October 14, 2006

Cold War Conversations: The Uprisings and Revolutions of 1956

The Cold War Museum in cooperation with the Hungarian and Polish Embassies convened a distinguished gathering of diplomats, officials and historians on Saturday, October 14 in Fairfax County to discuss the 1956 Polish and Hungarian uprisings against the Soviets and Communism.

The daylong conference titled „Cold War Conversations: the Uprisings and Revolutions of 1956” program was hosted by South County Secondary School in Lorton, Virginia. Despite of being held on a Saturday, hundreds of students as well professors, senior researchers and participants of those glorious events attended. The event was opened by Fairfax County Supervisor Chairman, Gerald Connolly, Hungary’s Deputy Chief of Mission Viktor Szederkényi and Poland’s Cultural Counselor Mariusz M. Brymora.

Viktor Szederkényi, the Hungarian Deputy Chief of Mission, opens the conference with officials of the Polish Embassy and Fairfax County

Conference attendees heard from three panels. The first panel included noted Polish historians: Dr. Padraic Kenney, Dr. Krzysztof Persak, and Dr. Marek Chodakiewicz, talking about the Polish Uprisings.

The first panel: Polish historians Dr. Padraic Kenney, Dr. Krzysztof Persak, and Dr. Marek Chodakiewicz

Dr. Emery (Imre) Toth, Dr. Sergei Khrushchev, Zoltán Fehér of the Hungarian Embassy, and 1956 freedom-fighter Frank Kapitan at the conference

 The second panel focused on Hungary during the 1950s and in particular the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. Dr. Imre L. Toth, the surviving Secretary of the Revolutionary Committee for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the Imre Nagy Government, joined Dr. Charles Gati, author of “Failed Illusions: Moscow, Washington, Budapest, and the 1956 Hungarian Revolt” on the Hungarian panel. Ms. Julia Vasarhelyi, whose father was the Head of Information in the Nagy government in 1956, recounted her family’s experience and exile to Rumania after the uprising. Both panels were moderated by Christian Ostermann of the Cold War International History Project the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

Júlia Vásárhelyi, Prof. Charles Gati, and Dr. Emery (Imre) Toth

David Eisenhower, grandson of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Dr. Sergei Khrushchev, son of Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev discuss international reflections of the 1956 events on the third panel chaired by Francis Gary Powers, Jr, Founder of The Cold War Museum.

David Eisenhower, Francis Gary Powers, Jr. and Dr. Sergei Khrushchev

Breakout sessions included the collection of oral histories from Cold War veterans and family members by South County students. Ms. Linda McCarthy, Founding Curator of the CIA’s Exhibit Center and Mr. Werner Jurtezko, a Cold War G-2 operative imprisoned by the East German secret police (Stasi), talked about their experiences and the importance of preserving Cold War history. U.S. Representative from Fairfax and Prince William Counties, Tom Davis, provided closing remarks.

The organizers and panelists of the conference

Following the conference, the Polish and Hungarian Ambassadors in Washington co-hosted an evening reception for invited guests at the Embassy of Poland. Ambassadors Janusz Reiter and András Simonyi underlined the historical friendship and solidarity of the two nations, as well as their common resolution in fighting for freedom and building democracy.

Ambassadors Reiter and Simonyi at the Polish Embassy

Ambassador Simonyi at the Embassy of Poland

The Hungarian and Polish Embassies, American Hungarian Federation, Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, the Hungarian Technology Center, as well as the Cold War Museum and the South County Secondary School, were conference hosts. Sponsors included EnviroSolutions, Inc., Handyman Concrete, K. Hovnanian® Homes, Marriott Fairfax at Fair Oaks, Northern Virginia Community College, Verizon, and Vulcan Materials Company.