Fraternity-Testvériség, 1962 (40. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1962-02-01 / 2. szám
L 8 FRATERNITY as Hungarian national feeling and progressive traditions.” Imre Nagy understood and respected his people’s sensitivity and aspirations. He joined the Communist movement in his youth, not to betray them, but in the belief that he will be able to help them. Milovan Djilas in his “The New Class’’ points out that “the true Communist is a mixture of a fanatic and an unrestrained power-holder.” Nagy was a firm believer in Marxism, but his nature, his even temperament prevented him from becoming a fanatic and his several conflicts with the leaders of his Party showed that he was not a careerist, for whom power was the most important thing. The Hungarians also understood him and this explains that in the hour of their uprising against the Communist regime and its Moscow supporters, they called on him to take the helm of their government. But the insurgents quickly made it clear that they respected him not because, but in spite of his Communist beliefs, because they were convinced of his honest intentions and decency. When Nagy, on the first day of the uprising, addressed the demonstrators from the front of the Parliament building and began his speech with the salutatoin, “Dear Comrades”, he was whistled down. “Times’’ magazine reported that when “he repeated his words, he was whistled down again. ‘Why do you whistle at us’ — he asked. Someone shouted: ‘We do not whistle at you, but at your words! There was a long dramatic silence and then Nagy asked everyone to sing the national anthem, leading the singing himself.” (To be continued)
