PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE; as against Hungarians in Rumania

By István Sebestyén Teleki *

Table of Contents ........................................................................................................page .1

1. Basic concepts ................................................................................................................ .1
2. Types of propaganda ....................................................................................................... 2
...... 2.1. Strategic propaganda ............................................................................................. 2
...... 2.2. Tactical propaganda .............................................................................................. 5
............. 2.2.1 Deportation, mass annihilation ..................................................................... 5
3. The colors of propaganda ................................................................................................ 6
...... 3.1. White propaganda .................................................................................................. 7
...... 3.2. Gray propaganda .................................................................................................... 8
...... 3.3. Black propaganda .................................................................................................. 8
4. The methods of the Romanian press media ..................................................................... 8
...... 4. 1. Examples from the present Romanian press ......................................................... 9
............. 4.1.1. Adjectives and epithets used for Hungarian in the Romanian press ........... 10
..............4.1.2. Adjectives and epithets used for Romanians in the Romanian press .......... 11
5. The rumors....................................................................................................................... 11
...... 5.1. Examples of rumors about Hungarians circulating in Romania ............................12
.......5.2. Methods to prevent propagation of rumors .......................................................... 13
6. The spiritual tools of the combative propagandists ....................................................... 15
7. Summary ........................................................................................................................ 16
8. Literature cited............................................................................................................... 18

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 1. Basic concepts

Education as the social milieu’s socializing effect on the individual, is a complex process. It starts up
in the family, later it is progressively extended by institutionalized and self education. The most
important element of the institutionalized education is teaching, that is no more, than the transfer of
knowledge and the direction of the learning process. (24)

Propaganda is the methodical dissemination and popularization of ideas, tenets, opinions, ideologies
by various means (spoken words, prints, art, technology etc.). The propaganda’s primary means of
transfer is the language used for such purposes since its initial development; i.e. to induce a target
group to an attitude and action appropriate to the interest and intentions of a given group. (26,29)

Battle propaganda should not be confused with propaganda, nor education with propaganda. The
American psychologist E. Freman gave a simple, but very convincing example for the finer differences
among the three cocepts, (25). For easier understanding his example is applied to the Romanian situation.

....... 1. How much is 600 divided by 800? (teachig mathematics, education)

....... 2. A worker requires 600 days to build a house. How many days are required for 800 .......
workers? (a mixture of mathematics and initial propaganda)

....... 3. A worker family needs 800 Lei weekly for their subsistence; the tractor factory in
....... Brasov pays only 600. What percentage of the subsistence is paid by the tractor
factory? ....... (communist propaganda)

....... 4. From a Transylvanian community of 800 Hungarian residents 600 Hungarians are ........killed
or banished by the Romanians during an upcoming anti-Hungarian pogrom.
What ........percentage of the killing and banishment was achieved? (battle propaganda)

All four items of the above example target primarily the teaching of mathematics. Beyond this, however;
the thoughts of the students are led into a certain well defined political direction. The Romanian
schoolbooks, especially the history books, are riddled with tendentious anti-Hungarian distortions, as
presented in this example.

The psychological warfare is the collective employment of the different types of propagandas, battle
propagandas using existing technologies and their latest developments.

The psychological warfare was most appropriately defined by the Psychological Division of the Allied
Command:

“Psychological warfare is the employment of propaganda in a manner, that breaks down the resistance of
the enemy, demoralizes its armed forces and supports the moral of the Allied Forces”; or according to
professor Paul Linebarger: "Military propaganda consists of a certain form of communication planned in
advance and designed for the purpose to influence in the interest of a special strategic or tactical goal the
spirit and mood of the enemy or a neutral group, or foreign masses having hostile attitudes."(1)

2. Types of propaganda

...... 2.1 The strategic propaganda pursues farther goals. Its immediate interest is to weaken the fighting
spirit of the hostile nation. This may be achieved in different ways:
 (a) The faith of the hostile nation, group of people in their governments, in the ability and good
will of their politicians, in the striking capacity of their military forces should be shaken. (1)

In the case of the Hungarians in Transylvania the Romanian battle propaganda attempts to raise the
feeling of the holocaust. As a result in the Hungarian masses recently the opinion started to develop,
that in pursuing the success of their own interest, the motherland gave them up; has no time, no
money and no power to make concrete effective steps for their minority rights at the international
forums. The equipment of the Hungarian armed forces is purported to be obsolete as compared to the
modern well equipped astoundingly warlike Romanian armed forces. Its striking power is negligible,
as compared to the Romanian, that is equipped perhaps even with arms of mass destruction. Ceausescu
in one of his speeches referred to the existence of a Romanian atomic bomb implying threats to use
them against Hungary. If we consider the numerous tense situations betwen Romania and Hungary, for
example if we think about the helicopters with Hungarian insignia in December 1989 at Timisoara
pointing to plans of provocation against Hungary, one may state, that the Romanian politicians
consider the Hungarian nation an enemy nation. This attitude will not change till irredentism
remains the backbone of Romanian politics. Among the plans of Romanian irredentism appears the
change of all the present Romanian borders producing this way tension in the entire area.

(b) The capacity of the national economy should be reduced. The hostile target group should be
impoverished.(1)

As an example for item one in chapter two, we should mention one of the successful propaganda
actions of German agents in America during the second world war. The agents succeeded in spreading
the rumor among women working in a gunpowder plant, that the powderdust suspended in the air of
the entire factory penetrates their hair and into their scalp and upon rubbing, as in washing, their hair
may burst into flame. The rumor spread so effectively, that female workers left their jobs in droves,
quasi stopping the plant’s operation.The plant’s output fell.

The capacity of the national economy may be reduced not only by means of propaganda, but also by
means of indirect strategical methods, for instance by intentional spreading of foot and mouth diease in
the animal stock of the hostile nation. There are even worse examples, such as spreading mortal diseases
within the hostile target group. Mostly unprotected minorities are exposed such actions. The English used
such methods against the Indians. They did not allow to incinerate the hospital blankets of patients dying
in bubonic plague and cholera, but collected them and permitted their donation to the Indians. 30% of the
tribes receiving such gift blankets perished. Such biological weapons were used already in the years of
1300, when the Tartars threw corpses of bubonic plague into the castle under their siege. When the first
illnesses showed up, the brave defenders panicked and the Tartars easily captured the fort. (22)

