An Anti-Nazi at Hitler’s Table
from Eszter Kandó Odescalchi
2015
The political memoirs of Dr. Ferenc Kandó Melocco have been published, in a volume entitled An Anti-Nazi at Hitler’s Table. The book, translated and edited by his daughter, Coalition member Eszter Kandó Odescalchi, reflects the turbulent years of the 20th century from World War I to the 1980s through the life of a man who lived through them.
Because of his position in the Ministry of the Interior of Hungary during the 1930s and 40s, he was acquainted with heads of state; he met Hitler and other Nazis and interacted with politicians of many parties. Throughout, Dr. Kandó Melocco opposed both totalitarian regimes, the Nazis and the Communists.
These memoirs are those of a person whose deep religious faith helped him overcome inhuman conditions and misery. He believed in God’s help, and in turn, he helped his fellow man, including the rescue of persecuted Jews. He lived for his convictions, eventually taking a job as a coal-carrier to support his family rather than join the Communist establishment.
The memoirs introduce us to a gifted politician who always knew what to do, when to quit, when to talk and when to remain silent: a courageous man who remained honest, dignified and compassionate throughout many trials.
An Anti-Nazi at Hitler’s Table (2015) is available through the Merritt Bookstorewww.merrittbooks.com, from the author twinks.odes@gmail.com or on Amazon.
Cold War to Warm Cooperation
from Endre Szentkirályi
2014
Author Endre Szentkirályi was born and raised in Cleveland. During the course of his research, he identified 330 local military personnel of Hungarian origin, and conducted over 250 interviews.
Among his subjects are 40 officers, including two generals and several colonels. They include many sets of brothers and examples of multi-generational military families, and over a dozen Cleveland Hungarians still serving in the military today.
Their military experiences, as documented in the book, illuminate world historical events from a personal viewpoint. Most of the subjects served their country proudly, then fit successfully into the civilian world. Many also contributed their talents to Cleveland’s Hungarian social life.
The book also provides details on the ten Cleveland Hungarians who made the ultimate sacrifice on the battlefields of Vietnam.
Cold War to Warm Cooperation can be ordered from the Cleveland Hungarian Museum at:
http://clevelandhungarianmuseum.org/cleveland-hungarians-who-served-in-the-us-military-1950-2014/
or from the HM Zrínyi Térképészeti és Kommunikációs Szolgáltató Közhasznú Nonprofit Kft at:
http://shop.hmzrinyi.hu/webshop/index.php?menu=flypage&id=58978
Vanished by the Danube
from Charles Farkas
July 2013
Pages: 496
In this poignant memoir Charles Farkas tells a story of loss and survival. Germany’s invasion of Hungary in 1944 marked the end of a culture that had prevailed in Central Europe from the 19th century to World War II. Farkas offers a testament to this vanished way of life—its society, morality, personal integrity, wealth, traditions, and chivalry—as well as an eyewitness account of its destruction, begun at the hands of the Nazis and then completed under the heel of Soviet Communism. The writer’s recollections of growing up in Budapest, a city whose grandeur embraced—indeed spanned—the Danube River; his vivid descriptions of everyday life in Hungary before, during, and after World War II; and his ultimate flight to freedom in the United States remind us that behind the larger historical events of the past century are the stories of the individual men and women who endured and, ultimately, survived them.
“In his evocative new memoir, Vanished by the Danube, Charles Farkas walks us gracefully through the Hungary of his youth. Through stories that extract beauty from everyday events, Farkas pays tribute to the simple elegance of his native country in the years preceding World War II, while never sparing us the truth about the horrors to come. In his story we are reminded that resourcefulness and optimism can prevail even in the face of great struggle.” — President Bill Clinton.
