Simon Rokonai and the Leventes of the Bakony in the Second World War

Abstract

In the winter of 1944/45, the Arrow Cross mobilised young people born between 1926 and 1930, the so-called "Leventes", among whom there were many boys aged 15 or under. In Zirc, on 28 February 1945, 800 „Leventes” from the Bakony region were wagoned in for military training in Germany. Simon Rokonai volunteered to accompany the young people and stay with them all the time. We use a micro-historical approach, which allows us to focus on the individual's life experiences, the small community. The study presents the figure and the person of the Cistercian monk teacher, based on the memories of the „Leventes” who experienced the sufferings of the journey and on the autobiography of Rokonai. It flashed images from a period of about one and a half year, from the departure from Zirc, through the air attacks in Dortmund, the wandering in Germany, the American and French prisoner of war, to the return home. The thesis focuses on the pedagogical situations, the Cistercian monk's teaching and priestly activities, and his human position, which is revealed to the reader through the content analysis of the memoirs. The present article, which pays special attention to the presentation of the writings on the Rokonai, is a continuation of the study on the Cistercian monk's life published in the Neveléstudomány (Education Sciences) 2021/4 issue.