The Film
Click on the image or text below to watch a clip from the documentary Magyar Stories.
Joszef Kotmendi describes the violence of the revolution
In this clip, Mr. Kotmendy describes the beginning of the revolution and encountering several men being hanged in the local market. His comments give a sense of how dangerous that era was and how ex-soldiers, like Mr. Kotmendy himself, viewed the revolution.
The interviewees introduce themselves
This clip introduces most of the interviewees with the exception of two women, Rose Taba and Madi Kamany's wife.
Istvan Szemeredei describes his conversion to Stalinism
In this clip, Mr. Szemeredei explains how he became a Stalinist. The translation is unfortunately incomplete, but it is clear enough to offer a picture of his conversion.
Madi Kalman on his childhood and hating the rich
In this clip, Mady Kalmany makes a connection between his childhood and the decision he took to join the communist party. Because he was born in a poor family, rich classmates abused him. This fostered his resentment against the rich, which, in turn, motivated him to join the party.
Pressing the people
Clip five offers an example of the kind of corrupt economic practices that helped bring down communist regimes in Eastern Europe. The interviewee, Mr. Janos Taba, remembers the residents of Dunapataj asking him to become mayor, so that he could fight outsiders, called elevek in Hungarian, who were taking advantage of the town through fraudulent accounting practices.
Madi Kalman on enforcing collectivization with violence
Like clip one, clip six centers on a violent incident. As part of a collectivization campaign, Mady Kalmany threatened and beat a homeowner in order to gain access to his or her home.
A Victim's View
Clip seven is about an incident during which Mr. and Mrs. Kotenc became victims of collectivization. What they describe seems straightforward at first: government officials came to their home, took their grain, and left vouchers in its place. Analyzing that event, however, brings out many issues and problems with collectivization and local resistance to the government.
Improvizing the System
In clip eight, Janos Taba describes how the community in Dunapataj struggled with the law. Residents worked together, under the direction of Rose and Janos Taba, to meet various government quotas. Ultimately, their efforts were not always successful, which led to one resident committing suicide.
