In Hungary at War, Cecil Eby has compiled a historical chronicle of Hungary's wartime experiences based on interviews with nearly a hundred people who lived through those years. Here are officers and common soldiers, Jewish survivors of Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen concentration camps, pilots of the Royal Hungarian Air Force, Hungarian prisoners of war in Russian labor camps, and a host of others. We meet the apologists for the Horthy regime installed by Hitler and the activists who sought to overthrow it, and we relive the Red Army's siege of Budapest during the harsh winter of 1944-45 through the memories of ordinary citizens trapped there. Most of the accounts shared here have never been told to anyone outside the subjects' families. We learn of a woman, Ilona Joo, who survived in a cellar while German and Russian armies used her house and garden as a battleground, and of the remarkable Merenyi sisters, who trekked home to Budapest after being freed from Bergen-Belsen. Eby has also included a rare interview with a former member of the Arrow Cross, Hungary's fascist party, that sheds new light on its leadership. From these personal accounts, Eby draws readers into the larger themes of the tragedy of war and the consequences of individual actions in moments of crisis. Skillfully integrating oral testimony with historical exposition, Hungary at War reveals the knot of ideological, economic, and ethnic attachments that entangled the lives of so many Hungarians. The result is an absorbing narrative that is a fitting testament to a nation buffeted by external forces beyond its capacity to control.
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About the Author
Cecil D. Eby is a retired Professor of English at the University of Michigan. He is the author of eight books, including Comrades and Commissars: The Lincoln Battalion in the Spanish Civil War (Penn State, 2006).
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Wonderful interviews with people who have lived through Hungary's traumatic past. Engagingly written even if the syntax is sometimes a bit tortured. But on the whole it offers a lot of insight and clarity into a complicated history and people's responses to situations so beyond their control.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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4.0 out of 5 stars
4 reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
This book satisfies both emotionally and intellectually.
15 Sep 1999
By A Customer
- Published on Amazon.com
Dr. Eby balances the human tradegy with detailed historical facts to produce a very readable account of the fate of Hungary during and immediately proceeding WWII. Alot of the book is written in narrative form - detailed accounts of soldiers and civilians personal experiences. Some of the material is tough to read, not due to the writing, rather the brutal nature of subject.
Historians who are familiar with the period, may find a lot of repetition of the historical facts. This is due to the use of narratives - each story stands alone, the reader does not have to refer back to previous chapters.
Dr. Eby is also to be commended for his balance and objectivity. He covers a cast of characters with a very even hand.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent History
15 May 2013
By Sandy
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The experiences of Hungarians in WWII were devastating. This book gives personal reports and clearly depicts the horrors suffered by the Hungarians.
Eby's introduction is especially helpful in understanding the situation in Hungary.
Eby's introduction is especially helpful in understanding the situation in Hungary.
5.0 out of 5 stars
An authentic panorama of the human aspects the war
20 Dec 2011
By Endre B. Gastony
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Professor Eby invested an impressive amount of time and effort in gathering a mountain of information about the experiences of hundreds of Hungarians, civilians and soldiers alike. The book's coverage of the various aspects of wartime life is enviable. The result is an authentic and convincing panorama of the Magyar public's ordeals during that horrible period. As a survivor of those events, let me say that the reader has an impression of "being there," which is not a small accomplishment for any author.
No, the book does not claim to be a general military history, nor does it pretend to provide an accurate account of some of the specific historical events woven into the fabric of the individual anecdotes. For that sort of information you must look elsewhere. But if you are interested in learning about the lives of ordinary people -tragic, ironic, and even humorous- then I highly recommend this truly fine work to you, despite two Soviet soldiers glaring at us from the front cover.
No, the book does not claim to be a general military history, nor does it pretend to provide an accurate account of some of the specific historical events woven into the fabric of the individual anecdotes. For that sort of information you must look elsewhere. But if you are interested in learning about the lives of ordinary people -tragic, ironic, and even humorous- then I highly recommend this truly fine work to you, despite two Soviet soldiers glaring at us from the front cover.
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