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was a nice dream, in spite of the fact that Austria did manage to
break free of Russian occupation in 1955. However, the
Hungarian revolution served foreign interests well once again.
There is no country like Hungary in Europe, whose modern
history was determined by its unsuccessful revolutions. These
unsuccessful attempts to gain freedom became indicatives with
their ineffectual nature, sending a message to the oppressors
that they may fail what they start. Sooner or later, every attempt
failed eventually, but what had been lost was always much
greater: the loss of unity and of independent development, the
lack of integration into world politics, at least according to the
interests of a free, national political milieu, along with the lack
of practice of such integration. Revolution is a term which may
be called an unlucky term, as it speaks of the lack of something.
Everyone referred to the 1956 events as a revolution, but it was
a war of independence instead. “Ruszkik haza” (Russians go
home!) became a motto in an instant. In the strict sense of the
word, there was no revolution in Hungary whatsoever. Instead,
people fought to regain independence that was lost in the Battle
of Mohács, 1527, when Hungary lost the battle against the
invading Turkish forces and they occupied one third of the
13
country. Thus, we lost our own kingdom and freedom.
Only a victorious war of independence has any worth in a
country’s fulfilment and future. A lost cause merely helps
people endure their contemporarily bad living circumstances,
which is not to be dispraised either. The intrepidity and the
temperament typical of Hungarians still exist, as they did all
throughout our history, but their fulfilment is limited and
opportunities are bounded by the frustration. Knowing our
historical background, we can be certain that there will always
be a conscious and history making Hungarian initiative when

13 After the Turkish reign (150 wears), Hungary was governed by the Habsburg
Monarchy since they inherited the Hungarian throne. Following a war of independence
in 1703-1710 and in 1848-1849, Hungary gained some freedom with the formation of
the dualist Austo-Hungarian Monarchy in 1867, which ended after WWI.

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