The Forgotten Faces Page #2

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can thus be seen the whole enigma

of the Hungarian people.

A highly strung and volatile nation,

romantic, tempestuous, proud

and arrogant of their heritage,

capable both of cruelty

and generous kindness,

the Hungarians possess a complex

national makeup not easily understood.

This is Erzsbet Sulyok, aged 44.

Her only son was killed yesterday.

Istvn Berek, aged 19.

Parents deported five years ago

and not heard of since.

'Eva Rakes, aged 17.

Has a common sympathy with Istvn.

Her mother being killed three months ago

by security police.

Der Bn, aged 37.

Foreman at a machine factory in Ujpest.

And Mtys Vajda, 40,

a charge hand at the same factory

make strange co-patriots.

For one, Vajda, is a social democrat,

and the other, Bn, a staunch communist,

and consequently

they are both forever arguing.

This is Katalin Vardas,

aged 18, art student.

For her young years, an advanced cynic

and anti-communist.

Lszl Dondosi, 24, librarian.

And before the revolution,

the organizer of a discussion circle,

forbidden by the security police.

Each of these people, highly individual,

each with conflicting ideals.

It is, therefore, too naive to conclude

that the one common belief strong enough

to bring these people together

must be their genuine love

of their country

and their desire for its freedom'?

The desire for which

they are obviously prepared to die.

This is an old truck disguised

as a military ambulance.

In it, five members

of the AVH security police,

are trying to escape from

the siege of their party headquarters

down in the city centre.

But they don't get far.

Called the AVO,

these are the men who've held down

the country with an iron grip of terror.

What are these men'?

Are they traitors and bullying

opportunists of the worst kind'?

Or are they unwitting dupes?

And if the freedom fighters

had actually won the revolution,

would any of them have donned similar

uniforms to hold these men in check'?

By the 30th of October,

the Soviet forces had withdrawn

to the outskirts of the capital.

And Imre Nagy, the premier,

had set up his provisional government.

The revolutionaries were

now in complete control of the city.

Four days, the people of Budapest

lived under the illusion of freedom,

until the morning of Sunday,

November 4th,

when Imre Nagy broadcast

the following message

to the Hungarian people.

"This is Imre Nagy speaking,

"chairman of the Council of Ministers

of the Hungarian People's Republic.

"In the early hours of this morning,

"Soviet troops launched an attack

against our capital city,

"with the obvious intention

of overthrowing

"the lawful democratic government."

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