Masquerade: Dancing Around Death in Nazi Occupied Hungary [Hardcover]

Tivadar Soros (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 10, 2001

The Nazis came late to Hungary because, until early 1944, Germany and Hungary were uneasy allies. But when they did arrive, their orders were to put the final solution into effect with all due speed. This unique account of survival is told by a Budapest lawyer who secured fake identities for himself and his family following the invasion of the Germans in March 1944. Soros views his experiences with a beguiling humor, deep humanity, and a wisdom that is humbling. Masquerade is a very personal, low-key testament of the Holocaust, of how one man managed not only to escape, but to retain his integrity, compassion, family unity, and humor by dancing around death.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A hopeful book about the Holocaust is a rare find. Billionaire financier George Soros, the author's son, is known for his optimistic, bold philanthropical support of open societies in post-Communist Eastern Europe. After reading this sober but surprisingly cheerful memoir, it's clear where George got these traits. Few Holocaust memoirs begin with statements like "Life is beautiful and full of variety and adventure. But luck must be on your side." But survival took wiles and connections as well. As life worsened for Hungarian Jews in 1944, Soros, a Budapest lawyer, managed to find false Christian papers and hiding places for his family. The Soroses struggled daily against possible discovery and death. Soros relates the fascinating details of his search for hiding places and skilled document forgers. The book's remarkable, upbeat tone predominates: even as Hungary falls to homegrown fascists and his acquaintances are killed, Soros views his travails as a game he will win. The book is a tribute to the power of the individual to maneuver through devastating, dangerous circumstances. Originally published in Esperanto in 1965 (the author died in 1986), the book was recently rediscovered by Paul Soros's daughter-in-law. Those interested in the Holocaust and in the psychology of survival will find it compelling, as will those seeking inspiration. Eight pages b&w photos not seen by PW. (Sept.) Forecast: Name-recognition and national TV and radio interviews will jump-start the 25,ooo-copy first printing, and the book's genuine appeal will sustain respectable sales.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

For European Jews, surviving the plague of Nazism that swept the continent in the first half of the 20th century became a test of resourcefulness, ingenuity, and sometimes just plain chutzpah. When the fascists took over Hungary in 1944, Soros was a Jewish lawyer with a family and friends. Under his strong guidance, his family voluntarily ceased to exist as Jews. Forging new identity papers, they adopted the guise of Christians and dispersed themselves throughout Budapest and beyond, dropping out of sight by blending into the background. With humor and wisdom, Soros tells the story of how he and his family managed to live relatively normal lives during the 11 months of fascist occupation, even while many around them were arrested and killed. This is an intelligently written narrative that is both compelling and uncomfortable, an autobiographical account that is like Anne Frank's diary but less poignant and more optimistic: the Soros family did, after all, survive. Recommended for all public and academic libraries. [Soros, father of philanthropist George Soros, fled West with his family at the time of the Hungarian revolution and lived in New York until his death in 1968. His book was originally written in Esperanto and is now appearing for the first time in English. Ed.] Michael F. Russo, Louisiana State Univ. Libs., Baton Roug.
- Michael F. Russo, Louisiana State Univ. Libs., Baton Rouge
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Arcade Publishing; 1st Ed. (U.S.) edition (September 10, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1559705817
• ISBN-13: 978-1559705813
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #320,178 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outwitting the Hungarian Holocaust like a Secret Agent!, August 6, 2001

By 

Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 109,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Masquerade: Dancing Around Death in Nazi Occupied Hungary (Hardcover)

This book will add another view of the Holocaust that few have seen before. When I told my wife I was reading the book, she said, "Isn't it depressing?" Naturally, any book that comes close to so much unnecessary loss of life will make the reader sad, and that is appropriate. On balance, though, this book will probably leave you feeling more optimistic than you were about what can be accomplished by well-meaning people.

Tivadar Soros was a Jewish lawyer in Budapest when the second world war began. Hungary had been an ally of Austria, so the Nazis did not occupy the country until March 19, 1944 as they began to fear betrayal behind their retreating forces in the Soviet Union and the Balkens. The country was liberated by the Soviets in January 1945. Unfortunately, the Nazis used this ten-month period to murder as many Hungarian Jews as possible.

But Mr. Soros also had had an unusual experience earlier. He had been a prison of war in Siberia during World War I. From that experience, he had learned that those who are prominent are in danger from totalitarianism, after seeing the prisoners' represenative shot to terrify the prisoners. Mr. Soros had been offered that "honor" just recently and had declined. He soon escaped from the prison camp, and had a most difficult time getting back to Hungary through the midst of the Russian Revolution. Where he had been idealistic and vocal before World War I, he came back determined to enjoy each day as though it might be his last. This exasperated his wife, who knew he could accomplish more.

This perspective served him well when the Nazi occupation arrived. As in other countries, the Nazis relied on Jews to follow orders. There was a Jewish Council whose families were exempt from the deportations who helped organize others into the death camps and ghettos. Many people voluntarily wore the yellow star. Wanting to cut off the potential leaders, one of the first groups being rounded up were lawyers. This was being done in alphabetical order, so Mr. Soros had a little time to prepare. Rather than complying (as did over 600 Jewish lawyers from Budapest who were killed in the Holocaust), Mr. Soros decided to resist. He quickly justified this on the moral grounds of self-defense.

