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Kitty Gogins

My Flag Grew Stars: World War II Refugees' Journey to America Paperback – November 4, 2009

by Kitty Gogins (Author)

16 ratings

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Homeland destroyed, teenagers Olga Wagner and Tibor Zoltai independently flee Hungary near the end of World War II, carrying only rucksacks. Olga’s family escapes minutes ahead of advancing Russian troops. Tibor, conscripted by the Germans, almost dies as an American prisoner of war. Their experiences as citizens on the losing side provide a unique perspective of war, the actions of Americans, and the daily fight of refugees to survive. My Flag Grew Stars follows Tibor and Olga’s search for a new land to call home. Escaping war-torn Europe, they work as indentured agricultural servants in Canada, then embark together on a cultural journey to become Americans. Excited and perplexed by their new world, Tibor and Olga must decide which old ways to abandon and which are core to who they are. Through perseverance and creativity, they learn how to thrive, Tibor as a world-renowned professor and Olga counseling refugees, earning the title of “area immigrants’ patron saint.”

Print length

316 pages
Language

English
Publication date

November 4, 2009
Dimensions

6 x 0.72 x 9 inches
ISBN-10

1439258198
ISBN-13

978-1439258194
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

KITTY GOGINS has been fascinated from an early age with her parents’ journey to become Americans. She weaves a unique perspective into this compelling refugee story through her training in the psychology of change and twenty-five years of leading strategic change in Fortune 500 companies and nonprofits.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ BookSurge Publishing (November 4, 2009)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 316 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1439258198
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1439258194
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.9 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.72 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #491,604 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #66 in 20th Century Canadian History
- #94 in Canadian Historical Biographies
- #11,070 in U.S. State & Local History

Customer Reviews:
16 ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

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Tracy Moore

Best read all winter!

Reviewed in the United States on March 21, 2021

Verified Purchase

Amazing story of two families fleeing war torn Hungary, their struggles and determination to make it to Canada. An easy read that evoked many emotions and provided a look into world of displaced peoples and the importance of seeing the joy.

Helpful

Olga Verro

It is a compelling narrative about displaced persons in World War Two

Reviewed in the United States on October 17, 2010

Verified Purchase

My Flag Grew Stars: World War II Refugees Journey to America is a compelling narrative of danger and fear of two young people, Olga and Tibor, who flee their homeland Hungary from the advancing Red Army in 1945 as it pushed the occupying Nazi forces west. As the story tells: "They had to act quickly or be in the hands of the advancing Russian soldiers, soldiers known to brutalize and rape fleeing Hungarians."
Overcoming many obstacles and hunger they succeeded to reach the territory under the control of the Allies.

It is the story of millions of displaced persons at the end of the World War II in Europe, yet it is unique, of Olga and Tibor, who's enduring human spirit prevails against all odds and they built their new fulfilling and productive lives in the country sought by millions, America. It is a book that the new generations of Americans should read in order not to forget what displaced persons endured during the war that swept Europe in not so distant past.

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

Davep557

An excellent description of two Hungarian families' experiences during and after WW II and their lives in N. America.

Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2013

Verified Purchase

A very well written account of two young Hungarians' experiences near the end of WW II and how they overcame many adversities to successfully emigrated, first to Canada and later to the USA. It details the problems that the two families experienced in delightful detail. It mirrors in many ways the experiences of my wife's family, including living in some of the same DP camps on Austria and ending up in Toronto. Anyone interested in the plight of refugees after WW II or anyone searching for more info about the experiences of their parents or grandparents during and after the war will find it a book that is hard to put down. the author has done an excellent

Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2011

Verified Purchase

I went to high school with the author of this book and found out about it at our reunion. It sounded interesting so I purchased and read the book. I did not really know what to expect but I really enjoyed the book. It went into great detail about the lives of these 2 people and their families and how they felt and lived during the end of WW II when their country was first taken over by Germany and then by Russia. I did not really know much about the role that Hungary played in the war so I found it interesting in an historical context. I was amazed at how much information was included as well as the very personal story of Kitty's parents.
It was very well written and really showed the emotion and feelings of 2 families being forced to move from their native country and traveling first to Canada and then the US.
I highly recomend it.

Helpful

John Angst

Olga and Tibor Zoltai

Reviewed in the United States on November 10, 2009

Verified Purchase

The principals of this book make for a very compelling story. The Zoltais embody the best definition of Immigrant America. I look forward to receiving my copy
from Amazon.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Marc Schuster

A New Perspective on the American Dream

Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 2010

My Flag Grew Stars by Kitty Gogins recounts the events that brought the author's parents to the United States in the wake of World War II. What makes this book especially interesting, however, is that Gogins' father, Tibor Zoltani, was conscripted to serve in the German Luftwaffe and subsequently held as a POW by Allied forces at the height of the war. Yet even though Tibor's story is far from typical, it speaks to issues that displaced persons of every stripe can likely relate to. Most notably, it is a story of adaptation, of deciding how much of the past to hold on to and what to relinquish in the never-ending process of cultural assimilation. In this sense, My Flag Grew Stars falls in line with the grand tradition of works that examine what it means to come to America -- works ranging from Theodore Dreiser's "Old Rogaum and his Theresa" to more recent works like Mark McGinty's The Cigar Maker . That Gogins is relating a true story makes it all the more compelling, and her attention to detail -- both physical and emotional -- vividly brings her family's history to life.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

R. Mandics

A wonderful love story set against the saga of WII History

Reviewed in the United States on February 4, 2010

Kitty Gogins has collected the many memorable stories in this wonderful book over a lifetime of first hand accounts from her parents, Tibor & Olga and a wide community of family and friends. Although the love story of Tbor & Olga which plays out to a backdrop of Word War II Europe and post war North America has all the elements of an exciting and compelling novel, it in fact an entirely factual account based on accurate history. Kitty skillfully narrates the horror of the war that her teen-aged parents were caught up in, the exciting story of their separate passages to the New World, and how they were re-united after many years which were full of danger and peril for both of them. Equally inspiring is the continuation of the story as Tibor & Olga's love sustains them through the back breaking toil of beet harvesting in the rugged agricultural country of Canada. Continuing against all odds, Tibor presses on to achieve his Doctorate from MIT and becomes a department head at the University of Minnesota, mentoring hundreds of students over several decades in his chosen field of Mineralogy. Olga becomes one of the guiding lights of the International Institute in Minnesota and remembering her own immigrant experience, helps thousands of new immigrants from all over the world find their way upon arrival on these shores.
Whether you want to read a touching love story, learn new and fascinating details of World War II history or be inspired by a classic story of North American immigrants persevering through to wonderful success all the while giving back to their country and community, I urge you to buy this book for yourself, a friend or relative. I promise reading it will be a rewarding experience.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Punky

Perseverance

Reviewed in the United States on August 27, 2010

The lives of these families show the endurance of the human spirit. Their lives during the war, their stuggles after the war, and their stuggles as immagrants can help us all to realize the strength that is often necessary to survive. At this time in the life of the United States, it is also a helpful look into the struggles that immigrants face when they must learn new languages and face new cultures. It is often difficult for those of us who have never faced that challenge to even imagine how diffucult that it can be.

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