Book Description

Beginning in the 1930s and continuing through World War II, this stunning memoir tells the story of the Hungarian Revolution, as one woman lived it. Lucy Mayer describes how the Germans and Russians caused destruction and chaos throughout her country, as well as how the Communist Party oppressed the people of Hungary for so many years. The author tells of her escape from Communism, to finally realize freedom in the United States, where she began her family. “My family encouraged me to write my story, as they knew all the struggles we endured through the terrible years of the war.” The book is also a good reminder as to how terrible war is. A Terrifying Road to Freedom is the memoir of Lucy Mayer, whose family survived in Hungary under the Nazis, only to be invaded by Russia after the war. My story begins in 1938 in the peacetime of my childhood in Budapest, Hungary. Those years before the war were all happy memories. The good times were over when the war began in our country in 1943-44. We endured airstrikes all around us and had to hide in a bunker to save our lives. Then came the terrifying ground invasion of the Red Army. After World War II, the communist government controlled Hungary. We continued to feel afraid for our safety, as Hungarians were arrested, tortured, and killed by the Russians. Eventually, Hungary had enough and an uprising began in 1956. The Russian Army overcame the Hungarian Revolution, but it provided an opportunity for my brother, Steve, and I to escape. We risked our lives and left our family behind, not even able to say goodbye. It was a difficult journey, but we were elated to arrive in the U.S.A. With no money and only the clothes on our backs, we knew it would be difficult to begin our new lives in America, but at least we had freedom!