October 22, 2006

Ambassador Celebrates 50th Anniversary of the 1956 Revolution with Cleveland Hungarians

At the invitation of the Cleveland Hungarian Revolution 50^th Anniversary Committee and the United Hungarian Societies, Ambassador and Mrs. András Simonyi paid a one-day visit to Cleveland to commemorate the 1956 revolution against communist tyranny with Hungarians and Hungarian Americans living in the region.

Ambassador Simonyi and Náda P. Simonyi attended the inter-faith service held at St. John’s Cathedral with Bishop Rover W. Gries officiating the service accompanied by Jewish and Protestant Clergy. They participated at the 1956 Commemoration at the Hungarian St. Emeric Roman Catholic Church with Miklós Peller as keynote speaker.

In the evening, the Hungarian Ambassador and Mrs. Simonyi attended the Tribute Concert to the heroes and martyrs of the 1956 revolution featuring great Hungarian composers Bartók, Kodály and Liszt. Charity Sunshine, granddaughter of Congressman Tom Lantos, closed the concert with an opera selection by Ferenc Erkel. Ambassador Simonyi and Congressman Lantos paid tribute to the Freedom fighters and emphasized the historic importance of the Hungarian Revolution during the reception preceding to the Concert.