As the wife of a Hungarian Freedom Fighter, 1956 has had a profound impact on my own life. Since Budapest has been our yearly destination for as long as I can remember, I’ve become more immersed in that event than many others.…
Much of Hungary’s twentieth century history – both tragic and inspiring – is reflected in the complex story of the Maléter family. Paul Maléter’s parents, Mária and Pál, came from families who knew each other well in the city of…
My story is about the journey of a family, the Szabó family; my father Dr. András Szabó, my sister Judy, and my mother Emilia, who during her life went by many names, the most recognized one being Kathy Kapossy, Cleveland's Hungarian radio…
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Although I always knew that I was Hungarian-my family traveled back to Hungary every two years or so after I was born-I only really came into my Hungarian identity, the true spirit of it, much later in life. It is…
It all started so innocently on a beautiful sunny October 23rd, back then in 1956. I was a 14 year-old student at the Jozsef Attila Gimnazium in Budapest, whose classmates excitedly whispered the forbidden word “demonstration.” And soon we all set forth…
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“Star fell, the earth shook, came the year of miracles...” – János Arany
January 1956 Budapest was shaken by an earthquake.
In October 1956 the whole world was...!
Distant and immediate antecedents
My Father obtained his high school and later his medical diploma by…
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I was getting ready for school the morning of October 24, 1956, when my Grandmother informed me that school had been canceled due to fighting in the streets. The Hungarian Revolution started the night before. Although I was not sure…
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Precursor to history
For me the Revolution started in 1955, when the members of the choir and the orchestra of the Liszt Academy of Music wanted to perform for the first time Zrinyi’s “Szózat” on the birthday of its composer, Zoltán…
I do remember '56. One must not forget it. Yes, I remember as if it happened today. Yes, I remember when I experienced freedom for the first time. I remember that our joy was second only to our enthusiasm. I remember when we…
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It was a regular school day with a regular class schedule for Tuesday. As I did at the beginning of my schooldays, I wrote the date on my notebook. It was October 23.
In the morning my Mother talked about…