The deprivation of the hostile target group brings upon a substantial reduction of economic independence
of its individual members. Thus the scales for choice of action and opportunity for action, both
prerequisits of resistance, decrease. The best methods for radical deprivation were developed by the
Bolsheviks: the nationalization and the collectivization of agriculture. Already in the kingdom of
Romania the July 30, 1921 (M.0.93.s.) landowners' law targeted the deprivation of ethnic groups just
forced into minority status. The March 23, 1945 landreform law had the same goals. Considering today’s
Romania 100%, “94.6% of the persons and 49.0% of the land areas involved in the confiscations came
from historic Transylvania and the Banat region.” (5) The land law adopted in 1991 has also similar goals.
The land reprivatization in Transylvania was planned such way, that Romanians just setteled, should
receive lands on the expense of Hungarians. Deadline to file claims were made too short. Assuming, that
they have kept their Romanian citizenship, the several hundred thousands, who left the country after the
second world war, could have filed for their confiscated land, if the short deadline of April 5, 1991 would
have come timely to their attention. The unclaimed lands are returned to the common land of the village;
anybody can claim it from there. A Romanian settling in from the Regat or Moldavia receives the land for
nothing, becomes also the lawful inheritor, if he cultivates the land over the years.
(c) Frictions and conflict of interest should be fomented in the society. (1)

Every society has its tensions. These are used by the propaganda to weaken the hostile nation, the target
group. These tensions have to be increased to the target group’s break up point. Generally, the most
neglected problems of today’s societies’ are the nationality goups living in minority status. Among the
minorities no agreement should be allowed, which could possibly result in a political consensus and thus
in a much more efficient common activity. The military propagandist must know very well the existing
historically conflicting views among the minorities and he has to magnify them. One may mention here
the example of rekindling antisemitism, which, if successfully inflamed, may bring the entire nation to
international isolation. The same hate campaign may be carried out against the gypsies. Of course, the
protection-reflexes of the minority groups are also calculated into the plan, because only with its help can
the hate be escalated to a tension, that may explode the society. In Transylvania the tension among the
churches are very successfully exploited; the tension among the Greek Catholic, Orthodox, Roman
Catholic, Reformed and other denominations. The Securitate (secret police) succeeded to inflame a hatred
of high pitch among the wide Romanian masses against the Hungarians, that diverts the Hungarians from
their rightful demands, so they would not be in the way of the Romanian homogenizing process. - At this
point one should mention the taxi-strike in Hungary. The best method to topple a newly elected regime is
to create conditions of anarchy. A week before the Budapest 1990 mid-october taxi-strike, as a foreplay,
the traffic lights were put out of operation. With such diversional step a huge traffic jam was created.
During the strike the surface traffic stopped; everybody was relegated to the subways. Then the police
received phone calls, that along the subway lines bombs were planted; at the same time also the same
rumor was spread. The goal was to create panic. Those intimidated, did not dare to use the subways, did
not go to work, causing additional damage to the national economy.

(d) In the last phase of the strategic propaganda, efforts to be made, that a new political attitude be
provided to the hostile national group, nation. (1)

Generally within the communist countries it was necessary to get the individuals of the new generation to
give up the “well developed, many-sided new man with a wide intellectual horizon”. Next to such
communist reeducation the young generation of the nationally groups forced into a minority status, and to
put up also with the propaganda of their denationalization. Teaching history was done only by its
Romanian version, where the Hungarians or Saxonsos were shown as haters, bloody handed killers of
Romanians. According to the Romanian history and today’s nationalist press the Hungarians were
received by the Romanians into their ancestral Romanian land, offered their hospitality, but the
Hungarians misused it, grabbed the power and for centuries tormented the Romanian population. This is
the way guilt and repentance were inculcated to Hungarian children already at grade level. At the same
time they declare, that since 1918 the time of truth is on, and that the Romanian nation does not wish for
revenge and will continue to tolerate the Hungarian intruders in Transylvania, in this ancestral Romanian
land. While only in a small extent, this psychological terror was still effective. One can find Hungarian or
Saxon youth, who are struggling with identity problems or are completely assimilated. The Saxon or
Hungarian identity could be strong only, if in classes teaching truthful history about the size of historical
contributions by these tnations could have been taught already in their childhood.

..... 2.2 Tactical propaganda.

The tactical propaganda operates within the framework of the psychological warfare’s strategic guidelines
of political goals. Its goals focus on immediate results. It supports arrangements, which were
implemented for the solution in specific situations and is focused on one or more target groups. (1)
Classical example of the tactical propaganda is the "surrender cards", which in world war two were
dropped by the millions over the enemy, encouraging the soldiers to run over to the other side and if the
card was presented, especially good treatment was promised. The tactical propaganda works not only
within a limited time frame of a war, but also in peace time. One of its goals is to urge the individuals
(soldiers or civilians) of the hostile national group to flee. The tactical propaganda is most effective, when,
in an apprently hopeless situation it offers to the target group a solution and simultaneosly a convincing
alibi for breaking the relation tying it to his own leaders, companions and country.

The strategic and tactical propaganda is effective only, if it focuses well on the needs, demands, attitudes
and anxieties of the target groups and remains with them in continuous close contact.

..... 2.2.1. Deportations, mass annihilation

When the hostile national group resists the propaganda spread by the occupying power; i.e. remains
immune, its systematic annihilation is started. To carry out their annihilation a detailed plan is initiated,
that contains the goals to be achieved, the target dates and the means to be used. Several variants of the
plan are made up attempting to anticipate the international response and internal/external developments,
which may affect the progress of the annihilation process. There are two main points to be considered.

The first point raises the question; how large a mass may be annihilated without getting the occupied area
into a total economic collapse? It is the interest of the occupyig power to stabilize the economy in the
occupied area to become productive. One can find in professional military textbooks models based on
differential equation systems, that can simulate the annihilation process. This requires, that at first the
economic potential, the combatting or rather resisting moral of the hostile national group be assessed. In
function of this, assessing numbers are established, how many of the hostile national group are to be
killed, how many in the resulting panic will flee from the country, and when does it become necessary to
slow down or stop the mass annihilation process, so that in the occupied area the economy should not
collapse. The time period and intensity of the annihilation process is planned depending also on the
reserve of the conquerors’ own people for being able to colonize the occupied areas. This explains the
population growth program promoted by Ceausescu, which over a generation produced a 7,000 000
increase in Romania’s population (according to Romanian statistics). It is also true, that a substantial
portion of this increase was born crippled, idiotic or were made such in orphanages. The Romanization of
Transylvania provided the urgency for this insane population growth program. The idiocy of this program
surfaces also in that those, who were cought in illegal abortion, were convicted in political proceedings,
were treated as political prisoners and at times of amnesty given common criminals, they did not receive
clemency. At the end of Ceausescu’s “golden age” young married couples were obliged to undertake 4 or
5 children and, if the mother was not willing or could not do so, they were obliged to take out the same
number of children from the orphanages. One variant of the mass annihilation is the deportation to labor
camps. Here condition of existence was created for the deportees to break their resistance and for the
physically weaker ones, to perish. The most notorious labor camp in Romania was the Danube channel
camp, where masses of deportees lost their life.

