THE STRUGGLE BEHIND THE IRON CURTAIN

by Fereno Nagy ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 9, 1948

Nagy, one time prime minister of Hungary, and leader of the peasant party, the Smallholder, has been a question mark in European politics. This is his story- a convincing presentation of his reasons for taking his part in a government slowly, but inexorably, swinging into the Soviet orbit. He takes the reader back to his boyhood in a Hungarian village, his share in community life and recognition of the importance of the new peasant movement, his contribution- with Tildy- in organizing the new Independent Smallholder Party, in fighting the first signs of National Socialism. Then the war- and the period of German occupation- his own term as prisoner of the Gestapo- the coming of the Red Army, and the disillusionment, as they found this a horde, a new police force. His analysis of the pattern of Soviet occupation, the steps by which the country, striving to rise above its wreckage, was gradually stripped and taken over; his own reluctance to serve in the Cabinet, but acceptance, hoping that the coalition government could keep the balance. And then the pressure- the forced concessions- the eternal question as to where compromise might achieve something. It is a grim picture of a police state in process of birth, but in spite of this, the strength of the peasants has not -- he feels- been wholly stifled. Behind the iron curtain, drawn since his forced resignation and exile, he feels the spark is still there. The western nations were too slow in moving towards peace; they lost the race with time. Parts of this appeared in the S.E.P. An important figure in European politics speaks out.

Pub Date: Nov. 9, 1948

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Macmillan

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1948

Categories: NONFICTION