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October 23, 2012 – AHF Honors the heroes of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, the first tear in the Iron Curtain. Hungarians from all walks of life rose up against insurmountable odds to fight the brutal Soviet installed Hungarian communist government. Thousands died fighting, others tortured and executed, while 200,000 were forced to flee. 2012 marked the 56th Anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution. [Read more] and see Photos and Videos on AHF’s 1956 Portal
10/19/2012 – Commemorating the 56th Anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart, and Gov. George Pataki were guests of honor at the “56 at 56” Gala Dinner sponsored by the Embassy of Hungary in Washington, D.C. marking the 56th anniversary of Hungary 1956. Additional speakers included Hungarian Foreign Minister Janos Martonyi and Hungarian-American two-time Gold Medal winner Susan (Zsuzsanna) Francia who won in rowing at both Beijing and London. Hungarian Ambassador Szapary welcomed guests and made a surprise announcement: The Hungarian Government will seed the building of the Victims of Communism museum to be located in Washington, DC with a $1 million dollar donation.
Anna Stumpf, Congressional Liaison and Political Attaché with the Embassy of Hungary, was the Master of Ceremonies. The gala event brought Hungarians and Americans together to “remember the Revolution and Freedom Fight of 1956 and celebrate 90 years of diplomatic relations between Hungary and the United States at the U.S. Institute of Peace – carrying a symbolic message of the joint commitment to peace and liberty as well as promoting democracy and human rights.”
Hungarian Foreign Minister János Mártonyi opened the evening with a personal recollection of the uprising and the tremendous impact it had on him. The lesson of 1956, as he pointed out, was that we should preserve our optimism even for small and the remote events – for they might very well turn out to be history in the making.
Speakers reflected on the 1956 Hungarian Revolution impacted their lives. Former NY Governor George Pataki shared with us his small-town, up-state New York country roots where he shared his time with his immediate family and relatives. He noted how his father cried while watching, on his aunt’s television, Soviet Troops crush the revolution: “I remember so clearly October of 1956 when the revolution started, all of us gathered in front of a flickering black and white television set….and I remember the incredible joy as we saw the flags with the hammer and sickle being cut out from the middle. I have never seen more joy in my family than during those days.” He went on to question those who see the uprising as a failure citing the fact that Hungary was now free and that 1956 planted the seeds of freedom for the entire region.
Dr. Lee Edwards, President of the Victims of Communism Memorial Committee, thanked Hungary for its support and expressed his excitement that his dream of a bricks and mortar museum was coming true: “This is something that needs to be done, should be done, must be done, so that the wonderful stories and the messages that we have heard tonight can resonate here in Washington, DC and around the world,” he said. “I am so grateful to the people of Hungary and particularly to Viktor Orbán who is a true Hungarian freedom fighter.”
Former Secretary of Defense, Don Rumsfeld, a Navy pilot stationed in Europe at the time of the uprising, shared his impressions: “In my view, the Hungarian Freedom Fighter of 1956 remains an enduring symbol of man’s enduring desire to be free.” Congressman Diaz-Balart called Hungarians a “great people” for standing up to the evils of communism and expressed how the Cuban people and others worldwide are still suffering and waiting for freedom.
A special guest speaker was Susan (Zsuzsanna) Francia who is a two-time gold medal winner in rowing at both the Beijing and London Olympics and 5-time World Champion! Susan was born in Szeged, Hungary and moved to the US with her parents when she was 2 years old. She said: “I think it is so important that we never forget our roots and where we came from and who we are.” She added that “representing the U.S. as an athlete is nowhere close to the bravery and what it took for these men and women to stand up for their peace.” See Zsuzsa’s [official site]. – Above photos courtesy of the Embassy of Hungary. More photos [here]
Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice sent special video messages in which they commended the Hungarian people for their courage to stand up against Soviet tyranny.
Special guests of the evening included:
Assistant Secretary Ms. Heidi Crebo-Rediker, Chief Economist at the State Department; Evelyn Farkas, Deputy Assistant Secretary at the Department of Defense; Philip Reeker, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State at the Department of State; The State Department’s Thomas Melia, Matthew Singer (Desk Officer for Hungary & Slovakia); the Ambassadors of Austria, Poland, Croatia, Serbia, Latvia, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Slovak Republic, Lithuania; H.E. Thomas Robertson, Former Ambassador to Slovenia; H.E. April Foley, Former Ambassador to Hungary; H.E. András Simonyi former Ambassador of Hungary to the United States and Managing Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Transatlantic Relations; H.E. Victor Ashe, Former U.S. Ambassador to Poland; Mr. Doug Rediker, member of the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund; Paula Dobriansky Former Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs; Annette Lantos, wife of the Late Congressman Tom Lantos; Edith Lauer, chairman emerita of the Hungarian American Coalition; Max Teleki, President of the Hungarian American Coalition; Ferenc (Frank) Koszorús, President of the American Hungarian Federation (AHF); John Lipsky, Former Senior Deputy Managing Director of the IMF; Hungarian Honorary Consuls from Chicago, Puerto Rico, Atlanta, and New Orleans; Károly Dán, Consul General of New York; László Kálmán, Consul General of Los Angeles; the Smithsonian Folk Life Festival Director James Deutsch; Skip Warner, General Electric’s senior vice president (an event-sponsor); and friends of Hungary from the think tank and Hungarian American community. AHF was also represented by Executive Chairman Bryan Dawson, Co-President Zoltan Bagdy, and Paul Kamenar, member of AHF International Affairs Committee.
Guests who were seated at tables named after American cities with the larges Hungarian American population, like Cleveland, Los Angeles, New York and Toledo, left with a bottle of Tokaji wine presented by Tokaji Kereskedőház Zrt, typical Hungarian pogácsa prepared by the Embassy’s award-winning chef and an elegant souvenir notebook from Cinq Filles depicting fin-de-siècle Budapest. The next morning the Embassy hosted a “Hungarian Roundtable” meeting of Hungarian American leaders. Later that evening, the Hungarian Embassy sponsored a reception on Friday, October 19th. [See the Embassy Website for more photos and videos]
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