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Hungarian Patchwork: Journeys of Seven Jews from Fascism to Communism to Freedom
They survived the Holocaust as children.
They came of age in a communist, totalitarian nation that still hated Jews.
Some participated in the 1956 Hungarian uprising against the Soviets.
All fled to the West. Six remained in the U.S. where they rebuilt their lives.
One held onto her dream of becoming an Olympic medalist. Her dream came true.
In this often-riveting compilation, seven Hungarian Jews recollect their journeys surviving the Holocaust as children and then coming of age in post-war, communist, anti-Semitic Hungary. Six go on to describe finding freedom in the West. This collection includes accounts by Olympic gold medalist swimmer Éva Székely. An introduction by the editors, Susan V. Meschel and Peter Tarjan, provides a historical overview of anti-Semitism in Hungary, the takeover by the Nazis and Hungarian fascists, life under communism for Jewish students, and the 1956 Hungarian uprising as an opportunity to escape to the West. An afterword by Joshua Tarjan, Peter Tarjan’s son, offers a second generation take on the trauma and psychological scarring endured by the authors.
Praise for Hungarian Patchwork :
In my position of Teacher Training and Curriculum Support Specialist for the 3rd largest school district in the U.S., I am always on the search for important 1st person testimonies of Holocaust Survivors. Thus I am pleased to recommend the new publication of Hungarian Patchwork , an excellent compilation written and edited by Dr. Peter Tarjan and Dr. Susan Meschel. [...] What an excellent new resource for high school teachers, college students and professors at universities who are studying the history of the Holocaust. I highly recommend this fine work.
— Dr. Miriam Klein Kassenoff
Director, Holocaust Teacher Education Institute, School of Education, University of Miami, Florida
District Education Specialist / Holocaust Education, Miami-Dade County Public Schools
For the reader, as with all Holocaust-based narratives, it is almost impossible to grasp the magnitude of terror, suffering and loss endured by each of the protagonists. And yet, ultimately every story leaves one with the threads of hope intact, as collectively the compilation definitively conveys the human imperative to survive catastrophe and move forward toward a future of meaning and purpose. [...] Congratulations to Dr. Tarjan and Dr. Meschel for this fine volume. It is a profoundly important addition to the body of first-person survivor accounts and must be read.
— Dr. Mindy S. Hersh, Senior Executive Producer, My Survivor
Hungarian Patchwork bears witness to the resilience of the human spirit. It also shows the reader the importance of welcoming the immigrant who comes to a democratic nation eager to live a life of freedom. I highly recommend this significant work.
— Merle R. Saferstein, former director of education at the Holocaust Documentation and Education Center and author of Living and Leaving My Legacy , Vols. I and II.
I highly recommend for publication Hungarian Patchwork … The chapters are moving and educational and even suspenseful. […] Each chapter testifies to the resilience of the human the future Olympian swimmer who climbed steps and did calisthenics even as she endured starvation; the ingenuity of children to find simple pleasures to enjoy while every day facing unspeakable dangers to them and their parents and siblings. […] A wise Afterword focuses on [the Holocaust's] lasting traumatic impact on the youngest survivors. […] This volume is a tribute to immigrants and to their spirit, and to the American dream …
— Rabbi Elliot B. Gertel, Rabbi Emeritus, Congregation Rodfei Zedek, Hyde Park, Chicago
Published under the academic auspices of the University of Miami's Sue and Leonard Miller Center for Contemporary Judaic Studies and The George Feldenkreis Program in Judaic Studies.
They came of age in a communist, totalitarian nation that still hated Jews.
Some participated in the 1956 Hungarian uprising against the Soviets.
All fled to the West. Six remained in the U.S. where they rebuilt their lives.
One held onto her dream of becoming an Olympic medalist. Her dream came true.
In this often-riveting compilation, seven Hungarian Jews recollect their journeys surviving the Holocaust as children and then coming of age in post-war, communist, anti-Semitic Hungary. Six go on to describe finding freedom in the West. This collection includes accounts by Olympic gold medalist swimmer Éva Székely. An introduction by the editors, Susan V. Meschel and Peter Tarjan, provides a historical overview of anti-Semitism in Hungary, the takeover by the Nazis and Hungarian fascists, life under communism for Jewish students, and the 1956 Hungarian uprising as an opportunity to escape to the West. An afterword by Joshua Tarjan, Peter Tarjan’s son, offers a second generation take on the trauma and psychological scarring endured by the authors.
Praise for Hungarian Patchwork :
In my position of Teacher Training and Curriculum Support Specialist for the 3rd largest school district in the U.S., I am always on the search for important 1st person testimonies of Holocaust Survivors. Thus I am pleased to recommend the new publication of Hungarian Patchwork , an excellent compilation written and edited by Dr. Peter Tarjan and Dr. Susan Meschel. [...] What an excellent new resource for high school teachers, college students and professors at universities who are studying the history of the Holocaust. I highly recommend this fine work.
— Dr. Miriam Klein Kassenoff
Director, Holocaust Teacher Education Institute, School of Education, University of Miami, Florida
District Education Specialist / Holocaust Education, Miami-Dade County Public Schools
For the reader, as with all Holocaust-based narratives, it is almost impossible to grasp the magnitude of terror, suffering and loss endured by each of the protagonists. And yet, ultimately every story leaves one with the threads of hope intact, as collectively the compilation definitively conveys the human imperative to survive catastrophe and move forward toward a future of meaning and purpose. [...] Congratulations to Dr. Tarjan and Dr. Meschel for this fine volume. It is a profoundly important addition to the body of first-person survivor accounts and must be read.
— Dr. Mindy S. Hersh, Senior Executive Producer, My Survivor
Hungarian Patchwork bears witness to the resilience of the human spirit. It also shows the reader the importance of welcoming the immigrant who comes to a democratic nation eager to live a life of freedom. I highly recommend this significant work.
— Merle R. Saferstein, former director of education at the Holocaust Documentation and Education Center and author of Living and Leaving My Legacy , Vols. I and II.
I highly recommend for publication Hungarian Patchwork … The chapters are moving and educational and even suspenseful. […] Each chapter testifies to the resilience of the human the future Olympian swimmer who climbed steps and did calisthenics even as she endured starvation; the ingenuity of children to find simple pleasures to enjoy while every day facing unspeakable dangers to them and their parents and siblings. […] A wise Afterword focuses on [the Holocaust's] lasting traumatic impact on the youngest survivors. […] This volume is a tribute to immigrants and to their spirit, and to the American dream …
— Rabbi Elliot B. Gertel, Rabbi Emeritus, Congregation Rodfei Zedek, Hyde Park, Chicago
Published under the academic auspices of the University of Miami's Sue and Leonard Miller Center for Contemporary Judaic Studies and The George Feldenkreis Program in Judaic Studies.
278 pages, Paperback
Published August 31, 2023
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