Fraternity-Testvériség, 1962 (40. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1962-01-01 / 1. szám
2 FRATERNITY Though Soviet history and developments in other Communist ruled countries have tarnished the glow of these promises, they still offered hope to the discontented in many parts of the world. The Soviet Union’s rapid industrialization, its achievements in technology and territorial expansion have hypnotized some people to believe that Communism is the wave of the future. They wanted to believe that a Communist world would be a world of justice and humanity. The events in Hungary in October-November 1956 tore off the mask of Communism. They shattered the illusions of well intentioned sympathizers and destroyed the image Moscow had tried to create in the minds of millions. The story of the Hungarian uprising has been told in hun dreds of articles, essays, scores of books and documents. In the following pages we will attempt to analyze the main elements of the process which brought about the unmasking of Communism bv its own disciples and leaders. The uprising itself — as John MacCormack, correspondent of the “New York Times” reported to his newspaper — began as a series of student demonstrations that remained peaceful until a delegation that had entered the Budapest radio station to re quest the broadcasting of its demands, was arrested by political policemen who were guarding the building. “The crowd” — con tinued MacCormack — “demanded their release and tried to storm the doors. At first the policemen tried to drive the demonstra tors back with tear gas. Then they opened fire, killing one demonstrator and wounding several others.” The shooting enraged the students. A military command car was sent to reinforce the police. The crowd set the car on fire. The demonstrators threw up barricades at street intersections and defied the shooting policemen who tried to disperse them. At first there were only a few thousand young students, but soon they were joined by passers-by, workers streaming out of the factories, men and women from all walks of life. National flags, from which the hammer and sickle were torn out, appeared on the streets and the masses began to move into several directions The largest group moved toward the Parliament building. The huge square in front of the Parliament resounded with slogans. The demonstrators hailed the Polish people who had successfully deposed their Stalinist government and demanded new leaders to take the helm of their own government. The students’
