Fáklyaláng, 1965. október (6. évfolyam, 1-10. szám)
1965-10-23 / 10. szám
8 FÁKLYALÁNG Great Americans About The Hungarian Revolution of October 23, 1956 DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER “Few events of recent times have so stirred the American people as the tragic effort of Hungarian men and women to gain freedom for themselves and their children. The initial purge of liberty which followed their heroic struggle will be long and sorrowfully remembered, not only by those directly suffering from that brutality, but also by all humans who believe in the dignity of man.” JOHN V. LINDSAY “Even since the October revolt of 1956 the cause of Hungary has been one of my most abiding concerns. In fact, at the time of the revolt, as Executive Assistant to the Attorney General of the United States I made two trips to Austria and Germany to facilitate the admission of Hungarian escapees into the United States. Many an early dawn I stood at the bridge at Andau and saw and heard the heroism of the freedom fighters.” AVARELL HARRIMAN .. Last fall we saw this tragic history repeat itself. Rising heroically against a far worse Communist tyranny, Hungarian Freedom Fighters were well on the way toward victory when — again — powerful Red armies rode in from the east to destroy them. The patriots of Hungary have lost a battle but you know, and I know, and the Kremlin knows, that the have not lost the war against tyranny. Brutal hated men, directed by the even more hated and brutal men in the Kremlin, are once more wreaking their evil will on the people of Hungary, and meting out dread punishment. But their days are numbered. This very day the Communists have had to take special security measures in Budapest. They feared demonstrations on Independence Day. For the heroism and sacrifice of the freedom fighters of Hungary have deeply stirred the world. And they may well have altered the course of history. For they have exposed, for the entire world to see, the evil that lurks behind the smile on the face of the Kremlin. They have revealed — even for doubters to recognize — what the men of the Kremlin really mean when they talk about “peaceful coexistence”, when they prate about democracy and independence, when they plot the “liberation” of colonial peoples. Nothing since the death of Stalin has so weakened the Kremlin or created such fear in the hearts of Communists the world over.” (Excerpt from Address by Averell Harriman at the Kossuth Statue on March 15. 1957.) General of the Army Douglas McArthur as Patron of our “Captain John Smith Ceremony in 1962 at Jamestown, Va.,” has sent the following message through the American Hungarian Federation: In response to the invitation from Director Dezső Almássy Balogh of the Colonel Kováts Society and yourself. I regret my inability personally to be present at the ceremony at Jamestown to honor the memory of Captain John Smith, whose name and fame form so illustrious a part of the history of the Hungarian people as well as that of my native state on my maternal side, Virginia. I cannot, however, miss the opportunity to pay tribute to the indomitable will for freedom which characterizes the Hungarian people now, just as it did in Captain John Smith’s time — just as it did later by its immortal share in the struggle for American independence — and just as it did more recently by its heroic effort to cast off the bondage of communist enslavement. In this struggle the world will long remember the mighty effort of a brave people to overwhelm the sword by the will alone. It failed to break through the encirclement of modern arms in the ruthless hands of a despotic tyranny. Yet its very failure points to a victory for the human will by the example thus set of devotion to the cause of liberty, challenging the emulation of all who cherish freedom everywhere. Indeed, in that very failure, preordained by the relativity of force, may be found the seeds to ultimate victory. For such a will shall in time prevail even over the most ruthless mastery known to man. Thus the struggle and sacrifice of the patriots of Hungary of October 23, 1956 was not in vain. The honor you do at Jamestown to the memory of an early American, Captain John Smith, serves to point up the many generations in which Americans and Hungarians have struggled together in the cause of human liberty and freedom. May this unity of purpose ever strengthen until that noble cause has prevailed and the enslavement of free men as an evil concept has been banished from this earth. Most faithfully. DOUGLAS MacARTHUR” JOHN SMITH S PLAQUE Let us all visit Jamestown — Williamsburg — Yorktown, yarly to repeat our patriotic exercises, thus spreading the fame of the pioneer settlers some of whom defended Transylvania and Virginia alike. There is congeniality and moral strength in our collective determination to cultivate our ancient heritages, our American and Hungarian “COMMON GLORY”........... SENATOR CLAIORNE PELL “. . . As one who served with the International Rescue Committee on the Hungarian border during those tragic and yet inspirational days of October 1956, I am personally aware of the magnificent spirit of courage demonstrated by the Hungarian Freedom Fighters — a spirit which continues to give the Free World an abiding faith in steadfast valor and determination. As we ourselves oppose the forces of tyranny, the Hungarian Freedom Fighters exemplify those qualities which are deeply significant to the future of mankind . . .” (Excerpt from Senator Pell’s letter of October 15, 1964.)
