The Hungarian Student, 1957 (1. évfolyam, 2-8. szám)
1957 / 3. szám
Hungarian Student Newsletter 3 STUDENTS IN REVOLT: Events in Miskolc The university was the initiating and moving force of the revolution in Miskolc, as were the universities in the rest of Hungary. On October 21 there were meetings at which the first demands and the anti-Communist resolutions were put forward. On October 22 a student parliament was organized and drafted the 11 points of the resolution. The most important points were : (1) Hungary should be an independent and sovereign state; (2) the Soviets should leave Hungarian territory ; (3) Hungary should withdraw from the Warsaw pact; (4) Hungarian uranium ore should not be in Soviet hands. On this occasion, the university paper published a special issue covering the situation to date; some copies found their way to plants and factories in the area. Approximately 50,000 workers enthusiastically joined the university program. Even the Party committee secretary, Rudolf Földvári, joined the program, although perhaps not completely. On October 29, a Borsod Megye delegation left to present the demands to the government and to get an exact picture of events in Budapest. On the 26th, the AVH fired at the crowd in Miskolc. With the help of the students, the AVH men were completely disarmed while the armed forces turned over their weapons to the students. The center of the revolution was the student parliament until the Borsod Megye Council was organized on the 29th. After these achievements life was slowly becoming more normal. All of this was destroyed, however, by the infamous attack of the Soviet forces on the morning of November 4. Armed fighting occurred only at the university where overwhelming forces finally shattered the university unit. In addition to heavy material damage, many persons were killed and wounded. On November 14, the occupiers forced the local council to continue its work. The council sought to send a delegation to the government, but the delegation was arrested in Miskolc together with the other council members, 12 men in all, and on the 15th they were taken to the prison at the Debrecen airfield, where the Debrecen revolutionaries were already being held. From there, after numerous interrogations, they were shipped to Uzhgorod, U.S.S.R, in tarpaulin-covered trucks, with their hands tied behind their backs and their feet tied together. Other Hungarian deportees were already at Uzhgorod. At the O.M.G.P. prison everyone was shaved bald and photographed to make it easier to apprehend them later if necessary. A week later, some of the prisoners were shipped to Stryy by freight car but were returned a week thereafter. Those deported from Miskolc were as follows: Rudolf Földvári József Kiss Lt. Col. Sándor Zombori Lt. György Vigh Zoltán Szibovszki István Koos Karoly Bogár István Csorba Béla Major Laszlo Zabits Laszlo Fekete, assistant professor István Paris, university student Others in the Uzhgorod prison who were known by name were the following : Balazs Csendes, 16-year-old Rakoczy School student Lt. Laszlo Altorjai Col. Miklós Nagy about 80 Veszprém University students In Uzhgorod everyone was questioned a number of times. During the public prosecutor’s questioning the Soviet representatives referred to the fact that the Soviets had done everything at the request of the Hungarian government, although at the Debrecen questioning they referred to anti-Soviet acts and used such epithets as fascist counter-revolutionaries. At Uzhgorod, however, with the exception of the guards, all of the questioners acted with unexpected and surprising politeness. Everyone was required to tell about his activities; they were naturally in possession of much important data. From among the Borsod Megye prisoners, Földvári was returned to Miskolc on November 18 and put at the head of the council. The next three men returned on the 24th, and the remaining eight returned to Miskolc on December 1. Behind all of this there was one fact: the unified stand of the Borsod Megye people for the return of the deportees. The Communists explained the return as follows. Back at the Uzhgorod prison, the Borsod Megye people were sought out on behalf of the Soviet government by a General who warned that the events must remain a complete secret because knowledge of them would seriously hurt Communism, Hungary, and the deportees theselves. Among other things, he mentioned that previous crimes would be disregarded if the Borsod Megye people would henceforth cooperate with the Soviet troops and the Kadar government in re-establishing order and in returning to work in order that Hungary might remain among the Communist countries. Those unwilling to do this had to answer or fl.ee the country, if possible ; otherwise they might once again be the victims of deportation, which could only be to Siberia. AHSA FORMS REGIONAL GROUP IN FLORIDA “We will not let the conscience of the world sleep... We proclaim to you and to the whole world that our cause is not yet lost.” The above is our creed. Keeping this always in mind, escaped Hungarian students all over the world are drawing together through national and international cooperation. Local organizations form part of the framework of cooperation, and we are happy to announce the formation of a new AHSA regional center at Florida State University. The center has been created through the leadership of Levente Osvath, former Freedom Fighter, who is here now on a Student Government SHARES scholarship. He says that his job is to continue working with the Hungarian students of Florida.
