Hungarian Olympic Triumph: 1956 Melbourne

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Communist “Rákosi” Flag

1956 Revolution, a “Lyukas Zászló”

1956 “Kossuth Arms” Flag of the Republic raised in Melbourne

1956 – Revolution in Hungary!
Flag of the New Republic Flies Over Melbourne!
The 1956 Olympics was bittersweet indeed. The 1956 Hungarian Revolution was 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.

When officials raised the communist-Hungarian flag, the Olympic Village received numerous calls objecting to it not being the Kossuth Arms flag adopted during the Hungarian uprising. The flag was vandalized one night, with the red star of communism being removed from the center and replaced by the Kossuth Arms with a mark of mourning. When the Village staff requested clarification from the newly formed, free Federal government, they were informed that the Kossuth Arms flag was being flown in Budapest and therefore was the correct flag.

Blood in the Water:
Hungary vs. The Soviet Union…
Amid all the tension caused by the Soviet invasion of Hungary, Hungary and the Soviet Union met in a water polo match, one of the most famous water polo matches in history. The game was played in a packed stadium with many Hungarian-born Australians in the crowd. In addition to the political tension it was also a crucial game in terms of the water polo competition. If Hungary were to win it would almost be assured of the gold medal.

The match was rough from the beginning but became increasingly violent after Hungary took a 4-0 lead in the second half. At one point a Hungarian player, Ervin Zador, was heavily knocked by a Soviet player and emerged from the pool with serious facial bleeding. The crowd became enraged and police were called to prevent a riot. The match was abandoned shortly before full time and Hungary was credited with a victory. This ultimately secured it the gold medal after the completion of other matches.

Many of the Hungarian team were not able to return to their homeland to rejoice in this victory, choosing instead to remain in Australia or seek refuge in other countries rather than return to their war-ravaged country.

In 2007, the film “Freedom’s Fury](https://smile.amazon.com/ch/34-1253539?ie=UTF8&keywords=Freedom%27s%20Fury&tag=americanhunga-20&index=dvd&link_code=qs)wn as the “Blood in the Water Match,” the documentary follows the journey of the Hungarian Olympic water polo team and its young star, Ervin Zador, who find themselves the unwitting focal point of the most politicized sports match ever played.

See Trailers of “Freedom’s Fury” on YouTube or buy the film on AHF’s Amazon store

Featured Olympian, Deszo Gyarmati:(b. 10/23/1927 Miskolc, d. )

The Greatest Water Polo Player of All-Time…
Deszo Gyarmati’s feat of winning water polo medals at five successive Olympic Games (gold 1952, 1956, 1964; silver 1948; bronze 1960) has never been matched. He also captained winning Hungarian teams at the 1954 and 1962 European Championships. An excellent swimmer with a best time of 58.5 seconds for 100m (quite fast in that era), Gyarmati was called the “world’s fastest water polo player.” He was ambidextrous and could play either back or forward. Gyarmati was considered a Hungarian national hero. He coached the Hungarian team that won the Olympic title in 1976 and later became a member of Parliament. He is featured in the documentary film, Freedom’s Fury, available on on AHF’s Amazon store.

Trivia:

• Gyarmati married the 1952 Olympic 200m breaststroke champion Eva Székely
• In 1957, when the post-revolution, communist puppet government learned that Deszo and Eva were planning to defect, four men dragged Deszo to an abandoned building and beat him to a bloody pulp, leaving him for dead. He survived, and they used forged passports to flee the country with their daughter, Andrea who would later become a world record swimmer and Olympic Silver Medalist in 1972.