István Deák (11 May 1926 – 9 January 2023) was a Hungarian-born American historian, author and academic. He was a specialist in modern Europe, with special attention to Germany and Hungary.

Life and work

István Deák was born in

Székesfehérvár Székesfehérvár (; ; ; ; Serbian language, Serbian: ''Стони Београд''; ), known colloquially as Fehérvár (), is a city in central Hungary, and the country's ninth-largest city. It is the Regions of Hungary, regional capital of C ...

, Hungary, into an assimilated

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family that had converted to

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. His parents were Istvan and Anna (Timár) Deák. He was educated at a Catholic gymnasium (high school) in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

and began his university studies in 1945 at the

University of Budapest A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

. His studies were disrupted by the war and postwar chaos, and he left Hungary in 1948, following the

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

takeover. He then studied history at the Sorbonne in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and worked as a journalist in France and for

Radio Free Europe Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a media organization broadcasting news and analyses in 27 languages to 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Headquartered in Prague since 1995, RFE/RL ...

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

. In 1956, unable to gain residence in France, he settled in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

where he studied modern European history at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

under

Fritz Stern Fritz Richard Stern (February 2, 1926 – May 18, 2016) was a German-born American historian of German history, Jewish history and historiography. He was a University Professor and a provost at New York's Columbia University. His work focused o ...

. He obtained an M.A. (1958) and then a Ph.D. (1964), with a dissertation on "Weimar Germany's 'homeless Left': The world of Carl von Ossietzky," and spent the next 33 years teaching at Columbia. He was the Director of Columbia's Institute on East Central Europe between 1968 and 1979. Prior to teaching at Columbia, he was an instructor for one year (1962-63) at

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts, United States. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smit ...

. Deák wrote extensively on eastern and central European history and politics. His publications include ''Weimar Germany's Left-wing Intellectuals'' (1968); ''The Lawful Revolution: Louis Kossuth and the Hungarians, 1848-1849'' (1979); ''Beyond Nationalism: A Social and Political History of the Habsburg Officer Corps, 1848-1918'' (1990); and ''Essays on Hitler's Europe'' (2001). He edited and partly wrote, together with

Jan T. Gross Jan Tomasz Gross (born 1947) is a Polish-American sociologist and historian. He is the Norman B. Tomlinson '16 and '48 Professor of War and Society emeritus and professor of history emeritus at Princeton University. Gross is the author of se ...

and

Tony Judt Tony Robert Judt ( ; 2 January 1948 – 6 August 2010) was an English historian, essayist and university professor who specialised in European history. Judt moved to New York and served as the Erich Maria Remarque Professor in European Studies ...

, ''The Politics of Retribution in Europe: World War II and Its Aftermath'' (2000). His most recent work is ''Europe on Trial. The Story of Collaboration, Resistance, and Retribution during World War II'' (2015). He has also written extensively for the ''

New York Review of Books New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

'' and other periodicals. In 1964 Deák was able to visit Hungary for the first time since his departure, and thereafter he regularly attended academic conferences in Hungary and worked to re-establish links between American and Hungarian historians. In 1990, following the fall of the communist regime, he was elected to the

Hungarian Academy of Sciences The Hungarian Academy of Sciences ( , MTA) is Hungary’s foremost and most prestigious learned society. Its headquarters are located along the banks of the Danube in Budapest, between Széchenyi rakpart and Akadémia utca. The Academy's primar ...

. He retired from teaching in 1997 and was later a visiting professor at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

. He continued to publish on European history, particularly issues relating to the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

. His wife, Gloria Deak, is an art historian. Deák died on 10 January 2023, at the age of 96.

Bibliography

Books written

* * * * *

Books edited

References

External links

Finding aid to the István Deák papers at Columbia University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Deak, Istvan 1926 births 2023 deaths People from Székesfehérvár Members of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences Eötvös Loránd University alumni University of Paris alumni Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Hungarian emigrants to the United States Columbia University faculty 21st-century American historians American male non-fiction writers Historians of Europe Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty people Hungarian expatriates in France Hungarian expatriates in Germany Hungarian people of Jewish descent 21st-century American male writers