Deprived of his livelihood and his property, Mr. Soros decided to use camouflage to protect his family (wife, two sons, and mother-in-law) by pretending to be Christians under assumed names. Although he knew nothing about how to undertake such a deception, he soon learned to acquire forged and real papers. He also shared what he learned with anyone who asked for his help. Those who were wealthy, he charged as much as he could. Everyone else, he either charged nothing or only what forged documents cost him.

To be safest, the family continually lived apart from one another, meeting occasionally for coffee or a swim, and moved frequently. He helped them learn their "cover stories" and helped them practice how to react if braced by Nazis.

There are many surprises in the book. Mr. Soros occasionally called on "Christians" for help who turned out to be other Jews using false papers. Some actual Christians took up wearing the yellow star, and the Nazis left them alone. While many people would not help, few turned Jews in to the Nazis. Some people would help for either profit or humanitarian reasons. You just had to keep looking until you found them. Most lost their nerve eventually and were either caught or stopped helping.

Mr. Soros estimates that about 5 percent of all Jews in Budapest eventually obtained false papers. He also describes what happened to those who tried other ways out, like bribing Nazis such as Eichmann.

The book is far more compelling than any spy novel I have ever read. It is also more inspiring because it shows what a committed "victim" of an evil regime can do. While other books portray Jews as being tough in concentration camps or in the Warsaw Ghetto, secretly hiding out in attics owned by friends, and being slaughtered, this one shows the side of a vigilent self-defense operating from an immediate defiance of the illegitimate authorities. This model needs to be well understood by everyone.

Contemporary readers will also be fascinated to read about the rest of Mr. Soros's family, which includes the then 14-year-old George, who is now one of the world's richest men and famed fighter against totalitarian regimes. What an incredible family! The book also contains introductory comments by both sons, which will interest you as they recount the remarkable father they knew whom you will meet in this amazing book.

The book was originally written in Esperanto, and was only recently translated into English for the first time.

Everyone who wants to prevent future Holocausts must read this book!

After you finish reading it, think about what you could do today to help someone else retain or gain their freedom and safety from injustice.

Be prepared to save yourself . . . when all else fails! Saving someone else today increases your allies for tomorrow!

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring Tales of Holocaust Survival, January 9, 2002

By 

R. Hardy "Rob Hardy" (Columbus, Mississippi USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Masquerade: Dancing Around Death in Nazi Occupied Hungary (Hardcover)

"Life is beautiful - and full of variety and adventure. But luck must be on your side." So begins a remarkable memoir of Jewish life under the Nazis in Hungary, _Masquerade: Dancing Around Death in Nazi-Occupied Hungary_ (Arcade) by Tivadar Soros. Soros was a thoroughly remarkable man who certainly had variety and adventure in his life, and his share of luck. There are many accounts of the horrors of the Holocaust, and Soros certainly does not minimize the death and terror that he witnessed. Unlike many such accounts, however, this is a story of optimism and triumph. Soros and all his family survived.

His memoir begins in 1944 when the Nazis occupied Germany. Soros realized that "Since we can't stand up to Hitler's fury, we must hide from it." He and his family hid, but since they had to be seen in order to take care of daily needs, they took on the aspects of Christians. This involved his forming close relationships with a series of forgers, and once he took care of his immediate family's documents, he took care of other relatives, and then friends, and clients. "If anyone asked for my help, one of my principles in life was never to say no - if only to avoid diminishing their faith in human beings." Amidst narrow escapes and harrowing close calls, Soros kept a sense of humor which frequently emerges on these pages. As a "Christian," Soros was able to obtain cigarettes when those were denied to Jews, and since he didn't smoke, he would leave them at a watchmaker's, so that people with stars could get some. He went to the watchmaker to get his watch fixed, and asked the price. "How can you ask such a thing? It's on the house," the watchmaker said, and then whispered to the woman working beside him, "This is the Christian gentleman who brings us the cigarettes, you know." Soros says, "At least the Jews got to see that there were still a few decent Christians." Much of the humor is tinged with humane sadness; according to one of his sons, Soros used to say, "It is amazing how well people can bear the suffering of others."

This wonderful memoir has been in print before. Soros, that practical idealist, as an Esperantist wrote the original in Esperanto in 1965, three years before his death. In libraries of Esperantists the book has been an outstanding volume from the literature the planned language has produced. It is here translated by Humphrey Tonkin, a linguist whose name is familiar to all American Esperantists. It includes brief, loving memoirs by his sons, one of whom, George, has become one of the world's richest and most influential people. If there is room on your shelves for history with hope, written by a thoroughly humane and lovable man, this book is perfect.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A window into a warped world, November 11, 2002

By 

Bradley Kulman (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Masquerade: Dancing Around Death in Nazi Occupied Hungary (Hardcover)

I lived in Budapest for several years and became fascinated by the stories of those brave souls who survived there through the trials of the last century. This recently translated memoire is one of the best. Mr. Soros is able to convey convincingly his experiences in Budapest during the last years of WWII. Like the best memoires, it offers a window into the mind and thoughts of the author in a way which rings true and resonates with the reader. For those who are interested by the human experience in this period of history, this is a must read.