Amerikai Magyar Hírlap, 2013 (25. évfolyam, 1-50. szám)

2013-12-06 / 47. szám

MY ONLY CHOICE - by HELEN M. SZABLYA Hungary, 1942 - 1956 - Book Review -When I met Helen, her name was still ILONA BARTHA­­KOVACS, a beautiful young girl, heiress to the Molnár & Moser perfumarie chain in Europe. The daughter of a doctor, a well estab­lished upper middle class family, who just survived the 2nd World War, and tried to get life rolling again, after the vast destruction by the war. It was after the most desperate inflation in history, when money was worth nothing, food was the only legitimate currency for the country that was run through and robbed from its goods, first by the troops with the Nazi swas­­tica, and then by the “liberating” Soviet forces. The then leader - freshly back from the Soviet ideological indoctrination - Matyas Rakosi’s regime had it’s heydays. The “empire of the workers” had to destroy all that was left from the past, in the name of “building socialism”. Of course, the young ones were to be the “bastion on the front of peace” and had to be indoctrinated by the ideology of Marx, Lenin and Stalin. We were the “golden reserve” who in contradiction, also shot the first bullet against the Soviet socialist regime, in 1956. The well established parochial schools had to be ’’nationalized”, thus, all Catholic and Protestant schools were annihilated, and the students were forced to study together in one over-crowded school building, in the name of “peaceful reeducation”. The younger ones had to join the “Pioneers” movement - for the Scout group activities were erased as a “capitalistic leftover”. Those who belonged to a ’questionable’ background of intellectual, aristocratic or well­­to-do lineage, had to be deported to an unknown, undeveloped place in the country, perhaps as a punishment for the crimes never committed... Well, one day Helen - then Hike - did not come to school. After a few days, we heard, that not only her family, but others were also on the list of deportation to the country. Possibly ALL of us could be on the list! Some of our fathers already have been on the ”B list, of the enemy of the country”, and ex­perienced frightful adventures of the door bells, rung at 2 o’clock at night by the AVO... And now, my friend, Hike was in danger! Am I going to be the next one? I asked myself: Are we never, ever to exchange our little girlish secrets anymore? What is happening? The book, we are talking about, will tell us, in nearly 600 pages, of ALL that happened to her family. She has always been learned in languages - German, and French - During those years we studied Latin, and of course Russian. Some of us started Eng­lish. This well written saga of a family, reminds me of Marga­ret Mitchell’s “Gone With the Wind” reflecting war and peace, family and atrocity, love and romance on Hungarian grounds. The photographs the author presents in the book are priceless. Lucky that those have not been destroyed. As a scholar, she also gives us important images of World hap­penings, and Hungarian history in an informative, yet exciting way. * * * Some of you, who lived through those irreparably harsh times, will sympathize with Helen. But those of you, who are younger, and never experi­enced oppression, will have a lively, firsthand experience of the terror, by reading her book. Like a dear Grandmother - she leads us through those dark days, when you were suspicious, even of your best friend, not to say any­thing that might be brought up against you - gently, to the days of her starting her own family. Plausibly, she and her husband- Dr. John Szablya, a scholar in electrical engineering - raised seven children - and their children- in freedom, after seeking refuge in the United States, in 1957. As an experienced writer, Helen authored books on the 1956 Revolution, and other sub­jects. She is an expert on history and published papers in several languages. She is now fulfilling her active duties as the Honorable Consul General of Hungary, for WA, OR and ID, based in Seattle. The book is available from amazon.com, or can be ordered from any of your favorite book­stores, also in Kindle, or e-book form. Dedicated copies from author: szablyahj@aol.com . Author’s webpage: www.helenmszablya.com. Judith Pfeiffer Nesleny classmate, friend and “sorstárs” Helen M. Szablya, Honorary Consul General of Hungary for WA, OR, and ID, based in Seattle, and Past President of the Washington Press Association, is an award-winning author, col­umnist, translator, and lecturer. She has two university degrees, speaks six languages, and many of her more than 700 publications have won awards. Helen co-authored “Hungary Remembered”, an award-winning, oral history drama/lecture series for the 30th anniversary of the Hungarian Uprising, and “The Fall Of The Red Star,” an award-wining novel based on true stories of an ille­gal scout troop during the 1956 Hungarian Uprising, published for its 40th anniversary. Her newest book “My Only Choice 1942-1956 Hungary” is the story of her life and through that the story of her native land, as seen by a 7-year old growing up and becoming a mother of three. Szablya recently received the Presidential Order of Merit of Hungary for her consular and cultural work and the Spirit of Liberty award from the Ethnic Heritage Council. Szablya and her late husband, John, escaped Hungary and Communism in 1956 with two toddlers and a newborn. They have seven children, 16 grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. 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