To demonstrate the process of mass annihilation one does not have to mention only the examples from
Transylvania so well known to us, but also the rather sad examples of the Baltics. In 1940 180,000 Baltic
citizens were deported to the inner part of the Soviet Union. After 1945 309,000 native Baltic citizens
were deported from the Baltics and 300,000 fled to the Scandinavian countries. Parallel to this exodus
500,000 Russians were settled into the Baltics. Not even an oppressing conqueror as large, as the Soviet
Union can annihilate a people without the danger of complete economic collapse(4). This can explain,
that the Russification even up to this date could not be completed and led to the already well known
situation. At the beginning of 1991 by popular election the three Baltic states declared to the entire world
their will for independence.

The second point that needs attention, when deportation is applied for annihilation, it may cut in two ways.
A completely opposite effect may be attained; instead of breakirg the will of resistance of the hostile
national group and force them to run away, they will rise in arms; from their passive resistance they will
turn to active resistance, that may lead by escalation from a local conflict to a guerilla war. So the salami
tactics are applied; the process is at time weakened and again strengthened, watching it carefully not to
step over a certain threshold of pain toleration. The most intensive phases of the annihilation process
come to play, when the international attention is occupied with completely different events of great
importance. If by chance the chain of events in the annihilation process would escalate by itself (for
instance fascict organizations on the side of the oppressing conqueror nation in their blind shauvinistic
rage start to massacre the “inimical” conquered national group. See the anti-Hungarian pogrom organized
by the Vatra Romaneasca on March 19-20, 1990 in Tirgu Mures), then the relevant organs of the
conquering power have to provoke events of great importance, that diverts the international attention.
(See shortly after the pogrom in Tirgu Mures the desecration of Jewish cemeteries in France in East
Berlin, in South Africa, in Hungary etc. came just at the right moment for the Romanian nationalists, even
if correlation between the two events was not established.) Following such intensive activity, to avoid
complete collapse of the economy, political instability and inability to govern the country, the subjugators
make an attempt to win the favor, friendship of the “hostile national group” by granting them certain
formerly denied rights. The promises and school openings of the Groza Government may be considered
to be such a period. This was the time, that even the Moldovan Csángó-Hungarians received Hungarian
schools and priests. This softening process came after the atrocities of the Romanian army and the mass
killing by the Maniu guardists. The atrocites by the Romanian army were so perverted, that even the
Soviets, hardened in their atrocities of the long war years, banished them from Transylvania. Since the
internatioanl situation to carry out the annihilation program was still favorable, it was imperative to
continue it, but in a different form. Thus the atrocities, mass killing of Hungarians was not to be carried
out any more by the Romanian army, but by the Maniu guardists recruited from civilians. We know the
results: vast number of deaths and several hundred thousad of refugees, most of them found shelter in
Hungary, but a good portion of them scattered over the entire world, who were lost permanently for the
Hungarian nation.

3. The colors of propaganda.

The propaganda may be classified by its sources from where it originates or by the source identified by
the propaganda itself. According to this distinction the following color-coded propaganda types are
known: white propaganda, gray propaganda and black propaganda.

..... 3.1 The white propaganda

The white propaganda reveals openly the sources of its news; it is true to the facts. It aims to the
factual presentation of political or other events mostly in low-key tone. Its strongest characteristic is
the disclosure of the true source of its information. Its accepted classical example is the "surrender
card’" mentioned before, which were signed also by some general. The promises on the surrender
cards did not cover at all the events, that later actually happened. The deserters having surrender cards
were not given any preferential treatment over their prisoner of war colleagues. Their lot was even
more unbearable, because they had to live also with the contempt and ostracism of their colleagues. A
good example for the complex definition (factual description of political or other events, most of the
time in a low-key tone) of the white propaganda is the English BBC radio during the second world war.
By the second half of the war the BBC radio succeeded to develop an image about itself among certain
strata of the German masses; they accepted it as the only quasi trustworthy source of news. Again
another good example for what may be achieved with factual, low-key description of events, is the
Panorama program of the Hungarian Television. This program gained such popularity in Transylvania,
even within wide strata of the Romanians, that in a given moment it affected decisively developments
and outcome in Romanian or rather Transylvanian social and political events. Thus the white
propaganda has an official character; from this follows, that it has to be effective through the full
weight, prestige of the nation.(1) This basic tenet was splendidly applied by the press organs. The
white propaganda is suitable to refute false statements, statistics, interpretation of new etc. that
originate from the enemy camp. The white propaganda has its only, but necessary disadvantage, that in
low-key tone it reflects facts. This disadvantage stems from in its official character; it basically
assumes the status of the"enemy’s voice". When any kind of white propaganda gets into the hand of
the enemy, or the enemy sees it or hears it; it is picked up with increased critical interest. Indeed, it is
not rare, that such cases lead even to nitpicking attitudes. For this reason it is very difficult to win over
the trust of the enemy; it can be easily and fast discredited. Its network of distribution being openly
known, its appearance or distribution can be easily hindered. The Transylvanian Hungarian press and
 the motherland’s press are not hindered only via their distribution, but also by other means:
(a) Material shortage; the paper production is restricted
(b) Indeed, an actual shortage of paper is produced and the available paper supply is divided in a
“brotherly manner” among different press organs. Thus the Hungarian ones did not get at all, or get
smaller amounts of paper. They are forced to appear in limited copies or completely cease to exist.
(c) With the more expensive paper the reading clientile itself cannot afford more subscriptions; the
new, still less known press products will not be subscribed; due to the low copy number sold, they
develop deficit and have to close up themselves.(
(d) The editors are threatened by phone and in anonymous letters; they are not deterred even from
bodily harm. The editor of “TROMP” in Miercurea Ciuc was beaten till he was covered with blood.
One may ask, why exactly the editor in chief of this comic paper was beaten up? - Because it is very
well known to the experts of the oppressing power, that one of the best weapon of the war propaganda
is to make the enemy ridiculous. The “TROMP” made a superb caricature of the fascist organization,
the “VATRA ROMANEASCA” showing it as a wild beast continuously plotting against the
Hungarians in Transylvania. The arrival of printed matter from the motherland is prevented right at the
border, disregarding the international agreement related to subscriptions. Preventing the arrival to the
readers of subscribed press product from the motherland without compensation is an example showing,
that Romania is not a state under the rule of law, and that as a conquering power she behaves in a
hostile manner toward her nationality groups forced into minority status.

