftsman
in the statistical office of a U.S. Army warehouse. In 1949, with help from a Swiss foundation, Bánáthy assisted in establishing and was selected as the President of the Collegium Hungaricum, a boarding school for refugees, at Zell am See
near Saalfelden
, Austria. In the same year, the Communist government in Hungary
seized the businesses belonging to the Pallendal family. Because they were members of the social elite, they were seen by the Communist government as a political threat as was common in that time.
In 1951, in what was a common practice during this time, the Hungarian Police arrived at dawn to seize the Pallendal family home with orders to deport the family from Budapest. Those at home were arrested and immediately deported
. Seven year old Béla and six year old László, along with their grandmother and two aunts, were put aboard a freight train and sent towards Russia. As was the practice, the train stopped occasionally and a few hundred people were forced off. The Pallendal family was ejected in eastern Hungary, and an uncle was able to locate them and hide them from authorities in a small village in eastern Hungary.
in Chicago
sponsored Béla, Eva, Tibor and Robert as refugees to the United States. Bánáthy's family lived in the Seminary
, and Bánáthy labored nights 60 hours a week in the cellar of the Seminary, shoveling coal to fire the furnace, while studying English from a book. He occasionally preached at nearby Hungarian churches. His wife found work in a paper factory and Tibor, their third son, entered American public school.
instructor, and Bánáthy was invited to teach at the U.S. government's Army Language School
in Monterey, California
. Bánáthy accepted the job at the Army Language School, moving to Monterey in June 1951. This became a pivotal event in Bánáthy's life. At the Army Language School, he met the founder of the Hungarian Department, Joseph Szentkiralyi (Americanized
as St. Clair), and soon found that this was the same man he had met at age 14 in 1933 at the 4th World Scout Jamboree
. When Bánáthy's and St. Clair's wives met, they discovered they had been girlhood friends in grammar school in Budapest. Eva Bánáthy had managed a family restaurant in Budapest before World War II, and she found work as a waitress in a restaurant on the Monterey Peninsula. Bánáthy resumed his interest in Scouting and community service. He served as President of his local Parent-Teacher Association
and on the board of the local Red Cross
. In the same year, Paul Ferenc Sujan joined the language school faculty, and Bánáthy learned that Sujan had attended the 1933 World Jamboree as a Sea Scout
.
On February 28, 1956, Bánáthy become a United States citizen. After nine years of separation, and repeated failures to get his sons repatriated
from behind the Iron Curtain
, Bánáthy obtained help from Dr. Eugene Blake, President of the National Council of Churches
; Representative Charles M. Teague
; Ernest Nagy, Vice Consul in the U.S. Legation in Budapest; Hulda Neiburh of the McCormick Theological Seminary; and Howard Pyle
, deputy assistant to President Eisenhower. He was finally able to bring 13 year old Béla
and 11 year old László, who had not seen their parents for nine years, to the United States from behind the Iron Curtain. The two boys greeting their mother was featured in a picture in Life Magazine.
The boys were greeted by their parents at San Francisco International Airport at 1:10 a.m. The boys' release marked the first time since the Cold War that anyone under 65 years old had been allowed to leave Hungary to be reunited with family.
, Bánáthy was an educator, a systems and design scientist, and an author. At the Army Language School
, he taught in the Hungarian language department, later becoming its chairman.
Following on his interest in leadership development for youth that he had nurtured in Hungary, in 1957 Bánáthy began experimenting with a concept for a leadership development program. As Council Training Chairman in the Monterey Bay Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America
, he proposed to and received broad support from the Council Executive and Council Executive Board the idea of training boys in leadership skills. He was assisted by fellow Hungarians Joe Szentkiralyi (Chair of the Hungarian Language Department at the Army Language school, he later Anglicized his name as St. Clair) and Paul Sujan (Hungarian Language Instructor at the Army Language school); Fran Peterson (a member of the National Council and a Scoutmaster from Chular, California); and Maury Tripp (a Scouter from Saratoga, California, a member of the National Council and a research scientist). Bánáthy, St. Clair, Sujan and Tripp had all attended the 4th World Scout Jamboree
in Hungary, where Bánáthy and St. Clair had briefly met. "Lord Baden-Powell was my personal idol and I long felt a commitment to give back to Scouting what I had received", Bánáthy said.
As part of his master's degree
program in counseling psychology at San José State University
, he wrote a thesis titled "A Design for Leadership Development in Scouting". This book described the founding principles of the White Stag program
, which was later adapted by the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America
. Prior to Bánáthy's work, the adult Wood Badge
and the junior leader training
programs had focused on teaching Scoutcraft
skills and some aspects of the Patrol Method
. His research and findings on teaching principles and competencies of leadership had a huge impact on these two programs, shifting their focus to leadership skills. The leadership competencies he articulated became the de facto
method for Scout adult and junior leader training. (In 2008, the White Stag program celebrated its 50th anniversary.) In 1960, the Monterey Bay Area Council recognized Béla for his exceptional service to youth and awarded him the Silver Beaver.
In the 1970s, due to the success of the White Stag program, Bánáthy was appointed to the Interamerican Scout Committee and participated in three interamerican "Train the Trainer" events in Mexico
, Costa Rica
, and Venezuela
. He guided their national training teams in designing leadership development by design programs. Béla also taught in Sunday School
and was on the Board of the United Methodist Church
of the Wayfarer in Carmel, California.
and systems science
at San José State University
. In 1962 he was named Dean and Chairman of the East Europe and Middle East Division at the Army Language School, overseeing ten language departments. In 1963 he completed his master degree in psychology
at San Jose State University, and in 1966 he received a doctorate
in education
for a transdisciplinary program in education, systems theory, and linguistics from the University of California
in Berkeley. During the mid-1960s Bánáthy was named Chair of Western Division of the Society for General Systems Research
. He published his first book, Instructional Systems, in 1968.
and continued teaching at San Jose State University. In 1969, he left the re-named Defense Language Institute and became a Program Director, and later Senior Research Director and Associate Laboratory Director, at the Far West Laboratory for Research and Development
(now WestEd
) in Berkeley (later moved to San Francisco). He "directed over fifty research and development programs, designed many curriculum projects and several large scale complex system
s, including the design and implementation of a Ph.D. program in educational research and development for UC Berkeley
".
In the 1970s and 1980s, he focused his research on the application of systems and design theories and methodologies in social, social service, educational, and human development systems. In the 1980s he developed and guided a Ph.D. curriculum in humanistic systems inquiry and social systems design for the Saybrook Graduate School.
, Austria
in 1982.
What was truly revolutionary about the International Systems Institute was Banathy's method for organizing conferences. Banathy observed that in traditional conferences, a few usually well-respected or prestigious individuals would apply to present "pre-packaged new ideas" to others. In typical conferences, presenting almost always carries more prestige than listening; the few presenters share their wisdom with the many. This one-to-many or "hierarchical knowledge distribution system" slowed the sharing and spreading of ideas about which many people cared deeply if not passionately, as there was always limited opportunity for interchange among participants. This interaction was usually wedged into the interstices of the formal schedule in the form of informal, spontaneous gatherings for which no record existed.
