When I was a very young child, my family and thousands of others experienced similar events during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. The de-stalinisation process initiated by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev gave Soviet satellite countries like Poland and Hungary new hope of democratic freedom. This prompted mass anti-Soviet demonstrations in October 1956. In Hungary the protests became a full-scale revolt. Ordinary Hungarians battled with Soviet troops and the hated state security police. Thousands of political prisoners were freed and the Central Committee elected the popular Imre Nagy as prime minister. He began to dismantle the one-party state. Encouraged by an apparent promise of help, Nagy appealed to the UN and Western governments for protection. But with the Suez crisis in full swing and no real appetite for fighting the USSR over a crisis in Eastern Europe, the West did not respond. The Soviet air force bombed part of the Hungarian capital, Budapest (my birthplace), and Russian troops have into the city in a massive dawn offensive. At least 1,000 Soviet tanks were reported to have entered Budapest and troops deployed throughout the country batted with Hungarian forces for strategic positions. The Soviet militarys response was swift and devastating. Some 30,000 people were killed in Budapest alone and about 200,000 Hungarians sought political asylum in the West and our small family of 4 were among those thousands and for that I am eternally grateful that my Fathers desire for freedom, tenacity (many have described my Father as stubborn) and strength against the worst of odds allowed us to escape and end up here in the United States. Over the next five years, of those who didnt make it out in time, many thousands were executed or imprisoned under Janos Kadars puppet regime. Nagy and others involved in the revolution (my Father was very active, hence the urgency for my familys quick departure) were secretly tried and executed in June 1958. Soviet troops finally withdrew from Hungary in 1991. This video is really incomprehensible to me and puts things into a perspective I could not have possibly ever understood without this footage of the tank making its way through a city during the recent Syrian conflict and the devastation that one tank can generate. Imagine thousand of tanks thundering through your city--WOW, I hope we never experience that in our lifetime,t hats for sure! Mom & Dad--thanks for your bravery! petapixel/2014/03/22/terrifying-gopro-footage-captures-syrian-tanks-wreaking-destruction/
Posted on: Tue, 25 Mar 2014 14:24:10 +0000