Past Events 2006
Governor Pataki Remembered 1956 at CEU
On October 23, 2006, Governor George Pataki, the leader of the U.S. delegation that commemorated the 50th anniversary of the 1956 revolution in Budapest, talked to students of the Central European University (CEU) and to other distinguished guests about the importance of the Hungarian revolution, his personal memories of the uprising, and his role as New York State's governor.
By talking about the division of the world after WWII, the head of the U.S. delegation tried to give the students a better understanding of the historical background of 1956. In remembering the events of the revolution, he explained how different groups of people joined forces to stand up for their right to freedom and the truth. Talking about the significance of the acts of the freedom fighters, he expressed that what happened on October 23 changed the world.
He disagreed with those who say that the freedom fighters who revolted against oppression and tried to stand up for their civil rights ultimately failed. Although freedom to Hungary did not come for another generation, he said, the '56 revolution was successful, because all over the world people became aware of the giant lie that was behind the iron curtain. He also emphasized that the success of the freedom fighters is unambiguous when people consider how the consequences of the revolution led to opposition movements in other Eastern European countries and eventually to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Iron Curtain.
He reminded students that their basic rights to freely choose their own path of study, to receive lessons from professors according their own point of view, and to criticize even the government or politicians in their papers, rest on the shoulders the '56 freedom fighters.
The event was the first "CEU/U.S. Embassy Distinguished Speakers Series" to take place in Academic Year 2006/2007.
Governor Pataki's Presentation