The notion that presenting is more important than listening aroused life-long antipathy in Bánáthy. When he formulated the leadership competencies of the White Stag Leadership Development Program
in the 1960s, he described the passing of knowledge from one to another as "Manager of Learning". He wrote extensively about how the focus should be on the learner, not the teacher.
Bánáthy advanced a different vision for conferences, one that would allow everyone to fully engage. He proposed that everyone be given the opportunity to prepare and distribute papers to all participants in advance of the conference. And instead of listening to speeches, conference attendees took part in extended, non-hierarchical conversations about the conference papers. The conference proceedings were the result of these conversations. Bánáthy felt strongly that systems scholars from all over the world should be given ongoing opportunities to engage in extended conversations so they might put their expertise "actively into the service of humanity worldwide".
Bánáthy wrote: "We aspire to reap the 'reflecting and creating power' of groups that emerge in the course of disciplined and focused conversations on issues that are important to us and to our society". Participants at International Systems Institute gatherings have, since the original meeting organized by Bánáthy in 1982, organized them around this principle and referred to them as "conversations".
and others of the initially secret General Evolutionary Research Group. A member of the Society of General Systems Research
since the 1960s, he was Managing Director of the Society in the early 1980s, and in 1985 he became its president. He then served on its Board of Trustees. During the 1980s, he served on the Executive Committee of the International Federation of Systems Research. In 1989, he retired from Far West Labs and returned to live on the Monterey Peninsula. He continued to serve as Professor Emeritus for the Saybrook Graduate School, counseling Ph.D. students. He also continued his work with the annual ISI international systems design conversations, and authored a number of articles and books about systems, design, and evolutionary research. He served two terms as president of the International Federation of Systems Research during 1994-98.
He coordinated over twenty international systems research conferences held in eight countries, including the 1994 Conversation on Systems Design conversation held at Fuschl Am See, Austria, sponsored by the International Federation of Systems Research. He was also honorary editor of three international systems journals: Systems Research and Behavioral Science
, the Journal of Applied Systems Studies, and Systems. He was on the Board of Editors of World Futures, and served as a contributing editor of Educational Technology
.
. After a brief and unexpected illness, Bánáthy died on September 4, 2003. He and Eva had been married 64 years at the time of his death.
San José State University
San Jose State University is a public university located in San Jose, California, United States...
and UC Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
. Bánáthy was the founder of the White Stag Leadership Development Program
White Stag Leadership Development Program
The White Stag Leadership Development Program is a non-profit organization that sponsors youth leadership development activities. Founded on the Monterey Peninsula, California, in 1958 by Dr. Béla H. Bánáthy, it traces its history to the 1933 World Jamboree in Gödöllő, Hungary, which took as its...
whose leadership model was adopted across the United States. He is also founder of the International Systems Institute with its innovative "conversation"-oriented conference structure, co-founder of the General Evolutionary Research Group, an influential professor of systems theory
Systems theory
Systems theory is the transdisciplinary study of systems in general, with the goal of elucidating principles that can be applied to all types of systems at all nesting levels in all fields of research...
and a widely-read and respected author.
Biography
Béla Bánáthy was born in 1919 in GyulaGyula, Hungary
Gyula is a city in Békés county in south-eastern Hungary. It lies close to the border with Romania, on the river Fehér-Körös.-History:The first recorded reference to Gyula was in a document dated 1313 which mentions a monastery called Gyulamonostor . By 1332 the settlement around the monastery was...
, Hungary. The oldest of four sons, his father Peter was a minister of the Reformed Church in Hungary
Reformed Church in Hungary
The Reformed Church in Hungary is a key representative of Christianity in Hungary, being numerically the second-largest denomination in Hungary after the Roman Catholic Church, and the biggest denomination among ethnic Hungarians in Romania...
and his mother Hildegard Pallmann was a teacher. Peter Bánáthy had earned the honorary title Vitéz
Vitéz
Vitéz, or Order of Vitéz was a Hungarian order of merit which was founded in 1678. It was awarded as a state honour during two periods of Hungarian history...
for his service during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, and Béla, as his oldest son, would inherit the title.
Youth spent in Hungary
When Bánáthy was about six years old, their family informally adoptedAdoption
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting for another and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the original parent or parents...
Tamas Feri. Tamas was about 13 years old and from a poor gardener family. Tamas took Bánáthy on his first overnight camp out with his patrol to a small forest near Gyula
Gyula, Hungary
Gyula is a city in Békés county in south-eastern Hungary. It lies close to the border with Romania, on the river Fehér-Körös.-History:The first recorded reference to Gyula was in a document dated 1313 which mentions a monastery called Gyulamonostor . By 1332 the settlement around the monastery was...
. Bánáthy's father then became the Scoutmaster of the "small scouts" troop (similar to American Cub Scouts).
When Bánáthy was nine years old, he became the troop leader and during one national holiday
National holiday
National holiday may refer to:*A National Day, in which a country celebrates its independence, establishment or an otherwise significant event....
, led the troop in a parade. About that time, the entire troop spent two weeks camping at a church camp at Leányfalu
Leányfalu
Leányfalu is a riverside village in Pest county, Budapest metropolitan area, Hungary. It is just north of Szentendre located at . Located between the branch of the Small Danube and the spurs of the Visegrád Hills, Leányfalu stretches some 5 kilometres in length...
, north of Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
. The church groups lived in wooden barracks, but Bánáthy's troop stayed in tents, "as Scouts are supposed to do".
The family moved about 84 kilometres (52.2 mi) from Bánáthy's birthplace of Gyula, to Makó
Makó
Makó is a town in Csongrád County in southeastern Hungary. It lies on the Maros River, near the Romanian border. The area of the town is of which is arable land. The climate is very warm with hot and dry summers. Makó and the surrounding region get the most sunshine in Hungary, about 85-90...
, Hungary, about 202 kilometres (125.5 mi) southeast of Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
. He joined the regular scout program of the Hungarian Scout Association and "Csanad Vezer" Troop 92. The troop had over 50 Scouts and 30 "small scouts" during the 1930s. They held their monthly troop meetings on Sunday in a large gimnazium
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
and met weekly every Saturday as a patrol. Bánáthy reported: "Our weekly patrol meetings focused on scoutcraft
Scoutcraft
Scoutcraft is a term used to cover a variety of woodcraft knowledge and skills required by people seeking to venture into wild country and sustain themselves independently. The term has been adopted by Scouting organizations to reflect skills and knowledge which are felt to be a core part of the...
and Scout spirit and guiding us to move through the various stages of advancement in rank."
The Hungarian Scout program had four stages. During the first three years, Bánáthy advanced three stages. The last stage required Bánáthy to earn 25 merit badges. This last stage was called Turul
Turul
The Turul is the most important bird in the origin myth of the Magyars .It is a divine messenger, and perches on top of the tree of life along with the other spirits of unborn children in the form of birds...
, after the mythical bird of Hungary. From spring to fall, as weather permitted, the patrol had many outings. Every summer the troop went on a two- to three-week long summer camp.
