Béla Vihar () (23 May 1908 – 24 November 1978), born Béla Weisz, was a
Hungarian poet, journalist, writer and teacher. He is known for his book entitled "Yellow Book, Facts of the Wartime Sufferings of Hungarian Jewry" which was the first documentary book about
The Holocaust
The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...
in the world. His famous poem, "A Soldier walking in the snow" (, translated by László Tehel) commemorates all the soldiers who lost their lives in war.
Biography and career
Béla Vihar was born on 23 May 1908 in
Hajdúnánás
Hajdúnánás is a town in Hajdú-Bihar County, in the Northern Great Plain region of eastern Hungary.
Geography
It covers an area of and has a population of 17,172 people (2015). Racetrack
On 21 June 2020, it was confirmed that Hungary will bui ...
. His parents were Samuel and Terez (nee Glucklich) Weisz, who would become Jewish victims of the
Holocaust
The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...
.
Béla married Magda Widder, the daughter of painter
Félix Bódog Widder
Félix Bódog Widder (; 28 April 1874 – 26 September 1939) was a Hungarian painter, graphic designer and teacher.
Biography and career
Félix Bódog Widder was born on 28 April 1874 in Arad. His daughter was Magda Widder, the wife of poet ...
, and their daughter was
Judit Vihar.
His poems were published in English,
Bulgarian
Bulgarian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria
* Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group
* Bulgarian language, a Slavic language
* Bulgarian alphabet
* A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria
* Bul ...
,
Czech, French,
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
,
Croatian, German, Italian, Russian,
Romanian
Romanian may refer to:
*anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania
**Romanians, an ethnic group
**Romanian language, a Romance language
***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language
**Romanian cuisine, traditional ...
, Spanish and
Slovak languages. In the 1970s his
radio drama
Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...
"''Der Fremde. Hörspiel – Ballade''" (The Stranger. Radio Drama – Ballad) was a great success in Germany.
We two, alone:
We are two at the birth.
We are two in love, lonely
at the time of death
References
Awards and honors
*
Attila József Prize The Attila József Prize is an annually awarded Hungarian literary prize for excellence in the field of belles-lettres. It was first presented in 1950 in honour of the poet Attila József. Another major Hungarian literary prize is the Kossuth Prize. ...
– 1966
Bibliography
*
Selected works
Books
*
Poems
* Út önmagadtól (1933)
* A szerelem születése (1958)
* Baráti asztal (1960)
* Önarckép 1962 (1962)
* A négy felelet (1965)
* Kígyóének (1970)
* Párbeszéd az idővel (1968)
* Küzdelem az angyallal (1973)
* Szamárháton (1976)
* Egy katona megy a hóban (1978)
* Az alkonyat kapujában (1980)
* Elröppent lakodalom (1984)
* Szíjak között (ed. Judit Vihar). Széphalom Könyvműhely, Budapest. 1998. (Disclosed: Among Phylacteries)
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vihar, Béla
1908 births
Writers from Budapest
Hungarian journalists
1978 deaths
Hungarian male poets
Attila József Prize recipients
20th-century Hungarian poets
20th-century Hungarian male writers
20th-century journalists
People from Hajdúnánás