Seeking Freedom and Justice for Hungary: John Madl-Miké (1905–1981), the Kolping Movement, and the Years in Exile (Volume 1, Hungary and Germany (1905–1949)) - Softcover

Valerie Miké, Valerie Miké

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0761865640 ISBN 13: 9780761865643

Publisher: Hamilton Books, 2015

Synopsis

Seeking Freedom and Justice for Hungary is the story of the vigorous Catholic worker movement developed in Hungary after the devastations of World War I, unique in the history of twentieth-century Europe. It emerged from the revival of the institution founded by Adolph Kolping, a contemporary of Karl Marx in Germany, to seek a Christian solution to the worker crisis brought on by the Industrial Revolution. The Hungarian plan envisioned a strong middle class of independent entrepreneurs and an economic system between Marxism and the monopolistic capitalism then dominant in Europe. It was reaching maturity when halted by Germany’s invasion of Hungary in 1944 and then destroyed by subsequent Soviet occupation and Communist rule. The story is told through the life of its national leader, John Madl-Miké, whose experiences enabled him later in the United States to make original observations on American capitalism with vital support for the anti-Communist cause. Book includes a 16-page photospread of historical illustrations.

About this title

About the Author:

Valerie Miké, a native of Budapest, Hungary, has a doctorate in mathematics and is a professor at Weill Medical College of Cornell University, with a special interest in ethical issues pertaining to uncertainty in biomedical science and technology. Hungarian historians of the older generation who had personal knowledge of events urged her to undertake a biography of her father, lest all be lost for posterity. Important help was provided by her brother John Jr., an MIT-trained physicist with a wide range of interests including history and political theory.

Review:

Valerie Miké’s work touched the Hungarian historian community with the force of something that was new—in terms of its details, as well as its profound significance. This was also the reaction of audiences on the author’s 10-city book tour introducing the Hungarian edition. An English-language edition was clearly needed for international dissemination. The importance of this first volume, which presents the Kolping movement in Hungary, cannot be overestimated for the history of the Catholic Church during this critical period in the 20th century, where lack of information and unfounded charges tend to prevail. (Asztrik Várszegi, OSB, archabbot-bishop of Pannonhalma, publisher of the Hungarian edition)

Worker movement and Christianity—seemingly contradictory concepts. Why? Because only leftwing initiatives were analyzed and kept in public consciousness by historians under the dictatorship of state socialism. Yet the Christian worker movement also has a tradition in our country that is not negligible, and a significant part of it was created by the activities of János Mike (1905–1981). (Péter Miklós, historian, from a review of the Hungarian edition)

About this edition

• Publisher: Hamilton Books
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 0761865640
• ISBN 13: 9780761865643
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 350