The Times and Life of Ilona Deutsch

An autobiography and memoir set in communist HungaryGenre: Family Saga / Historical Memoir.An unexpected call from his sister tells the author, Michael Fekete, that his mother, Ilona Deutsch, is seriously ill. On the flight from Toronto to Hungary and during their last days together, Michael tries to ease his anguish about his mother's impending death by jotting down his memories, emotions and thoughts. These notes become the outline of a book which tells, through the eyes of her son, of the times, life and exceptional character of Ilona Deutsch.In his quest to know more about her, Michael traces his mother's family, Jewish on one side and Protestant on the other, back several generations and relates their lives through centuries of Jewish history, through wars, revolutions, religious conflicts, persecutions and finally Nazism and communism. It is a rollercoaster journey in time. Hopeful periods, during which the human spirit soared high on the wings of lofty ideals and gave birth to wonderful achievements, alternate with dark downturns when ignorance, hatred, savagery and senseless destruction reigned. Fekete traces the family ancestors through the political history of Austria and Hungary. But the truly personal part of the book starts with the birth of the author's mother, the daughter of Michael Deutsch, a highly respected, prominent Jewish doctor and decorated veteran of World War I, and Justina Baghy, socialite and daughter of a wealthy Protestant landowner. As a child, Michael forms a strong bond with his grandfather. "Grandfather. His whole being was grand. An accomplished violinist and a pillar of his community he was tall, athletic, handsome, his complexion a fine balance of kindness and intelligence who, in the tradition of his ancestors, regarded life as a task and believed it was the duty of every man to improve himself and fulfil his responsibility."His mother's early life, immersed in music and art, comes to an abrupt end as she finds herself hunted by the Nazis. To protect his children, Ilona's father had his three young daughters go hiding with three separate families. The two littlest girls were captured. Hidden at the country estate of her aunt, Ilona is stalked by a local Arrow Cross gang. When they came to arrest her, she is rescued by Stephen Fekete, son of a local landowner. Trekking at night through blizzards and hiding during the day, Stephen takes Ilona to Budapest in the hope of obtaining a passport from Raul Wallenberg. During their ordeals, Stephen falls in love with her and asks her to marry him.After the war they move to Stephen's father's farm. Soon, two sons, Michael and Andrew are born. The communists confiscate the farm and the family wanders from one place to another. They settle in the southern part of Hungary where they live in poverty. Stephen becomes an alcoholic and it is left to Ilona to hold the family together. But when in 1956 the Russian tanks roll over Hungary to crush the revolution, the family's life also falls apart - Ilona, who has put up with her husband's drinking and abusive behaviour, learning of Stephen's infidelity, divorces him. Her troubles never seem to end. She now has to calm and defend her restless and rebellious son. She tries to reason him out of his obsession with the oppressive regime by teaching him patience, but her attempts to impart her wisdom to her son fail for he equates her reasoned approach to life with cowardice and her realistic acceptance of human nature with the betrayal of ideals. His naive plan to stage a revolution culminate in the burning of the Russian flag and his arrest and imprisonment.Forty years have passed, Michael has never thanked his mother for all the gifts she gave him. She remains positive and serene even as she suffers in terminal lymphoma. At her bedside, Michael realizes "All my life she taught me how to live, now, she teaches me how to die."