Another disadvantage of the white propaganda stems also from its official character. Most of the time it is
the official communication device of a nation, people, group of people etc. This places limitation on the
subjects it deals with and on the packaging of the communicated or rather broadcast material. (1)

..... 3.2 The gray propaganda

The gray propaganda does not disclose the origin of its news. Generally it gives a picture about the
condition of the hostile nation, national group, army etc., that more or less approximates the facts.
Nevertheless, this picture is manipulated to subvert the willingness for struggle, the battling moral and
steadfastness of the enemy. Generally this is accomplished in that the propaganda material does not
contain any conclusions. The condition in which the enemy momentarily finds itself is described to be
hopeless; thus urging the enemy to make its own, self defeating final decisions. (1) The advantage of the
gray propaganda as compared with the white propaganda comes from its nature, that its source cannot be
identified. Because of this and because of its network of propagation is unknown, the secret police has a
difficult, at times clearly impossible task to uncover the news sources of the media information spreading
the gray propaganda type material and to crack down on the spreading network. To this categry belong
the underground (samizdat) newspapers and certain radio stations. (The Romanian press is full of gray
propaganda. Examples may be read in the appropriate chapter.)

..... 3.3. The black propaganda

Instead of the true source of news, the black propaganda gives another source, misleading this way the
enemy. Most of the time the gray and the black propaganda wash inseparably into each other. Giving a
false source for its news, the black propaganda misleads the listeners or rather viewers of the hostile
target group. In most of the cases precisely the target group or one of its organization or individual etc. is
given for its source. The black propaganda washes unhindered into the information system of the enemy
causing uncontollably its damage, its destrucive effect.

One may find many examples of this in the Romanian fascist press products, especially in the newspaper
titled “Romania Mare” (Greater Romania).

4. The methods of the Romanian press media

It is not difficult to establish the coloring of the Romanian press organs. The procedures developed during
the system of Ceausescu are now mixed with fascist, shauvinistic and national elements. We mention here
only two examples from the “golden age” and with those we already characterized the methods of the
propaganda apparatus developed by the Ceausescu system.

(a) On October 19, 1970, when Ceausescu talked at the UN, there was barely anybody in the room.
The Romanian press published a picture, that showed Ceausescu talking to a filled room. The
retuchers forgot to take out Ceausescu, who was sitting in the full room, so two Ceausescus were at
the same time in the room, one in the audience and one talking at the lectern, while the attached news
articles reported about Ceausescu’s excitinq rhetorics, in which he elaborated upon the new world
order by his own concepts. (6)

(b) At the height of his international isolation, Ceausescu received a profusion of greeting telegrams
from every corner of the world. Nevertheless, they were almost 100% falsifications, as it turned out in
the case of the telegram from the English queen.

Those were the traditions the Romanian newspapermen were raised within. It is no wonder, that there is
not a single newspaper in Romania, that would carry exclusively the characteristics of white propaganda.

...... 4.1 Examples from the present Romanian press

Since the number of mass-manipulating and/or anti-Hungarian examples in the Romanian press occure
daily in large abundance, we confine ourselves only to a few telling examples.

For the white propaganda: Here we can mention only short news without commentary, if for their
source one or another reliable foreign press agency is involved. Since abuses occurred also in this
category, a substantial part of the masses gives credit only, if they are confirmed also by a foreign news
agencies. There are still examples in the Romanian press for the white propaganda, but these and their
occurrences (journalists willing to write objectively about factual news) are in negligible proportion. One
can show the mixing of different kind and colored propaganda in a single article. Even Radu Ceontea, the
leader of the ‘Vatra Romaneasca” tells occassionally true facts, for example in the 1990 Tirgu Mures
events, where theVatra Romaneasca, the military for Mures, Hargita and Covasna counties, the police and
also the secret police (securitate) were involved. (14) It describes perfectly the facts as to what role at a
time the Vatra Romaneasca had among the terror organizations in preventing the Hungarian March 15
national commemoration. But the spin is, that it talks about the Tirgu Mures events, when in fact it was an
attempt for an anti-Hungarian mass murder. On videotapes it can be seen the Romanian army entering
the Square of the Roses with tanks and masses behind them hauled to town from the villages. From
barrels on the tanks gasoline was filled into bottles and the ready Molotov cocktails were thrown at the
Hungarian demonstrators. One can call this a formal infantry attack.
For the gray propaganda: Also in the above article, Radu Ceontea gives the following information (lies),
that are difficult to verify : "I do not go to the Bucuresti hotel to eat, because I am not certain, that the
Hungarians will not poison me! I will drink a Pepsi and afterward I may die. My two room apartment in
Tirgu Mures is continuously guarded by two policemen, because I do not want, that my wife and daughter
be violated and afterwards killed. But if anything happens to me, be it known, that my followers will
brutally revenge me." (14) An article of A4 size with a title typical for the interviewee’s cast of mind.
"Every Hungarian carries a rope in his pocket. With this rope they choke to death the Romanians",
provides sufficient data to make sure, that there is a battling propaganda operating openly and succinctly
against the Hungarians.
For the black propaganda: (example from the same article). The opinion of Radu Ceontea about the
miners’ action on June 14, 1990: "The investigating committee found, that the biggest damages, it appears,
were committed by a Hungarian group of miners." In the report since published, there is not even a trace
of such statement, but this report was printed much later as an interview. At that time he makes appear his
opinion (lies), as an information received from the investigating committee. His obvious reason is to
prove, that the Hungarians exploit every opportunity to devastate, destroy Romania. With this he puts the
seeds of anti-Hungarian mistrust and hate into the credulous Romanian masses. Indeed, as the events in
Transylvania have also shown, unfortunately the seeds of hating Hungarians were cast into fertile soil.

A letter of Corneliu Vadim Tudor, editor in chief of the Romania Mare newspaper to Mr. Iliescu (extract).
"...Mr. President!... we should do something for the survival of Romanians in Mures county, since they
have to tolerate the most serious ridicule (mockery), which culminates in the danger of starvation; in this
crisis of food supply the poor, unfortunate Romanians have to stand in lines, but when they come to buy
some food for themselves, the Hungarian saleswomen, typical for their racial insolence, unvariably
answer them, that they run out of food, but later it miraculously becames again available, when customers
talking Hungarian appear. In evey corner of the world this is called apartheid, but I am inclined to believe,
that this is Hungarian fscism." (13) And again from the writings of C.V.T. another warning: "In the light
of the year just gone by, the merciless shauvinism of these deeply sick people finally convinced us, that
we can, but abuse only one politics against them; that of force,... and pityless punishment,...” And he
continues: "The Romania Mare Foundation and Periodical recommends, that the year of 1991
should be declared the international year of fighting against Hungarian terrorism.".(11)

For brevity’s sake, we refrain from quoting further concrete examples; instead, we rather call attention to
a dozen adjectives used in the Romanian press in reference to Hungarians, as compared to adjectives
used in connection with Romanians.

