we took this is a picture this weekend in vértanúk tere across the street from the parliament building. It was really sunny that day, so my pictures didn’t turn out great. At any rate, this is a monument that was unveiled in 1996 of Imre Nagy, the reformist communist prime minister who was executed in 1958 for his role in the uprising two years before. 1956 was when hungary came under communist rule and 25,000+ people died during the fighting.
to remember all those who died in 1956, people set out bouquets of flowers and candles at statues, flags, plaques, etc. around the city. 23 october is the anniversary of when hungary became the republic of hungary and was freed from communist rule. it is also a day of remembrance to those who died in the 1956 fighting. it’s amazing to see how many flowers and candles are out around the city. there is also an eternal flame that burns in front of parliament. i am learning more about the hungary history and putting bits of information together to get it straight and it’s quite fascinating. we plan to visit some museums to helps us learn even more.
2 comments:
Trivia: after WWII the CIA/US encouraged many uprisings against communism, around the world. The 1956 revolt might have been successful if the CIA backed up it's offer of military support. It did not, and the revolutionist were crushed. That effort is the what people in Hungry memorialize. Hungry did not completely break for communist role until late 1990's, i think.
It was strange when I was in Hungary in 1997, it was like the people knew their world was different, but they had no idea what to do otherwise. In the intervening 10 years a whole new generation has come who, doubtless, know nothing of forced Russian lessons or a time before PepsiCo.
The world changes so dramatically, that sometimes we have no other recourse but to do the old thing, knowing it's but mere nostalgia.
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