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Ilona DuchinskayaHungarian-Austrian revolutionary
Date of Birth: 11.03.1897
Country:  Hungary |
Content:
- Ilona Duczynska: A Revolutionary and Activist
- Anti-War Activities in Hungary
- Socialist Revolution and Exile
- Marriage and Activism in Austria
- Exile and Exclusion
Ilona Duczynska: A Revolutionary and Activist
Early Life and Socialist InvolvementIlona Duczynska was born into a Polish-Austro-Hungarian family. During her university years, she actively participated in the socialist movement. In 1917, she abandoned her engineering studies at the Zurich Polytechnic to deliver documents from the Zimmerwald Left to Hungary.
Anti-War Activities in Hungary
Duczynska was a supporter of left-wing socialist Ervin Szabó and played a key role in the anti-war movement in Hungary from 1917 to 1918. She took part in planning an assassination attempt on Prime Minister István Tisza, who advocated for continuing World War I at all costs.
Socialist Revolution and Exile
Duczynska participated in the socialist revolution in Hungary in March 1919. After the fall of the Hungarian Soviet Republic in 1919, she was forced to flee to Vienna. In 1922, she was expelled from the Hungarian Communist Party for criticizing its political line in exile.
Marriage and Activism in Austria
In 1923, Duczynska married prominent sociologist and economist Karl Polanyi, also a political refugee from Hungary. She became a member of the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) and the Republican Schutzbund, editing its illegal journal after the organization was banned in 1934. She joined the Communist Party of Austria around the same time.
Exile and Exclusion
Duczynska continued her activism until she emigrated from Austria in 1936. She was expelled from the Communist Party during the Moscow Trials. Her left-wing views led to the United States denying her entry, where her husband taught. She settled in Canada instead.
