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

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

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.... American Historical Review

Drawing upon the work of Janos M. Rainer, Nagy's biographer, and other Hungarian scholars, Benziger guides readers through the tumultuous days of revolution (October 23- November 4, 1956), a period that witnessed Nagy's second prime ministry and his evergreater awareness that the New Course was no longer enough.... American Historical Review

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 Independenló#