Hungary at War: Civilians and Soldiers in World War II [Paperback]

Cecil D. Eby (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 1998

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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Very little has been written in English about the role of Hungary in World War II. Cecil D. Eby . . . moves part of the way toward filling the gap in Hungary at War. This is an oral history, composed of a series of interviews that Eby conducted in Hungary in 1989 and 1996. . . . These firsthand accounts of life in Hungary during the war are both interesting and informative. Eby summarizes rather than quotes the interviews, bringing them together into a clear and flowing narrative. --Virginia Quarterly Review

Whether Eby's judgments on individuals and particular military operations are fair can only be evaluated by someone who has engaged the same huge body of new research material. Right now, Comrades and Commissars is by far the most comprehensive single work on the Lincoln Battalion in the Spanish Civil War. --Robert A. Rosenstone, Journal of American History --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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).

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Pennsylvania State University Press (February 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0271032448
• ISBN-13: 978-0271032443
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,226,340 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book satisfies both emotionally and intellectually., September 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Hungary at War : Civilians and Soldiers in World War II (Hardcover)

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 An authentic panorama of the human aspects the war, December 19, 2011

By 

Endre B. Gastony (Venice, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Hungary at War: Civilians and Soldiers in World War II (Paperback)

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.

2 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Hungary at war; civilians and soldiers in world war II, November 2, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Hungary at War: Civilians and Soldiers in World War II (Hardcover)

The book is overpriced, the author is misinformed about many facts,and repeating himself throughout...unfortunately it is a very poorly written, mostly fictionus work. I do not recommend it to anyone, who is really interested in this period.
I gave it one star!!