János Kodolányi facts for kids
János Kodolányi (born March 13, 1899, in Telki; died August 10, 1969, in Budapest) was a Hungarian writer. He wrote many short stories, plays, and novels. A university, the Kodolányi János University of Applied Sciences, is named after him.
About His Writings and Political Views
János Kodolányi first became known for his stories about society and his made-up tales. In his early years, he had strong left-wing ideas and supported communist groups. Many of his stories were based on his own life experiences. He was seen as a writer who wanted to help ordinary people and bring about changes. He believed in socialist ideas but always thought for himself. His ideas were influenced by thinkers like Karl Marx and Sigmund Freud.
Between 1930 and 1945, Kodolányi started writing historical novels about Hungary's past. In these books, he tried to discover the important qualities of Hungarian people. One of his novels, Julianus barát (which means Frater Julian), was translated into Italian. Some of his short stories were also published in English, French, German, Italian, and Serbian.
During this time, his views changed. He began to think that socialism could solve big global problems, but not smaller, local ones. His political views became more right-wing. He wrote for newspapers that supported strong national pride, but he was strongly against National Socialism, Fascism, and Adolf Hitler. He joined a group that resisted the Nazis, led by Endre Bajcsy-Zsilinszky, who was a member of Parliament. He also joined a group of writers called the "Folk Writers" (népi írók). This group included famous writers like László Németh, Gyula Illyés, Géza Féja, and Zsigmond Móricz. Kodolányi agreed with László Németh's idea of "The Third Way for Hungary," which meant choosing a path that was neither Nazism nor Communism.
Kodolányi faced difficulties during both fascist and communist rule in Hungary. He wrote a letter to Miklós Horthy Jr.'s office, which got him involved in activities against the Nazis. Because of this, he had to leave Balatonakarattya and go to Budapest in 1944 to stay safe. After the Nazis were defeated, some newspapers started a search for people who were thought to have helped the Nazis. Some of the "Folk Writers" did work with the Nazis, but others, like Kodolányi, also got into trouble even though they hadn't helped them at all. After Géza Féja was arrested, Kodolányi had to leave Budapest and go to Pécs, where he was safer. However, he was not allowed to publish his writings. He went back to his house in Balatonakarattya. There, he wrote his most important novels, which blended myths and magic with real life. These books included Vízöntő (Aquarius), Új ég, új föld (New sky, new land), Égő csipkebokor (Burning Bush), and Én vagyok (I am). In these novels, he explored important ancient stories from mankind, such as the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Bible, and the tales of Utnapishtim, Gilgamesh, Moses, Jesus, and Judas.
Works Available Online
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