Mire hogyan emlékeznek az arisztokrata memoárszerzők?
What Do Aristocratic Memoir Authors Remember, and How?

Summary/Abstract: In examining the memoirs written by emigrant Hungarian aristocrats after 1945, it becomes evident that most are shaped primarily by a nostalgic memory of a once-existent Eden in which they were born, prior to the decline of the aristocracy at the end of World War II. Although these authors often lived in the West for several years or even decades, the image of their youthful past – connected to prewar Hungary – remained largely unaffected by the life experiences gained in the democratic Western world. The reason for this may partly lie in the fact that most of the memoirs were written during the Cold War, a period when the victimhood status of the prewar elite under Communist rule could render even the aristocracy an appealing social phenomenon. This suggests that the long-lasting effects of their original socialization provided a stable and enduring psychological foundation for both their personal and group identity.

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