Honoured Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen.
October 23,1956!.... A date deeply engraved in my mind and heart as it is in the minds and hearts of all Hungarians. It is the date when Hungarians won the admiration of the world for their heroic rebellion against a ruthless, Soviet-imposed regime. It is a date that reminded freedom loving people the world over that dictatorial regimes may not last forever. Half a century ago the Hungarian people showed the world that human rights and freedoms are more important than life itself. It is the date that heralded the beginning of the end of the Soviet empire. The major reason for the eruption of the revolution was an underlying distrust and hatred for the Hungarian Communist government that was only able to exist due to the military support of the Soviet Union. After World War II, Hungary fell under the Soviet sphere of influence and was occupied by the Red Army, in line with the Yalta Agreement at which Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt discussed Europe's postwar reorganization. In 1945, Soviet Marshal Kliment Voroshilov forced the freely-elected Hungarian government to yield the Interior Ministry to the Hungarian Communist Party. Communist Interior Minister László Rajk established the Hungarian State Security Police, later known as the ÁVO, which brutally suppressed political opposition. Life in Hungary under the communist government was quite unbearable. Until 1951 most important food stuffs, such as bread, sugar, butter, lard etc. were rationed and in short supply.
Shortages also extended to practically all consumer goods western societies enjoyed. Worst of all was the lack of freedom and the constant fear of being arrested and held without trial! There was no freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of association, freedom of the press, nor any other human rights free societies enjoyed and held dear. There were no free elections. Elections were farcical as only the Communist party candidates were listed on the ballots.Any dissent with the official party line was treated swiftly and severely, and those accused of opposing or criticizing the government disappeared from sight, usually in the middle of the night. One of my friends spent three years of hard labour in a coal mine for the offence of having in his possession leaflets that were critical of the government. He never even had the chance of distributing any of those leaflets before he had the misfortune of being arrested. Farmers were forced to join collective farms and lost their independence. Any farmer found to possess undeclared farm products was labeled to be a “kulak”, arrested and his food supply was confiscated which then was publicly displayed to humiliate him and act as a deterrent. Nobody knew who was a secret agent who would report any anti government statements or activities, everyone lived in fear. Government organized demonstrations, in support of government policies, were common place and attending them was mandatory for school children, workers and all other sectors of society. Stalin and Rákosi and other leaders were to be deified and adored. Travel to western countries was limited to the “elite” communist leaders. Hungary’s borders to the west were fortified with mine fields, barbed wires and observation towers to prevent Hungarians from fleeing the country.Even traveling to the border zone required special permits from the police. As a university student in Sopron, which was within 5 km of the border, I had to obtain such a document and renew it annually so I could attend the University.Russian language study and Communist indoctrination were made mandatory in schools and universities nationwide. Under Rákosi, Hungary's government was arguably among the most repressive in Europe. Life was bleak to say the least! Following the death of Stalin in 1953 there was a period of moderate liberalization in the Soviet controlled countries, including Hungary. In fact, the border fortification was removed during the summer of 1956 which facilitated the escape of many Hungarians following the defeat of the revolution. The moderate liberalization resulted in the replacement of Mátyás Rákosi with Imre Nagy as the new Hungarian Prime Minister in 1953. In 1955, the Austrian State Treaty and ensuing declaration of neutrality established Austria as demilitarized and neutral. In 1955 Nagy had considered the possibility of Hungary adopting a neutral status on the Austrian pattern but this never materialized as he was ousted by Rákosi and expelled from the Communist Party. The more liberal atmosphere gave rise to liberal movements among university students as well.On October 22nd students of the Technical University of Budapest produced a sixteen point document, which contained their demands for liberalization, and presented it to the government. The first and foremost demand was immediate evacuation of all Soviet troops from Hungary.
Other demands focused on
changes in government,
trial of previous government leaders,
fair general elections,
right to strike,
revision of foreign relations,
reorganization of Hungary’s economic life,
foreign trade relations,
revision of wages,
rational distribution of agricultural products,
equality of individual farms,
release of innocent political prisoners,
freedom of expression and freedom of the press,
removal of the statue of Stalin
and various other issues.