Members of Bánáthy's troop attended the 4th World Scout Jamboree
4th World Scout Jamboree
The 4th World Scout Jamboree, a gathering of Boy Scouts from all over the world, was hosted by Hungary and held from August 2 to August 13, 1933. It was attended by 25,792 Scouts, representing 46 different nations and additional territories...
in 1933, where he would make a life-changing decision. Up to this time, Bánáthy had decided to follow his father into the ministry. Bánáthy wrote,
While at the Jamboree, he briefly met Joseph Szentkiralyi, another Scout from Hungary. Hungarian Sea Scout
Sea Scout
Sea Scouts are members of the international Scouting movement, with a particular emphasis on water-based activities, such as kayaking, canoeing, sailing, and rowing. Depending on the country and the available water these activities are on lakes, rivers or sea in small or large ships. Sea Scouting...
Paul Ferenc Sujan and American Maurice Tripp also attended, and all three men would more than 20 years later play a key role in helping Bánáthy build a leadership program for youth in the United States.
Also in 1933, Bánáthy attended the regional patrol leader training week. Later in 1934, Bánáthy and six other members of his troop traveled to the National Jamboree in Poland. They camped in a large pine forest and visited Krakow
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
and Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
. The Polish government hosted a banquet for all of the Scouts in the Presidential Palace
Presidential Palace, Warsaw
The Presidential Palace in Warsaw, Poland, is the elegant classicist latest version of a building that has stood on the Krakowskie Przedmieście site since 1643. Over the years, it has been rebuilt and remodeled many times...
. In 1934, he was awarded the best notebook prize of the national spring leadership camp and in 1935, he was invited to serve on the junior staff of the same camp at Harshegy, Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
.
In 1935, the troop traveled to the Bükk Mountains in northeastern Hungary for their summer camp. As a Senior Patrol leader, Bánáthy and two others took a bicycle tour in advance of the summer camp to preview the camping site.
Military service during World War II
The two military men that Bánáthy had met, and from whom he developed a desire to serve in the military, soon played roles on the national stage that would affect Bánáthy.In 1937, Bánáthy entered the Ludovika Akadémia, as was the custom for young men aspiring to military careers. In 1940, at age 21, Bánáthy was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant
Second Lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...
in the armored infantry
Mechanized infantry
Mechanized infantry are infantry equipped with armored personnel carriers , or infantry fighting vehicles for transport and combat ....
. Later that year and met his future wife Eva Balazs during this time.
Pál Teleki
Pál Teleki
Pál Count Teleki de Szék was prime minister of Hungary from 19 July 1920 to 14 April 1921 and from 16 February 1939 to 3 April 1941. He was also a famous expert in geography, a university professor, a member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and Chief Scout of the Hungarian Scout Association...
, whom Bánáthy had met at the 4th World Scout Jamboree
4th World Scout Jamboree
The 4th World Scout Jamboree, a gathering of Boy Scouts from all over the world, was hosted by Hungary and held from August 2 to August 13, 1933. It was attended by 25,792 Scouts, representing 46 different nations and additional territories...
in 1933, was Chief Scout of Hungary and Prime Minister of Hungary. He and Regent
Regent
A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...
Miklós Horthy
Miklós Horthy
Miklós Horthy de Nagybánya was the Regent of the Kingdom of Hungary during the interwar years and throughout most of World War II, serving from 1 March 1920 to 15 October 1944. Horthy was styled "His Serene Highness the Regent of the Kingdom of Hungary" .Admiral Horthy was an officer of the...
tried to keep Hungary out of the war, though their national pride prompted them to seek a reversal of what they felt was the unjust geographic division of Hungary by the 1920 Treaty of Trianon
Treaty of Trianon
The Treaty of Trianon was the peace agreement signed in 1920, at the end of World War I, between the Allies of World War I and Hungary . The treaty greatly redefined and reduced Hungary's borders. From its borders before World War I, it lost 72% of its territory, which was reduced from to...
. Germany promised this to them. Through the Munich Agreement of 1938
Munich Agreement
The Munich Pact was an agreement permitting the Nazi German annexation of Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland. The Sudetenland were areas along Czech borders, mainly inhabited by ethnic Germans. The agreement was negotiated at a conference held in Munich, Germany, among the major powers of Europe without...
the country was reunited with a portion of Czechoslovakia that had been part of Hungary, and via the Vienna Awards they regained additional territory that had formerly been Hungarian lands.
When Yugoslavia's government fell in a bloodless coup d'état
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
, Germany's southern flank was exposed, and its planned invasion of Russia was threatened. Germany responded with a plan to invade and compel Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
's support for the Axis and suggested that Hungary should also attack. Teleki refused, and the Germans asked permission to transport their troops across Hungary.
The British, with whom Teleki had had a long relationship, sent word via the Hungarian Minister in London that they would declare war if he assented. Teleki heard soon afterward that Regent Horthy and General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Henrik Werth
Henrik Werth
Henrik Werth was a Hungarian military officer, who served as Chief of Army Staff during the Second World War.-References:*...
, Chief of Staff
Chief of Staff
The title, chief of staff, identifies the leader of a complex organization, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a Principal Staff Officer , who is the coordinator of the supporting staff or a primary aide to an important individual, such as a president.In general, a chief of...
of the Hungarian Army, had permitted the Germans to cross Hungary's borders. On 3 April 1941, Teleki took his own life. General Farkas was soon named by Regent Horthy as the country's new Chief Scout.
Bánáthy served two tours on the Russian front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
as an armored infantry officer. In 1941, Bánáthy's unit advanced during a severe November ice storm within 140 kilometres (87 mi) of Moscow. Wounded, he returned from the front to Budapest and married his fiancé, Eva Balazs, with his arm in a sling. In 1942, he returned to the Russian front with the Hungarian Second Army (Second Magyar Honved) at the Don River bend, supporting the German attack on Stalingrad
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was a major battle of World War II in which Nazi Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad in southwestern Russia. The battle took place between 23 August 1942 and 2 February 1943...
. Having grown the peace-time Hungarian Army very quickly from an initial force of 80,000, the rank-and-file of the Hungarian Army had undergone only eight weeks of training.
They were charged with protecting the 8th Italian Army's
Italian Army in Russia
The Italian Army in Russia was an army-sized unit of the Italian Royal Army which fought on the Eastern Front during World War II...
's northern flank between the Novaya Pokrovka
Liski
Liski is a town in Voronezh Oblast, Russia. Population: Liski was founded as Novaya Pokrovka in 1571 and renamed Svoboda in 1943, and after a period again as Liski, the city was renamed Georgiu-Dezh in 1965 for the Romanian communist leader, Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej, before returning to Liski again...
on the Don River
Don River (Russia)
The Don River is one of the major rivers of Russia. It rises in the town of Novomoskovsk 60 kilometres southeast from Tula, southeast of Moscow, and flows for a distance of about 1,950 kilometres to the Sea of Azov....
to Rossosh
Rossosh
Rossosh is a town and the administrative center of Rossoshansky District of Voronezh Oblast, Russia. Population:...
, part of the larger force defending the drive by the German 6th Army against Soviet General Vasily Chuikov
Vasily Chuikov
Vasily Ivanovich Chuikov was a Russian lieutenant general in the Red Army during World War II, twice Hero of the Soviet Union , who after the war became a Marshal of the Soviet Union.-Early life and career:Born into a peasant family in the village of Serebryanye Prudy, he joined the Red Army during...
