Gyula Csics

Hungarian Revolution 1956

(Part 2)

Happy New Year 1957

Tuesday, January 1, 1957

NEW YEAR'S DAY

On account of going to bed late last night, I slept until 11. I got up, had a late breakfast and went to Marci's. Marci and I went sledding. We thought yesterday's freezing rain made the run icy, but it didn't. The bumpy run was really bad, but the two beside it were pretty good. Lots of times I went down standing on the runners. One time Marci really yanked the sled, I fell flat, and Marci went down alone. After that we went to the Sipos's hill. We decided to go to the cinema in the afternoon. I'd just finished eating and getting dressed when Marci came by. Off we went to the cinema. The film didn't begin until 3.30. That was the Mexican film The Girl from Mexico. I came home in the dark. The road was really slippery. In the evening I wrote my diary.

Wednesday, January 2, 1957

A PARCEL FROM AUSTRIA

In the morning we, Mum and I, left early from Grandma's. Yesterday a family defected¹ from the building where Gyula's family lives, and we wanted to move into that apartment, which is why Mum and I went in the morning to report at the police station. When we got home, Kata said we had got a big parcel. This is what the parcel contained:

2 track suits	6 oranges
2 caps	18 liqueur chocolates
1 scarf	3 bars of Milch chocolate (milk chocolate)
2 ties	6 packs of cocoa
1 petticoat	1 kg rice
3 handkerchiefs	1 kg apples
2 pairs of socks

Everything was of the highest quality, but unfortunately the track suits they sent to us were too small. Then I went to violin class. In the afternoon I wrote my diary. In the evening there was a big row about the apartment business. I wrote a letter to Uncle Feri.

Thursday, January 3, 1957

FIRST GERMAN LESSON OF THE YEAR

In the morning I read Oliver Twist. When I got up, Mum was already gone. She must be at the council offices, I thought. I got dressed. Then I prepared a fire in the cooking store and went down to get fuel. I was just about to post the letter when Mum came home. She said the apartment is a lost cause. Then I went to post the letter. I saw that the overhead cables for the 6 tram were being put back up along the Great Boulevard. I went over to the grocery store and I did my German homework. Jancsi came by, to get going to German.

Friday, January 4, 1957

A WALK AROUND THE NEIGHBOURHOOD

In the morning I read Oliver Twist. Afterward I wanted to make a coal-conveyor with the Technokid,² but I didn't finish it, because Mum said we're going to Teleki Square. I invited Jancsi to come along. When we got out to the Great Boulevard, we saw that the 6 tram was running. We could hardly get across the boulevard, because the traffic was thick. Lots of cars and motorbikes were lined up to cross Rákóczi Avenue. We went all the way down Népszínház Street to Teleki Square. The 28 tram was also running all the way to the boulevard. At Teleki Square we went off from Mum and looked around the flea market. There were all sorts of things there, but not a single thing I needed. Afterward I showed Jancsi how the buildings on Dobozi Street are all shot up, then we returned along Népszínház Street. There I said to Jancsi that we should go along Rákóczi Avenue and come home along Bródy Sándor Street. That's just what we did. There was lots of mud around there, because the snow was melting. Traffic lights were already there at the intersection of the Great Boulevard and Rákóczi Avenue. When we got to the Radio studios we saw that they were still being guarded by tanks, but that they were being repaired. Later we went up to see Korach for my book, because he lives in Bródy Sándor Street. Then we came home and in the evening I read Oliver Twist.

Saturday, January 5, 1957

KHRUSHCHEV AND MALENKOV COME TO HUNGARY

In the morning I was still in bed and reading Oliver Twist when Jancsi came over. I got out of bed, and Jancsi said let's take a walk today, too. It was all right by me. Right away we planned the walk on my map, and this is how it looked:

After this I went to my violin lesson. The lesson went on longer than usual, and because I had to go over to Grandma's place,³ I didn't go for a walk with Jancsi. Then I went to Grandma's. There I played cards with Maja until Dad told me to come and help because we're going to kill the pigs. I held the pan for the blood. At night Uncle Mirinszki came by, and he said that the radio had announced that Khrushchev and Malenkov had been here.⁴ Later I read Oliver Twist.

Sunday, January 6, 1957

PIG-KILLING

In the morning I woke up early, because today we killed another two pigs. Today I held the pan again. I drew water and looked after the fire. Later on, Béla and I went to the Cselényis' place for sawdust. When we got home, we went to the railyard for water because the water from our well isn't good for cooking. Béla said we should go sledding. And we did go, to the training area. At first we went to the new run, but that wasn't any good, and so we had to go on the old one. That was long enough. We went pretty well, but the sled kept swerving, and we always slowed down when guiding it. We fell a couple of times too. Béla went home and I helped Dad. In the afternoon Jóska came over for his book, and he said I should go over. On the way we had a snowball fight with Marci. I was making the snowballs with my gloved hands, and Jóska was throwing. At Jóska's we looked over his postcards. Jóska said that on December 2 he spoke to a Russian. In the afternoon I played cards with Maja. Uncle Mirinszki came in the evening. I was sick, I felt queasy, and so I didn't even have any black pudding.

Monday, January 7, 1957

BACK TO SCHOOL

I was up by 8. At 10 we left for home. On the tram I heard two jokes. They went like this:
"What's the difference between Latabár⁵ and Kádár⁶?"
"Latabár is clever and acts the fool, Kádár is a fool but tries to be clever."
Two drunks are singing: "Péter Maléter, Pál Maléter,⁷ Kádár's government says see you later."
Just when we got home, Jancsi was headed to school. He said he'd already had the German class, because they got out of school at 2.40. That really surprised me. Then I checked to see when I have to go to school. I should have been there by 11, but now it was already 11.30. After that I took the black pudding up to Aunt Bözsi. Until 3 in the afternoon I worked with the Technokid. Mum went to get bread, and she said there was a queue again. I made a coal-conveyor with the Technokid. At night Auntie Tengler, who used to live in our building, dropped in. She talked about all sorts of things that happened, and she said their apartment got two direct hits. In the evening I wrote my diary.

Tuesday, January 8, 1957

A WALK ALONG AND AROUND ÜLLŐI ROAD

When I got up in the morning I went over to Jancsi's to ask him if we'd do the walk we had planned for Saturday. Jancsi said all right. We went along Rökk Szilárd Street to Békés Street. On Békés Street Jancsi stopped by at a classmate's place to

tell him he had to go back to school. After that we went to Üllői Road along the Great Boulevard, talking all the way. We saw that the building on the corner of Nap Street had collapsed. Corvin Close looks like the drawing above.
The apartment building at number 81 on the Great Boulevard was flattened. Half

of the building across from the Kilián Barracks had collapsed. Under siege for so much time, the barracks looks like this:

The spire of the Church of Perpetual Adoration has collapsed. Our plan was to turn onto Nagytemplom Street, but the building on the corner had collapsed and so we couldn't turn there, we turned onto Leonardo da Vinci Street instead. The building at 35 Tömő Street had collapsed, only the ground floor was still in one piece. We went along Illés Street to Práter Street, then went down Práter Street to the Great Boulevard. On a wall along Práter Street there was still "No deals! In with Imre Nagy, out with the Russians!" From the corner of Práter Street I took a good long look at the building at the corner of the Great Boulevard and Üllői Road, so I could draw it. Afterwards we came home along the boulevard and Rökk Szilárd Street and on the way, at the corner of Baross Street, we bought a copy of Life & Science (see Box⁸), because Jancsi said it tells you what had burned up at the National Museum. 11 to 2 p.m. I was in school. I found out that Miss Vali had gone to Paris. In the afternoon I bought an Evening News. In the evening I wrote my diary. Gyula came home and said that the Russians had dug emplacements for anti-aircraft guns in the training area and the cemetery.

Wednesday, January 9, 1957

THE 6 TRAM NOW GOES ALL THE WAY TO CSEPREGI STREET

In the morning I read a lot of Oliver Twist, so I can finish it by the 14th. I had to get to school by 11. Once there, I found out that Béry had defected, and Molnár and Szücs had moved somewhere else. The first lesson was Hungarian. Mr Moór taught the lesson in place of Miss Vali. At noon we almost went home, because Mr Moór thought we had started at 8. When I got out of school I went to my violin lesson. On the way home I noticed that the 6 tram was already going all the way to Csepregi Street. On the way, I bought an Evening News and a Life & Science from the news stand. And on the way, I stopped by the Spark and bought a book, Stepsiblings. I saw that new wood poles were being put up in place of the old iron ones. In the afternoon I drew my map.

Thursday, January 10, 1957

EDEN RESIGNS-TRAMS RUNNING ON RÁKÓCZI AVENUE

In the morning I was still in bed when Jancsi came over and told me to get going, because we have to go to German. We saw that trams were running on Rákóczi Avenue, not only the 67, 44 and 45 but the 68 as well, which until then had only been going between Mogyoródi Road to Bosnyák Square. Along the way Jancsi said that Eden, the British Foreign Secretary [sic] had resigned, saying he was ill. After German I went to school. In school we had two Hungarian and physics lessons plus drawing. When I got home, Mum and I went to the Hauer confectionery, because Maja wanted to eat chestnut purée. From there I saw that the Diamond House was being torn down. In the evening I was at Jancsi's. There we experimented, e.g. we made invisible ink. I read Oliver Twist.

Friday, January 11, 1957

NEWER TROUBLES

In the morning I got up earlier. I did my homework and went over to Jancsi's. He was just getting dressed. After that we came over to our place and we showed Mum the invisible ink we made yesterday. I was at school from 11 to 2. After that I played the violin, then went over to Jancsi's. He asked me for the Indian ink, so he could highlight his map. Then Gyula came by and said that an older man at the tyre lot said there was trouble at the factories on Csepel Island and at Ganz and Mávag. Auntie Paulheim was at our place, and she said that their apartment had been hit, because the telephone exchange and the post office were close by. At night Uncle Rada came over, and he said that some kids on Calvary Square had put their books in a heap and set fire to them and shouted, "Long as the Russians sit tight, Hungarian students won't study a mite!" At night I read Oliver Twist.

Saturday, January 12, 1957

THE SCHOOL GETS COAL

In the morning I got up early and wrote my diary. At 10 Mum and I went to the watch store to see if they had a ding-dong clock. They did, so we bought a nice one. I went to school for 11. After 2, I went from there to my violin lesson. In school they said that from Monday there would be the normal timetable. On the way to my violin lesson I saw a truck in front of the school, and coal was being shovelled from it. In the evening I went to Grandma's, and there I read Oliver Twist.

Monday, January 14, 1957

NORMAL TIMETABLE AGAIN

From 9.30 to 10, I was at my German lesson. When I got home, I did my homework, then I used Indian ink to highlight the drawings I made in my diary. I went to school for 12.30. From today we were going to have classes again on the old schedule, the same one as before October 23. In maths, I got top marks for my answer. We went home at 4. I went to see if there were any papers left. There weren't any. Then I went over to Jancsi's. We planned tomorrow's walk. Towards evening I wrote my diary, and then at 5.15 Jancsi and I went to the Corvin. We went in by the Rökk Szilárd Street entrance, since that was open. First we went up to the stationery department on the second floor, because Jancsi bought a bottle of Indian ink. We went down to the second floor, to the book department to see if there were any good books. In the evening the man who lives in Miskolc came over to Jancsi's family. He said that Russian tanks were sent there as well, to shoot at the people. The first tank didn't fire, so the officer in the third tank got out and asked the first tank why it wasn't shooting. Someone in the first tank said, because we don't have any ammo. The officer ordered him to shoot, but he didn't, so the officer shot him dead. Then a soldier got out of the second tank, shot dead the officer and then himself. Until 9 in the evening I wrote my diary.

Tuesday, January 15, 1957

SNOW AGAIN

Today I got up earlier than usual. I began to play the violin. Jancsi came over at 9 and said he can't go for a walk today, because he has a bad cold. I hardly finished playing the violin when Gyula came by and said that a woman in our building jumped off the fifth floor. She killed herself because her flat had been searched the night before, on account of them smuggling people. That's what Gyula said. He went out into the entrance hall and all of a sudden he heard it, wham-bam. He thought to himself, now what the heck are they doing in this damn building so early. He headed downstairs and saw that people were standing about by the door to the courtyard but no one dared go into the courtyard. He and Uncle Erős, the two of them went into the courtyard and saw Auntie Schillinger lying there on the pavement, dead as a doorknob. First she fell on the railing, then she fell down from there. All morning I highlighted the drawings in my diary. I went to school for 1 o'clock. By the evening there were 5 centimetres of snow. In the evening I wrote my diary. I went to bed at 10.30. The Evening News also reported the suicide, but turned it inside out.

Wednesday, January 16, 1957

SLEDDING AT GRANDMA'S PLACE

In the morning Gyula woke me up at 6, telling me to hurry up and get dressed, because we're taking the pig-swill out to Grandma's by sled. When we got out to the street, the scene was really beautiful. Everything was covered by snow. The lights were on only in some places. Cars were going about, honking. The shot-up city was waking up. We took the 28 tram as far as Szlávy Street. From there we took the swill by sled. Gyula pulled the sled, and I went alongside him holding the cans so they wouldn't fall off. At first I was standing on the runners of the sled, but then Gyula let me sit on it. At Grandma's, Franci had already cleared the snow, but the freshly fallen snow had to be swept away. I got down to doing that while Gyula fed the pigs. On the way back Gyula pulled the sled only as far as the Tobacco Factory, because a horse-drawn tip-cart that carried slag in the summer was coming this way, so he tied the sled onto it. We had to wait a long time at the tram stop, because most of the 28 trams have closing doors, and you can't board with cans. We got home at 10. At home I wrote in my diary. I went to school by 12.30. Toward evening I read Robur the Conqueror. My violin lesson was at 5.30. The evening papers reported that the trams were running on Üllői Road and on the Great Boulevard.

Thursday, January 17, 1957 and Friday, January 18, 1957

A LITTLE RECKONING

CHOU EN-LAI IN BUDAPEST

So far 167,000 refugees went to Austria from Hungary. Radio Free Europe is broadcasting messages from them. Mostly they're sending messages to code names. The most interesting code names: Turkish Pasha, Ace of Diamonds, Black Cat. People are also saying that the Hungarian comedian László Kabos has defected, too, and his message went like this: "Russians go home, and anyone hearing this should pass it on!"⁹ Of the 167,000 refugees, 96,000 have already been sent on elsewhere.

****

In the morning I went to my 9 o'clock German lesson. There, I bought a book Duelling Hungarians from Kolonics. On the way home I did a bit of sliding on Semmelweis Square. At home I read Robur the Conqueror, then I went to buy a paper. The paper also reported Chou En-lai's speech (see Box). I went to school by 12.30. At night I read from Robur the Conqueror.

Saturday, January 19, 1957 and Sunday, January 20, 1957

FIRST TIME ICE-SKATING THIS YEAR

Jancsi came over in the morning when I got up. Then I went to my 11.30 violin lesson. By the time I got home it was almost 12.30. I packed my things in a big hurry. The last three periods in school were free. We got out at 5. I went home and I wanted to go in, but I couldn't find the key. I must have left it on the table when I was in a hurry. Mum had given me the key before my violin lesson, because Mum went with Maja to Grandma's. And so I climbed in through the window. The key was there on the table. I grabbed my bag and went off in a rush to Grandma's. A 28 tram went right by my nose, then three went to the depot. I got on the fourth, but wouldn't you know, it broke down at Fiume Street. It was 5.30 by the time I finally arrived. There I played with Maja. At night the radio announced that József Dudás¹⁰ had been executed.

****

In the morning, when I woke up, it was really cold-the thermometer read -16. I began shaping the road of the snow-city we were building to make it into a slide. Maja went over to Ági's. I called to her to come and help, but she took a long time coming. Along with Ági the three of us began making an ice rink, but pretty soon we got tired of lugging water. In the garden, it froze up at some places. We began skating there, that was Maja's idea. I never had skates on my feet before in my life, so at first I kept falling left and right, but I got the hang of it all the same. Afterwards we went sledding at the Sipos's. One time I rode down on my knees, and after falling off the sled I stood up. At home I did my homework and I put my stamps together row by row.

Monday, January 21, 1957

WE GET CHOCOLATE FROM SWITZERLAND-
MISS VALI RETURNS

In the morning I woke up to the ringing of the alarm clock, just like that, at 6.30. At 7, I got out of bed, dressed in a hurry and heated some water. I was amazed at how high the gas was, because nowadays it's usually just 1/2 cm, maybe 1 cm high. I finished my maths homework and cleaned out the stove, then I got it ready, so when Mum and them get back, all they'll have to do was to light the fire. Before leaving for school I scrubbed the kitchen floor, because it was all muddy. Then I went to school. Before the first lesson we made lots of noise, and so our singing teacher came in, and she said that anyone who speaks or stirs isn't getting a parcel from Switzerland. At that, the whole class sat up straight, hands behind their backs. Before long a box was brought in. The box looked like the one we got sent from Austria. Everyone got one bar of chocolate. During our ten-minute break lots of kids tore open their chocolate and even sold it. Before history class we were told that Miss Vali was back from France. After teaching, she came in, too. Marci had a really nice label on his chocolate, so I asked him for it. At home I found out that my chocolate has a slip of paper in it (see Box). Jancsi and I had German from 3 to 4. We noticed that there were lots of soldiers and police on the street. In the evening I wrote my diary.

Tuesday, January 22, 1957

VINCENT DAY

At 8 in the morning I went to school. The first lesson was Hungarian. Miss Vali was the teacher. She told us lots of stories. One of the things she said was that French children go to school by 8.15 and are there until 11.15. When they get home, they do their homework, and there's certainly lots of it, and then they have lunch and go back by 1.15 and stay till 4.15. When they get home, they get right down to studying, which sometimes lasts till 10. Teachers there don't explain homework in school. Instead the children have to solve it by themselves, at home. She also said that the French don't eat soup, and they eat their meat almost raw. At the butchers they don't sell meat like here, but instead they get it by the parcel, wrapped in a thin coating of fat. At home the women put a little oil on that and cook it for 12 hours. In gym class we boxed. I sparred with Vámos. Today Vámos brought in the label from his chocolate in exchange for a stamp. At night Uncle Pali came over to greet Dad, since today is Dad's name day, Vincent Day. In the evening I wrote my diary. I got 1 banana and 2 figs from Miss Vali. At night we ate that. Really delicious.

Wednesday, January 23, 1957

GLORY TO THE HEROIC HUNGARIAN MARTYRS
OF THE OCTOBER 23 REVOLUTION!

I went to school by 8 a.m. Nothing special happened there. At 12.45 we came home, because we had assembly. I wanted to ask Jancsi for the diary, but he wasn't home, and so I went to get a paper, and I bought a Life & Science. Jancsi came over when I got home. This is what he said (quoting from his diary): "Above the blackboard there was one big candle and four little candles from Switzerland, in all 6 candles were burning in the windows. X. Y. had drawn 2 Kossuth coats of arms on the blackboard and this is what he wrote: 'Glory to the heroic Hungarian martyrs of the October 23 Revolution!' In the maths class we received the teacher in dead silence, our classmate assigned to announce absences that week did so in a hush, and even the teacher kept her voice down. During the class only the big candle was burning, but during the ten-minute break we lit all the candles. Another teacher, Mr Zavagyák, didn't take so kindly to this. At the start of the physics class he came up and said: 'Take down the candles, I don't want you all to cause trouble for your teachers!' But we not only didn't take them down, we also put three tiny candles on top of the cupboard, but by the time the form-master, Mr Molnár, came in, two of them had already guttered away. In that dead silence, with 12 candles burning, we received Mr Molnár. But on stepping in, Molnár said, 'It's quite proper that the class should remember fallen heroes, but now that's enough of this, let's take down those candles!' At first we didn't respond. Later he told Péter Szabó to take down the candles. At which he took down the little candles. As for the big candle, Péter made as if he couldn't reach it. The teacher then called on Fürstner, the tallest boy, who, after a bit of fiddling around, took it down. After that Mr Molnár spoke a lot about the class, saying this isn't real patriotism, etc. Meanwhile he brought up Jesus, too, and told biblical stories." In the afternoon I had my violin lesson. In the evening I wrote my diary.

Thursday, January 24, 1957

A STROLL IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF
HORVÁTH M. SQUARE

In the morning I was at school from 8 to 12. Mum wasn't home when I got home, so I went over to Jancsi's. It was almost 1 p.m. when Mum got home. So I quickly did my German homework, then Jancsi and I went to our German lesson. On the way home, in a bookstore, I bought a book I'd long been looking for, Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle. After that, Miki said let's have a snowball fight. When I got home Mum sent me to take some black pudding to Uncle Zselyonka. I invited Jancsi to come along. From Rákóczi Square we went on Bacsó Béla Street. The Maria Theresa church had three holes where it was hit. I brought the black pudding to 74 Baross Street, and I got a nice big tip. Soldiers are guarding the József telephone exchange. The Ságvári memorial was shot down, but the old coat of arms was still there. The district council headquarters had 17 holes. A whole bunch of kids were skating at the Meteor rink. Afterwards we came home. Jancsi said that the lighting of candles yesterday had been reported. In the afternoon I did my homework, then Öcsi and I went sledding. In the evening I wrote my diary.

Friday, January 25, 1957

3 OXFORD STUDENTS ARRESTED

In the morning I was in school from 8 to 12. When I got home, I did the drawings in my diary. Then Gyula said we have to take the swill out to Grandma's. On the way back I bought the Evening News and People's Freedom. People's Freedom reported that the building at 85 Rákóczi Avenue would be fixed up with covered arcades.¹¹
At night I found out that some students had laid a wreath at the Bem statue, despite the fact that Russian tanks were surrounding it. That was the day before yesterday.,

Monday, January 28, 1957

A WALK IN AND AROUND CITY PARK

In the morning I was in bed when Jancsi rang the doorbell. He said we had to get to German by 8.15. He left right away, and I got dressed really quickly and ran to the lesson. On the way home Jancsi and I decided to do that long-planned walk. At 10 we headed off on the walk. We went down Rákóczi Avenue to Rottenbiller Street, then turned into Garay Street. At Nefelejcs Street the trolley cables are being put up. When we got to Garay Square, we went through the market, and then followed Sajó Street to Dózsa György Boulevard. There we saw a number of Russian vehicles go by. They were all covered with canvas. After that we went over snowy roads to Stefánia Avenue. From there we could see the base of the Stalin statue. Only a little bit of his boot remained. We went by the front of the Art Gallery and before long we were at the ice rink. Lots of people were skating there, and the Blue Danube waltz was being played. We crossed the lake in City Park and arrived in front of Vajdahunyad Castle:
One of its smaller towers was burnt off (marked with an x on the picture). The big tower had a few big holes from being hit (marked with an o on the picture). We went inside the castle. The main entrance of the Agricultural Exhibition was closed, and so we walked all the way around the castle, but not a single one of its entrances was open, and so we crossed the bridge and went out to Heroes' Square. There we saw that there are several new statues on the Millennium Memorial (statues of Kossuth and Bocskai). Afterwards we went onto Hungarian Youth Avenue, which used to be Stalin Avenue. There we saw that the marble street signs left over from its Stalin Avenue days, those that had the road's name on it, had been gouged out on every corner. In their place the street signs said "Hungarian Youth Avenue". Standing there, I said to Jancsi that the prettiest part of Budapest is City Park, and no doubt that's why they put the Stalin statue here. By the time we got to the Circus along the avenue it had already gone 1.30, and so we began to hurry. There are antennas on top of the building at number 62 as it surely belongs to the one at number 60, which is where Rákosi and his bunch took political prisoners.¹²
Lots of people were standing in front of 39 Andrássy Avenue, the former Paris Department Store. Since looking at it was part of our plan, we stood in the queue. After two minutes we got inside. It was a shame to rearrange this beautiful department store for books, because it was really pretty inside. At the Opera House, Jancsi thought that to get home on time, we should turn into Dalszínház Street, then into Kazár Street. At Dohány Street, Jancsi and I separated and went home. I was at school from 1 o'clock to 4.30.

Tuesday, January 29, 1957

I GET THE SWISS GIRL'S ADDRESS

Around noon I went over to the Zselyonkas. I took some brawn. I saw that the school on Bacsó Béla Street is being fixed up because it had been hit by a mortar shell. On the way home I noticed that on Rákóczi Square someone had written on a kiosk, "Kossuth coat of arms, Hungarian homeland. Russkies go home! Long as the russkies sit tight, Hungarian students won't study a mite!" From 12.30 to 4.30 I was in school. Miss Vali gave me the Swiss girl's address. In the evening I wrote my diary.

Wednesday, January 30, 1957

WE DON'T NEED THIS GOVERNMENT EITHER

In school the boys said there won't be any Religious Instruction, and instead of German we'd study Russian. At night I found out that three weeks earlier someone let loose a bunch of dogs on the street. They hung slips of paper around the dogs' necks that read, "We don't need this government, either!" I also heard this one: A man is riding the tram. He shouts, "Long live Kádár!" No one says a thing. The man repeats, "Long live Kádár!" Still not a peep out of anyone. At this the man says, "Hell, isn't there even one real Hungarian on this tram who would kick my arse for me?" Lots of jokes have been going around: The Chinese circus is in Hungary. Khrushchev brings his wild animals, Kádár brings his carrion, and the UN brings afternoon story-time. Khrushchev is sitting at his desk and suddenly his messenger rushes in: "The workers have risen up in Hungary!" "Ah, what do I care?!" replies Khrushchev. The messenger comes in again: "The people of Hungary have risen up!" "Ah, just leave me alone!" The messenger comes one last time: "The youth of Hungary have risen up!" "Whoops, 2,000 tanks and artillery, on the double!" In the evening I wrote my diary.

Thursday, January 31, 1957

THE UN CONVENES IN GENEVA

In the morning I got up, and Jancsi and I went to German. On the way home I saw the Life & Science 1957 calendar and Cooper's The Last of the Mohicans. I went in and bought both. Jancsi also wanted to buy the calendar, but he didn't have enough money, not even when I gave him 4 forints. We went home, then Jancsi and I headed off to get the calendar at the Spark bookshop. Jancsi bought one, then we went to the day-and-night grocery. There was a big poster on its wall: Support the security forces!¹³
There was a soldier on the poster. There was a flyer at the entrance to the grocery. This is what it said:
Calendar of events:
October 23-25: Imre Nagy for prime minister!
October 25-28: UN forces have entered Hungary! Nothing to fear!
October 28-November 1: Imre Nagy's no good, where is Ferenc Nagy?¹⁴ Let Mindszenty go!
November 1-4: Mindszenty for prime minister!
November 4-10: Fight to the end!
November 10-25: Don't go to work! We'll support you through aid!
I tore a flyer off the Spark. In the afternoon I was in school. I heard that the UN is meeting in Geneva, because if the Americans give the Russians 800,000,000,000 (800 billion) dollars, then the Russians will leave Hungary. In the evening I wrote my diary, then I read the book From the Earth to the Moon.

Friday, February 1, 1957

BULGANIN AND KHRUSHCHEV INVITED TO FINLAND

News: The Kádár government convened on Thursday. The government took decisions to improve the flood-control organisation and its effectiveness. It also announced that it's forbidden to go to Austria. Anyone who does is committing an illegal border crossing. The punishment is complete seizure of property. The illegal paper Free People first appeared 15 years ago today. The Arlberg and the Balt- Orient expresses are once again running across our country. Curfew extended to midnight. There have been many accidents on the icy roads, pavements should be sprinkled with salt, sand and ashes. Bulganin and Khrushchev to visit Finland in the spring. The Czech delegation has travelled home from Moscow.
Sport: Eight countries, including Hungary, have made it to the European iceskating championship in Vienna. The Hungarian national team has been invited to play football in Milan.

Saturday, February 2, 1957

TITO IS NOT GOING TO AMERICA FOR THE TIME BEING

In the morning I got up early so I could take the meat over to the Zselyonkas. On the way home I bought volume II of the booklet called Counter-Revolutionary Lawlessness During Hungary's October Events (see Box). When I got home, I did my homework. Mother gave me the key to the flat, because she's going over to Grandma's early. From 1.30 to 4.30 I was in school. Afterwards I went to Grandma's. On the way I bought a paper and a Women's News, which is being published again. At home I read the counter-revolutionary booklet.
News: January's productivity in the mining sector: 108.1%. Many dissidents want to return to Hungary. Janitors are to get a pay rise. 600 new apartments will be built by October. The executive committee has approved a plan to build 4-5-storey residential buildings in place of the cottages that are to be torn down. The intersections of Rákóczi Avenue and Üllői Road with the Great Boulevard will be rebuilt with arcades, after all. The International Red Cross will continue supporting Hungary until summer. Official news from Belgrade: President Tito isn't going to America for the time being.

Monday, February 4, 1957

THE MATTHIAS CHURCH WILL BE BEAUTIFUL AGAIN

In the morning I was at school from 8 to 12. Children from large families got cocoa from the Swedish Red Cross. From 1 to 2, my German lesson. On the way home I bought The Three Musketeers. Then I went to get a paper. I bought an Evening News. On the way home I came through the Corvin. I bought Cooper's The Deerslayer. In the afternoon I did my homework. At night I made a contract with Dad so that he'll give me 1 forint every day. In the evening I wrote my diary. János Kádár gave a speech at 8.
News: János Kádár announces in a speech that religious education is to cease, because it damages the emotional well-being of children. He said that rabblerousers first stirred up the university students and the workers, then the women, and now they're after the schoolchildren. So parents should watch out for their kids.

Tuesday, February 5, 1957

SWEDES VISIT OUR SCHOOL

In the morning I was at school from 8 to 12. Before the ten-minute break Miss Karola came to our class. She said that those due for cocoa should come down in an orderly manner, because the Swedish Red Cross is here. Today they only got milk. In the afternoon I did my homework. Jancsi and I went for a paper. We bought a People's Freedom, an Evening News and also a Hungarian Youth. News: Adenauer to visit Austria and Iran. Huge winds wreak havoc in Ireland. Lotto to begin. Hungary acquires a Swedish invention for 1.5 million dollars, building to be speeded up.

Wednesday, February 6, 1957

THE CORVIN CATCHES FIRE

In the morning I was in school from 8 to 12. When I got home, I wrote my diary. Later Jancsi and I went out for a paper. We both took bottles to return to the dayand- night shop. On the way home we bought the papers: we bought 2 copies of Evening News, 2 of Life & Science and one People's Will. When I got home, I wrote my diary. Pista was here, too. He looked at my library. He even bought the stamp album. I went down with him to the bus stop. There they were selling books of raffle tickets, I wanted to buy one, but then I didn't after all. I came home. I was just about to look at my timetable to see if I had any lesson today when Maja ran in. She shouted "The Corvin's on fire!" I ran right out to the street. There was a huge crowd, and a whole cloud of smoke was pouring from some of the Corvin's windows:
[Space had been left for a drawing but at this point the diarist seems to have lost heart and produced no further drawing for his journal.]
I ran over to Jancsi's and told him. It was exactly 4.30 at their place. So the Corvin caught fire around 4.22. Jancsi and I ran right out to the street. Lots of people were saying that the fire was biggest by the main entrance. Jancsi and I decided to take a look at that, too. We went as far as the Spark. We couldn't go any further, on account of the police holding back the crowd. The smoke was getting thick, you could hardly see. We went through the passageway out to the Great Boulevard and from there to Blaha Lujza Square. We could see all that thick smoke pouring out of a window above the main entrance. There were 6 fire engines, an ambulance that had just got there, and three Russian jeeps. The firemen weren't extinguishing anything but standing on the roof over the entrance and throwing down the goods:
[Space provided for a drawing.]

