I
could not have done this without you, Nick. This is really what an
alliance is about. We achieved big things and even greater things. Thank
you so much.
Madam
Secretary,
This
is a real honor for Náda, my children, myself, all the Hungarians
around here and Hungarians at home. Thank you for honoring us with your
presence.
Secretary
Rice,
Congressman Lantos,
Undersecretary Burns,
Cardinal McCarrick,
Rabbi Schneier,
Reverend Gunn,
Archivist Weinstein,
Members of Congress,
Your Excellencies, colleagues,
Freedom fighters
Ladies and Gentlemen
What
an honor and a privilege to represent my country at this solemn
commemorative event. Through you, Madam Secretary, the people of the
United States are honoring Hungary, the Hungarians, the legacy of our
revolution, our freedom. You are paying tribute to an ally, a good friend.
I
will not attempt to give you a historic account of the revolution. I will
not try to analyze what went on in the Politburo of the CPSU that, Madam
Secretary, you yourself have done in your study of the issue when you were
a scholar at the University of Denver, and like professor Charles Gati,
himself a refugee of 1956, and others are doing it these days. Much better
than I could do it. Nor will I pretend that I can do justice to each
individual who fought, hoped and then suffered in the aftermath. Nor will
I want to seek out those who are to blame for its failure. I can’t do
that. History has done justice. We are free to hold the torn flag of the
revolution like the one behind me with dignity here or in Budapest.
My
first memories in life date back to the time when I was four years old. In
the fall of 1956 something happened. First there was the tension, coming
and going of adults, then there was the dimming of the lights in the
evening, then the house arrest. Then the packing of our belongings and
unpacking again. Then the shots on the street, the running home from an
unfinished luncheon in a nearby restaurant. Tanks with large red stars on
their top roaring down our little street, Soviet airplanes flying above
our heads. Then the whispers: aunt Bözsi left for the West, uncle Bandi
left for the Palestine.
For
years and years my parents never spoke about those days. Like thousands of
families our own family was torn apart. Like in many families there were
freedom fighters, those who confronted the Soviets head on and those who
did it quietly their own way. Some who feared change and some, let’s
face it, who welcomed the occupiers.
I
learned years later that my father had it all arranged: A place for the
whole family on a truck headed for the free West. A job in Holland awaited
him. But Hungary was our home, it is the country of our loves, our
sorrows, our ancestors; my parents couldn’t leave all that behind.
Most
of those who left did not have a choice; they were heartbroken. Those who
couldn’t were terrified. We were a torn country, an occupied nation that
after a whiff of freedom, a few days of democracy and free press in those
shiny October days suddenly felt the darkness, the dictatorship at its
harshest.
We
felt betrayed; the West that so passionately supported our revolution on
the airwaves did not come to the assistance of a small nation. But the
legacy of the revolution would live on in our hearts and our minds. It
grew into our everyday life. We would carry the torch this way or that.
If
Hungary, the Hungarians were able to carve out small but precious freedoms
for themselves compared to other enslaved nations of Europe during the 30
years that ensued, it was because of the legacy of ’56. The spirit of
Imre Nagy, Pál Maléter, Cardinal Mindszenty, Árpád Göncz and others
lived on in the West and in the East. After the revolution we lived our
lives, real lives. We made some compromises. Daily life, family took front
seat. But most of us never gave up, never surrendered.
We
are grateful for those nations but more importantly those families and
individuals that opened their doors to the hundreds of thousands of
refugees and gave them a new lease on life. Many of you who are here
today, fled in those terrible months. You Hungarian Americans did
you best to uphold the legacy and helped us regain our freedom. In this,
Congressman Lantos, you stood out as a leader. And I see many friends and
colleagues like Ambassadors David Manning, Frans Van Daelen, Gunnar Lund
and others in the audience, who told me: their political consciousness
dates back to 1956.
Hungary
today is free and democratic, with a miraculous transformation from
dictatorship to democracy, from command economy to market economy behind
it. It boasts a free press, and its citizens are vigilant: they will
never, ever give in to demagoguery and populist ideologies that threaten
their freedoms so hard won. We have achieved more than our heroes had ever
dreamed of: we are solidly allied with the United States and European
democracies, we are allied in NATO and integrated into the European Union.
Hungary
never gave up. We always knew that our efforts were not in vain. The first
real crack on communism was caused by Hungary. And in 1989 finally our
dreams came true. It was the result of our desire for liberty and
democracy and the perseverance of the free world that finally brought us
our freedom. In that American leadership was crucial. There is no doubt:
the Iron Curtain started falling in 1956.
Over
the years in Hungary the term “1956” acquired a broader meaning. It
became the symbol of uncompromised desire for liberty. To us, everybody is
a “56-er” who is willing to fight the status quo for the greater
values of freedom and democracy. To us, President Reagan is a 56-er for
his determination to win the Cold War and liberate the captive nations. To
us, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is a 56-er for his devoted efforts to
bring about equality. To us Presidents Bush and Clinton, Margaret
Thatcher, Vaclav Havel are all 56-ers. Frank Carlucci, Zbigniew Brzezinski
are 56-ers.
For
us, Madam Secretary, you are a 56-er as you devote your efforts to bring
democracy to suppressed nations. To us, every man and woman, President or
simple citizen, is a 56-er who fights for freedom and democracy be it in
Europe, Asia, Latin America, Iraq, Afghanistan or elsewhere in the world.
No
regime can take away the spirit of freedom. Dictatorships can crush your
bodies with tanks but even tanks can’t crush your hearts and minds. They
can censor your speeches and writings but they can never take away your
thoughts and dreams. Hungarians, and those who believed in us in the whole
wide world helped us
to keep the spirit alive.
You
never gave up on Hungary, on our freedom, you believed in us and you were
right. It is today our duty to help others achieve their dreams.
Thanks
to our known and unknown heroes we live in a better world today.
In
1956, in Hungary, the Revolution was truly an individual sacrifice as the
“status quo,” “international circumstances,” or “fear of the
consequences” prevented others to come to our help, to do more than
expressing moral support and sympathy.
Today,
freedom-seeking nations can count on us Hungarians, the broad coalition of
democracies who learned the lessons from 1956.
It is
time to remember, it is time to move on, time to heal the wounds but only
never to forget.
We
are commemorating and reminding generations after us: Don’t ever take
your liberties for granted and that
freedom comes at a price.
The
sacrifice was not in vain.
