Kati Marton
the story together, she learned that
her parents converted to Catholicism
as a form of protection. She says that
her parents — both award-winning
journalists who earned doctorates in
Budapest — were not pleased by her
discovery; they would have preferred
to keep their secret.
"I'm very proud of my history, as
are my children:' she says. Her ex-hus-
band, the late Peter Jennings, was her
children's father. She traveled with her
son and daughter to her great-grand-
father's grave in the Czech Republic.
"They consider it a part of their his-
tory, as do I. I think the discovery has
given me a fuller sense of my identity."
While Judaism isn't much part of
her own life, she's pleased when Jewish
friends include her in their rituals
and celebrations — and she's happy
that her son is involved with a young
woman who takes her Judaism seri-
ously.
Marton's great-grandfather, the son
of the chief rabbi of Dobris, Bohemia,
made his way to Budapest in the
1870s. Her own parents, unlike the fig-
ures she portrays, stayed in Budapest
through the years of Nazi terror.
After the war, they worked for
American wire services and, in 1955,
were arrested and convicted as spies
for the United States — their story
made the front page of the New
York Times. They were released after
almost two years, just before the 1956
Revolution. Her father sent the last
cable dispatch from Budapest, alerting
the world that Soviet tanks and troops
were approaching the city.
Again in danger of being arrested
for their reporting, they were granted
asylum in the American embassy and
some months later driven across the
border by a brave diplomat. Some
months later, they came to the U.S. to
accept a journalism award and stayed,
settling in Washington, D.C.
Although she now travels to
Budapest frequently, Marton hadn't
been there from 1957 until 1978, when
she returned to do a series of news
reports as a correspondent for ABC
News. Just as her father filed the last
dispatches from Budapest, hers was
the first major coverage of Hungary
since the revolution.
The current chair of the
International Women's Health
Coalition, a non-governmental organi-
zation that promotes and protects the
rights and health of girls and women
worldwide, Marton also is a board
member of Human Rights Watch and
the International Rescue Committee.
She is a director and the former
chair of the Committee to Protect
Journalists.
She and her husband Richard
Holbrooke, former ambassador to the
United Nations, live in a landmark
apartment building on Central Park
West, designed by Hungarian architect
Emery Roth in 1929. She shows this
writer around, pointing out elegant
photographs of her parents and
grandparents taken in Budapest, con-
temporary family photos and a silver
tzedekah box that comes from the
Budapest home of her paternal grand-
parents.
Kati Marton is the keynote
speaker for National Council of
Jewish Women-Greater Detroit
Section's fall event on Thursday,
Oct.11, at Congregation Shaarey
Zedek in Southfield. The event
includes boutique shopping,
beginning at 9:30 a.m.; presen-
tation by Marton at 11:30 a.m.;
and luncheon at 12:30 p.m., fol-
lowed by a book signing. $45.
Information and reservations:
(248) 355-3300, ext. 0.
For the
best
selection,
service
and
prices,
come to
Audette
Cadillac
7100 Orchard Lake Rd., West Bloomfield
Mon. & Thurs. til 9; Tues., Wed., Fri. til 6
OPEN SAT. 10 am - 4 pm
www.audettecadillac.com
TRUST YOUR AFFAIR TO THE FINEST CATERER
WE'LL BEAT YOUR BEST PRICE!
Weddings Bar/Bat Mitzvahs Showers Banquets
Reunions Anniversaries ‘- Birthdays ° Etc.
We Cater at Most Synagogues,
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248-661-4050
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October 4 • 2007
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