's 62nd Army
62nd Army (Soviet Union)
The 62nd Order of Lenin Army was a field army established by the Soviet Union's Red Army during the Second World War. Formed as the 7th Reserve Army as part of the Stavka Reserve in May 1942, the formation was designated as the 62nd Rifle Army the following month...
, which was defending Stalingrad.
On 13 January 1943, the Russian troops, an overwhelming force in numbers and equipment, began the Voronezh
Voronezh
Voronezh is a city in southwestern Russia, the administrative center of Voronezh Oblast. It is located on both sides of the Voronezh River, away from where it flows into the Don. It is an operating center of the Southeastern Railway , as well as the center of the Don Highway...
-Kharkov
Kharkiv
Kharkiv or Kharkov is the second-largest city in Ukraine.The city was founded in 1654 and was a major centre of Ukrainian culture in the Russian Empire. Kharkiv became the first city in Ukraine where the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed in December 1917 and Soviet government was...
Strategic Offensive Operation on the Bryansk
Bryansk Front
The Bryansk Front was a Front of the Soviet Army during the Second World War.General Andrei Yeremenko was designated commander of the Front when it first formed in mid-late August 1941, comprising, in Erickson's words, 'on paper two armies, 50th and 13th, with eight rifle divisions each, three...
, Voronezh
Voronezh Front
The Voronezh Front was a front of the Soviet Union's Red Army during the Second World War. The name indicated the primary geographical region in which the Front first fought, based on the town of Voronezh on the Don River....
, and Southwestern Fronts. They rapidly destroyed the Hungarian Second Army in which Bánáthy served near Svoboda
Svoboda
Svoboda, a word in Slavic languages meaning "freedom". It may refer to:* Radio Svoboda, operated by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty* Svoboda , a daily Ukrainian language newspaper published in New Jersey by Ukrainian National Association...
on the Don River
Don River (Russia)
The Don River is one of the major rivers of Russia. It rises in the town of Novomoskovsk 60 kilometres southeast from Tula, southeast of Moscow, and flows for a distance of about 1,950 kilometres to the Sea of Azov....
. During Second Hungarian Army's 12 months of activity on the Russian front, from an initial force of about 200,000 Hungarian soldiers and 50,000 Jewish forced laborers
Labour service (Hungary)
Labour service arose in Hungary during World War II as the required military substitution for Jewish men, who were no longer permitted to serve in the regular armed forces since the passing of the Hungarian anti-Jewish laws...
, about 100,000 had been killed, 35,000 wounded, and 60,000 taken prisoners of war. Only about 40,000 returned to Hungary, scapegoated by Hitler for the catastrophic Axis defeat. "No nation lost as much blood during World War II in such a short period of time." Bánáthy was seriously wounded and returned to Budapest, where he spent seven months recuperating from his wounds. After recuperating, he became a junior officer
Junior officer
The term junior officer is sometimes used to make clear that an officer in a military or paramilitary unit is not in overall command. The term senior officer is reserved for the officer in overall command....
of the Royal Hungarian Army
Military of Hungary
The Hungarian Defence Force is the national military of Hungary. It currently has two branches, the Hungarian Ground Force and the Hungarian Air Force....
and served on the faculty of the Ludovika Akademia under Commandant
Commandant
Commandant is a senior title often given to the officer in charge of a large training establishment or academy. This usage is common in anglophone nations...
General Farkas. Farkas sought a volunteer to teach junior leader training at the academy. Bánáthy, who had met Farkas at the 1933 Jamboree, volunteered. Farkas also asked Bánáthy to organize a Scout Troop for the young men, 19 years and older, which was a common practice within the Hungarian Scout Association
Magyar Cserkészszövetség
Magyar Cserkészszövetség , the primary national Scouting organization of Hungary, was founded in 1912, and became a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement in 1922 and again after the rebirth of Scouting in the country in 1990...
at the time. Bánáthy found a passion in training the young men in officer's leadership skills and became the voluntary national director for youth leadership development and a member of the National Council of the Hungarian Scout Association.
In July 1944 Bánáthy's mentor Colonel-General (Hungarian
Hungarian language
Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
: Vezérezredes) Kisbarnaki Ferenc Farkas was Commander of the Hungarian VI Army Corps which had been garrison
Garrison
Garrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base....
ed at Debrecen
Debrecen
Debrecen , is the second largest city in Hungary after Budapest. Debrecen is the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar county.- Name :...
. He replaced General Beregfy, loyal to the Arrow Cross Party
Arrow Cross Party
The Arrow Cross Party was a national socialist party led by Ferenc Szálasi, which led in Hungary a government known as the Government of National Unity from October 15, 1944 to 28 March 1945...
. During that month, Farkas' VI Army Corp was instrumental in beating back a Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
attack across the Carpathian mountains
Carpathian Mountains
The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians are a range of mountains forming an arc roughly long across Central and Eastern Europe, making them the second-longest mountain range in Europe...
. On 15 October 1944, Farkas was named commander of the Pest bridgehead and then Government Commissioner for Evacuation. In early November 1944, the first Russian units appeared on the southeastern edge of Budapest. As an associate of Farkas, Bánáthy likely had advance notice of the Russian advance. He also knew he would probably be executed if captured. Bánáthy was able to get his wife Eva, one year old son Béla
Béla A. Bánáthy
Béla Antal Bánáthy is an American systems scientist, who teaches part-time at the International Systems Institute at the Saybrook Graduate School.- Biography :...
and two-week old son László out of Budapest. Bánáthy's family, along with other officers and their families, found shelter at first in farmhouses, and later in bunkers, caves, and trenches.
When the Hungarian Second Army was disbanded due to a lack of equipment and personnel on 1 December 1944, the remaining units of the Second Army, including Bánáthy's, were transferred to the Hungarian Third Army. The Siege of Budapest began when the city was first encircled on 29 December 1944 by the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
. Bánáthy fought with the remainder of his unit against the Russians until after Budapest fell on 13 February 1945. The Axis was striving to protect the last oil fields they controlled in western Hungary around Lake Balaton
Lake Balaton
Lake Balaton is a freshwater lake in the Transdanubian region of Hungary. It is the largest lake in Central Europe, and one of its foremost tourist destinations. As Hungary is landlocked , Lake Balaton is often affectionately called the "Hungarian Sea"...
. However, by late March 1945, most of what was left of the Hungarian Third Army was surrounded and destroyed about 40 kilometres (24.9 mi) to the west of Budapest in an advance by the Soviet 46th Army towards Vienna. The remaining shattered units fought on as they retreated progressively westward through the Transdanubian Mountains towards Austria.
Bánáthy's family with the other family members of the remainder of his and other military units made their way west, along with tens of thousands of other refugees, about 250 kilometres (155.3 mi) into Austria, trying to stay ahead of Russian advances. Temperatures through the time of their flight remained near 0 °C (32 °F).
