Bethlen Naptár, 1958 (Ligonier)
Highlights in Hungarian Life…
232 BETHLEN NAPTÁR FACE TO FACE ... or A SPIRITUAL IRON CURTAIN There isn’t a nation on earth today that doesn’t know of the Hungarian Revolution. The Hungarian name has again become known on all the continents. The amazing faith, strength and sacrifice of Hungarian youth in half a month has written the fame, name, honor and glory of the Hungarian people on the pages of world history. The Hungarians scattered throughout the world now felt for the very first time, what a wonderful feeling it is to be sons of an honored, respected and admired people. Thousands upon thousands who were ready to forget their Hungarian descent rediscovered from whence they came. In this spirit Hungarians in America awaited the new refugees. They felt that the western world must have done something greater. On the basis of its well advertised moral standards our nation rushed to aid the brave little people fighting for freedom. But even if the world didn’t give what it could have, the Hungarians in America felt that they would do all they could. And with offerings and the spirit of humanity, they gladly awaited the homeless brothers. As is usually the case, the new arrivals were over idealized. At first it was thought that all were Freedom Fighters, who destroyed at least one tank apiece. Many of this type did arrive, but as a rule, instead of heroes human beings arrived, strange people. In their attitudes and ideals they represented another world entirely. A world whose horrors cannot be conceived by Hungarians in America. This brought on many disappointments. Here in America we expected to find fine, brave and outstanding people among the new arrivals, as alert characters from a novel by Jókai. In reality something else happened. The largest group among the first arrivals left Hungary before November 4th. They were not interested in the success of the revolution, but rather the promise of a new and better life. Or else they waited for years for the frontier to open and the opportunity to leave a life that had been turned into hell. If we today were to ask the older Hungarian American group what it thinks of the new arrivals, we would hear some strange opinions. If for no other reason, because people usually speak more rapidly of the bad than the good. One criminal ruins the reputation of a hundred good people. But can we really know these people? Have we tried to discover what goes on in their minds and to look into the world that is so distant and that makes these people so strange? The western world has a tendency to use generalizations. It seeks to unburden its own conscience by only seeing the bad. When America waged its Revolutionary War it received aid from many nations. And then only sailing ships crossed the seas, not fast airplanes. The Hungarian people fought its battle alone. It received aid only through good wishes or Pilatelike hand washing. The one American citizen who tried to enter Hungary from Germany to take part in the battles was imprisoned for his act. But what is it that characterizes the life of the Hungarian people behind the Iron Curtain? Hungary is the colony of an empire of 200 million people. Its folk is as exploited as colonial peoples in the early years of colonialism. There is neither wealth nor security. Everyone lives in danger.
