Commemorations of the heroes of the 1956 revolution β photos
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Across the country, civilians and politicians commemorated the events of 68 years ago, when Soviet tanks drowned the Hungarian Revolution in blood.
Commemoration for fallen 1956 medics in Budapest
The National Forum and the defence ministry held a commemoration at the memorial of the fallen medics in downtown Budapest.
At the event held on the national day of mourning commemorating the crushing of the 1956 revolution, Deputy Speaker of Parliament SΓ‘ndor LezsΓ‘k, the leader of the National Forum, said the statue was a βpermanent source of power, an inexhaustible force field.β
Defence Minister KristΓ³f Szalay-Bobrovniczky said medics would always be needed as long as wars were fought. βWe thank them for all they have done for this nation and remember those who saved lives by risking their own,β he said.
At another event in the 17th district of Budapest, the Prime Ministerβs adviser, Katalin Szili, said the anniversary showed that βwe must always stand up for Hungaryβs freedom and independenceβ.
On November 4, 1956, Hungary was occupied, she said. In Budapest, 2,045 people died by January 1957, more than 16,000 were injured, and 456 were killed in retaliation, she said.
βThe later generations must remember the heroes of 1956 at all times; thatβs why parliament needed to declare November 4 a day of national mourning in 2013,β she said.
The Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Choir at a concert in St. Stephenβs Basilica on the 68th anniversary of the 1956 Revolution and Freedom Fight, the national day of mourning, 4 November 2024. Photo: MTI
Tisza Party marks the crushing of the 1956 revolution
βRemembrance is especially important now that our government openly denies and goes against the most heroic days of our history,β the statement cited Magyar as saying in a speech. βThey purposely want to erase those few glorious days of our history when we stood up against our oppressors, when the desire for freedom and patriotism prevailed over tyrannical oppression.β
βThe Tisza Party considers the distortion and conscious desecration of the actual narrative to be unworthy of this day, unworthy of our shared national identity and unworthy of the spirit of 1956,β he added.
Magyar visited the Kiskunmajsa memorial site together with the local movement of the Tisza Islands background organisation.
Fiumei Road cemetery
Wreaths were laid at the commemoration ceremony in honour of the heroic dead and victims of the 1956 Revolution in plot 21 of the Fiumei Road cemetery on the 68th anniversary of the 1956 Revolution and Freedom Fight, on the National Day of Mourning, 4 November 2024. Photo: MTI/Attila KovΓ‘cs
The sacrifice of the heroes of the 1956 revolution was what opened the door to Hungaryβs transition to democracy, the withdrawal of the Soviets and ultimately the restoration of the countryβs sovereignty, Tristan Azbej, deputy leader of the co-ruling Christian Democrats, said at a commemoration of the crushing of the 1956 uprising in Budapestβs 16th district on Monday.
Azbej said the Christian Democrats were paying tribute to two young 1956 martyrs, Peter Mansfeld and Ilonka Toth, who had used different means to fight against tyranny and in defence of Hungarian freedom and sovereignty.
βPeter Mansfeld took the fight to oppressive power, while Ilonka Toth had perhaps an even stronger weapon: healing,β Azbej said. βIlonka Toth is not just a hero of patriotism, but a hero of the homeland and love.β
He said the sacrifice of the martyrs also called for todayβs generation of Hungarians to fight in defence of national sovereignty, although through different means. βThis is what our past teaches us, because throughout its history spanning over a millennium, Hungary always had to fight for freedom and survival.β
Azbej said the revolutionaries of 1956 had eventually earned the recognition of the entire world by rising up against one of the worldβs strongest armies, adding that the heroes had also experienced what it was like to be left to fend for themselves. βWestern Europe and the enlightened world didnβt really acknowledge our struggle,β Azbej said.
He said that though the freedom fight was seemingly crushed on November 4, the deaths of the martyrs had led to βa happier and freer Hungaryβ. The sacrifice of the revolutionaries had not been in vain, he said, because the Soviet leadership had conceded that Hungarians could not be subjugated through total dictatorship. Azbej said it was the sacrifice of the heroes of 1956 that had eventually led to Hungaryβs transition to democracy, the withdrawal of the Russians and ultimately the restoration of the countryβs sovereignty.
