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— CH. 1 · HUNGARIAN ORIGINS AND ESCAPE —

Gabor Boritt

~4 min read · Ch. 1 of 5
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  • Gabor Boritt was born in 1940 to a Jewish family in Budapest, Hungary. The Nazis forced his family into a single room within a hospital on the edge of the ghetto. He played on floors stained with blood during those early years. His grandfather's family was deported from the countryside and murdered at Auschwitz. By the end of World War II, Budapest lay in ruins under Stalin's grip. Boritt's mother died while his father and brother were imprisoned. He spent time in an orphanage before joining the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 as a sixteen-year-old. "We thought it was a whole new world," he recalled about that initial euphoria. Three thousand Soviet tanks crushed those possibilities just days later. Boritt and his sister Judith fled toward the Austrian border through darkness. They hiked wooded hills until reaching no man's land guarded by men in watchtowers. Machine guns pointed their way across the border. Together they ran for freedom.

  • After months in an Austrian refugee camp, Boritt arrived in New York City with one dollar in his pocket. He called it the dirtiest city he had ever seen. Told that real America lay out west, he traveled to South Dakota. Wanting to learn English, he picked up a free booklet of Abraham Lincoln's writings. He became captivated by Lincoln's mastery of language and rise from poverty to presidency. Boritt earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yankton College in 1962. He received a master's degree from the University of South Dakota in 1963. A Ph.D. followed from Boston University in 1968. As an immigrant, he felt obliged to teach soldiers about the Civil War during the Vietnam era. In 1978 he published his first book on Lincoln from an economic angle. The work placed what Boritt called "the right to rise" at the center of Lincoln's outlook. A 1995 survey listed this book among the ten most important works ever written about Lincoln.

  • Boritt came to Gettysburg College in 1981 after teaching at the University of Michigan. He founded the Civil War Institute there. The school created for him the nation's first fully funded chair for Civil War studies. He helped establish the fifty-thousand-dollar Lincoln Prize. This award is widely considered the most coveted recognition for American history scholarship. Boritt also assisted in creating the Gilder Lehrman Institute. That organization focuses on improving history teaching within schools. He served on boards including the Gettysburg National Battlefield Museum Foundation. Congress appointed him to the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission. These roles allowed him to shape how Americans remember their greatest conflict and its leader.

  • His book The Gettysburg Gospel appeared in 2006 with a cover feature in U.S. News & World Report. The New York Times called it fascinating despite being a speech nobody knew. In September 2008 Boritt gave a battlefield tour to President George W. Bush. Laura Bush joined them along with White House Advisor Karl Rove. Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez and Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings were also present. On the 17th of November 2008, President Bush awarded Boritt the National Humanities Medal. The citation honored his distinguished career of scholarship on Lincoln and the Civil War era. His life story became the subject of a documentary film titled Budapest to Gettysburg. Director Jake Boritt made this feature-length work about his father's journey. Boritt retired from active duty in 2009 after decades of service.

  • Boritt and his wife Liz live in an eighteenth-century farmhouse near the Gettysburg battlefield. They restored the property themselves using their own hands. It served as both a stop on the Underground Railroad and a Confederate hospital. Together they raised three sons who achieved professional success. Beowulf Boritt works as a set designer and streaming video ad star in New York City. Jake Boritt lives in Harlem as a filmmaker. Daniel Boritt is a biologist specializing in birds who resides in Indianapolis, Indiana. Boritt received the Order of Lincoln from Illinois governor in 2009 as a Bicentennial Laureate. He was inducted as a Laureate of The Lincoln Academy of Illinois that same year. In 1996 he won The Lincoln Forum's Richard Nelson Current Award of Achievement. These honors reflect both his personal history and his enduring impact on American historical memory.

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1940 births21st-century American historians21st-century American Jews21st-century American male writersAmerican male non-fiction writersHistorians of the American Civil WarJewish American historiansNational Humanities Medal recipients

Common questions

When and where was Gabor Boritt born?

Gabor Boritt was born in 1940 to a Jewish family in Budapest, Hungary. He spent his early years playing on floors stained with blood while the Nazis forced his family into a single room within a hospital on the edge of the ghetto.

How did Gabor Boritt escape from Hungary during World War II?

Gabor Boritt fled toward the Austrian border through darkness as a sixteen-year-old participant in the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. He hiked wooded hills until reaching no man's land guarded by men in watchtowers before running for freedom across machine gun fire.

What academic degrees did Gabor Boritt earn after arriving in America?

Gabor Boritt earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yankton College in 1962. He received a master's degree from the University of South Dakota in 1963 and a Ph.D. from Boston University in 1968.

Why is Gabor Boritt known for his work on Abraham Lincoln?

Gabor Boritt published his first book on Lincoln in 1978 which placed what he called the right to rise at the center of Lincoln's outlook. A 1995 survey listed this book among the ten most important works ever written about Lincoln.

When was Gabor Boritt awarded the National Humanities Medal?

On the 17th of November 2008 President Bush awarded Gabor Boritt the National Humanities Medal. The citation honored his distinguished career of scholarship on Lincoln and the Civil War era.

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All sources

14 references cited across the entry

  1. 1webGabor S. Boritt
  2. 2webAuthor Interview with Gabor Boritt
  3. 3webThe Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. For Historians. Fellowships and Prizes
  4. 4inlineThe Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History . Home
  5. 5webPlowing Hallowed Ground: The Address, Word by Word4 December 2006
  6. 6webBush tours G-burg
  7. 7inline2008 National Humanities Medalists , National Endowment for the Humanities, 2008, Accessed February 4, 2009.
  8. 8webBudapest to Gettysburg1 January 2000
  9. 9webGabor Boritt Looks at His Own PastLevin — 16 November 2009
  10. 10webLaureates by Year - The Lincoln Academy of Illinois
  11. 11inlineThe Lincoln Forum
  12. 12webGabor Boritt, Refugee Who Became Expert on Lincoln, Dies at 86Clay Risen — The New York Times — February 10, 2026
  13. 13newsObituary: Gabor Boritt, Immigrant, Refugee-Turned-Renowned Scholar of Lincoln and American Civil War History, Dies at 86Gettysburg Connection — 3 February 2026
  14. 14bookLincoln and the Economics of the American DreamGabor S. Boritt — University of Illinois Press — 1 January 1994