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Escaping Budapest: A World War II Historical Novel Based on True Events
Budapest, winter 1944.
As chaos and terror consume a city under Nazi occupation, one Jewish family is forced to make an impossible stay together and likely perish, or separate in the hope that some might survive.
When a drunken neighbor leads the Arrow Cross gendarmerie to their door, the Levy family understands that loyalty, familiarity, and even kindness can no longer protect them. Acts of courage emerge from unexpected places, but mercy in Budapest is fleeting.
Miriam Levy and her husband Istvan decide to part from their seventeen-year-old daughter Magda, who risks everything to save her newly wedded husband from certain death. While Istvan finds refuge within the walls of the Swiss Embassy, Miriam is seized by a Hungarian mob led by a young priest whose fanatic devotion to "purity" justifies any cruelty.
Based on true events, Escaping Budapest is a haunting and deeply human novel of survival, moral conflict, and resilience. It confronts the reader with the darkest capacities of mankind, and the fragile, defiant light that endures even in humanity's most brutal hour.
As chaos and terror consume a city under Nazi occupation, one Jewish family is forced to make an impossible stay together and likely perish, or separate in the hope that some might survive.
When a drunken neighbor leads the Arrow Cross gendarmerie to their door, the Levy family understands that loyalty, familiarity, and even kindness can no longer protect them. Acts of courage emerge from unexpected places, but mercy in Budapest is fleeting.
Miriam Levy and her husband Istvan decide to part from their seventeen-year-old daughter Magda, who risks everything to save her newly wedded husband from certain death. While Istvan finds refuge within the walls of the Swiss Embassy, Miriam is seized by a Hungarian mob led by a young priest whose fanatic devotion to "purity" justifies any cruelty.
Based on true events, Escaping Budapest is a haunting and deeply human novel of survival, moral conflict, and resilience. It confronts the reader with the darkest capacities of mankind, and the fragile, defiant light that endures even in humanity's most brutal hour.
366 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 2, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 2, 2026
A relevant subject to me
My family was composed of all Hungarians, most of whom were murdered by the Arrow Cross in Hungary. I found this book to be truly fascinating. It shed light on the conditions my parents endured while surviving WWII. I wish I had read it while my parents were still alive. The only criticism I had of the book was that many of the characters who fought back were confusing. Perhaps more description of each of them would’ve helped to distinguish one from the rest. Otherwise, a good book on an area rarely focused on in Shoah literature.
My family was composed of all Hungarians, most of whom were murdered by the Arrow Cross in Hungary. I found this book to be truly fascinating. It shed light on the conditions my parents endured while surviving WWII. I wish I had read it while my parents were still alive. The only criticism I had of the book was that many of the characters who fought back were confusing. Perhaps more description of each of them would’ve helped to distinguish one from the rest. Otherwise, a good book on an area rarely focused on in Shoah literature.
March 1, 2026
I could not put this book down. I read it in a day. Having recently visited Budapest which is an incredible city I wanted to learn more about its history during the horrific persecution of the Jews.
The story of the Levy family and their will to survive is so well written. It is especially interesting to note that the author is the son and grandson of the family written about in his book. A truly remarkable read.
The story of the Levy family and their will to survive is so well written. It is especially interesting to note that the author is the son and grandson of the family written about in his book. A truly remarkable read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews