Page 23 - Microsoft Word - 01_A MÁSIK OLDAL English.doc

3. 1956

Late in a Tuesday afternoon, my sister said we should head out
to the Municipal Park, since it was near, and because there was
some sort of an event coming by. I had no clue what to expect,
but her boyfriend told her that quite a crowd was nearing that
way. She only wanted to meet him or so I believed, thus she did
not want to leave me alone at home without guidance, so it was
rd
easier to take me along. The date was 23 of October 1956, and
that day turned out to be an afternoon and an evening that
determined my life to come. I grew up in weeks and understood
everything a Hungarian had to. Those few weeks and few
months had long-lasting effects on the rest of my life, my
thoughts and judgements were deeply determined by all those I
experienced and learned in
that period and they served
as catalysts for my thoughts
and judgements.
I could barely see anything
in the throng when we
reached the Stalin Statue,
but looking up, I was able to
realize nonetheless that something had broken loose. The
immense statue was pulled down. By the time it was only
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Stalin’s boots in their place, it was late evening for me. There
were voices about shootings somewhere; someones were
shooting at the demonstrators. I was exhausted like never before
by the time I arrived home. My parents arrived too coming
home from the afternoon classes of Living Languages Seminar,
and they told us that numerous adults had left to join the
demonstration, later on to the Radio Station, but could not hear
much more than that, so they had to close the school due to the
absence of students. We found out later that there was a
shootout at the Radio Station. No news was broadcasted, but it

9 Picture: The boots of the statue of Stalin.

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