"Vanished by the Danube" is published by SUNY Press and is available on Amazon.com at: http://www.amazon.com/Vanished-Danube-Peace-Revolution-Flight/dp/1438447574
Dunától a Mississippihez
from László G. Fülöp
Fekete Sas Kiadó
2013, Budapest
Pages: 280
László Fülöp, who serves as Vice President and long-standing Board Member of the Hungarian American Coalition, gave a most appropriate subtitle to his book: “Extraordinary events can sweep you far away.” This book (written in Hungarian) is filled with the extraordinary events of post-WWII Hungarian history. Fülöp pays homage to his wonderful family as well as to some of his unforgettable teachers and several classmates at the Franciscan High School of Szentendre. After his father’s arrest and imprisonment on trumped-up charges by the Communist authorities, the chapters describing Fülöp’s own compulsory service in a “labor batallion” and his subsequent participation in the 1956 Hungarian Revolution make for compelling reading. Although his dramatic escape and later life as a successful architect and city planner in Wisconsin and Minnesota have indeed “swept him far away” from his beloved Hungary, his frequent trips and continued love of his homeland speak loudly from these pages.
The book (in Hungarian) can be ordered from the website of the publisher, Fekete Sas Kiadó, Hungary at http://www.feketesas.hu/shop2/Fulop-G.-Laszlo-Dunatul-a-Mississipihez.html
My Only Choice – Hungary 1942-1956
from: Helen M. Szablya
CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Pages: 580
Helen M. Szablya, Honorary Consul General of Hungary, is an award-winning author, columnist, translator, and lecturer, and has been a Board Member of the Hungarian American Coalition for 20 years. Her family saga is a personal memoir that paints a vividly detailed picture about the daily lives and struggles of Hungarian citizens in the period between WWII and the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. Her description of the 51-day-long siege of Budapest in 1944, its tragic aftermath, the increasingly cruel power of Soviet dictatorship, and of her family’s eventual escape after the defeat of the 1956 Revolution will amaze and touch the imagination of all readers.
“From the eyes and mind of an innocent but precocious young teen, Helen Szablya, paints a picture of how the inconceivable became reality. Hungary as the playground of tyrants in the 1940's,,is depicted in its inability to withstand fascism or communism. A personal account, as engrossing as fiction but true, this book serves the lessons of history irresistibly on a silver tray.” Annette Lantos-Tilleman-Dick , Daughter of the late Congressman Tom Lantos
Avaible at:
http://www.amazon.com/My-Only-Choice-1942-1956-Hungary/dp/147921020X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1361822083&sr=8-1&keywords=Helen+M+Szablya as well as on Kindle, iPad and iPhone
Hungarian Review – Volume II., No. 1
An affiliate of the bi-monthly journal Magyar Szemle, published since 1991,
edited by Gyula Kodolányi
January 2011, Budapest
Pages: 128
"We welcome you to this, second edition of the Hungarian Review […]
Time is a common theme in this edition. The Prime Minister Viktor Orban reminds readers that the Twentieth century is over, and sketches his ideas of the challenges facing Europe, and his own country in the next decades – not just in the short time-span of his government. He calls for a strong Europe, rootedin its cultural, religious and moral traditions, and a turn away from the ideology of credit, speculation and skepticism. […]
This theme is continued in Foreign Minister Janos Martonyi’s interview. The construction of Europe is not yet over, he says, ‘you cannot leave black holes on the map.’ […]
Peter Akos Bod puts the economics of the Hungarian presidency into the context of the turbulent times surrounding the European currency. He also points out the risks which the Fidesz economic policies entail, as she sails before the wind on the high seas.
George Schopflin identifies a certain disdain for central Europe, and Hungary in particular, in the western media. ‘We in Central Europe,’ he writes, ‘…are regarded as “alien.” […]
In her article, the noted Romanian MEP and champion of good-governance Monica Macovei invites Hungary to use her presidency to make progress towards an EU anti-corruption mechanism. […]
The British historian Norman Stone rose heroically from his sick-bed in Istanbul to deliver his powerful meditation on the role of Mikhail Gorbachev in the changes in Russia and Europe. And the Hungarian Roma historian Sandor Romano Racz traces the elusive history of his own people. Writing of the days in the summer of 1989 when time actually stopped, Gaspar Groh asks, from the front seat of his Trabant, whether freedom is actually possible, in our world of time and space.
We also offer you a parade of unlikely, and more likely heroes. Klára and József Béres, the founders of Beres natural treatments for a range of illnesses including cancer and HIV-Aids; the remarkable Hungarian independent midwife Ágnes Geréb, recently released from prison but still under house arrest in Budapest; and the composer Ferenc Liszt in a year of celebration of his work.
