Anti-Communist resistance figter and political prisoner activist is remembered across the nationContinue reading
“We are proud that the Hungarian struggle for freedom was written in blood, and that the Hungarian people proved that their sons and daughters were willing to sacrifice their lives for freedom,” said Zoltán Lomnici, Honorary President of the World Association of 1956 Hungarian Freedom Fighters, at the organization’s ceremony held on Tuesday at the Corvin köz in Budapest, a central location where clashes took place in the past.
“At the same time, our revolutions and battles for freedom taught us that we can only count on ourselves in the struggle for freedom,” Lomnici added at the ceremony marking the 66th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. This is why it is particularly important for Hungarians to strengthen their sense of solidarity and togetherness, he underscored.
The 1956 Revolution raised the Hungarian people’s heads and showed that it was possible to create a free Hungary. For this reason, we must remember with special gratitude those who sacrificed their lives for freedom,
he added.
The need for solidarity is also shown by the fact that the heroes of the revolution hoped in vain that the United States and Western European countries would help them in their struggle against the Soviet oppressors. In his speech, Lomnici, who also commemorated the 250 freedom fighters executed in the post-revolutionary reprisals, said that the United States and the Western powers had abandoned Hungarians.
At the end of the ceremony, awards and medals were presented and a memorial plaque to the heroes of the revolution was laid in Corvin köz.
The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 was a revolution of the people of Hungary against Stalinist terror and the Soviet occupation, and one of the most defining events in 20th century Hungarian history. It began with the peaceful demonstration of students from the universities of Budapest on October 23, 1956 and ended with the Soviets crushing the resistance of armed rebels in Csepel on November 11.
Featured photo via MTI/Illyés Tibor