Fraternity-Testvériség, 1953 (31. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1953-03-01 / 3. szám
TESTVÉRISÉG “The sun of human liberty will once again shine upon them9 A Message of the President of the United States to the Magyars — THE WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON Mr. Stephen E. Balogh Executive Secretary American Hungarian Federation 1624 Eye Street, Northwest Washington 6, D. C. Dear Mr. Balogh: Thank you for your letter of March 6, 1953, with reference to Hungarian Freedom Day which, in commemoration of the events of March 15, 1848, and the Hungarian War for Liberty, is annually observed by Hungarians everywhere and by Americans of Hungarian descent. I am very glad to have. an opportunity of addressing on this occasion a few words of greeting to those of our citizens who are of Hungarian origin, because of my conviction that however harsh may be the physical isolation imposed upon the Hungarian people by their Communist rulers, the traditional ties between them and the people of the United States remain as strong as ever. It is proper and desirable to commemorate those events which have marked the progress of man towards personal liberty and national independence. The quest of any people for freedom, attended by faith in God and respect for the rights of others, is a source of inspiration for all humanity. Speaking in America a century ago, the great Hungarian patriot Louis Kossuth, exiled by alien despots, declared that “to find the sunlight where it most spreads and lightens the path of freedom, we must come to America. All who now suffer from oppression in the East look with hope to the free institutions of this Western world.” These words of tribute are prophetic in their relevance to our own day. As then, so now the people of Hungary look to the free land of America for encouragement in their resistance to tyranny. Communist fear of the enduring force of the ideals and deeds of the Magyar leaders more than a century ago is clearly reflected in the studied efforts of Communist propagandists to expropriate their memory and distort their principles. But the Hungarian people know that everything that the champions of the struggle for Hungarian freedom symbolized is completely antithetical to the Communist ideology. The historical fact that the heroes of 1848 opposed and denounced every form of oppression can never be altered or disguished. I am confident that Hungarians have not forgotten the ideals and principles proclaimed by Kossuth and inspiringly expressed by his contemporary, the great poet Alexander Petőfi. Too, they are undoubtedly aware of the unique parallel in both form and spirit between the Hungarian Proclamation of Independence issued in 1848 and our American Declaration of Independence in 1776. The Magyars cannot be dispossessed of their heritage which, supported by the understanding and sympathy of the American people and other free peoples, inspires the hope and justifies the conviction that the sun of human liberty will once again shine upon them. Sincerely, It* (signed) DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER t it I $ it it
