Gyula "Julius" Háy; 5 May 1900 – 7 May 1975) was a Hungarian communist intellectual and playwright. He wrote under the pen name Stefan Faber.
Biography
Háy was born in 1900 in
Abony,
Austria-Hungary to a Jewish family. He was involved in the German communist movement in the 1920s, particularly in
agitprop plays. During
World War II, he lived for a time in
Moscow's
Hotel Lux
The former Hotel Lux in Moscow
Hotel Lux (Люксъ) was a hotel in Moscow during the Soviet Union, housing many leading exiled and visiting Communists. During the Nazi era, exiles from all over Europe went there, particularly from Germany. A n ...
, along with scores of other Communist exiles.
[Peter Dittmar]
"Der steinerne Zeuge des stalinistischen Terrors"
''Die Welt'' (30 October 2007); retrieved 11 November 2011.
In the 1950s he was a dissident in the
Hungarian Writers' Union, and advocated for
workers' councils in the months leading up to the
Hungarian revolution of 1956. During the revolution, he played a significant role in the
Hungarian Writers' Union, as a revolutionary body. He was involved in the workers council movement, and wrote the radio appeal to the intellectuals of the world which was broadcast as the Parliament building fell to Soviet troops.
Háy was arrested and sentenced to 6 years in prison in November 1957. After three and a half years in prison, he was released and a few years later in 1965, left Hungary for Switzerland with his wife Éva where he continued to write plays in the west as an emigré.
He died 1975 in
Ascona
300px, Ascona
Ascona ( lmo, label= Ticinese, Scona ) is a municipality in the district of Locarno in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.
It is located on the shore of Lake Maggiore.
The town is a popular tourist destination and holds the yea ...
,
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
, two days after his 75th birthday. His son,
Peter, is a retired
Canadian author, publisher and bookseller.
Selected works
* ''Tiszazug'' (1945)
* ''Isten, császár, paraszt'' (1946)
* ''Romok'' (1947)
* ''Ítélet éjszakája'' (1948)
* ''Az élet hídja'' (1951–52)
* ''Erő'' (1952)
* ''Gyilkosok tanyáján'' (1953)
* ''Öt színdarab'' (1954)
* ''Sorsok és harcok'' (1955)
* ''Szabadság, szerelem'' (1955)
* ''A pulykapásztor'' (1956)
* ''Királydrámák'' (1964)
Sources
*Reményi Gyenes István: Ismerjük őket? Zsidó származású nevezetes magyarok (Ex Libris Kiadó, Budapest, 2000);
* Háy Gyula: Született 1900-ban; Interart, Budapest, 1990;
* Háy Éva (Háy Gyuláné, Majoros Éva): A barikád mindkét oldalán (Budapest, Osiris, 2000)
* Ki kicsoda a magyar irodalomban? Könyvkuckó Kiadó, Budapest, 1999;
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hay, Gyula
1900 births
1975 deaths
People from Abony
Hungarian Jews
Hungarian communists
Hungarian male dramatists and playwrights
Hungarian expatriates in Switzerland
Hungarian revolutionaries
20th-century Hungarian dramatists and playwrights
20th-century Hungarian male writers