George Paloczi-Horvath (1908–1973) was a Hungarian writer, best known for his 1959 autobiography book ''The Undefeated''. He was born in 1908 to a privileged Hungarian family. As a young journalist, he reported on the rise of

fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...

in Europe and became a dedicated anti-Nazi. When the German army marched through

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

in 1941, he fled the country under an assumed name, ending up first in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

and, after the war, in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. He returned to Budapest in February 1947, where he edited a magazine and joined the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

. But he was soon arrested as a spy, and spent the next five years in prison. He was subjected to

solitary confinement Solitary confinement is a form of imprisonment in which the inmate lives in a single cell with little or no meaningful contact with other people. A prison may enforce stricter measures to control contraband on a solitary prisoner and use additi ...

and torture. He was finally released in 1954, and after the Hungarian Uprising in 1956, he left the country for good.https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/book-review--all-done-by-trial-and-error-the-undefeated-by-george-paloczihorvath-eland-pounds-899-1465610.html Book review by Martha Gellhorn in the Independent, December 1993 Paloczi-Horvath settled in

Richmond, London Richmond is a town in south-west London,The London Government Act 1963 (c.33) (as amended) categorises the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames as an Outer London borough. Although it is on both sides of the River Thames, the Boundary Commiss ...

with his family, and earned his living as a freelance writer and journalist. He published ''The Undefeated'' in 1959; the book won the Atlantic Editors' Non-Fiction Prize and the Prix de la Liberté, and has been reprinted by Eland Books. He also wrote political biographies of

Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and chairman of the country's Council of Ministers from 1958 to 1964. During his rule, Khrushchev s ...

and

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...

. He died of a heart attack in 1973.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paloczi-Horvath, George 1908 births 1973 deaths Hungarian writers Hungarian journalists 20th-century journalists Hungarian emigrants to the United Kingdom