..............4.1.1 Adjectives and epithets used in the Romanian press in connection with Hungarians:
They have bulging cheekbones; they are extremists, evil minded, merciless shauvinists, who attempt to
humiliate the Romanians and to carve up the country; make fun of the Romanian population; their
democratic requests are disguised forms of irritation and blackmail; Turanian beasts, who desacrate all the
sacred values of Romania; drunk hordes of Asia, who reproduce by fission or by pollination or like the
reptiles, which live no matter how many of them one cuts down with a hoe, they move and live happily
till ripe old age; they are unclean; they assimilate others brutally; their heart is like that of a rabid dog;
knife wielders, dogs with rabies; killing knifers"

The RMDSZ (Democratic Federation of Hungarians in Romania) is a "terrorist organization; their center
is a nest of terrorist; it is a paramilitary organization, its members are hiding out in the forests and caves
well provided with combat gears, radio transmitters; it is a subversive, instigating association, which
spares no effort to clash with the Romanian State."

The political leaders of Hungarians in Transylvania: are "bribers of the international press; impostors;
instigators; exhortators for violence; Hungarian extremists, who are exciting to kill, intimidate and banish
the Romanians; László Tokés wears handgun under his cassock; lies daily at least three times”. András
Süto ridiculed as "Pazvante Chiorul"; Géza Domokos is impotent, but a dangerous character; a decorated
red cabbage head; fairy prince, son of a b....; he is squirming (at the feet) of the masters of the Hungarian
Government like an sob. turning red." Hungary: "prepares for war: arming to the teeth; is still Horthyist,
fascist; revanchist; panting for revenge; is a state, which is built on lies, robbery, on the tears and blood of
the surrounding nations; is a wild aggressor!” is an operette country; has no natural resources, only a
gigantic debt of 24 billion dollars; her government is irresponsible, dishonest goats with scabby upward
tails, who “instead of investing money heavily into armaments, should try to pay back part of their foreign
debts”.(11, 12, 13, 14, 15 16)

.............. 4.1.2. Adjectives and epithetes used in the Romanian press in connection with Romanians:

Romanians have a resounding majority (numerical relation as compared with Hungarians), who
stood bravely, as throughout the history in the ancestral nest, celebrated their weddings, bore and raised
children, turned over their furrows, sowed their grain, prayed in churches, decorated their sleds with
wreaths spuned wheat ears .... thus protecting their very soul and language against the wild oppressors.”
"Entire Transylvania is written into the Romanian eternity."; the fate, the cruelty toward the Romanians;
the suffering of the Romanian soul before their reunification; the intimidated, humiliated, martyr
Romanian mothers; those sent to forced labor; those beaten up by the cock feathered police, those
ridiculed by the levente (Hungarian military youth organization 1928-44)-commanders; those struggling
in need and in the danger of Magyarization; the Romanian integrity was exposed to tragic tests, but
remained honest and clean as always; there was not a nation on the entire world so much oppressed and
maligned as the Romanian; serious and open-hearted; sincere; truthful; diligent; hospitable; infinitely,
angelically patient; understanding; for long time exposed to obstinate probes in suffering; the Romanian
people were born to be Christian; the Vatra Romaneasca was born from “heart felt pain for the country”,
like the Democratic Federation of Magyarized Romanians.

Their organizations are unlucky, poor; they do not enjoy the support of the Romanian State. Radu
Ceontea, the leader of the Vatra Romaneasca is "a contiuously persecuted man. He is afraid of avenging
Hungarians; the rage of the Hungarians limits the freedom of movement of his family; policemen have to
protect them”. (8, 9, 10, 14)

5. The rumor

One of the well known tool of the combatting propaganda is to spread rumors. Its spreading is really
effective only, when all worries, problems and behavior of the target group is known to their utmost
details. So the main continuous work of the conquering suppressor power’s pertinent agencis is to collect
these and evaluate them statistically. The follow up on the target group’s behavior is the prerequisite of a
successful psychological warfare. The news intelligence has to be strictly objective; the prejudices, the
contempt, the hate of te hostile target group has to be omitted. For the proper development of the strategy,
tactics and battling propaganda operation of psychological warfare, it is absolutely necessary to know the
details of the strengths, weaknesses, value judgement and dynamics of the hostile target group. (3, 27, 28)

Rumors develop only in certain psychological situations, when the social communication is charged with
emotional experiences. Such conditions arise especialy in crises and in times of war, when news causing
fear and uncertainties prepare the masses to pick up and spread the rumors. For the causes of rumor
development P.R. Hoffstatter sets up seven theses as follows: (3)
(a) The rumors spread, because at each transfer point the the spreading tell-tale meets with prestigious
success(.
(b) Rumors, while spreading, are in continuous transformation; this leads to the growing and growing
inclination of the tell-talers, that they beelieve themselves their story to be true.
(c) The content (the. events and facts) of widely spread rumors is critically worked over from the angle of
truth. Each tell-taler adds to it, what he/she thinks is true according to their own information about the
related facts. Rumors should be viewed as a “ribbon product”, that receives new transformed details,
insertions by fluctuation, by omision of details or by emphasizing them. These two tendencies bring upon
the acceptance of the rumor by the target person, because it fits his/her expectation and preformulated
opinion.
(d) Communications, which are spread as rumors, are received easier, without criticism; after some time
their effect on the receiver’s cast of mind is barely discernible from a carefully composed and
investigated report about the state of affairs.
(e) The function of the rumor is to complement the official news. These are commented on in the sense of
the egocentric causal doctrine by naming the ones, who are responsible and made the mistakes. The result:
the stricter a society supervises its news service on principle or because of emergency, the more it has to
rely on a second communication channel - to activate rumors.
(f) For summary one may say, that the development of the rumor and its spread (R) is in direct relation to
the product of the solution’s importance in a given situation (F) and the uncertainty (g) is is the basic law
of rumor, which may be expressed in a quasi mathemetical formula as follows: R=FxB/K

..... 5.1 Examples for rumors with Hungarian relation spread in Romania
(a) In 1985 already many fled from the town, most of them with valid passport. This was the time, when a
well known physician left home leaving behind his wife and two children.
By Christmas of 1985 the husband received a permit for family reunification and the wife followed him
with the two children.