Life in displaced persons camp
Bánáthy reunited with his family in Austria, and as the war ended and Austria was occupied in April 1945 by the French, British, Soviet and US military forces, the family was placed in an Allied displaced persons campDisplaced persons camp
A displaced persons camp or DP camp is a temporary facility for displaced persons coerced into forced migration. The term is mainly used for camps established after World War II in West Germany and in Austria, as well as in the United Kingdom, primarily for refugees from Eastern Europe and for the...
. They were housed in a single 6 by room in a wooden barrack which served as their bedroom, kitchen, living room and firewood storage area. Food was extremely scarce and they subsisted on around 600 calories per person per day for five years. They were among 1.4 million displaced persons in Austria at the time while there was a worldwide food shortage. Food was also severely restricted by punitive U.S. policies including directive JCS 1067, which in 1947 resulted in German citizens surviving on 1040 calories a day.
Bánáthy later traded for milk to give two-year-old Béla and one-year-old László enough protein. With extremely little food available in the camps, in early 1947 his wife's twin sister came from Hungary and took the two older sons back to live with her older sister. The Pallendal family, Bánáthy's in-laws, was well-educated and relatively wealthy, so they had access to more food than what was available in the camps, and they intended to return the boys after a year. Beginning in early 1948, when the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
ensued, it became virtually impossible for refugees or displaced persons to cross from the border of one country into another, or even from one Occupation Zone
Allied Occupation Zones in Germany
The Allied powers who defeated Nazi Germany in World War II divided the country west of the Oder-Neisse line into four occupation zones for administrative purposes during 1945–49. In the closing weeks of fighting in Europe, US forces had pushed beyond the previously agreed boundaries for the...
to another. The two boys were now behind the Iron Curtain
Iron Curtain
The concept of the Iron Curtain symbolized the ideological fighting and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1989...
.
In 1948, shortly after their third son Tibor was born, the family was moved to another camp, near a Marshall Plan
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was the large-scale American program to aid Europe where the United States gave monetary support to help rebuild European economies after the end of World War II in order to combat the spread of Soviet communism. The plan was in operation for four years beginning in April 1948...
warehouse, where Bánáthy began unloading sacks of wheat from railroad cars. He contacted the World Scouting Movement
World Organization of the Scout Movement
The World Organization of the Scout Movement is the Non-governmental international organization which governs most national Scout Organizations, with 31 million members. WOSM was established in 1920, and has its headquarters at Geneva, Switzerland...
for assistance and was successful in organizing Scouting in the camps
Scouting in displaced persons camps
Scouting has been active in displaced persons camps and in the lives of refugees since World War II. During and after World War II, until the early 1950s, Scouting and Guiding flourished in these camps. These Scout and Girl Guide groups often provided postal delivery and other basic services in...
. During 1947, Bánáthy was named the Hungarian Scout Commissioner for Austria and led training for Hungarian Scout leaders along with his former commanding officer, Kisbarnaki Ferenc Farkas
Kisbarnaki Ferenc Farkas
Ferenc Farkas de Kisbarnak was Chief Scout of the Hungarian Boy Scouts, commanding officer of the Royal Ludovika Akadémia, the country's officer training school, and General of the Hungarian VI Army Corps during World War II...
. He was ordained by the World Council of Churches
World Council of Churches
The World Council of Churches is a worldwide fellowship of 349 global, regional and sub-regional, national and local churches seeking unity, a common witness and Christian service. It is a Christian ecumenical organization that is based in the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland...
and became minister for youth among Hungarian refugees. He served as director of religious education of the Protestant Refugee Service of Austria, was editor of a religious youth service and of a Scout publication.
In 1948 Bánáthy's fourth son Robert was born. Bánáthy soon found work as a technical draftsman
Draughtsman
A draughtsman or draftsman , is a person skilled in drawing, either:*drawing for artistic purposes, or*technical drawing for practical purposes such as architecture or engineering...
in the statistical office of a U.S. Army warehouse. In 1949, with help from a Swiss foundation, Bánáthy assisted in establishing and was selected as the President of the Collegium Hungaricum, a boarding school for refugees, at Zell am See
Zell am See
Zell am See is the capital city of the Zell am See district in the Austrian state of Salzburg. The city has about 10,000 inhabitants.Zell am See is a tourist destination and a transportation hub for the region...
near Saalfelden
Saalfelden
Saalfelden is a town in the Austrian state of Salzburg and is the administrative centre of the Pinzgauer Saalachtal...
, Austria. In the same year, the Communist government in Hungary
People's Republic of Hungary
The People's Republic of Hungary or Hungarian People's Republic was the official state name of Hungary from 1949 to 1989 during its Communist period under the guidance of the Soviet Union. The state remained in existence until 1989 when opposition forces consolidated in forcing the regime to...
seized the businesses belonging to the Pallendal family. Because they were members of the social elite, they were seen by the Communist government as a political threat as was common in that time.
In 1951, in what was a common practice during this time, the Hungarian Police arrived at dawn to seize the Pallendal family home with orders to deport the family from Budapest. Those at home were arrested and immediately deported
Population transfer in the Soviet Union
Population transfer in the Soviet Union may be classified into the following broad categories: deportations of "anti-Soviet" categories of population, often classified as "enemies of workers," deportations of entire nationalities, labor force transfer, and organized migrations in opposite...
. Seven year old Béla and six year old László, along with their grandmother and two aunts, were put aboard a freight train and sent towards Russia. As was the practice, the train stopped occasionally and a few hundred people were forced off. The Pallendal family was ejected in eastern Hungary, and an uncle was able to locate them and hide them from authorities in a small village in eastern Hungary.
Emigrates to the United States
In January, 1951, the student body of the Presbyterian McCormick Theological SeminaryMcCormick Theological Seminary
McCormick Theological Seminary is one of eleven schools of theology of the Presbyterian Church . It shares a campus with the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, bordering the campus of the University of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
sponsored Béla, Eva, Tibor and Robert as refugees to the United States. Bánáthy's family lived in the Seminary
Seminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
, and Bánáthy labored nights 60 hours a week in the cellar of the Seminary, shoveling coal to fire the furnace, while studying English from a book. He occasionally preached at nearby Hungarian churches. His wife found work in a paper factory and Tibor, their third son, entered American public school.
Begins teaching Hungarian language
When World War II ended, Bánáthy's former commanding officer and fellow Scouter General Farkas had become the U.S. Army's liaison to former Hungarian prisoners of war. In 1951 he recommended Bánáthy as a Hungarian languageHungarian language
Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
instructor, and Bánáthy was invited to teach at the U.S. government's Army Language School
Defense Language Institute
The Defense Language Institute is a United States Department of Defense educational and research institution, which provides linguistic and cultural instruction to the Department of Defense, other Federal Agencies and numerous and varied other customers...
in Monterey, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Bánáthy accepted the job at the Army Language School, moving to Monterey in June 1951. This became a pivotal event in Bánáthy's life. At the Army Language School, he met the founder of the Hungarian Department, Joseph Szentkiralyi (Americanized
Americanization (immigration)
Americanization is the process of an immigrant to the United States of America becoming a person who shares American values, beliefs and customs and is assimilated into American society...
as St. Clair), and soon found that this was the same man he had met at age 14 in 1933 at the 4th World Scout Jamboree
4th World Scout Jamboree
The 4th World Scout Jamboree, a gathering of Boy Scouts from all over the world, was hosted by Hungary and held from August 2 to August 13, 1933. It was attended by 25,792 Scouts, representing 46 different nations and additional territories...
