Arrow in the Blue

Abstract

The first volume of this autobiography traces the author’s early life and intellectual development from his birth in 1905 through his joining the Communist Party in 1931. Growing up in Budapest and Vienna in a Jewish middle-class family, he experienced formative years marked by political upheaval, financial instability, and personal isolation. After abandoning engineering studies, he embarked on a period of wandering that included time in Palestine as a Zionist pioneer, followed by work as a journalist in the Middle East, Paris and Berlin. The narrative explores his gradual disillusionment with liberal democracy and attraction to communism against the backdrop of rising fascism in Europe. Key experiences include his role in Zionist youth movements, his work as a science editor covering developments in physics and space exploration, and his participation in the Graf Zeppelin’s 1931 Arctic expedition as the sole journalist on board. Throughout, the author analyzes his psychological development, particularly recurring patterns of burning bridges and seeking absolute values, while attempting to understand how his personal journey intersected with the broader cultural and political crisis of interwar Europe. The memoir ends with his secret enrollment in the German Communist Party, presented as both an act of faith and an expression of his drive to unite political conviction with personal authenticity. - AI-generated abstract