Scene: early summer 1986 in Miercurea Ciuc. The mood to flee the Country grows more and more
intense, becomes panic—like; it is the main subject of the rumors in the town. Everybody knows
somebody, who run away, of course with invalid passport. How many were shot down by the Romanian
border guard? Who succeeded to reach the West and how? What kind of adventures and trials did he/she
have? Etc. The summer is coming; this is the main season to flee. In a town with the mood just described,
it came to the draft of physicians and engineers into the foothills barracks for officers’ training. One of the
training colonels produces an obituary and after a short introduction he finally circulates it. What was this
all about? According to the training colonel the well known physician arrived to the Western country,
where his wife moved in with an old university professor. She did not receive her husband; with the help
of a lawyer she took away from him the children; she left her former husband on the ice cold street; in his
despair he hung himself. Omitting the details so much is the story. What is the truth? After the usual
initial economic difficulties the family got well again, recovered from the trauma of their flight. This
example is black propaganda, strategic propaganda and rumor at the same time. The obituary was forged.
Possessing plenty of information the story was well plotted. The start of spreading was well timed. For
the sake of credibilty a colonel was assigned to start it up. (as it is a verified fact, that rumors spread more
effectively from above downward). (2) It is a strategic propaganda, since in the last phase new behavior is
to be given to the hostile masses, as it is probable, that from among the drafted engineers, physicians there
will be many, who will flee. This is the last opportunity to intimidate them. If they are already fleeig, they
should arrive with the maximum of fear to the receiving country. Such and smilar provisions were
supplied to the inhabitants and potential escapees of the city. In this case it is demonstrable, that a colonel
started up the rumor. According to the methods of psychological warfare it is probable, that several agents
spread also the same words. After a certain time period the started up rumor is “gathered in” by the same
agents. This is done several times at determined interwalls. The deviant forms different from the original
rumor is analysed; one can conclude about the psychological cast of mind, about the probable behavior
under certain circumstances of the hostile target group. The spreading of the rumor has to be started up at
the most appropriate moment and has to be well focused on the selected hostile target group. For this the
excellent knowledge of the target group is required. From this point of view the Romanian secret police is
in an "enviable" position; they can bug without restriction as many homes, tap into phone conversations,
as their not-so-small staff and excellent technical equipment permit

(b) There were also rumors formulated in a humorous style. There came the news, that many escaped
with the Budapest-Vienna shipline. That is, according to the rumor there is a ship that does not land in
Vienna, so to buy a ticket one does not need a passport. From such ships the escapees jumped into the
water. Swimming to the shore they were facing the Austrian police shoving them back into the water
causing several drownings. Initially this rumor spread in this short variation. This was probably its start
up form. Later it took another twist as follows: - One has to choose the moment of jumping into the water,
when the ship turns around in the narrow channel in Vienna and travels closest to the shore. According to
the rumor at this point of time the benevolent Hungarian captains shouts out: Seklers, get ready! then one
has to undress fast putting the shoes and pants into a nylon bag. When the captain shouts again: Seklers,
start!, one has to jump fast, because the ship is so close to the shore, that even those, who learned to swim
in the little brook of Madaras, still can reach the shore.

This rumor became extended by Sekler cleverness, lost its sting and became ridiculous.

(c) In 1990 the rumor took off as follows.: Due to obligatory disarmament the charges of the chemical
weapons, various poisonous materials were stored in iron barrels and hidden in the caves of the Western
Carpathian mountains. The caves were selected such way, that the concentrated poison oozing out of the
rusting barrels, should leak into creeks and rivers flowing toward Transylvanian areas populated by
Hungarians or rather flowing toward Hungary, causing an ecological disaster in areas populated by
Hungarians. The psychological terror against the Hungarians is evident also from this rumor. Because of
the uncertainty of this events coming about, this rumor has a continuous longterm effect, its spread can be
any time reinvented and maintained.

...... 5.2 Methods to prevent propagation of rumors

"If the shortage in information does not become dominant, no rumors arise" (23)

The analysis of rumors is a requirement for the psychological assessment of an ethnic group. The rumor is
the index of the group-moral of a social system; thus using rumor—analysis one may predict conclusion
about the needs, feelings and behavior of the people of an ethnic proup. At the same time, analyzing the
connection among the different rumors, one may anticipate the ideas, the steps of the psychological
warfare of the enemy. Rumor—analysis has to be done swiftly and systematically in cooperation with
social-psychologists. To overcome rumors Horst Schuh suggest the following seven steps: (3)

(a) The situation has to be normalized!

For the prevention of rumors or rather for their controllability, steps have to be swiftly taken, that
consolidate the situation. A consolidaton program has to be made up, that suitably fits the social
requirements, customs of the ethnic group. In making up the program one has to consider also the
aspirations for security, human treatment, recreation, transportation, hygienics, medical service
etc. of the group.

(b) The capacity to criticize must be developed; a suggestibility must be made conscious!

A critical mind toward the people themselves and toward others has to be developed against the
press and other devices of propaganda. The basis of the reasoning is, that rumors spread, beacause
of the people being naive and like to spread news. This step alone is not sufficient. There is also
the posibility, that the critical sense of the people changes to "I do not believe anything". To avoid
this U.Dickmeyer suggests as follows:
"An attempt has to be made to break the gossi-chain at every opprtunity. The rumors have to be
challenged (analyzed) in its basics: if somebody talks about incredible things, he should be asked
to tell about precise specifics. Only own observations should be related. - For
training:
.............rumors should not be taken seriously
.............the sources of rumors should be recognized, identified
.............simplifications, omissions, exaggerations should be looked at rumors just
starting ..............the origin of the rumor should be traced down
.............ourselves should not spread rumors

(c) You should inform in time, in truth, in short and prcise manner

When the instruments of mass communications are informing everything always correctly and
precisely, they can prevent most effectively the generation of rumors and their propagation. The
reliability of news service should be taken care of with prudence, continuous attention, and if such
reliability already developed in the masses, it becomes a task to foster it. Every effort should be made
even in the most peaceful times to get hold of the confidence of the target groups. In crisis, emergency,
gaining confidence is too late, it is barely possible. The timely information prevents the development
of false hopes, expectations and guesswork, that forms the base of rumor generation. When the news
passed is short and contains all, that is important, one of the characters of rumor, that it spreads by
levelling, is already eliminated, since the news passed contains too little details; nothing can be left
out of it. For the prevention of spreading rumors the aspirations, needs, fears of the target group
should be known to their utmost details.
(d) Sources of news have to be guardedly checked: tensions are to be eased with humor

The news, that cannot identify a precise verifiable source, is suspect of rumor. To talk about a
dangerous situation, it is only advisable, if one can quote its sources. Otherwise, it is the duty of
everyone to withhold it referring to discretion or to the lack of reliability of its source. Those, who
spread the rumor should be ridiculed together with their fabricated story.

(e). It is necesary to call attention in a continuing effort to the possibilities of rumor fabrication,
immunizing them this way; those, who spread rumors, should be humiliated!

