The panel was firstly impressed by Kind-Kovács’ revelation of a history that was poorly understood, using foreign language materials that rarely feature in Anglophone publications on the history of childhood and youth. Her widespread use of archival materials in Britain, Austria, Hungary, Switzerland, and the United States demonstrate a researcher with considerable discipline as well as methodological sophistication. By being both local and global, Budapest’s Children is transnational history at its best. Kind-Kovács did not merely tell the institutional story of relief efforts in Hungary, but showed transformative impact across Europe and North America, as well as including children’s accounts and images. Kind-Kovács’ book shows how the critical history of childhood as a construct remains a determining force in modern history but, by making children the centre of her story, she shows how important they are as historical actors. Engaging, informative, and beautifully written, Budapest’s Children is a model for how the history of childhood and youth should be done.
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