1879 – 1941
The Life of a Controversial Hungarian Politician
by: Balázs Ablonczy
Helena History Press
Pál Teleki:
1879 – 1941
The Life of a Controversial Hungarian Politician
2nd Edition
This is a revised second edition of the highly praised biography of Pál Teleki by Balázs Ablonczy originally released in 2006 in English. Revised and updated by the author this work remains the seminal historical work on the controversial career of the 20th Century Hungarian politician.
Teleki was a geographer, a university professor, a member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and chief scout of the Hungarian Scout Association. He twice served as Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Hungary. From 1920-1921 and 1939–1941. In his second term as Prime Minister, Teleki tried to keep Hungary neutral through the early stages of World War II while cooperating with Nazi Germany in attempts to regain Hungarian territory lost at the end of WWI. Spurred by the single biggest issue that Hungarian leaders faced during the inter-war period, a sentiment shared by most of the nation, that Hungarian lands lost in the Treaty of Trianon be restored to Hungary proper.
Teleki remains a controversial figure to this day as he contributed greatly to Hungary’s pro-German policy as a result, including its increasingly repressive anti-Jewish laws. During these years his efforts were focused on preserving Hungarian autonomy at all costs. He committed suicide on April 3 1941 when German troops crossed Hungary in order to invade Yugoslavia, ending any prospect of neutrality for Hungary.
All of his detail is clearly presented, thoroughly documented and mercifully devoid of the ideological biases that have marred previous assesments of Teleki.
Thomas Lorman, The Slavonic and East European Review
Ablonczy must be commended for his judicious marshaling of the related evidence and circumstances.
John Lukacs, Hungarian Quarterly
Overall, the depth that this workmanlike account adds to our understanding of one of the most influential figures of Hungarian history argues its importance for specialists in the field. That depth arises plainly from abundant and thoughtful documentation. At its best, Ablonczy’s volume not only fills gaps but suggests avenues for the work of others.
Andrew Behrendt, East Central Europe
Balázs Ablonczy is associate professor at Eötvös Loránd University (Budapest) and senior research fellow at the Centre for Humanities, Institute of History. He obtained his MA and PhD at Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest and a DEA in Université Paris 1. Specialist of the Hungarian history of the 20th Century, he was Ránki Chair at Indiana University (Bloomington) in 2009-2010 and director of the Hungarian Institute in Paris between 2011 and 2015. Author of a dozen of books dealing with the life of Pál Teleki politician and geographer and Horthy Era Hungary. His biography about Pál Teleki was first published in 2005. The author’s most recent book is deals with Hungarian Oriental thought (Go East! History of Hungarian Turanism, Indiana UP, 2022). His books have been translated into Polish, Russian, Romanian and French.