Also in the Arts section, Tony Brinkley is true to the theme of ‘time’ with his essay on the ‘eternities’ of the Russian, or as he puts it, un-Russian poet Osip Mandelshtam, and Thomas Cooper writes on the distinctiveness of the prose of Zsuzsa Rakovszky in the postmodern literary landscape. Brinkley and Cooper both address questions that arise when translating literature into English, including the problems of the interaction of literary traditions, and their essays are followed by excerpts from their translations of works of the two authors. Maria Prokopp’s astonishing work to uncover the secrets of Botticelli’s work in Esztergom, seat of the Hungarian Catholic church, provides both the framework, and a tale of adventure and discovery for this volume."
http://www.hungarianreview.com/
Hungarian Review – Volume I., No. 1
An affiliate of the bi-monthly journal Magyar Szemle, published since 1991,
edited by Gyula Kodolányi
November 2010, Budapest
Pages: 116
"This is a publication which is proud to be Hungarian, in a world all too prone to deride identity or patriotism as something old-fashioned, or hostile to others. In fact, the title comes from our affiliate Magyar Szemle, a journal that has entered its twentieth year of publication. Ours is an inclusive Hungarianness, in an interdependent age. Central and Eastern Europe need champions, and the Review will offer space in its pages for authors from this region and beyond. Our aim is both to reflect an ongoing debate on the future of Europe, and to help shape it.
In this issue John O’Sullivan writes that nations can and should protect their own interests in a world of ever increasing regulation. He argues for close central European cooperation – and for Hungary to play a leadership role in the south of the region, just as Poland does in the north. Former Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrj Rupel brings a genuine Central European touch to these concerns. Tibor Várady offers a powerful critique of the uses and abuses of the term ‘populist’. Zoltán Balog spells out the new government’s policy towards the Roma, and Lívia Járóka makes sixty proposals of her own, from a Roma perspective, to aid the true integration of her people. Former President Ferenc Mádl reflects on the legacy of the 1989 revolution, and former foreign minister Géza Jeszenszky argues for enhanced regional cooperation, with a strong Atlanticist component; economists Péter Ákos Bod and György Barcza examine the sometimes troubled relations of the new Hungarian government with international financial institutions, and Nick Thorpe remembers Hungary’s worst chemical disaster – just days after it happened. Mária Illyés asks Anna Szinyei Merse about her work to restore the Hungarian Impressionists to their rightful glory, and Tony Brinkley discusses Alaine Polcz’s harrowing memoir One Woman in the War. There has been little time or effort this year, writes Péter Ákos Bod, to remember Hungary’s first post-Communist Prime Minister, József Antall, elected in 1990. But his contribution to history permeates this issue."
http://www.hungarianreview.com/
Az utolsó házi feladat (The Last Homework)
Pegasus
Pages: 362;
Ez az utolsó – mint egy maroknyi történelem – összegezi tizenöt volt diák életét, egyéni hozzáállását óriási nehézségeik megoldásában a második világháború kezdetétől napjainkig.
Tizenöt volt szentendrei Ferences diák érdekes és megrázó élettörténete 362 oldalon egy szentendrei jelenetet ábrázoló színes csempe-kép borítóval, több mint 60 fényképpel.
The Last Homework, a book in Hungarian with the life stories of fifteen graduates of 1957 of the Franciscan gimnazium (HS) in picture-perfect Szentendre, an artist colony.
Their early days and ventures during WWII, the Soviet-imposed Communist take over, the Revolution of 1956 – two of this group have been jailed and tortured – their life and adjustments for survival. 362 pages, 60 photographs.
A könyvről szóló ajánlást itt olvashatja.
Out and About in Hungary
Well-PRess
Pages: 708; Size: 165×235 mm; Price: 4990 HUF
Those who set out with this book to see Hungary will not miss a thing. This book will provide information about Hungary, back and forth and across. You will learn about the most attractive places, the hiking spots, art and museum ‘must see’, architectural delights as well as unparalleled outdoors you may want to venture in. This book also invites you to travel in time. A new feature is that you may now discover Hungary in alphabetical order. In the Glossary you will find terms and expressions that characterise the country regardless of time and place.
You can read more about the book here.
