Ivan Berend
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Biography
It is with profound sadness that I announce the passing of my beloved husband, a remarkable scholar, professor, mentor, and exceptional human being, Ivan T. Berend , on August 30th, 2026, at his home in Los Angeles. He devoted his life to the pursuit of knowledge, the education of generations, and the advancement of his field. His intellectual brilliance was matched by his humility, generosity, humor, and genuine care for others.
Born in Budapest on 11 December 1930, Ivan survived the Dachau Nazi concentration camp at the age of 14. He was educated in Hungary, where he specialized in the economic and social history of Europe. From 1953, he was a professor at the Budapest University of Economics. He served as President of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences from 1985 to 1990. From that time until his retirement, Ivan taught at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he was also an esteemed Director of the Center for European and Eurasian Studies. Among his many academic honors were memberships in the British, Austrian, European, Czechoslovak, and Bulgarian academies. Ivan was also elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He recounted the remarkable story of his life in History in My Life: A Memoir in Three Eras (2009).
Beyond his extraordinary academic achievements, he will be remembered most deeply for his kindness, optimism, and remarkable resilience. Even in the face of life’s greatest challenges, he remained a source of hope, encouragement, and strength to those around him. His unwavering spirit and positive outlook inspired countless students in Hungary and the United States, as well as colleagues, friends, and all who had the privilege of knowing him.
His legacy extends far beyond his publications, lectures, and professional accomplishments. It lives in the minds he shaped, the lives he touched, the students he inspired, and the many people who became better because of his example.
Together with his daughters, Zsuzsa, Nora, and Dora, and his grandchildren, Benjamin, Daniel, Esther, and Rebecca, we not only mourn the loss of the loving husband, father, and grandfather; we also celebrate a life of purpose, compassion, and courage. His memory will remain a lasting source of inspiration.
May he rest in peace, knowing that his life made an extraordinary difference in the world.
Those who wish to remember him may support the UCLA Center for European and Russian Studies in lieu of flowers: https://www.international.ucla.edu/euro .
Katalin Radics
Los Angeles, August 31, 2026
Research
19-20th centuries, social and economic history of Europe, the European Union, and contemporary Europe; Economic modernization, problems of European peripheral backwardness; complex economic, social, ideological, and cultural history of Central and Eastern Europe in the 19th-20th Century; Transition from state socialism to capitalism
Publications
- From 1955 published 28 books (12 of them by American, British, Italian and Japanese publishers) and more than 120 studies (partly in British, American, Italian, French, German, Israeli, Belgian, Greek, and Russian periodicals), some of them with co-author George Ránki (marked with an *).
- Europe Since 1980, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010.
- History in My Life. A Memoir in Three Areas, Budapest: Central European University Press, 2009.
- From the Soviet Bloc to the European Union. The Sociel and Economic Transformation of Central and Eastern Europe Since 1973, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009.
- An Economic History of Twentieth-Century Europe: Economic Regimes from Laissez-faire to Globalization, Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 2006. (French, Italian, Korean, Greek, Serbian, Croat, Turkish, and Hungarian editions, 2007-10.)
- History Derailed: Central and Eastern Europe in the ‘Long’ 19th Century, Berkeley-Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2003. (Hungarian edition, 2004)
- Studies on Central and Eastern Europe in the 20th Century: Regional Crises and the Case of Hungary, Aldershot, Hampshire: Ashgate. 2002.*
- Evolution of the Hungarian Economy 1848-1998. Boulder, Col.: Social Science Monographs. 2001. (With Tamás Csató)
- Decades of Crisis: Central and Eastern Europe Before World War II. Berkeley-Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1998. Paperback edition, spring 2001
- Long-Term Structural Changes in Transforming Central and Eastern Europe, (Edited and with an introductory study), München: Südosteuropa-Gesellschaft, 1997.
- Central and Eastern Europe 1944-1993: Detour from the Periphery to the Periphery, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996. Paperback edition, 1998, Electronic edition, 1999. Hungarian edition 1998.
- Transition to a Market Economy at the End of the 20th Century, (Edited, and with an introductory study: “End of Century Global Transition to a Market Economy: Laissez-Faire on the Peripheries?”),
München: Südosteuropa-Gesellschaft, 1994. (Brazilian edition: 1998) - Hungarian Economic Reforms 1953-1988. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990.
- The Crisis Zone of Europe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1986. (Japanese edition: 1990)
- Európa gazdasága a 19. században, 1780-1914. (An Economic History of Europe 1780-1914), Budapest: Gondolat Kiadó, 1987.*
- The Hungarian Economy in the Twentieth Century. Beckenham: Croom Helm, 1985*
- Gazdasági útkeresés 1956-1965. (Economic reorientation in Hungary, 1956-65) Budapest: Magvetö Könyvkiadó, 1983.
- The European Periphery and Industrialization 1780-1914. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1982. (Japanese edition: 1992, Croatian edition: 1996)*
- Underdevelopment and Economic Growth. Budapest: Akademiai Kiado, 1979 *
- Hungary – a Century of Economic Development. Newton Abbot: David and Charles, Barnes and Noble, 1974 (Italian edition: 1976) *
- Economic Development of East-Central Europe in the 19th and 20th Centuries. New York: Columbia University Press, 1974 (Italian edition: 1978, Japanese edition: 1980) *
Awards & Grants
- 2005: Konstantin Jireček Gold Medal, from the Suedosteuropa Gesellschaft, for life-time achievement in research on Southeast Europe
- 1996: Honorary member of the Portuguese Association of International Relations
- 1995: Honorary doctor of Janus Pannonius University, Hungary
- 1990 Honorary doctor of Glasgow University
- 1989: Corresponding member of the British Academy
- 1989: Corresponding member of the Austrian Academy
- 1989: Corresponding member of the Suedosteuropa-Gesellschaft
- 1989: Member of the Academia Europaea
- 1988: Honorary member of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences
- 1988: Honorary member of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
- 1986: Member of the European Academy of Arts, Sciences and Humanities
- 1984: Honorary doctor of St. John’s University, New York
- 1980: Corresponding member of the Royal Historical Society
- 1973: Member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (corresponding,1973; full member,1979)