Thursday, February 7, 1957

A WALK IN THE BURNT-OUT CORVIN

In the morning I was at school from 8 to 12. We had a class assembly as well, and so I got back late. Jancsi and I left for German right away. After the lesson Jancsi and I went into the Corvin to survey the damage. Inside the department store there was still a burnt smell. There wasn't much damage on the second floor (women's ready-to-wear). There was more damage on the third floor. The furnishings department was all burnt. If the fire had lasted 15 minutes longer, the whole third floor would have gone up in flames, because the furniture is on one side of the furnishings department and the shoe department is on the other side. The burnt area was cordoned off. In the afternoon I did my homework.
News: Debate has begun at the session of the Supreme Soviet. Chou En-lai has completed his tour and returned to China. West German-Czechoslovak trade agreement signed in Bonn. Vinegar shortage to end. The old Hungarian film Fairy- Tale Car was screened again today for the first time. A thousand of the damaged apartments are habitable again. On Tuesday morning the American submarine Nautilus reached its 20,000-mile mark under the sea. So Verne's novel has come true 87 years after it was written. So far the submarine has burned 2,800,000 litres of fuel. The Foreign Ministry has delivered a note to the British Legation in Budapest concerning the expulsion of Colonel Cowley.¹⁵

Monday, February 11, 1957

FIVE BRITISH MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT SEND A LETTER
TO PRAVDA

At 6.30 a.m. I got up and got dressed. At 7 I left for the 67 bus stop. I didn't have to wait for long before it came. I got off at Baross Square. There was a huge crowd on the 7, so I got on the 46 instead. When I got home, I did my German homework. From 8.15 to 9.15 I was at my German lesson. When I came home, I did my homework, then wrote in my diary. From 12.30 to 4.15 in the afternoon I was in school. At night I wrote in my diary.
News: Five British MPs wrote to Pravda, and the paper replied. The letter concerned the events in Hungary. See tomorrow's People's Freedom for the complete text. The Amusement Park will open on the first Sunday in March. The 72, 73 and 76 trolley buses are due to begin running in two weeks. A new trolley is planned to take over from the 15 tram. On Saturday and Sunday 19 people were hospitalised due to alcohol poisoning. György Marosán gave a speech and announced that Russian would again be compulsory in schools.
Supplement: At night we went with Gyula and others to their place, because Gyula said that a lady is emigrating to Palestine and selling a whole bunch of things. We wanted to buy a writing desk, but her price was too high.

Tuesday, February 12, 1957

RED STARS BEING PUT BACK UP

In the morning I read From the Earth to the Moon. I got out of bed at 10. I did my lessons, and meanwhile Gyula arrived. He said that the red star is back up on the Danubia factory and the red flag is flying at the Autotaxi. Since the weather was good, we then took a little walk. Jancsi said the Soviet memorials the rebels tore down are being put back up. He also said that there are red flags even on the memorial on Gellért Square. We came home along Rákóczi Avenue. On the way we looked to see if the Day-and-Night was buying back bottles. They were, but there were lots of people queuing. From 12.30 to 4.15 in the afternoon I was at school. In the evening I sent the postal order, I bought Jancsi a Hungarian Youth and an Evening News, and I bought myself an Evening News and a People's Freedom, plus a pretzel and a book of raffle tickets. The lady who teaches us botany has gone.
News: Our country's store of underground water is being appraised. Judgement is due today in the case of stockpiling weapons in the village of Pomáz. According to a weapons expert, the cache represented more firepower than a reinforced army company. I heard that during the Revolution, the rebels had entered the Museum of Military History and taken the light automatic weapons and machine guns that had been used during the time of the 1919 Republic of Councils.

Wednesday, February 13, 1957

I slept straight through until 9, not waking up at all. Once I got up, I did my homework, then went to my violin lesson. I was in school from 12.30 to 5. In the evening I got a paper and wrote my diary.
News: Soviet memorandum to the three Western powers: The four great powers should issue a joint proclamation on peace in the Near and Middle East. They should assume mutual obligations. Every disagreement should be solved solely through diplomatic channels. Engineers, technicians and foremen are to get a raise. The original manuscripts of 8 poems by Petőfi have been found. e.g., the original title of "Plan Up in Smoke" was "Futile Plan". The UN has to debate the Eisenhower plan. There are still 600,000 Hungarian refugees in Austria. The court has ruled in the Pomáz weapons cache case: the driver János Vadász has been found innocent; Zsigmond Bóna, András Rudas, Géza Héder, Sándor Katona and János Szutter have been sentenced to death. The court has forwarded the petitions for clemency by Rudas, Héder and Szutter to the Presidential Council. The sentence has been carried out on Zsigmond Bóna and Sándor Katona.¹⁶ Spring migratory birds are arriving in droves. A village has been submerged by the rising water table. A car ran into the wall of a building. Revised finding: a tossed-away cigarette butt caused the fire at the Corvin Department Store. Budapest was 'liberated' 12 years ago today.

Monday, February 18, 1957 and Tuesday, February 19, 1957

MEDICAL INTERN ILONA TÓTH
AND HER ASSOCIATES IN COURT

In the morning I was at school from 8 to 12. As before, we had a substitute teacher in geography class. We were told that a new teacher would come tomorrow in place of Miss Draskovits. When I got home, I did my German homework, and was at German from 1 to 2. We played "What is the ship bringing?" In the afternoon I did my homework, in the evening I wrote my diary.
News: The trial of medical intern Ilona Tóth and her associates began this morning.¹⁷ Chief defendants: Ilona Tóth, Miklós Gyöngyösi and Ferenc Gönczi The first ship has passed through the Suez Canal. A new cave system, ten kilometres long, has been discovered at Aggtelek. The Federation of Hungarian Young Pioneers is being re-established. There will be a new uniform, too. More and more Hungarians in Yugoslavia are reporting to return home. A student accidentally shot and killed himself with a concealed sub-machine gun.

****

In the morning I was at school. The new teacher we were told about yesterday arrived. In the afternoon I did my homework. I wrote my diary.
News: Hungarian statesmen have sent a telegram greeting the anniversary of the Hungarian-Soviet Co-operation and Mutual Assistance Treaty. The Pest County Communists have held a conference. The UN's political committee has begun debating Cyprus. Arturo Toscanini has been buried. Vasas have won again.