You can order here:
http://www.vendegvaroutikonyvek.hu/shop/idegen-nyelvu-konyv-angol/out-and-about-in-hungary/219/
Látnivalók Magyarországon
Well-PRess
Oldalszám: 720; Méret: 165×235 mm; Ár: 4.990 Ft
A már 100 ezer példányban megjelent, méltán népszerű útikönyv ötödik, javított kiadása több mint 700 oldalon és 1100 színes fotóval, térképekkel illusztrálva mutatja be Magyarország közel ezer településének látnivalóit. A kötetek az idegenforgalmi nevezetességek, építészeti értékek, műalkotások mellett a természeti értékekre, a sport- és szórakozási lehetőségekre is felhívja az utazók figyelmét a régiónként, illetve tájegységenként követő útleírásokban. Külön fejezetben, a Magyarország kincsestárában kaptak helyet a hungarikumok, a magyar Nobel-díjasok, feltalálók és tudósok, a nemzeti parkok, a Világörökség címet elnyert nevezetességek, a lexikonban pedig betűrendben követik egymást az országra jellemző fogalmak. A megújított kötet, számtalan újdonságot is tartalmaz. Ezek sorába tartozik az is, hogy a Látnivalók Magyarországon útikönyvben megtalálhatók a vendéglátáshoz és az idegenforgalomhoz kapcsolódó legfontosabb tudnivalók, többek között éttermek, szállodák, fürdők, sportközpontok leírása és elérhetősége. A kötet méltán viseli „az utazók bibliája” jelzőt, s ennél fogva ajánljuk minden Magyarországot megismerni szándékozó ember könyvespolcára.
A könyvről szóló ajánlást itt olvashatja.
Megrendelhető itt:
http://www.vendegvaroutikonyvek.hu/shop/vendegvaro-utikonyv/latnivalok-magyarorszagon/166/
Vera and the Ambassador: Escape and Return
by Vera and Donald Blinken
SUNY Press
Publishers Weekly review:
The Blinkens alternate chapters to recount their years as the U.S. ambassadorial couple to Hungary during Bill Clinton’s first term as president. Vera Blinken escaped Hungary as a child with her mother after WWII as the iron curtain started its descent on central Europe. Donald Blinken, a former investment banker, was appointed at the dawn of Hungary’s nascent democracy and entry into the world economy, and negotiated its entry into NATO. Together they breathed new life into U.S.–Hungary relations, negotiated the opening of American military bases that contributed to the end of the Bosnian conflict and started health initiatives in the local community. Theirs is a candid behind-the-scenes look at the glamour and challenges of diplomatic life: along with consorting with the pope and Madonna came inevitable security concerns, death-defying trips in former Soviet helicopters and the struggle to reshape attitudes toward what was perceived as American cultural imperialism. The energetic narration moves seamlessly from historical to contemporary political themes to the more personal and particular highlight of the book—accompanying Vera Blinken as she rediscovers what remains of the Budapest of her childhood.
Read the review of the Foreign Affairs here.
Máramarosszigeti történetek – Egy kisfiú kalandjai vészterhes időkben
from László Fülöp
Fekete Sas Kiadó, 2011. 124 oldal
A fõhõsnek, a Máramarosszigeten élõ tízéves kisfiúnak gyerekes csínytevései közben egyre inkább rá kell ébrednie
1944-45-ben, hogy az õt „körülvevõ; történelem többfajtaképpen szól bele az életébe. Az Amerikai Egyesült Államokban élõ szerzõ igazi humorral, hol mosolyra, hol sírásra késztetõ módon, rendkívül olvasmányosan írja le és ismerteti meg az Olvasókkal egy nem mindennapi emberré érett férfi gyerekkorát. A stílusos illusztrációk még hatásosabbá teszik a mûvet.
(Stories from Máramarossziget – The Adventures of a Young Boy in Turbulent Times) tells poignant stories of László’s family’s life during and after World War II in Máramarossziget, now located in Northern Romania. Through the Fülöp family’s stories, this stormy period of Hungarian history is placed in a historical and human context. The book’s beautiful illustrations enrich the interest and appeal of each story.
“Even as he is occupied with his childish pranks, the hero of the novel, a ten-year old boy living in Máramarossziget, must increasingly realize that in 1944-45 the history “surrounding him” controls his life in many ways. The author, now living in the United States, describes with genuine humor the childhood of someone who would mature into an extraordinary man, providing us a highly readable account that elicits both smiles and tears.”
