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Hungarian immigrants experienced political, economic and social changes both in their home countries and in the United States of America. The stories of people living in these communities have been intertwined with the history of both their homelands, so those who would like to learn more about either Americans or Hungarians will find here ample material to inform them. When groups of people came to North America from other parts of the world, they did not just assimilate into an existing society, they shaped it and reshaped it. They provided labor that transformed the countryside, they built small towns and large cities, played sports, and fought in wars. Their contributions in science and in arts are unique, while at the same time contributing to our general knowledge and universal cultural heritage.
Some of the distinctive contributions that Hungarians who emigrated during the communist period have provided are their articles and books that reveal aspects of communism that could not be printed in Hungary at the time: stories about what it was like to be a political prisoner, oppression of churches and their priests, everyday life during various phases of communism, life of ethnic and religious minorities, the fate of those who were taken to labor camps in the Soviet Union after WWII, and especially their memories of the 1956 revolution.
The Library of Congress has some 2,000 books by or about Hungarian Americans, so we do not provide a list of all of them. We chose to provide descriptions of selected books organized by topic, and you can find these curated lists below. This selection is not intended to be a comprehensive coverage of the topic or even of the relevant materials in the Library of Congress collections, instead it presents materials available in various formats and on various topics, that can be used as a starting point for one's research.. Titles are generally in English or in Hungarian, and they link to fuller bibliographic information in the Library of Congress Online Catalog. If the titles are available digitally, links are provided.
To find more books about Hungarians in the United States, it is useful to use the following subject headings in the Library of Congress online catalog.
Conducting a subject browse for Hungarians followed by the name of each state in the United States such as Hungarians--New York can also bring results.
