Fáklyaláng, 1961. február-október (2. évfolyam, 2-10. szám)
1961-10-23 / 8-10. szám
FIFTH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE FREE HUNGARIANS FOR FREE HUNGARY Adklya Icing HUNGARIAN TORCHLIGHT A Monthly Review of Hungarian Issues VOLUME 2. NUMBERS 8—10, NEW YORK, OCTOBER 23, 1961. THE REBIRTH OF A NATION Let us remember on the Filth Anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution and Freedom Fight of October-November, 1956. Let us remember our comrades in arm who died in the heroic struggle, who became martyrs of the nation, and who languish in prisons; let us remember all who participated in this struggle in which a nation was reborn and which won the admiration and respect of the entire world. What was the strength, and what was the will that moved and instigated a nation, small in number but great in heroic traditions, to such unprecedented heroism and achievements in recent history. We must remind the world, those who forget easily, the faint-hearted, the unbelievers, our friends and our enemies alike. The Hungarian Revolution and Freedom Fight of October-November 1956 was a history shaping event. Its historic importance goes far beyond its momentary acceptance by the world. The impact and human aspect of the great national revolutions which shook the world and shaped human history must break through the air of indifference, lack of understanding and falsification of history. Something new, more lasting set of values was born in those unforgettable, beautiful and tragic days. Greek philosophy has its merit for placing the individual in the center of knowledge. The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 has the merit of putting the individual on the place that was long due to him. The Hungarian Revolution and Freedom Fight restored human dignity and restored the respect of human values. The twelve year long Soviet dictatorship did not take pain to chose the means to liquidate the remnants of a thousand years of national traditions, and to destroy the will and backbone of a nation, and drive it into slavery. It failed, however, to realize that the soul is strengthened to trials and suffering, that the will of the people strengthens under oppression and duress. It also failed to realize that the tension created by its terror will break all ties and the shallow surface - fear - which preserved the apparent calmness, will disappear in a matter of seconds. It was the will of a nation that broke the chains of slavery on October 23, 1956, and the spirit of freedom could not be resisted by any weapons, by the hundreds of Soviet tanks and by the thousands of secret police detachments. Neither could it be suppressed by mass murder and vandalism. The Revolution that broke out on October 23, 1956, was a spontaneous one. This fact cannot be denied, especially not after five years of painful Communist attempts to prove to the contrary. It started as a peaceful demonstration, turned into a Revolution and became a freedom fight of an entire nation. It was a Revolution against the “new class’’, against the immoral rule of decadent intellectuals who were alien to the Hungarian people, who were always disloyal to the nation, and who betrayed the nation that gave them life and supported them. It was a Freedom Fight of a nation to regain national independence from foreign rule. It was the first mass movement in world history that had no leaders, whose outbreak was not determined by outsite forces. It was the Hungarian nation that acted to shake off the chains and to regain human dignity. It was an unanimous national movement. Students, workers, peasants and intellectuals, young and old, women and men, together, in unison were moved by the same idea; the restoration of the nation’s rights. They took arms to fight for the freedom and independence of Hungary, their fatherland, with the aim to create a democratic system of government based on the dignity of man. In the first victorious stage of the Revolution the nation rejected Communism in all its forms. It rejected not only Soviet Communism but also the nationalist version of Communism as being alien to the spirit and thinking of the Hungarian people. It is, therefore, harmful and dangerous to state that the Hungarian Revolution wanted to create a system which would have been similar to that in Yugoslavia under Tito. This Contention is not true all the more as the “new class” is the exclusive possessor of the power within the state and the Hungarian Revolution instituted real democracy with the setting up of National Committees, Workers Councils and other dem-T