On October 23 students of the afore mentioned Technical University organized a peaceful demonstration in support of Polish demands for liberalization. The huge number of demonstrators, estimated at 200 thousand, ended up at the radio station and a delegation attempted to have the demands broadcast over the radio. The request was denied and, instead, the AVO opened fire on the demonstrators, killing several people. The ÁVH tried to resupply itself by hiding arms inside an ambulance, but the crowd detected the ruse and intercepted it.
With these guns and others obtained from the military, the real revolution begun.Stalin's giant statue, a reminder of the hated dictator, was torn down from central Budapest and protestors placed Hungarian flags in the boots atop the pedestal. Many soldiers joined the fighters and Hungarian Communist Party Secretary Ernő Gerő requested Soviet military intervention to deal with the so called “mob”. On October 24th Soviet tanks entered Budapest and Soviet soldiers guarded the bridges and the Parliament building. Revolutionaries quickly set up barricades to defend Budapest, and had captured some Soviet tanks by mid-morning. Many Russian tanks were torched by Molotov cocktails, others were friendly to the Hungarians. A very sad event was the massacre at the Parliament Buildings where nearly a hundred people lost their lives in a firefight between freedom fighters, members of the AVO and the Soviet Armed forces. During the next few days events happened in rapid succession, too numerous to detail here.Imre Nagy took over as Prime Minister and formed a government promising major changes, such as free elections with multiple parties, requesting the withdrawal of Soviet Forces from Hungary and the withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact. In the meantime the revolution extended to other parts of the country. Revolutionary councils arose nationwide, assumed local governmental authority, and called for general strikes. Life was returning to normal and people were looking to the future with great expectations. My personal experience with the revolution was in Sopron, a city on the Austrian border. Students of the University formed a Revolutionary Council and actively participated in maintaining order in the city and also supporting the revolutionary efforts of Budapest. As the news of the revolution spread aid in the form of food, medicine and various other goods started to flood in from western countries. The University of Sopron was a convenient place to receive and redistribute donations. Requests for supplies arrived from all over the country and our Council ensured that requested supplies arrived at the appropriate places by sending a designated student out with the shipment. I was one of those “shotgun” riders and accompanied two shipments to Budapest and witnessed some of the destruction in beautiful Budapest. However, the smiles of anticipation of a better tomorrow was on the faces of everyone. It was a wonderful feeling to feel free after so many years of oppression and fear.Words cannot describe this feeling, one must experience it to understand.Unfortunately, the expectations were dashed on November 4th of 1956 when reinforced Soviet forces crushed the revolution. Reportedly, over 2,500 Hungarian rebels and 722 Soviet troops were killed and thousands more were wounded. János Kádár, formerly in charge of the AVH and opponent of Imre Nagy, announced the formation of a "Revolutionary Worker-Peasant Government" consisting entirely of Communists. Following the fall of the revolution the new government acted swiftly and harshly. Thousands of Hungarians were arrested, imprisoned and deported to the Soviet Union, many unjustly. Over 200,000 Hungarians fled Hungary, some 26,000 were put on trial by the Kádár government, and of those 13,000 were imprisoned. CIA documents report approximately 1,200 executions, but former Hungarian Foreign Minister Géza Jeszenszky estimated 350 were executed.Among those executed were Imre Nagy, Pál Maléter two of the best known leaders of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. Hungarian refugees dispersed throughout the World and an estimated 37 thousand settled in Canada, gratefully accepting the wonderful hospitality of the Canadian people. In December 1991 Boris Yeltsin, apologized officially for the 1956 Soviet actions in Hungary. This apology was repeated by Yeltsin in 1992 during a speech to the Hungarian parliament. Today we are celebrating the lives of those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for a better life in Hungary and to pay homage to the memory of the valiant people who fought an unfair battle against overwhelming odds. They were shining stars and an inspiration to all freedom loving people. Please join me in a minute of silence in their memory.
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In closing, I would like to add a parting advice.
As Canadian citizens we are fortunate to have our human rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
It is our duty to ensure that these rights and freedoms are protected for future generations for it is easy to lose human rights but very difficult to regain them.
Thank you very much.
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