Magyar News, 1999. szeptember-2000. augusztus (10. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2000-03-01 / 7. szám
General Arthur Görgei dethroning the Habsburgs, Deák withdrew as did many others. But, Osztróvszky stayed on as one of the 121 members who supported the April 14,1849 declaration of independence. Shortly after, Kossuth’s revolutionary government appointed him commissioner for the Szeged district. He returned home again to take on that assignment. A month later virtually all of Hungary was under the control of the revolutionary government. But, as I’m sure all readers know, Austria sought Russian assistance against the rebels, which reversed the previous Magyar battlefield successes. After the defeat at Győr, Kossuth promulgated his Szeged Plan. This plan was to move defenses back towards Szeged, and included a scorched earth policy to hobble the Austrian advance. On July 12, the same year, Kossuth and what remained of the Hungarian government fled to Szeged, which became the capital of revolutionary Hungary for a few weeks. The Parliament in Szeged, enacted the nationality law, which guaranteed the right of all ethnic groups to free national development. Meanwhile the military situation had deteriorated, and government finances reached a critical threshold. In Szeged general optimism pervaded. But, it did not last long. Prime Minister Szemere warned again that under the military pressure the capital would have to be moved. Days before the evacuation of Szeged, the pregnant wife of Osztróvszky, and their young son, went to nearby Hodmezövásárhély to live with her sister and brother-in-law. There, their daughter Mária, my great grandmother, was bom — just four days before the surrender of her father and Hungary’s armies. Osztróvszky himself left Szeged for Arad with the retreating Honvéd army and the government. General Arthur Görgei arrived at Arad with his army on August 10, but thai city had already been evacuated by the Honvéd forces. Only Kossuth and what little remained of the government were still there. On the 12th Kossuth resigned his post as Governor of Hungary and fled to Turkey, leaving Görgei in charge of the government with the only major revolutionary army still in the field. Osztróvszky attended the last meeting of Parliament in Arad that day, and moved on with the army to Világos. Görgei had three choices: continue fighting what he believed to be a lost cause, flee the country as Kossuth had, or surrender and try to get the best possible terms. At Világos, the following day, Görgei surrendered to the Russian — not the Austrian — commander. We all know of the 13 generals who were executed in Arad on October 6, 1849 and who have gone down in history as great martyrs. Few know, though, that Austrian retribution went on for almost Ferenc Deák - Sage of Hungary two years, with trials for 4628 Hungarian rebels, both military and civilian. In September 1850, a military tribunal in Pest sentenced József Osztróvszky to death by hanging for his activities as a member of Parliament during the War for Independence. About 500 others were also sentenced to death. Strange enough, they were not immediately imprisoned. Osztróvszky was paroled home for a year, during which time, he stayed with his family, and his daughter Vilma was bom. Then, like all but 120 mostly military martyrs, his death sentence was commuted to imprisonment. Austria was feeling international pressure, and also recognized they needed the help of these Hungarians, who were accessories in the revolution, but were the only suitable people to govern the country in the future. József Osztróvszky served his sentence at the Josefstadt national prison in Moravia. While in prison, he was remem-The Redout building on the bank of the Danube in Pest, and the inside with the Parliament meeting Page 4
