Imre Nagy, Martyr of the Nation: Contested History, Legitimacy, and Popular Memory in Hungary

by Karl P. Benziger

Overview

Imre Nagy is a compelling figure both in life and in death_one whose actions stimulated consequences in Hungary that continue into the present. Providing a summary review of Hungarian Cold War history, Benziger examines the ways in which the memory of the martyred prime minister and the story of the 1956 Revolution influenced political socialization in Hungary. The book begins with Nagy's 1989 funeral and the role memorialization played in the politics of transition, continuing with a review of the important personages and events that informed Nagy's life and afterlife, and it concludes in the tumultuous politics following the establishment of the Republic in 1989. Readers interested in Central and Eastern Europe will find this book useful as it expands the literature on history and memory, and transition politics in the region.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780739123317
Publisher:	Lexington Books
Publication date:	03/15/2010
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	218
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.12(h) x 0.63(d)

About the Author

Karl P. Benziger is an associate professor in the Department of History at Rhode Island College.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction
Chapter 2 The Funeral of Imre Nagy: The Meaning of 1956 in 1989
Chapter 3 An Unlikely Hero
Chapter 4 Imre Nagy and the Revolution of 1956: A Fatal Gamble
Chapter 5 Reaction, Compromise, Tentative Legitimacy
Chapter 6 The Demand for Memorial
Chapter 7 The Imre Nagy Bill and the Politics of Memory
Chapter 8 Imre Nagy, Textbooks, and the Next Generation
Chapter 9 Epilogue: Restless Heroes and the Continued Debate over History and Memory

Editorial Reviews

Well researched and documented.... Scholars interested in Hungarian historiography and post-Cold War politics will find this work most useful. Highly recommended.

April 2009 Choice Reviews

'He who controls the past controls the future,' George Orwell wrote in Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984), 'and he who controls the present controls the past.' Karl P. Benziger, the author of this thoughtful look at the often politicized memories and assessments of Imre Negy, prime minister of Hungary during the 1956 Revolution, does not allow any of them to prejudice his own view.

American Historical Review, October 2009 - Lee Congdon

Well researched and documented.... Scholars interested in Hungarian historiography and post-Cold War politics will find this work most useful. Highly recommended.

April 2009 Choice

'He who controls the past controls the future, ' George Orwell wrote in Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984), 'and he who controls the present controls the past.' Karl P. Benziger, the author of this thoughtful look at the often politicized memories and assessments of Imre Negy, prime minister of Hungary during the 1956 Revolution, does not allow any of them to prejudice his own view.--Lee Congdon, James Madison University "American Historical Review, October 2009 "

Benziger's book is an important and welcome contribution to the study of the contested public memory of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution and War of Independence in Hungary. It explains how the Kádár regime manufactured an 'alternative history' of the Revolution and its leader, Imre Nagy, and how this set of lies continues to function as a 'historical alternative' in contemporary Hungarian politics and society. Especially welcome is Benziger's survey of how the Revolution is taught in Hungarian secondary schools, and how the artificially sustained debate led to the Budapest street riots on the 50th anniversary of the Revolution.--Tibor Glant, author of Remember Hungary 1956: Essays on the Hungarian Revolution and War of Independence in American Memory

Well researched and documented.... Scholars interested in Hungarian historiography and post-Cold War politics will find this work most useful. Highly recommended.--CHOICE, April 2009

From the Publisher

Well researched and documented.... Scholars interested in Hungarian historiography and post-Cold War politics will find this work most useful. Highly recommended.

April 2009 CHOICE

'He who controls the past controls the future,' George Orwell wrote in Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984), 'and he who controls the present controls the past.' Karl P. Benziger, the author of this thoughtful look at the often politicized memories and assessments of Imre Negy, prime minister of Hungary during the 1956 Revolution, does not allow any of them to prejudice his own view.

Lee Congdonn Historical Review

The book is a welcome addition to the growing body of literature about the processes by which former communist countries have grappled with their pasts. Imre Nagy, Marytr of the Nation is well worth reading and encourages reflection on the evolution of Hungarian historiography.

Canadian Journal of History

The book is a welcome addition to the growing body of literature about the processes by which former Communist countries have grappled with their pasts to produce a more realistic and coherent history for new generations to digest

Imre Nagy: Martyr of the Nation is well worth reading and encourages reflection on the evolution of Hungarian historiography.

Austrian History Yearbook

Benziger's book is an important and welcome contribution to the study of the contested public memory of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution and War of Independence in Hungary. It explains how the Kádár regime manufactured an 'alternative history' of the Revolution and its leader, Imre Nagy, and how this set of lies continues to function as a 'historical alternative' in contemporary Hungarian politics and society. Especially welcome is Benziger's survey of how the Revolution is taught in Hungarian secondary schools, and how the artificially sustained debate led to the Budapest street riots on the 50th anniversary of the Revolution.

Tibor Glant

Drawing upon the world of Janos M. Ranier, Nagy's biographer, and other Hungarian scholars, Benziger guides readers through the tumultuous days of revolition, a period that witnessed Nagy's second prime ministry and his ever greater awareness that the NewCourse was no longer enough....original....

American Historical Review

Well researched and documented.... Scholars interested in Hungarian historiography and post-Cold War politics will find this work most useful. Highly recommended.

Choice Reviews

Drawing upon the world of Janos M. Ranier, Nagy's biographer, and other Hungarian scholars, Benziger guides readers through the tumultuous days of revolition, a period that witnessed Nagy's second prime ministry and his ever greater awareness that the NewCourse was no longer enough....original....

October 2009 American Historical Review

'He who controls the past controls the future,' George Orwell wrote in Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984), 'and he who controls the present controls the past.' Karl P. Benziger, the author of this thoughtful look at the often politicized memories and assessments of Imre Negy, prime minister of Hungary during the 1956 Revolution, does not allow any of them to prejudice his own view.

October 2009 Lee Congdonn Historical Review