. When Bánáthy's and St. Clair's wives met, they discovered they had been girlhood friends in grammar school in Budapest. Eva Bánáthy had managed a family restaurant in Budapest before World War II, and she found work as a waitress in a restaurant on the Monterey Peninsula. Bánáthy resumed his interest in Scouting and community service. He served as President of his local Parent-Teacher Association
Parent-Teacher Association
In the U.S. a parent-teacher association or Parent-Teacher-Student Association is a formal organization composed of parents, teachers and staff that is intended to facilitate parental participation in a public or private school. Most public and private K-8 schools in the U.S. have a PTA, a...
and on the board of the local Red Cross
American Red Cross
The American Red Cross , also known as the American National Red Cross, is a volunteer-led, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief and education inside the United States. It is the designated U.S...
. In the same year, Paul Ferenc Sujan joined the language school faculty, and Bánáthy learned that Sujan had attended the 1933 World Jamboree as a Sea Scout
Sea Scout
Sea Scouts are members of the international Scouting movement, with a particular emphasis on water-based activities, such as kayaking, canoeing, sailing, and rowing. Depending on the country and the available water these activities are on lakes, rivers or sea in small or large ships. Sea Scouting...
.
On February 28, 1956, Bánáthy become a United States citizen. After nine years of separation, and repeated failures to get his sons repatriated
Repatriation
Repatriation is the process of returning a person back to one's place of origin or citizenship. This includes the process of returning refugees or soldiers to their place of origin following a war...
from behind the Iron Curtain
Iron Curtain
The concept of the Iron Curtain symbolized the ideological fighting and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1989...
, Bánáthy obtained help from Dr. Eugene Blake, President of the National Council of Churches
National Council of Churches
The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA is an ecumenical partnership of 37 Christian faith groups in the United States. Its member denominations, churches, conventions, and archdioceses include Mainline Protestant, Orthodox, African American, Evangelical, and historic peace...
; Representative Charles M. Teague
Charles M. Teague
Charles McKevett Teague was a U.S. Representative from California.Born in Santa Paula, California, Teague attended the public schools....
; Ernest Nagy, Vice Consul in the U.S. Legation in Budapest; Hulda Neiburh of the McCormick Theological Seminary; and Howard Pyle
John Howard Pyle
John Howard Pyle was the ninth Governor of the U.S. state of Arizona, serving from 1951 to 1955. He was a Republican...
, deputy assistant to President Eisenhower. He was finally able to bring 13 year old Béla
Béla A. Bánáthy
Béla Antal Bánáthy is an American systems scientist, who teaches part-time at the International Systems Institute at the Saybrook Graduate School.- Biography :...
and 11 year old László, who had not seen their parents for nine years, to the United States from behind the Iron Curtain. The two boys greeting their mother was featured in a picture in Life Magazine.
The boys were greeted by their parents at San Francisco International Airport at 1:10 a.m. The boys' release marked the first time since the Cold War that anyone under 65 years old had been allowed to leave Hungary to be reunited with family.
Professional life
Along with a life-long interest in ScoutingScouting
Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement with the stated aim of supporting young people in their physical, mental and spiritual development, that they may play constructive roles in society....
, Bánáthy was an educator, a systems and design scientist, and an author. At the Army Language School
Defense Language Institute
The Defense Language Institute is a United States Department of Defense educational and research institution, which provides linguistic and cultural instruction to the Department of Defense, other Federal Agencies and numerous and varied other customers...
, he taught in the Hungarian language department, later becoming its chairman.
White Stag Leadership Development Program
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...
, he proposed to and received broad support from the Council Executive and Council Executive Board the idea of training boys in leadership skills. He was assisted by fellow Hungarians Joe Szentkiralyi (Chair of the Hungarian Language Department at the Army Language school, he later Anglicized his name as St. Clair) and Paul Sujan (Hungarian Language Instructor at the Army Language school); Fran Peterson (a member of the National Council and a Scoutmaster from Chular, California); and Maury Tripp (a Scouter from Saratoga, California, a member of the National Council and a research scientist). Bánáthy, St. Clair, Sujan and Tripp had all attended the 4th World Scout Jamboree
4th World Scout Jamboree
The 4th World Scout Jamboree, a gathering of Boy Scouts from all over the world, was hosted by Hungary and held from August 2 to August 13, 1933. It was attended by 25,792 Scouts, representing 46 different nations and additional territories...
in Hungary, where Bánáthy and St. Clair had briefly met. "Lord Baden-Powell was my personal idol and I long felt a commitment to give back to Scouting what I had received", Bánáthy said.
As part of his master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
program in counseling psychology at San José State University
San José State University
San Jose State University is a public university located in San Jose, California, United States...
, he wrote a thesis titled "A Design for Leadership Development in Scouting". This book described the founding principles of the White Stag program
White Stag Leadership Development Program
The White Stag Leadership Development Program is a non-profit organization that sponsors youth leadership development activities. Founded on the Monterey Peninsula, California, in 1958 by Dr. Béla H. Bánáthy, it traces its history to the 1933 World Jamboree in Gödöllő, Hungary, which took as its...
, which was later adapted by the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...
. Prior to Bánáthy's work, the adult Wood Badge
Wood Badge
Wood Badge is a Scouting leadership program and the related award for adult leaders in the programs of Scout associations throughout the world. Wood Badge courses aim to make Scouters better leaders by teaching advanced leadership skills, and by creating a bond and commitment to the Scout movement...
and the junior leader training
National Youth Leadership Training
National Youth Leadership Training is the current incarnation of youth leadership development training offered by the Boy Scouts of America . The program is conducted at the council level over a week or over two weekends. It is intended to provide standardized, in-depth training covering a number...
programs had focused on teaching Scoutcraft
Scoutcraft
Scoutcraft is a term used to cover a variety of woodcraft knowledge and skills required by people seeking to venture into wild country and sustain themselves independently. The term has been adopted by Scouting organizations to reflect skills and knowledge which are felt to be a core part of the...
skills and some aspects of the Patrol Method
Scout method
The Scout method is the informal educational system used by Scouting. The aim of Scouting is character training with the goal of helping participants become independent and helpful,and thereby become "healthy, happy, helpful citizens"....
. His research and findings on teaching principles and competencies of leadership had a huge impact on these two programs, shifting their focus to leadership skills. The leadership competencies he articulated became the de facto
De facto
De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...
method for Scout adult and junior leader training. (In 2008, the White Stag program celebrated its 50th anniversary.) In 1960, the Monterey Bay Area Council recognized Béla for his exceptional service to youth and awarded him the Silver Beaver.
In the 1970s, due to the success of the White Stag program, Bánáthy was appointed to the Interamerican Scout Committee and participated in three interamerican "Train the Trainer" events in Mexico
Scouting in Mexico
The Scouting and Guiding movement in Mexico consists of several independent organizations.-Organizations:* Asociación de Scouts de México, A.C., member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement...