The book (in Hungarian) can be ordered from the website of the publisher, Fekete Sas Kiadó, Hungary at http://www.feketesas.hu/shop2/Fulop-G-Laszlo-Maramarosszigeti-tortenetek.html.
Jelző nélküli magyar. Naplójegyzetek 1992-2007
from Gyula Várallyay
Littera Nova Kiadó, Budapest, 2008. 572 oldal, 3490 Ft
András Sándor: Egy jelző nélküli magyar
(Source: Élet és Irodalom, LIII. évfolyam 2. szám, 2009. január 9.)
Sokféle napló van, és ez a napló – egy megkötéssel: „a szigorúan magánjellegű témákat kihagytam a kéziratból" – maga is sokféle. Szerzőjük eseményekről ír, gyakran nagy, de sohasem fárasztó információhátérrel ellátott eseményekről, továbbá arról, amit ezekről gondol, ami róluk képzettársítással eszébe jut, de olykor arról is, amire az adott naptári nap emlékezteti. Ez, úgy tűnik, magára a napló létrejöttére is áll. Az első bejegyzésben olvasható: „Édesanyám ma huszonöt éve halt meg. Az évek során legalább tízszer elkezdtem naplót írni, de most valami belső erő hatott úgy, hogy végül valóban elkezdjem – itt a repülőgépen, egy gyorsírófüzetben, amit a londoni repülőtéren vettem, ahol átszálltunk. Valóban nem előre megfontolt elhatározás volt, hiszen akkor hoztam volna magammal papírt Varsóból, ahol kiküldetésben vagyok, és ahol most lakunk. Nem. Valami mélyről jövő, kifürkészhetetlen ösztönzés hatott végül most, az úton." Magam úgy gondolom, az ösztönzés nem is olyan kifürkészhetetlen, ha az anya halálának 25. évfordulóján lett eredménye. A napló írója, ez újra meg újra kiderül, nagyon is családhoz kötődő, családban gondolkodó ember, az említett repülőgépen is családostól utazik, feleséggel, gyerekekkel. TOVÁBB
Clevelandban még élnek magyarok? Visszaemlékezések gyűjteménye
Title: "Clevelandben még élnek magyarok? Visszaemlékezések gyűjteménye"
Publisher: Hungarian Scout Folk Ensemble
Place of Publication: Cleveland, OH
Year of Publication: 2008
Editor: Endre Szentkiralyi
Teenaged members of Cleveland's Hungarian Scout Folk Ensemble (www.clevelandregos.org) interviewed senior citizens from the Cleveland area's 14 Hungarian churches over the course of the last 5 years. These stories of coming to America, of being born in the old Buckeye Road neighborhood, of weddings, of Christmas and Easter traditions, of harvest festivals, were all transcribed and edited into a paperback book of 176 pages, with over 60 older and newer photos of life in Cleveland's Hungarian ethnic community. The book is all in Hungarian, and includes background information about the group, as well as an introduction written by an professional ethnographic scholar from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in Budapest.
A clevelandi magyar cserkész Regős Csoport tagjai elmentek Cleveland környéke 14 magyar templomához, s ott elbeszélgettek idősebb magyarokkal. Ennek az öt éven keresztül végzett néprajzi gyűjtésnek az anyagát szerkesztették könyvbe, régebbi és modern fényképekkel kiegészítve. Húsvéti, karácsonyi, és esküvői szokások, a régi Buckeye negyedről szóló elbeszélések, Amerikába jövetelek, szüreti mulatságok – több generációs, változatos és színes magyar közösségi életet mutat be a könyv, valamint a huszadik század nagyobb történelmi eseményeit az átlagember szemszögéből nézvén.
"…könyvünkkel szüleink és nagyszüleink múltjáról szeretnénk megemlékezni. Azokat az értékeket és hagyományokat kívánjuk feltárni, amelyeket a Kárpát-medencéből hoztak magukkal, valamint azokat, amelyeket itt, Amerikában nekünk továbbadtak, hiszen ezeket Cleveland magyarjai már több évtizeden keresztül, esetenként majdnem egy évszázada őriznek…"
(176 oldal; ára $12)
Beszédből világ
For a long time, leaders of Hungarian groups in the United States have urged that the responsible parties in Hungary undertake a scientific analysis of the current social and demographic conditions of Hungarian-Americans, their organizations, the way the organizations function, and the size and composition of their membership.
