Prague, 16 November – The new publication focusing on the history of Transcarpathian Hungarian minorty during the totalitarian regimes entitled „Struggle for Survival. The Transcarpathian Hungarians (1944 – 2022)” was introduced for the first time in the European Parliament in Brussels on 15 November 2022. The book launch followed a discussion.

The presentation was organised by Ms Andrea Bocskor, Non-attached Member of the European Parliament and Mr Zsolt Szilágyi, the Platform Executive Board member, who also introduced Platform`s anpther projects like Lest We Forget reader and educational game „Across the Iron Curtain“. The authors of the book are: Dr. Erzsébet D. Molnár (University of Debrecen), Dr. Natália Váradi (Ferenc Rákóczi II. Transcarpathian Hungarian College of Higher Education), Karolina Darcsi, Dr. Ildikó Orosz and Prof. István Csernicskó (University of Pannonia)

Due to its geographical location and geostrategic importance, Transcarpathia has often fallen prey to the aspirations of great powers during the 20th century, and thus the inhabitants of the region have turned into citizens of five different states without ever leaving their homeland, their home. The so-called Soviet period between 1944 and 1991 began with the deportation of tens of thousands of Hungarian and German male inhabitants of Transcarpathia, which is why it is often referred to as the most tragic period in the history of Transcarpathian Hungarians.

The book presents the most important turning points in the history of the community between 1944 and 2022, their turbulent and painful past, their struggles for survival and their own identity, their political, linguistic and educational rights, etc.