Embassy News
50th Anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution
On September 28-29, 2006, the Embassies of Australia, Canada, France, Italy, The Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, and the USA, plus the International Committee of the Red Cross, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and the International Center for Democratic Transition, with the cooperation of the Embassies of Denmark and the United Kingdom, sponsored a conference entitled: "1956 and Hungary: The Memory of Eyewitnesses - In Search of Freedom and Democracy" at the Italian Institute of Culture in Budapest.
President Sólyom opened the conference which offered eyewitness accounts from former Prime Minister Péter Boross, former Commander of the Hungarian National Guard Béla Király, and the President of the National Alliance of Political Prisoners, Jenő Fónay, as well as many other distinguished speakers from Hungary and abroad. Tom Rogers, a retired U.S. diplomat who was posted in Hungary between 1953 and 1957, gave an account of his personal experience at the U.S. Embassy in Budapest during and after the 1956 Revolution. The conference’s nine sessions addressed the 1956 Revolution from inside Hungary and the international context; from the point of view of freedom fighters, their families, and other witnesses; looked at historical perspectives from experts on the era; recalled contributions of international assistance as well as the émigré experience; and closed with a session on lessons learned from the past and hopes for the future.
“The lesson of the Hungarian experience is clear: Liberty can be delayed, but it cannot be denied,” Bush said in June in Budapest. “The desire for liberty is universal, because it is written by our Creator into the hearts of every man, woman, and child on this Earth. And as people across the world step forward to claim their own freedom, they will take inspiration from your example, and draw hope from your success.”
In addition to the opening ceremony, Ambassador Foley attended several sessions of the conference. In her remarks, Ambassador Foley recounted how the world was “mesmerized by the brave Hungarians of 1956” and added, “we were enthralled, frightened, and saddened, and, ultimately … inspired.”
She also honored the “fierce convictions of the Hungarian people in the quest for freedom” and thanked the freedom fighters of 1956 who “kept the hope of liberty alive.”
Open to the public, the conference attracted a large audience both from among the older and younger generations, and was followed with keen media interest.
