Today is October 30, 1956, and we have great news.
Hungary has won the Revolution.
Only seven days ago, on October 23, Hungarian students marched through Budapest demanding freedom. They wanted Soviet troops to leave our country. They wanted freedom of speech, political change, and the right for Hungarians to govern Hungary.
Workers joined them. Families joined them. Soon thousands of people filled the streets of Budapest.
What began as a peaceful demonstration became a revolution.
The Soviets sent tanks into Budapest.
But the Hungarian people fought back.
Young men and women faced Soviet tanks with whatever weapons they could find. Ordinary workers became freedom fighters. Gunfire echoed through streets that only days before had been filled with people going to work, shopping, riding streetcars, and living their everyday lives.
People were wounded. People were killed.
But the Hungarian freedom fighters refused to surrender.
My father joined them.
For days, families have gathered around their radios, desperately listening for news. Radio Free Europe and other Western broadcasts have been telling the world what is happening here in Hungary. We hear about the tremendous support for our Revolution throughout the Western world. Many Hungarians believe America and the West will stand behind our fight for freedom.
Then, two days ago, something extraordinary happened.
Prime Minister Imre Nagy announced a ceasefire.
The fighting began to stop.
And now, today, October 30, even greater news has arrived.
The Soviet government has announced that its relationship with Hungary should be based on equality, national independence, sovereignty, and noninterference in our country’s internal affairs.
The Soviets have agreed to withdraw their troops from Budapest and negotiate about the presence of Soviet forces in Hungary.
And now we can see it happening.
The Soviet tanks are leaving Budapest.
After days of hiding from gunfire and watching fighting in the streets, people are coming out of their homes.
Hungarian flags are flying.
Political prisoners are being freed. Independent political parties are returning. The Communist one-party system that controlled Hungary is collapsing.
People who were strangers only days ago embrace one another in the streets.
They celebrate together because Hungary has won.
Imagine what my father must be feeling today.
He has risked his life fighting for his country, but he is also a husband and the father of three very small children.
My brothers are only three and four years old.
I am sixteen months old.
My mother has been waiting and worrying while my father joined the fight.
Today, my father can look at his wife and his three children and believe that everything the Hungarian people sacrificed has been worth it.
His children can grow up in a free Hungary.
The streets that only days ago echoed with gunfire are now filled with something Hungary has desperately wanted for years.
Hope.
Hungarians stood together against one of the most powerful nations in the world.
Students stood up.
Workers stood up.
Parents stood up.
My father stood up.
Ordinary Hungarian citizens decided that their country should belong to them again.
We fought for our country.
We fought for our families.
We fought for our freedom.
And we won.
Today is October 30, 1956.
Hungary is free.
Today, we celebrate.
But the story of the Hungarian Revolution is not over.
Stay tuned for next week’s article as we continue our journey through October and November 1956 and discover what happened after Hungary celebrated its victory.
If you would like to know what happened to my family during the Hungarian Revolution—and what happened after my father realized he had to get his wife and three small children out of Hungary—our true story continues in The Eleventh Arrow and The Eleventh Arrow: Refugee Camp.
The Eleventh Arrow
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The Eleventh Arrow: Refugee Camp
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