After several years of discussions, the Government decided to fund the task of undertaking a comprehensive survey of Hungarian-American organizations in 2005. The task was assigned to the Teleki László Institute to carry out the planned research project, primarily based on the Institute’s background and expertise in carrying out similar sociological studies on Hungarian minorities in Central Europe.
The book was edited by Attila Z. Papp and was published by the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs in August 2008. The authors of the book are: Gábor Czoch, János Márton, Szilvia Németh, Levente Pakot and Attila Z. Papp. The book is written in Hungarian, but it includes an introduction and a summary in English language.
The book mentions a database of Hungarian American organizations in the United States. The database can be accessed at: http://www.omnibus-srl.ro/pg002.html
You can download the book here.
You can download the English text only here.
Read a review on the book by Béla Nóvé published in "Élet és Irodalom" in Hungarian here.
Emigránsok küldetésben
Emigránsok küldetésben (Immigrants with a mission) – written and edited by Prof. Károly Nagy – is a case study of forty years of volunteer mission by the members of an American Hungarian community in New Jersey, referred to as "one of the most significant Hungarian intellectual workshops of the West" by Prof. György Szépe of Pécs University. Émigré university students of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution founded the Hungarian Alumni Association in 1960 at Rutgers University in NJ. The Association maintained a school and an oral history program, and published ten books. Its lecture series provided a forum for more than 260 outstanding Hungarian writers, scientists and artists from Hungary and from the other countries of the Carpathian Basin. In addition to detailed historic accounts, the richly illustrated volume contains facsimiles of a large number of archival documents including correspondence with government and other officials, newspaper articles and recently declassified secret reports of the Hungarian political police revealing how the communist officials attempted to spy on, to impede and to obstruct the Association`s activities.
The Legacy of the 1956 Revolution, Five Participants Forty Years Later
By Andrew P. Fodor, János Horváth, Béla K. Király, Károly Nagy, and László Papp. Edited by our Coalition members Károly Nagy and Péter Pastor. Published by the Hungarian Alumni Association, 1996. Price per copy: $8.00. To order, please write to the Hungarian Alumni Association, P.O. Box 174, New Brunswick, NJ 08903.
The Fall of the Red Star
By our Coalition member Helen Szablya and Peggy King Anderson, has been awarded first prize by both the Washington Press Association and the National Federation of Press Women. Copies of this historical novel, written for young adults about the 1956 Revolution, can be ordered from the Coalition's Washington office.
Treasury of Hungarian Love Poems, Quotations and Proverbs
In English and Hungarian, edited and translated by our Coalition member Dr. Katherine Gyékényesi Gatto. Original side-by-side with its English translation, this beautiful collection of poems, quotations and proverbs comes from the pens of Hungary's greatest writers. Filled with romantic imagery, they provide a glimpse into Hungarian culture and its approach to affairs of the heart. Poets include Bálint Balassi, Sándor Petõfi, Mihály Vörösmarty, Pál Gyulai, Margit Kaffka, Endre Ady, Miklós Radnóti, Gyula Illyés, and Sándor Weores, among others. You can obtain this book from the following website: amazon.com Our information office ran out of copies of this lovely little book.
Nationalities Papers
The September, 1996 issue of Nationalities Papers is devoted completely to Hungarian minorities in East and Central Europe. This is the first time since the Treaty of Trianon dismembered historic Hungary that a scholarly journal published in the U.S. has devoted this much attention to the "Hungarian Question." The 216 page special volume includes twelve studies, five maps and fourteen tables on the evolution of the region's ethnic/nationality profile. It also includes a chronology of recent events as they relate to the Hungarian communities of East Central Europe. The editor of this volume, Prof. Andrew Ludányi, is a board member of the Coalition. The Coalition has purchased some copies of this volume for its work in educating and informing public officials. If you would like a copy, please write or call the Coalition's office in Washington, DC.
Washington, D.C. Office:
Hungarian American Coalition
1120 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 280
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: (202) 296-9505
Fax: (202) 775-5175
Attention: Mr. János Szekeres