William Penn Life, 1999 (34. évfolyam, 2-12. szám)
1999-09-01 / 9. szám
tföe do not uxmt the recordofíhiátory to iay ofíuá thatwc wore dead-uveiyht in Codmorica, hot rather that we dared in the hui/dóny oßa yreat nation. &íhva/már ddoohdnyi Through such a symbol, they also felt that later generations of Hungarian Americans would be directed toward Hungary in thought, in concern and in appreciation. Meanwhile, in Hungary Kohányi and others worked hard to win support for the statue there. Dark clouds of misunderstanding and ill appreciation confronted Kohányi in Hungary, even as he made final arrangements. In the days immediately preceding the unveiling, he was nearly forced to persuade anew the Hungarian government that there were no political overtones nor hidden motives to the offer of the statue. He and his fellow Americans of Hungarian descent did not want to propagandize a republican form of government in the Hungarian kingdom. He sought to persuade the Hungarian government that it should have an official representative at the unveiling. Kohányi's main allies in Hungary were István Bárczay, the mayor of Budapest, and Jenő Rákosi, a wellrespected journalist and literary figure. Together, Bárczay and Rákosi were able to answer suspicions and silence those who opposed the statue. They used their prestige to decide the controversy for many important persons in Budapest. The George Washington statue in Budapest was unveiled on Sept. 16, 1906. Filled with festivities, the day began with services at both St. Stephen's Basilica and the Calvin Square Reformed Church. By 10:00 a.m. a tremendous crowd had assembled in the City Park around the site of the statue. A parade of 10,000 people bearing some 500 flags made its way through the city to the statue. Government officials and cabinet ministers were on hand. Frank Dyer Chester, the popular U.S. consul general who spoke Hungarian, was present. Also in attendance were about 200 Americans of Hungarian descent. Kohányi presented the statue to the Hungarian capital. He pointed out that this gift was an act demonstrating "our loyalty to our new home, America," and that it bore "the brave example of those Hungarian officers and soldiers who fought for Lincoln's cause in the Civil War in America." "We do not want the record of history to say of us that we were dead weight in America," Kohányi said, "but rather that we shared in the building of a great nation.... We also can build a closer, warmer relationship between the two nations, America and Hungary." The main speaker was the writer Rákosi. He glorified George Washington, the citizen and the man, whose statue "stands before you with no long inscriptions, no military decorations, but in the simple dress of his day." Mayor Bárczay officially accepted the gift, saying "this statue will always be an unfailing, eternal fountain of the strength in our struggle toward real freedom, the prosperity of the entire nation, and democratic independence." The simple inscription~in Hungarian and English~on the base of tire statue reads simply: "To the memory of Washington-The Hungarians of America, 1906." Imi Hungarians and Hungarian Americans celebrate the unveiling of the George Washington Statue, Sept 16, 1906, in Budapest's City Park Tihamér Kohdyi, the man who proposed the idea of the statue, stands to the statue's left (Photos courtesy of the Archives of the American Hungarian Foundation) William Penn Life, September 1999 7
