JCU will once again be the site for a Memorial Exhibit of Images for the 60th Anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution. JCU hosted a similar exhibit in 2006 for the 50th anniversary as well. The exhibit will be held in the atrium of Grasselli Library from Sunday, October 16 through Saturday, October 30, 2016. The exhibit is hosted by Grasselli Library and the Hungarian Association, which is an international cultural and literary organization based in Cleveland, Ohio, and with the generous financial support of the Hungarian Initiatives Foundation based in Washington, DC. On Sunday, October 16, starting at 2 pm everyone is cordially invited to attend the opening reception, followed by film viewings in the Mackin Room. This event and exhibit will celebrate the courage of the Hungarian people and in remembrance of this nation which dared to take on the huge Soviet Empire in search of freedom and human dignity.
The Sunday October 16 exhibit opening will be followed by a viewing of the film, “PLAY YOUR OWN GAME.” The events of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution intertwined with the life of the reigning soccer star Ferenc Puskás give new meaning to the bloody revolt that cracked the myth of communist ideology. Through archival footage, director Ferenc Török portrays the power of the human spirit that ignited the uprising of the Hungarian people against the evil and hugely oppressive communist Soviet empire. It will be followed by the 2007 award winning film, “FREEDOM DANCE” (animated documentary, intercutting original character driven animation w/ recorded interviews and photos). FREEDOM DANCE is the story of a young artist and his newly wedded wife, Edward and Judy Hilbert, literally running for their lives – on foot, by truck, by bus, by train and by boat – on a gutsy and determined quest for personal independence. The film chronicles the four months they spent escaping the ruthless control of Communist Hungary during and post 1956 Hungarian Revolution.
The Hungarian Revolution of 1956
The twentieth century was filled with tragedies but the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 stands out as one of the most poignant. It was a nationwide revolt against the government of its Soviet-imposed policies, lasting from 23 October until 10 November 1956. What had led up to it was that after the end of World War II, Russian troops occupied Hungary and they had no plans of ever leaving. Shortly thereafter, Hungarians had been coerced into signing a mutual assistance treaty with the Soviet Union. Thus after Germany’s defeat in WW II, the Soviet Union imposed a communist dictatorship on Hungary (and other Eastern block countries as well).
The Hungarian Revolution actually began as a student demonstration, which attracted thousands as they marched through central Budapest to the Parliament building, calling out on the streets using a van with loudspeakers via Radio Free Europe. A student delegation, entering the radio building to try to broadcast the students’ demands, but was detained. When the delegation’s release was demanded by the demonstrators outside, they were fired upon by the State’s Secret Security Police from within the building. One student died and was wrapped in a flag and held above the crowd.
The revolt spread quickly across Hungary and the government collapsed. A new government formally disbanded the Secret Police, declared its intention to withdraw from the Warsaw Pact (= a treaty among the Soviet Union and seven other Soviet satellite states in Central and Eastern Europe in existence during the Cold War), and pledged to re-establish free elections. By the end of October 1956, fighting had almost stopped and a sense of normality began to return.
But the defeat of the Hungarian revolution was one of the darkest moments of the Cold War. At certain points since its outbreak on October 23, the revolution had looked like it was on the verge of an amazing triumph. The entire nation had appeared to have taken up arms against the regime. Rebels, often armed with nothing more than kitchen implements and gasoline, were disabling Soviet tanks and achieving other — sometimes small but meaningful — victories throughout the country.
After announcing a willingness to negotiate a withdrawal of Soviet forces, the Soviet Union, tragically, and unbeknownst to anyone outside the Kremlin, completely reversed itself and decided to put a final, violent end to the rebellion and moved to crush the revolution. On November 4, 1956, a large Soviet force invaded Budapest and other regions of the country. The Hungarian resistance continued until 10 November 1956. Over 2,500 Hungarians and 700 Soviet troops were killed in the conflict, and 200,000 Hungarians fled as refugees. Mass arrests and denunciations continued for months thereafter. By January 1957, the new Soviet-installed government had suppressed all public opposition.
Public discussion about this revolution was suppressed in Hungary for more than 30 years. Since the thaw of the 1980s, it has been a subject of intense study and debate. At the inauguration of the Third Hungarian Republic in 1989, 23 October was declared a national holiday.
Source: Carroll News / Dr. Martha Pereszlenyi-Pinter, CMLC chairperson