, Costa Rica
Scouting in Costa Rica
The Scout and Guide movement in Costa Rica is served by* Asociación de Guías y Scouts de Costa Rica, member of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts and of the World Organization of the Scout Movement...
, and Venezuela
Scouting in Venezuela
The Scout and Guide movement in Venezuela is served by* Asociación de Guías Scouts de Venezuela, member of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts* Asociación de Scouts de Venezuela, member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement...
. He guided their national training teams in designing leadership development by design programs. Béla also taught in Sunday School
Sunday school
Sunday school is the generic name for many different types of religious education pursued on Sundays by various denominations.-England:The first Sunday school may have been opened in 1751 in St. Mary's Church, Nottingham. Another early start was made by Hannah Ball, a native of High Wycombe in...
and was on the Board of the United Methodist Church
United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination which is both mainline Protestant and evangelical. Founded in 1968 by the union of The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church, the UMC traces its roots back to the revival movement of John and Charles Wesley...
of the Wayfarer in Carmel, California.
Systems science
In the 1960s Bánáthy began teaching courses in applied linguisticsApplied linguistics
Applied linguistics is an interdisciplinary field of study that identifies, investigates, and offers solutions to language-related real-life problems...
and systems science
Systems science
Systems science is an interdisciplinary field of science that studies the nature of complex systems in nature, society, and science. It aims to develop interdisciplinary foundations, which are applicable in a variety of areas, such as engineering, biology, medicine and social sciences.Systems...
at San José State University
San José State University
San Jose State University is a public university located in San Jose, California, United States...
. In 1962 he was named Dean and Chairman of the East Europe and Middle East Division at the Army Language School, overseeing ten language departments. In 1963 he completed his master degree in psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
at San Jose State University, and in 1966 he received a doctorate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
in education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
for a transdisciplinary program in education, systems theory, and linguistics from the University of California
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
in Berkeley. During the mid-1960s Bánáthy was named Chair of Western Division of the Society for General Systems Research
International Society for the Systems Sciences
The International Society for the Systems Sciences is a world-wide organization for systems sciences.- Overview :The initial purpose of the society was "to encourage the development of theoretical systems which are applicable to more than one of the traditional departments of knowledge."The idea...
. He published his first book, Instructional Systems, in 1968.
Large complex systems
During the 1960s and 1970s, Bánáthy was a visiting professor at the University of California, BerkeleyUniversity of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
and continued teaching at San Jose State University. In 1969, he left the re-named Defense Language Institute and became a Program Director, and later Senior Research Director and Associate Laboratory Director, at the Far West Laboratory for Research and Development
Far West Laboratory for Educational Research and Development
The Far West Laboratory for Educational Research and Development was established in 1966, as one of the 20 original Regional Educational Laboratories funded by Congress and charged with "bridging the gap between research and practice."...
(now WestEd
WestEd
WestEd is a San Francisco-based nonpartisan, nonprofit, mission-focused organization. The organization's mission states: "WestEd, a research, development, and services agency, works with education and other communities to promote excellence, achieve equity, and improve learning for children, youth,...
) in Berkeley (later moved to San Francisco). He "directed over fifty research and development programs, designed many curriculum projects and several large scale complex system
Complex system
A complex system is a system composed of interconnected parts that as a whole exhibit one or more properties not obvious from the properties of the individual parts....
s, including the design and implementation of a Ph.D. program in educational research and development for UC Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
".
In the 1970s and 1980s, he focused his research on the application of systems and design theories and methodologies in social, social service, educational, and human development systems. In the 1980s he developed and guided a Ph.D. curriculum in humanistic systems inquiry and social systems design for the Saybrook Graduate School.
International Systems Institute
In 1981, he founded the International Systems Institute (ISI), a non-profit, public benefit scientific and educational corporation in Carmel, California, USA. He organized its first meeting at Fuschl am SeeFuschl am See
Fuschl am See is an Austrian municipality in the district of Salzburg-Umgebung. in the state of Salzburg. It is located at the east end of the Fuschlsee, between Salzburg and Bad Ischl in the state of Salzburg. The community has 1,406 inhabitants....
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
in 1982.
What was truly revolutionary about the International Systems Institute was Banathy's method for organizing conferences. Banathy observed that in traditional conferences, a few usually well-respected or prestigious individuals would apply to present "pre-packaged new ideas" to others. In typical conferences, presenting almost always carries more prestige than listening; the few presenters share their wisdom with the many. This one-to-many or "hierarchical knowledge distribution system" slowed the sharing and spreading of ideas about which many people cared deeply if not passionately, as there was always limited opportunity for interchange among participants. This interaction was usually wedged into the interstices of the formal schedule in the form of informal, spontaneous gatherings for which no record existed.
The notion that presenting is more important than listening aroused life-long antipathy in Bánáthy. When he formulated the leadership competencies of the White Stag Leadership Development Program
White Stag Leadership Development Program
The White Stag Leadership Development Program is a non-profit organization that sponsors youth leadership development activities. Founded on the Monterey Peninsula, California, in 1958 by Dr. Béla H. Bánáthy, it traces its history to the 1933 World Jamboree in Gödöllő, Hungary, which took as its...
in the 1960s, he described the passing of knowledge from one to another as "Manager of Learning". He wrote extensively about how the focus should be on the learner, not the teacher.
Bánáthy advanced a different vision for conferences, one that would allow everyone to fully engage. He proposed that everyone be given the opportunity to prepare and distribute papers to all participants in advance of the conference. And instead of listening to speeches, conference attendees took part in extended, non-hierarchical conversations about the conference papers. The conference proceedings were the result of these conversations. Bánáthy felt strongly that systems scholars from all over the world should be given ongoing opportunities to engage in extended conversations so they might put their expertise "actively into the service of humanity worldwide".
Bánáthy wrote: "We aspire to reap the 'reflecting and creating power' of groups that emerge in the course of disciplined and focused conversations on issues that are important to us and to our society". Participants at International Systems Institute gatherings have, since the original meeting organized by Bánáthy in 1982, organized them around this principle and referred to them as "conversations".
General Evolutionary Research Group
In 1984, he was co-founder with general evolution theorist Ervin LászlóErvin László
Ervin László is a Hungarian philosopher of science, systems theorist, integral theorist, originally a classical pianist. He has published about 75 books and over 400 papers, and is editor of World Futures: The Journal of General Evolution...
and others of the initially secret General Evolutionary Research Group. A member of the Society of General Systems Research
International Society for the Systems Sciences
The International Society for the Systems Sciences is a world-wide organization for systems sciences.- Overview :The initial purpose of the society was "to encourage the development of theoretical systems which are applicable to more than one of the traditional departments of knowledge."The idea...
since the 1960s, he was Managing Director of the Society in the early 1980s, and in 1985 he became its president. He then served on its Board of Trustees. During the 1980s, he served on the Executive Committee of the International Federation of Systems Research. In 1989, he retired from Far West Labs and returned to live on the Monterey Peninsula. He continued to serve as Professor Emeritus for the Saybrook Graduate School, counseling Ph.D. students. He also continued his work with the annual ISI international systems design conversations, and authored a number of articles and books about systems, design, and evolutionary research. He served two terms as president of the International Federation of Systems Research during 1994-98.
