The Hungarian Revolution Was the First Tear in the Iron Curtain

A fter World War II, Winston Churchill said that “an Iron Curtain has descended across the continent,” which marked the beginning of the Cold War between the Western democracies and the Soviet communist dictatorships. Seventy years ago, on October 23, 1956, Hungarians behind this Iron Curtain rose up in unison and revolted against the cruel communist dictatorship kept in power by the Soviet Union. The world watched in awe as the Hungarians took up arms and faced the Soviet tanks to win back their freedom and sovereignty. They exposed the lies and the failures of the communist system for the world to see.

During the revolution, I was 11 years old, and my family lived, not entirely of our own volition, in a village south of Budapest. We did not have running water, so I had to go with a bucket to get drinking water from a well. Russian planes flew over the village, and a Soviet tank came through to show that they were in control. After the revolution was crushed, we had to escape at night to Austria, as my father was on a list to be arrested and imprisoned, or worse, for his role in the uprising.

The Iron Curtain partitioned Europe along the lines established by the Allies and the Soviet Union. The areas behind the Soviet lines were to hold free democratic elections, but the Soviet Union, instead of holding elections, installed puppet communist governments in Central Europe, including Hungary. These governments then took control of the police and proceeded to destroy existing social networks, government structures, and economic systems. They began to create a socialist/communist system, where the central government controlled all aspects of society, government, and the economy. They claimed to support the workers, who they believed were exploited by the bourgeoisie, and promised to create heaven on earth for the workers. Take from the rich and have the government then redistribute — but of course, first to their political cadre.

Then came the confiscation of properties from the next level of society. Farmers were forced to give up their land and join cooperatives, which resulted in grocery shelves often being empty. In this process, any opposition was brutally suppressed, and millions were denied freedom of speech, religion, and other basic rights. Tens of thousands were imprisoned, exiled, or executed. Many risked or lost their lives attempting to escape. Worldwide, similar communist regimes caused the deaths of 100 million innocent citizens, and many millions more were and are denied basic human rights, sentenced to a life of misery and poverty. Prosperous countries and citizens became poor and desperate under these socialist/communist systems.

The spontaneous 1956 Hungarian Revolution was the first violent armed uprising against this cruel system. Hungarians had enough, and despite the fear and oppression imposed by the “socialist workers” party, workers, students, farmers, professionals, men, women, young, and old demanded free elections, individual freedoms, and national sovereignty. They exposed the empty promises of a socialist/communist system and shed light on its reality. The enraged and unified citizens marched from a university to the national radio station and demanded the broadcasting of their demands. State Security opened fire on the unarmed crowd, resulting in casualties and deaths. The infuriated crowd then took up their own weapons and were often joined by Hungarian soldiers. The battle for freedom was against tremendous odds, challenging 100,000 occupying and well-equipped Soviet troops and the Hungarian secret police.

The revolution seemed to succeed after ten days of fighting, as a revolutionary government was formed, and the Soviet troops began to withdraw. Moscow was waiting for the West’s reaction and, in the absence of a response, the courage of the Hungarian men and women was tested again, when on November 4, the Soviets invaded to suppress the revolution. The freedom fighters fought tanks with rifles and Molotov cocktails. The uprising claimed 3,700 lives and resulted in 20,000 wounded. This was followed by brutal retribution, as 300 were executed, 21,700 were imprisoned, and 200,000 fled the country. The sacrifices of the freedom fighters were not in vain, as the world saw the true nature of this oppressive system. The Hungarian Freedom Fighters were voted “Man of the Year” by Time magazine. The Hungarian refugees, after being selected and vetted in camps, were invited and generously welcomed by various countries to start new lives, and some 35,000 became proud, grateful, and successful Americans.

The Hungarian Revolution was the first opening in the Iron Curtain, leading to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, after Hungary opened its borders to East German refugees. Hungarians regained their freedom and Hungary its sovereignty when free elections were held in 1990, and the Soviet troops withdrew in 1991. Finally, some 45 years after the Iron Curtain was lowered, it unraveled.

It has been said by many that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. The Hungarian Revolution is such a historic moment that it should be a lesson for today’s generations. Today, many in the Western World, including the United States, have a naïve and idealistic view of socialism and communism, completely ignoring history and reality. The system behind the Iron Curtain denied people basic rights and served up misery for all. Today, the same can be said about the remaining communist countries such as Cuba, Venezuela, North Korea, Russia, and China.

Despite claims to the contrary, no better socialist/communist system can be built, as a basic tenet of these systems is full government control of many aspects of life and the means of production, which by their nature limit or deny individual freedoms. There is a reason why migrants and refugees, like the Hungarians, want to come to the U.S. Freedom must be defended, and on the 70th anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, it should serve as a historic warning to the current generations.