In situations, when the opponent was successfully identified as the sourue of rumor, it should be
announced to the public together with the rumor's goal. Irresponsible rumor inventors and propagators
should be humiliated and isolated. The cast of mind should be attained, that spreading rumors is antisocial
and as such, it is to be punished. This announcement should be tied to notes about self-discipline, sense of
responsibility, duty of silence, that are to be communicated to every patriotic citizen. For instance during
the second world war the broadcasting program of the German black radio stations were printed in the
English newspapers. At the same time the Nazis remained immoral and inefficient by forbidding listening
to English radio and by jamming the stations.

(f) "Scapegoat" reactions are to be neutralized!

The rumors, which are directing the attention of the inhabitants to find “sacrificial lambs”, have to be
swiftly recognized, their source be traced, thus uncovering the goals of the enemy. If the accusations are
directed against civilian or military offices, the truth has to be found out on a realistic base without any
distortion or glossing over and those, who are responsible have to be punished. Special attention has to be
spent to weed out rumors, which are directed toward minorites living within our own people or within the
people of our own allies. The psychological counteraction should focus primarily on eliminating
prejudices and on the danger of abuse against the slandered ethnic groups. Keeping continuous contact
with the defamed groups, situations have to be vigorously clarified. Attention is to be called to the
possibilites of provocation. This way the generation of hate rumors may be prevented.

(g) Denials should not be issued!

Straight denials themselves are not sufficiently authentic and lead to speculations. The enemy likes to
attack the denials, keeping this way the rumor alive. An official response to a spreading rumor should be
given only, if the errors, mistakes, lies targeted in the rumor are obvious and can be so proven.
Admittedly the best defense is to answer the emerging questions professionally, which are related to the
psychological warfare of the enemy.

8. Summing it up.

To prevent the generation and spreading of rumors the following rules are to be kept:
--- the tell-tale has to be pressed as to what source the “definite” news originates. Most of
the .............times its effect is, that the narrator becomes uncertain and stops further spreading
of .............the rumor
--- a good check-up is to be made whether or not the news carry the signs of a rumor: .............it should
not be mixed up with confidential, unpublished information
--- you have to examine critically:-----what will you further relate? ----- to whom
you ...........................................................relate? ------ watch out for a third listening person!
--- do not forget the proverb "One can learn to lie from rumors!" (3)
6. The spiritual instruments of the combative propagandist

"Directives for combative propagandists Nr.3” was published in April 1944 by the OKW/WPr; this
contains several war years experience of the German Army’s Propaganda Division; so it is a specially
valuable resource.(1)

The directives: To whom, with what, when, where, how and what should I say?
(a) Establish precisely and analyze the target group one wants to “talk to”!
(b) Waite out the most suitable point of time!
(c) Find the location or zone, describe it precisely!
(d) Establish exactly the goal of propaganda!
(e) Fix exactly the form of the propaganda thesis!
(f) Brake down the thesis into different forms of propaganda!
(g) Select the tools and associated instruments of propaganda to be used!

Beyond answering these questions the combative propaganda still needs the following spiritual
“requirements”:
(a) All the complex, artificial, tiresome structure of combating propaganda can lead only to failure. The
simpler, cleaner, more natural is the content, the more certain is the result.
(b) People are subjected very strongly to their feelings. Nearly without exception it is more promising to
appeal to sentiments rather, than to reason. Even with educated individuals intelligence, logic gets going,
when feelings were already suitably excited.
(c) The magic recipe for propaganda is not variety, but repetition. One should stick strongly to a
promising propaganda thesis up till its material prerequisites change.
(d) The greatest master of teaching combative propaganda is called experience. The key for evaluation is
called the recognition of differences. Effect-analysis is required by each separate case; it cannot be
neglected. The causes of errors and failures have to be found out by applying self-criticism in the first
place. (1)

7. Summary

Using the definition and model of psychological warfare and searching for its examples in Romania, it is
conspicuous, that one barely has to read into Romanian newspapers, listen to the radio, converse with
Hungarian people in Transylvania, one can find plenty of examples for the definitions and models in the
article. Psychlogical warfare is carried out only against hostile people at the preparation of guerilla war or
during the war itself. It can be stated, that there is a psychological war carried out against the
Hungarians in Transylvania; i.e. they are not only considered as citizens of not equal rights, but
enemies.

The reasons for antiHungarian hate is not the Hungarian century old suppression, already a tiresome
cliché as spread by the Romanian combating propaganda, but something else:

In 1881 Romania received Dobruja; acquired further territory in the 1913 Balkan wars. The area of
the territory attached to Romania was inhabited approximately in 90% by Bulgarians (7) in
overwhelming majority, Turks and Greeks. Among the inhabitants of Dobruja only the Romanians
received citizenship. The non-Romanian schools and organizations were closed. At this
annexation time of Dobruja the experimental work was started up on methods for basic
models to eradicate ethnic minorities, which methods are even today successfully used without
hindrance in Romania.

In today’s unstable international situation the Romanian nationalist, irredentist policy by law strengthens
the pressure against the ethnic minorities. It was not by chance, that in 1990 the Romanian nationalist
organizations stepped forward intent to drive away ethnic groups still living in Romania using every
method of psychological terror. That these anti-Hungarian terror-organizations, their open or
disguised attacks (see ref. 19) are supported by the Romanian government is proven in several
newspapers. (18)

A known mechanism of the Romanian expansion policy is the Dako-Roman continuity theory. To build
an irredentist policy on a basically false theory, together with the necessary propaganda leads to the
dangerous situation, that they feed a lasting and shatterproof false ideology into the Romanian
people. This false ideology, together with the Hungarian scape goat phenomenon, causes mass
systeria reminiscent to medieval witch-hunting and the Nazi persecution of Jews. This is driving the
Romanian nation into full international isolation, anarchy, and extreme danger. Instead of acquiring
additional territory with their irredentist policy, they may lose even the already aquired ones. At
present the Romanian people is well suited for such mass hysteria, as in the past of the barely
more than hundred years history of Romania, some dictatorial governing system was always present.
On the pretext of developing the new type of socialist man, Ceausescu worked hard to establish the
final flock mentality, the acquiescence in everything, to isolate the opposition and reduce them to
silence, to isolate the intelligentia still capable of independent thoughts and to suppress the success of
individuality standing up against the spiritual uniformization. (20)

Dictatorial systems always had the goal to destoy the free will, personality and dignity of people.
"...people, who were overwhelmed by the routin of the totalitarian system, who are frightened by the
responsibility that they cannot find their human selves, refuse freedom and assign it to anybody, who
promises protection and continuity. In other words, this scattered fear may have explosive political
consequences. According to Eric Fromm, the American psychiatrist, fear of freedom makes the social
cradle for all kind of fascisms.” (21)

To develop the mass hysteria the Romanian in Transylvania has one additional facet: focused national
consciousness. In the structure of such consciousness a negative half is also built in; i.e. into the
Romanian the existence of the Hungarian, while into the Hungarian the existence of the Romanian.