He coordinated over twenty international systems research conferences held in eight countries, including the 1994 Conversation on Systems Design conversation held at Fuschl Am See, Austria, sponsored by the International Federation of Systems Research. He was also honorary editor of three international systems journals: Systems Research and Behavioral Science
Systems Research and Behavioral Science
Systems Research and Behavioral Science is an international scientific journal for theory and research in the fields of systems sciences....
, the Journal of Applied Systems Studies, and Systems. He was on the Board of Editors of World Futures, and served as a contributing editor of Educational Technology
Educational technology
Educational technology is the study and ethical practice of facilitating learning and improving performance by creating, using and managing appropriate technological processes and resources." The term educational technology is often associated with, and encompasses, instructional theory and...
.
Final years
Bánáthy spent considerable time during the last few years of his life caring for his wife Eva in their home in Carmel, California. She had been in poor health for a number of years after a stroke. In the summer of 2003 Bánáthy and his wife moved to live with their son Tibor in Chico, CaliforniaChico, California
Chico is the most populous city in Butte County, California, United States. The population was 86,187 at the 2010 census, up from 59,954 at the time of the 2000 census...
. After a brief and unexpected illness, Bánáthy died on September 4, 2003. He and Eva had been married 64 years at the time of his death.
See also
- Béla A. BánáthyBéla A. BánáthyBéla Antal Bánáthy is an American systems scientist, who teaches part-time at the International Systems Institute at the Saybrook Graduate School.- Biography :...
- Debora HammondDebora HammondDebora Hammond is an American historian of science, Provost and Professor Interdisciplinary Studies of the Hutchins School of Liberal Studies at the Sonoma State University...
- Evolutionary guidance mediaEvolutionary guidance mediaEvolutionary guidance media is an emergent discipline offering a paradigm for the design of conscious media, green media, socially responsible media, and transformative media, arising from the convergence of ideas derived primarily from the fields of systems science, humanistic and transpersonal...
- International Federation for Systems ResearchInternational Federation for Systems ResearchThe International Federation for Systems Research is an international federation for global and local societies in the field of systems science...
- Magyar CserkészszövetségMagyar CserkészszövetségMagyar Cserkészszövetség , the primary national Scouting organization of Hungary, was founded in 1912, and became a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement in 1922 and again after the rebirth of Scouting in the country in 1990...
- Saybrook Graduate School and Research CenterSaybrook Graduate School and Research CenterSaybrook University, a San Francisco, California based 'distance learning' institution , is geared to providing a personalized, mentored educational experience for graduate students...
- Systems philosophySystems PhilosophySystems philosophy is the study of the development of systems, with an emphasis on design and root cause analysis. Systems philosophy is a form of systems thinking....
- SystemicsSystemicsIn the context of systems science and systems philosophy, the term systemics refers to an initiative to study systems from a holistic point of view...
- Systems theorySystems theorySystems theory is the transdisciplinary study of systems in general, with the goal of elucidating principles that can be applied to all types of systems at all nesting levels in all fields of research...
- Systems thinkingSystems thinkingSystems thinking is the process of understanding how things influence one another within a whole. In nature, systems thinking examples include ecosystems in which various elements such as air, water, movement, plants, and animals work together to survive or perish...
Publications
Bánáthy authored several books and hundreds of articles. A selection:- 1963, A Design for Leadership Development in Scouting, Monterey Bay Area Council, Monterey, California.
- 1964, Report on a Leadership Development Experiment, Monterey Bay Area Council, Monterey, California.
- 1968, Instructional Systems, Fearon Publishers. ISBN 978-0-8224-3930-1
- 1969, Leadership Development — World Scouting Reference Papers, No. 1, Boy Scouts World Bureau, Geneva, Switzerland.
- 1972, A Design for Foreign Language Curriculum, D.C. Heath. ISBN 978-0-669-82073-7
- 1973, Developing a Systems View of Education: The Systems Models Approach, Lear Siegler Fearon Publishers. ISBN 978-0-8224-6700-7
- 1985, with Kenneth D. BaileyKenneth D. Bailey (sociologist)Kenneth D. Bailey is an American sociologist, systems scientist and professor of sociology at the University of California in Los Angeles.- Biography :...
et al. (ed.), Systems Inquiring: Applications, Volume II of the Proceedings of the Society for General Systems Research International Conference. Seaside, CA: Intersystems Publications. - 1991, Systems Design of Education, A Journey to Create the Future, Educational Technology, Englewood Cliffs, NJ. ISBN 978-0-87778-229-2
- 1992, A Systems View of Education: Concepts and Principles for Effective Practice, Educational Technology, Englewood Cliffs, CA. ISBN 0-87778-245-8
- 1992, Comprehensive systems design in education: building a design culture, in: Education. Educational Technology, 22(3) 33–35.
- 1996, Designing Social Systems in a Changing World, Plenum, NY. ISBN 0-306-45251-0
- 1998, Evolution Guided by Design: A Systems Perspective, in Systems Research, Vol. 15.
- 1997, A Taste of Systemics, The Primer Project, 2007.
- 2000, Guided Evolution of Society: A Systems View, Springer ISBN 978-0-306-46382-2
- 2000, The Development of the AgoraWebsite: Personal Communication to Agora Stewards, International Systems Institute, Asilomar Networked Democracy Group, Pacific Grove, CA.
- 2000, Agora Structure, International Systems Institute, Asilomar Networked Democracy Group, Pacific Grove, CA.
- 2000, Bio: Personal Communication to Agora Stewards, International Systems Institute, Asilomar Networked Democracy Group, Pacific Grove, CA.
- 2000, Story: Personal Communication to Agora Stewards, International Systems Institute, Asilomar Networked Democracy Group, Pacific Grove, CA.
- 2000, Reflections: The Circle of Agora Stewards, International Systems Institute, Asilomar Networked Democracy Group, Pacific Grove, CA.
- 2000, Guided Evolution of Society: A Systems View, Kluwer Academic/Plenum, New York.
- 2002, with Patrick M. Jenlink, The Agora Project: the New Agoras of the twenty-first century, Systems Research and Behavioral Science
- 2005, with Patrick M. Jenlink, et al. (ed.), Dialogue as a Means of Collective Communication (Educational Linguistics), Kluwer Academic/Plenum, New York. ISBN 978-0-306-48689-0
- 2007, with Patrick M. Jenlink, et al. (ed.), Dialogue as a Means of Collective Communication (Volume 2), Kluwer Academic/Plenum, New York. ISBN 978-0-387-75842-8
About Banathy
- Béla H. Banathy in: International Federation for Systems Research, Newsletter No. 33, July 1994,
- Gordon Dyer, Y3K: Beyond Systems Design as we know it, in: Res-Systemica, Vol. 2, 2002.
- Jenlink, Patrick M. A Biography of Béla H. Banathy: A Systems Scholar, Systemic Practice and Action Research 17 (4): 253–263. August 2004.
External links
- Autobiography: Béla H. Banathy, at White Stag Leadership Development, 4 September 2003.
- Béla's Story: Scouting in Hungary (1925–1937)
- Evolve: Guides and Teachers Béla H. Banathy