Fraternity-Testvériség, 1958 (36. évfolyam, 1-11. szám)

1958-11-01 / 11. szám

fraternity

5

ILONA MARTON:

JULIA WALKED TO MARTIAL MUSIC

Thursday, October 23, was the second anniversary date of the freedom uprising in Hungary. Throughout the fighting, the writer of this article, Ilona Marton, was on the scene as a correspondent for the United Press International. Her husband, Endre, was correspondent for the Associated Press. They are now living in Bethesda, Md.

Until they fled Hungary in January 1957, the Martons and their daughters, Kati and Julie, lived in Budapest. In February 1955, Endre was arrested by the Communist government and Ilona was arrested in June of the same year. They were held until November, then tried and sentenced to prison on charges of espionage.

Granted clemency in 1956 (the de-Stalinization period when most political prisoners were pardoned), both Martons were on hand to cover the Hungarian revolution. When the revolt failed, the Martons fled to the United States, arriving on April 3, 1957, the anniversary of Mrs. Marion’s release from prison.

Endre Marton is a Washington correspondent with the Associated Press. Ilona Marton is a free lance writer. And, they have a third child — Andrew Thomas Marton Jr., who was born here (in this country) 10 months ago. “He has the American spelling of his father’s name”, Ilona explains, “because we are such good Americans.”

★ ★ ★

This article was published in “The Washington Post” on the anniversary of the 1956 revolution.

Julia was 16, blond, and had dreamy blue eyes. I saw her once. She cuddled a Tommy gun.

The day was November 3, 1956. Uneasy silence reigned over Budapest, the city Mr. Eisenhower termed a few weeks later “a shining and new symbol of man’s yearning to be free . . .”

More than a hundred newsmen streamed out from the huge Gothic building of the Hungarian Parliament in the wintry twilight. We attended a press conference with Premier Imre Nagy’s two cabinet ministers, Zoltán Tildy and Geza Losonczy. (Losonczy is dead — the Communists said he died in prison before his trial. Tildy was sentenced to six years in prison.) The minister reported that Gen. Pal Maleter had “satisfactory” talks with three Russian generals on the withdrawal of Soviet troops and that negotiations would continue the same night at the Russian headquarters.