1988. április (71-108. szám) / HU_BFL_XIV_47_2
í «H9N6AR1AN ©im£ Editor: György Krassó * 24/D Little Russell Street * London, WC1A 2HN * Tel. 01-430 2126 (írom abroad 441-430 2126) 88/1988 (E) 20th April, 1988 Budapest Commemorates The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. Letter To Marék Edelmann. Sixty-four people signed a letter in Budapest which was sent to Marék Edelmann on Tuesday to commemorate the 45th anniversary of the Warsaw ghetto uprising, he is its only surviving leader. The letter says that the Jevish uprising was the most terrible event in East European history bút alsó the most important as by resisting fór nearly a month they proved that the Nazi dictatorship* s propaganda was false - violence does nőt .so/ve everything. The letter mentions the fact that Jews took part 15 months later in the non-Jewish Polish Patriotic anti- German uprising which was bloodily suppressed by another - Soviet - dictatorship. It recalls the communist system*s 1952-53 and 1968 anti-semitic campaign. Edelmann*s activities - from the 194-3 uprising up until the Solidarity 1980-81 movement - show that freedom fights are indivisible and live forever. "We Hungárián demo- crats - finishes the letter - regardless of religion or origin salute you in the hope of a future which will nőt conform to the ideas of a dictatorship." A group of young people in Budapest wanted to commemorate the anniversary with a legal and public Jewish event bút at the last moment the Bethlen Square Rabbi - with whom they had conducted discussions - refused to hold the celebration. Instead somé Democratic Opposition Movement partieipants organised a commemoration on the evening of April 19th in the Altemative Cultural Centre - a priváté fiat - in which Tamás Mikes was the first to make a speech. He said that nőt only was the Warsaw Jewish fight one of the morál torches in Europe at that time bút it alsó helped the Jews to find themselves again after two thousand years and their tragic holocaust finally led to the formation of the State of Israel in 1948. According to Pál Szalai the ghetto uprising and its bloody suppression was a bedrock in an éra of violence which affeeted the world through different forms of dictatorship since 1917. Szalai expressed his hope that the holocaust was nőt in vain and that humanity and humanitarianism had advanced. György Gadó said that the ghetto struggle’s lesson was that we cannot évadé morál orders, if we do nőt confront ourselves with them our enemies will force us to. We must stren- gthen our souls, stand up fór our rights and this does nőt only apply to the Jews - finished György Gado. Finally Tamás Tóth a gardener said a few words. He said he was nőt Jewish bút that he would like it if Hungarians today had as much morál strength as the Jews of that period. Subscribers can use or quote the Hungárián October newsletters in totál or in detail as long as the source is acknowledged.