"The person with focused national consciousness feels, that his national identity is threatened to a
certain degree, as if he would fear, that his negativity somehow would turn into positivity; i.e. from
the non-Romanian becomes Romanian, and from the non-Hungarian becomes Hungarian."- If in
the immediate vicinity the other half is present in a large group, the feeling of danger becomes
overwhelming.

Because of this, a person from Transylvania finds himself continuosly in a peculiar alert, that may
be called as "an unconscious attention directed toward an undetermined danger". "Since all these
belong into the sphere of irrationality, it can be very easily manipulated and once it starts up, it is
very difficult to affect it by reasoning" (17). Thus to manipulate the feeling of danger, it is
sufficient to develop in the masses the belief of danger, that the danger becomes real, against which
active defense is required. Thus for maintaining pogrom—atmosphere in Tirgu Mures and in entire
Romania, for serving irredentist interest, it is sufficient to use continuously and knowingly in
the newspapers the anti-Hungarian adjectives and epithets as mentioned in chapter 4.1.1. The
goal of the anti-Hungarian mass hysteria in Romania is the continuous keep up of the flight
process for the evacuation of Transylvania from the Hungarians, from its largest remaining
ethnic group and thereby the final annexation of Transylvania.

The expansion politics in Romania are built on old traditions, it interweaves all areas of the Romanian
society. Being in motion for long time, its inertial force is immense, it is barely possible to stop it with the
instruments of politics. As history indicates, countries, which carried on politics of expansion could not
give it up voluntarily not even under cooprative peaceful international pressure. As the example of the
second world war shows, even Germany could be forced away from this political line only with violence,
division, that lasted decades and by the supervision of foreign armies.
Certain leaders of the PMDSZ make, but in vain loyalty declarations toward the Romanian government,
according to which they see the future of Transylvanian Hungarians only in Romania. This future is
nothing else, but forceful assimilation and/or exile! Because of this in a democratic world political powers,
international organizations, governments of Europe nshold work on neutralizing the Romanian expansion
politics, a factor that continuously destabilizes the peace in the area.
8. Literature used

(1) Buchbender. 0., Schuh H. Die Waffe die auf die Seele zieht. Psychologische Kriegsführung 1939—
1945; Motorbuch Verlag. Stuttgart.
(2) Ernst, K., Dr. med. Fragen der psychologischen Kampfftihrung. Gerücht, Panik, Massenwahn.
Anf~lligkeit und Widerstand. Arbeitsheft der Reihe D; herausgegeben 1969 vom Schweizerischen
Aufklarungsdienst. Zürich. 1981
(3) Schuh, H. Das Gerücht. Psychologie des Gerüchts im Krieg; Bernard Graefe Aktuell. 1981
(4)Stahel, A. A. Simulationen Sicherheitpolitischer Processe, anhand von Beispielen und Problemen der
Schweizerischen Sicherheitspolitik. Verlag Huber Frauenfeld. 1980
(5) Barabás, B. és Társai. Hetven év. A romániai magyarság története. 1919—1989; Magyarságkutató
Intázet; Budapest 1990
(6) Oltványi, 0. és Tamás. A vég; Szféra, 1990
(7) Cseh, E. és Társai. A conducator végnapjai. Románia 1989 december. Idegenforgalmi Propaganda és
Kiadó Vállalat, 1990
(8) Prof. Serdeanu, I. Cintecul refugiatului roman din Transilvania cotropita; Vatra Romaneasca Nr.5
1990 noiembrie
(9) Puiu, S. Vulpea puiaza in gradina...: Vatra Romaneasca Nr.5 1990 noiembrie
(10) Európai Ido, 1990 november 22. második oldal, lapszemle
(11) Tudor, C.V. Anul 1991 - An international de lupta impotriva terorismului unguresc. Romania Mare
1991 (January 11)
(12) Tudor, C.V. Anul 1991 -An international de lupta impotriva terorismului unguresc. Romania Mare
1991 (January 18)
(13) Tudor, C.V. Ardealul, Ardealul, ne cheama Ardealul! Romania Mare 1990 (December 7) (14)
Valenas, I., Anghelescu, A. - Minden magyar egy kötelet hord a zsebében. Népújság, Maros megye; 1991
június 11
(15) Romania Mare 1990 december 21. Az olvasóké a szó; 7. oldal
(16) Romania Mare 1990 december 7: Saptamina pe scurt
(17) Szilágyi, N.S. Szempontok a nemzettudat lélektanához. Korunk 1990; 9. szám
(18) Adonyi Nagy, M. Ez az; Valóság. A Romániai Magyar Dolgozók Hetilapja; 1990 november 9
(19) Cheler Paul. Notice to the Romanian People by the Commander of the Romanian Army in
Transylvania. Pamphlet distributed during the 1990 campaign resulting also in the Tirgu Mures anti -
Hungarian pogrom.
(20) Incze, G. Paranoia és totalitárizmus; Népújság, Maros megye, 1990 december 5
(21) Erópai Ido. Lapszemle, második oldal; 1990 november 8
(22) Piller, C., Yamamoto, K. Gene wars. Military control over the new genetic technologies: Beech Tree
Books, William Morrow and Company, Inc. New York 1989
(23) Droge, F. Der zerredete Widerstand. Zur Soziologie und Publizistik des Gerüchts im 2. Weltkrieg.
Bertelsmann Universitatsverlag. Düsseldorf 1970
(24) Akadémiai Kislexikon. Akadémiai Kiadó. Budapest, 1990
(25) Hofstatter, P.R. Die Psychologie der öffentlichen Meinung; 1. Auflage, Wilhelm Baumilller
Universitats Verlagsbuchhandlung, Ges. M.B.H. Wien 1949
(26) The actuality and method of analyzing the language of propaganda in the frame of the up to date
language science. Information for internal usage by the Hungariana Military Academy. 1987
(27) Allport, Gordon, W. and Leo Postman. The psychology of Rumor, New York, 1965/(8) (28) Chorus,
A.: The Basic Law of Rumor. J. abn. Soc. Psych. 43/1953
(29) Daugherty, F., Janowitz, M. : A Psychological Warfare Casebook, Baltimore 1965

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* In March 1990 István Sebestyén Teleki was 35 years old, when he witnessed the March events and on
the 20th the bloody pogrom against the Hungarians in Marosvásárhely. He emigrated from his land of
 birth 1986. In Zürich, where he now resides, he acquired a doctor degree in mechanical engineering.
He is engaged in professional persuits and in some writing about his experiences.

Note: A shortened Hungarian version of this article was published in the quarterly of the American
Transylvanian Federation "Transsylvania" in its July 1995 issue.