Wednesday, February 20, 1957

FLOOD IN THE VICINITY OF SZOLNOK

In the morning I was at school. Nothing special happened. In the afternoon I did my homework. Jancsi showed me the interesting, clever class timetable he made, and I made one, too. I had my violin lesson. In the evening I wrote my diary.
News: Huge coal deposits found in the Mátra and the Bükk hills. The trial of Ilona Tóth and her associates continues. Ilona Tóth confesses. A car caught fire on the Great Boulevard. Polish government to be established by the beginning of next week. Police uncover a large-scale human-smuggling operation. The escape of groups of people was organised in the clinic of a Budapest woman dentist. No flooding on the Danube. Internal waters have flooded 26,000 acres in the vicinity of Szolnok.

Friday, February 22, 1957 and Saturday, February 23, 1957

TEXTBOOKS WITH ERRONEOUS POLITICS TO BE REPLACED

In the morning I was at school. In the afternoon I did my homework. At 4.30 Jancsi and I set off to his father's at the Statistics Office. From the Margaret Bridge we could see that the star had not been shot off the top of the House of Parliament. In the cultural hall of the Statistics Office we watched an Italian film called Hello, Here's Gabriella. Jancsi and I got home by 8.
News: The textbooks of the Rákosi-Gerő clique¹⁸ will be replaced on account of their erroneous political content. Teachers' salaries to be raised. The famous French singer Luciane Boyer arrived this morning in Budapest. The fire on 6th February caused 46,000 forints worth of damage in the Corvin. Today Gyöngyösi, that is Piri, confessed in the Ilona Tóth trial.

****

From 8 to 12.30 I was at school. I had to take a score and also blue paper to my violin teacher. Jancsi and I went for a walk, in the direction of places I could buy the previously mentioned things. The cupola of the building at 47 József Boulevard has been altered. Jancsi said so, too. I already noticed before that it's different, because that's the way I go to violin class. During the Revolution a blast tore the tiles off the tower, and not only were the tiles not put back but the tower was torn right off and redone like this:
[Space provided for a drawing.]
At night we went to Grandma's.
News: At present 3,700 Hungarian children are on holiday in Germany.

Monday, February 25

In the morning I came home alone in 10 minutes by bus from Grandma's. I did my German homework, then I went to my German lesson. In the morning I did my school homework. On the way home from German I bought The Three Musketeers. I went to school for 12.30. Mr Zavagyák came in during the first period and read a proclamation that went something like this: "The Minister of Education has decreed that pupils in all schools must continue studying the language they began with in September"-and so we're progressing little by little back to the conditions before October 23. When I got home from school, Dad and I went to Uncle Géza's place. I noticed that the street signs for "Captain Steinmetz Road"¹⁹ had been removed in several places. When we were at their place, we wished both the older Géza and little Géza well on their name day. We had supper and we talked. Auntie Marika told me not to keep a diary, because that could lead to trouble. I got lots of postcards, and we came home in the rain.
No news.

Tuesday, February 26, 1957

GRANDMA ARRIVES

In the morning I got up along with Maja, because I had to be at the Eastern Railway Station by 8, because that's when Grandma was arriving from Austria. I was already on the tram at 5 minutes before 8. From the tram I could see that the building at 81 Rákóczi Avenue, which had been bombed, was getting a new façade. When we got to the station, the train was already in. And before long we found Grandma. We hugged, because we hadn't seen each other for more than 4 months. (Grandma went to Austria before the Revolution, on October 14. The Revolution broke out and she was only able to return now.) She brought 4 parcels. She said the track suits are being sent separately. Then we got on the 67 bus, and we talked all the way home. Grandma told lots of stories. At home we opened the parcels. She brought oranges, a skirt, dates, chewing gum, bananas, raisins, tea, soap, walnuts, poppy seeds, boot polish, razor blades, honey, chocolate, sugar, etc. I took some gum right away and chewed it. Before long we came home, because I still had to do homework. That's what I did in the morning, then in the afternoon I was at school.
News: This year's coal production plan is 19.5 billion. Nehru's aeroplane caught fire and had to make an emergency landing. Today in court Ilona Tóth and Gönczi were made to confront each other. Czechoslovakia is extending us financial assistance.

Wednesday, February 27, 1957 and Thursday, February 28, 1957

THE GOVERNMENT IS EXPANDED

In the morning I did my homework, then I had my violin lesson. In the afternoon I was at school.
News: They're still debating the street-side arcades 8 youths have come before court for planning an armed uprising. They were found with 3 pistols, 4 machine guns, 5 hand grenades and ammo. More British mines have refused to employ Hungarian refugees. The defendants in the Ilona Tóth case are laying the blame on each other. Yves Montand is arriving in Budapest on March 9. The construction of swimming centres has begun. The India talks²⁰ began on Sunday.

****

From 8.30 to 10, I was at my German lesson. Later in the morning I did my homework. In the afternoon I was at school. At night I bought People's Freedom, which included the pictures of a few government ministers.
News: The Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party MSZMP convened the day before yesterday; see today's People's Freedom. The new television station will begin broadcasting in early November. Another case has come before a summary court of people who were planning for MUK²¹, this time 7 of them. Yesterday six Honvéd football players returned home from South America: Bozsik, Bányai, Rákóczi, Dudás, Faragó and Törőcsik. Fradi drew 3:3 with the Prague team Dinamo Slavia. The government has been expanded with new members.

Friday, March 1, 1957 and Saturday, March 2, 1957

A LITTLE CONVERSATION

In the morning I did my homework. In the afternoon I was at school. In the evening Jancsi and I talked: I said Kádár hates the Russians, too, and if they were to leave the country, he too would talk like Imre Nagy. Jancsi said that in his speech that appeared in the October 26th issue of Free People and in a November 3rd handbill Kádár spoke of a counter-revolution. We also talked about the building of the former Paris department store and about the arcades.

Monday, March 4, 1957, Tuesday, March 5, 1957, Wednesday, March 6, 1957

Nothing special happened.

Thursday, March 7, 1957

Jancsi and I bought a hand-press.

Friday-Thursday, March 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13, 1957

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY-END-OF-TERM REPORT-
LOTS OF PEOPLE'S FREEDOM LEFT EVERY DAY

In the morning I was at school. In the afternoon I did my homework.
News: Éva Szörényi²² got a job with a Canadian film company. Magda Fábián, who is just two years older than me, or 15 years old, and lived in the building next door, has defected. She went to Canada and got married. Today was International Women's Day. We bought a bouquet of flowers for Miss Vali. On the occasion of women's day the Central Committee issued a proclamation to Hungarian women. It was published in Women's Magazine. I lost mine, but Jancsi has one.

****

Today we got our end-of-term reports. Mine wasn't the best.

****

I was at Grandma's. Otherwise nothing special happened.

