Fraternity-Testvériség, 2008 (86. évfolyam, 1-3. szám)
2008-07-01 / 3. szám
FEATURE main squares. She is depicted lying on a French bed surrounded by adoring cherubs. After the fall of Communism, poet József Attila was reburied in Kerepesi with great ceremony by poetry-lovers who were angry that he had previously been buried in a special Communist artist’s cemetery. Of most importance to me was Kossuth’s Mausoleum, constructed in 1909 and designed by Alex Stroble. It was restored in 1999 and is the largest mausoleum in Hungary. It also contains his relatives: his wife, two sons, a daughter and four sisters. Another sister, a nurse, is buried in New York. Most know that Kossuth came to the U.S. during 1851-52 as an official guest of this government and during his six-month stay, he addressed the Senate and the House of Representatives, toured the country visiting more than 60 cities and gave about 300 speeches. He became a symbol of democracy, an advocate for a representative government and touted national independence for the Hungarian people. He finally settled in Italy and died at 92 years of age in Turin. He refused to return to Hungary as long as the Hapsburgs were in power. Monuments and busts of Kossuth abound throughout America. My husband and I recently visited his bust that stands watch over the entrance to the Hungarian Embassy in Washington, DC. HRFA Board member Rev. Leslie Martin and his wife Linda recently visited the Kossuth marker in Lafayette Square in central New Orleans. Linda said, “I was moved to see Kossuth represented here because I have also visited his markers on Staten Island outside New York and in the City Hall in Trenton, New Jersey. Paying tribute to him highlighted our visit to a settlement of Hungarians in Albany called Arpad- hon, so Hungarians are well represented in this state, which many may not realize.” Her husband, Rev. Martin, added, “It meant so much to visit New Orleans and find a monument dedicated to the March 30, 1852 visit of Louis Kossuth. In excellent English, he delivered a speech on that day in New Orleans promoting democracy, freedom, and the right of people to elect their own government. He was an extraordinary orator, intellectual, and great statesman respected by other outstanding world leaders. Two young American Congressmen admired Kossuth so much that they arranged for him to speak to the joint houses of the U.S. Congress in 1850. One of them was Abraham Lincoln.” 12 FALL 2008