****

We were at German in the morning. On the way home we saw that several thousand copies of People's Freedom are left over every day.

****

Nothing worth mentioning happened today.

****

In school we got ready for March 15. At night Dad said that while he was on the 67 tram he saw state security men marching up Thököly Avenue.

****

In the morning only the red flag was put out at our school, but at noon it was replaced. We held the ceremony today. We noticed that the Kossuth coats of arms had disappeared from the classrooms. Everyone had a red, white and green rosette pinned to them, but mourning-bands and Kossuth coats of arms weren't allowed.

Friday, March 15, 1957

NATIONAL DAY

Today people went to work on "National Day", but we didn't go to school. In the afternoon we went to the Young Pioneer Department Store. We saw this poster:
[Space provided for a poster.]
On the way home I bought two books, The Big Game and The Resurrection of Hannibal.

(and here the Diary ends)

Translated by Paul Olchvary

1 The new Kádár regime could not adequately watch the country's borders. By May 1957 some 200,000 had fled and, from refugee camps in Austria, they dispersed to all corners of the globe, wherever they were welcomed.
2 Technokid: a Hungarian-manufactured version of the kits that were called Meccano sets in the U.K. and Erector sets in the U.S.A. The contemporary equivalent is Lego.
3 "Grandma's place" was in the suburb Rákosmező. As Gyula Csics describes it in his essay in HQ 183 (pp. 63-39), there were fruit trees around the house, a kitchen garden, a patch of lucerne for the pigs, and Grandma kept poultry in the courtyard and sometimes rabbits. There were always a few pigs at the house and they killed one or two every year, under the direction of Gyula Csics's father.
4 Georgy Maksimilianovich Malenkov (1902-1988), Soviet Prime Minister (1953-55), expelled from the Central Committee of the Soviet Communist Party in 1957 and from the Party in 1961.
5 Comedian and dancer, Kálmán Latabár (1902-1970) came from a famous show business family and was one of Hungary's biggest stars of the 1950s and 1960s.
6 János Kádár (1912-1989), active in the Communist movement from 1931 and imprisoned several times during the Horthy years. In 1951, he was arrested and sentenced to life on trumped-up charges, but was rehabilitated in 1954. In 1956, he was included again in the Party leadership, went to Moscow on November 1st, where he was handpicked by the Soviet leadership as Hungary's new leader. As such, on his return with the Soviet intervention forces, he formed the "Revolutionary Government of Workers and Peasants" and became one of the founders of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party (MSZMP), the new version of the Party, of which he remained leader until 1988. He launched a bloody campaign of retaliations and bore heavy responsibility for the terror that followed 1956, which from the 1960s on gave way to the 'soft dictatorship'. By the 1970s, Kádár's regime had gained acceptance in the West. The 1960s and 1970s saw an improvement in Hungary's living standards, but the accumulating external debt that financed this brought Hungary into a profound monetary crisis.
7 Pál Maléter (1917-1958), a senior Hungarian army officer who went over to the side of the revolutionaries. He agreed to a cease-fire with the rebel fighters in one of the centres of the fighting, the neighbourhood around the Kilián Barracks, and took control of the whole neighbourhood. Imre Nagy appointed him Minister of Defence in his cabinet. In November 1956, the Russians, pretending to start negotiations, seized him. He was sentenced to death and executed for his part in the Revolution. He was rehabilitated in 1989. The drunks changed the words of a line from The Csárdás Princess by Emmerich Kalman.
8 The "Box" was where the diarist collected the bric-a-brac associated with the Revolution which he could not paste into the diary on account of their size.
9 Messages from refugees always ended with the words "Anyone hearing this should pass it on!".
10 József Dudás (1912-1957) was a contradictory figure, one whose role was bound up with personal ambition. He established his own armed band, published a newspaper and sought to create a national political organisation, a rival government. He lacked support, however, and his short-lived political career ended at the hands of his own partisans. On the pretext of negotiations, the Russians seized him on November 21, 1956, and a military tribunal sentenced him to death. He was executed on January 19, 1957.
11 The damage to ground-floor stores on one of Budapest's main thoroughfares, Rákóczi Avenue, was so severe that a decision was made to forgo restoring its street side to its former condition and to use the space instead to broaden the pavement.
12 The building at 60 Andrássy Street was the headquarters of the political police until 1956. It was where those who were deemed enemies of the regime were taken. A huge complex of jail cells and interrogation rooms was established in its cellar. Today the building is a museum, aptly named The House of Terror.
13 The larger part of both the police and the military had supported the Revolution, and lack of a reliable domestic security service was one of the chief problems faced by the Soviet supported Kádár regime. The new regime tried to get around this by creating a new organisation. Its members, who were under the direct control of the Communist party, were initially recruited from the former state security service and from party functionaries.
14 Ferenc Nagy (1903-1979) was a founding member and general secretary of Hungary's Independent Smallholders' Party, and later the party chairman. In 1946 he became prime minister. Opposing the steps to establish a proletarian dictatorship, he was eventually accused by Mátyás Rákosi of conspiring against the republic. At the start of 1947 he resigned his post and emigrated to the United States. He was expelled from his party and deprived of his Hungarian citizenship.
15 Colonel Cowley took up his post as the British military attaché in Budapest in autumn 1956 during Pál Maléter's brief stint as Minister of Defence. Accused of spying, he was expelled from the country.
16 In the period of reprisals, summary courts heard many cases as a deterrence, including the Pomáz weapons case. Many disproportionately harsh sentences were issued without any investigation to speak of.
17 Ilona Tóth (1932-1957) was an emblematic figure of the Revolution and the subsequent period of reprisals. A medical intern, she volunteered with the rescue service and in hospitals to treat the wounded. After the initial fighting was over she was active in the political resistance. She was sentenced to death and executed.
18 Mátyás Rákosi (1892-1971) and Ernő Gerő (1898-1980), the most hated leaders of the pre-1956 Communist regime.
19 Captain Steinmetz of the Soviet Army was killed in 1944 on the southeast outskirts of Budapest while bearing a truce flag. Officially a martyr and victim of fascist perfidy, it would appear more than likely that he owed his death to friendly fire.
20 European Common Market talks concerning the inclusion of member states' colonies.
21 MUK was the acronym of "We'll Start Anew in March!" (Márciusban újra kezdjük!)
22 Hungarian actress Éva Szörényi (1917-), a member of Budapest's National Theatre company, left for Austria in 1956 and settled in the United States in 1957. She did much to foster a sense of national identity among Hungarians in America and to nurture the memory of the 1956 Revolution.