Starve.Org White Noise Usenet Archive: "*** Hungarian American List Digest *** V3 #285"

*** Hungarian American List Digest *** Fri, 18 Oct 1996 Vol 03 No 285

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In this issue:

HAL: Meghívó
HAL: Hungarian Revolution 1956 - IX
HAL: HL-Action: Funar election campaign
HAL: re: Town in Hungary?
HAL: Kossuth memorials 3rd e-mail
HAL: New list - Unicum
HAL: Marie Matyas response
HAL: *** OMRI Daily Digest *** Oct/18/96
HAL: *** MTI News *** Oct/18/96 ***
HAL: *** VoA Newswire *** Oct/18/96 *** E_EURO_MARKETS

See the end of the digest for information on subscribing to the Hungarian
American List or Hungarian American List Digest mailing lists and on how
to retrieve back issues.

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From: IHargitai@aol.com
Date: Thu, 17 Oct 1996 20:42:45 -0400
Subject: HAL: Meghívó

A Magyar Baráti Közösség, a Magyar Amerikai Koalició és a Nyugat oldali
Református Egyház rendezésésben

Duka Zólyomi Árpád
és
Dr. Halzl József
"A SZLOVÁKIAI MAGYARSÁG HELYZETE AZ ALAPSZERZÕDÉS TÜKRÉBEN"
cimû
elõadására

november 9-én, szombat este 7 órai kezdettel
Clevelandban a Nyugat Oldali Református Egyháznál
West 150 és Puritas sarkán.

------------------------------

From: Gotthard Saghi-Szabo <gotthard@chem.umd.edu>
Date: Fri, 18 Oct 1996 11:26:22 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: HAL: Hungarian Revolution 1956 - IX

Miracle That Changed The World - 9
(Be'la Lipta'k)

Those God damn animals, those Devils! - says Lacika. I still see
that grey fireman, I still remember his eyes, which understood nothing. I
am so shocked, by this senseless killing, that I can not say anything for
a few minutes. When I finally have composed myself, I ask: If you
believe in the Devil, you must also believe in God? Lacika's answer
surprises me. I did not expect such a philosophical tirade from him.

Lacika's Universe

Well, I guess I do. I guess the existence of the universe proves
that there is a Creator. On the other hand, I don't believe, that He is
some sort of a score-keeper, who judges our every deed. To me, He is like
the farmer, who plants the wheat, - in His case, each seed is a universe,
- - but He does not watch the growth of each seed individually. - Lacika
says, without inhaling.
That was a rather poetic picture you painted. - I compliment him.
Then, thinking about the fireman, I ask: So you don't think that there
are such places as Heaven and Hell? Right - he says. Those places are
human inventions. They are the carrot and the stick, which the priests
invented, to make us follow their rules. And the Devil? What made these
Russians kill that poor fireman? Oh, I don't think there is such a
creature as the Devil. I think, the Devil is fear itself. The bosses of
these Russians, the dictators in general, are afraid of anybody who dares
to think for himself, all dictators are scared of the free human spirit.
They kill, because they are scared.
So you think, that God let's these things happen, because He is too
busy planting other universes and does not notice what is going on here?
- - I pull his leg. No, not exactly. - replies Lacika. He seems a bit
uncomfortable. It is not his style to be so serious about anything. I
think, God is different from the farmer. I think God has planted Himself
with the seeds. I think that somehow he is not outside, but inside of us.
He is the good in us, He is what we call love. Now that is an other
poetic picture, this God-enters-monkey model! And why would He do such a
thing? - I ask.
Lacika looks at me for a fairly long time and finally blurts out:
Why not? Just to see what will happen? Just to see how such a creature
will evolve? How life will evolve? So you think we are one big
experiment? A game to entertain God? - I say a bit critically.
Experiment yes, game no. I think God planted himself to create life,
because He is life, and the big question is weather this mix of matter and
love, which we call life, can survive? Well, if that was so, if God put
himself into his Creation, and if it is his presence, which has caused the
evolution, does that mean, that by destroying life on this planet, we can
destroy God? - I ask, kind of pulling his leg, in this strange discussion
in this Russian jail. I don't know that, but my gut feeling is, that this
little planet is much more special than we think. Now, that we have
conquered nature, now that we are directing our own evolution, the
survival of life itself is in our hands.

November 5

Our discussion went on for a long time. The morning turned into
afternoon, than evening. I was getting very hungry, it was painful to be
sitting on that hard, turn-out writing table. Still, these discomforts
were not the worst. The worst was this hopeless mood of mine. My soul was
in a worst shape than the burned out houses of Mo'ricz Square.
Lacika was sitting on my left. On my right were Ili To'th and her
sister, the two medical students, who stayed in our emergency room. I felt
completely exhausted on this Monday night. Last night, I was carrying the
wounded, the night before we stayed up listening to Imre Nagy's last
words, the previous night, I was in the =CBva'r jail, and the night before
that, I was up with Jancsi Danner. So, as midnight ap proaches, I find it
harder and harder to keep my eyes open.

November 6

I feel a kick in my foot. I wake up, look around and slowly,
things are beginning to come back. Lacika is on my left, Ili on my right.
I don't see Gyuszi Perr or Imre Majoross and it seems that in general we
are fewer in this lecture room, than a minute ago, when I closed my eye.
Down, around the professors desk, the guards are snoring. Up, at the other
end of the lecture hall, the entrance door is open. The guards are dead
drunk, this is the time to get out! - whispers Lacika.
We rise very slowly and tiptoe up, to the open door. All we hear is
the snoring, as we quietly make our way through the dark corridor. We walk
down to the basement and exit the building through the back door of the
gymnasium. The night is dark. There are no Russians to be seen, but we
play it safe anyway. We stay in the dark, sneaking from bush to bush. On
Budafoki Street, Lacika bids us farewell. (This was the last time I saw
him. Later I heard, that he became an airline pilot in Switzerland and
that a cousin of his, married a nephew of mine.)

November 6, 3 AM

Ili and her sister rented a nearby room. They asked me to walk
them home. When I agreed, they hooked into my arms and we strolled
through the dark and empty streets. In the room, I see only one double
bed. So, how will we do this? - I ask and they reply in unison: I will
sleep in the easy chair. So I take off my boot, jacket and hit the bed. I
have no idea what might have happened after wards. All I know is, that
during the night, when I was turning around, I touched Ili's breast. Her
body felt tense, and her eyes seemed to be partly open, but I could have
imagined all that, who knows?
In any case, when I woke up the next morning, we were all in the
same bed, we had plenty of space, it was warm and cozy. They had no food,
so breakfast was out of the question, and I did not feel like washing
myself, considering the cold and the girls watching, so I said farewell
and left. (This was the last time I have seen the To'th girls, although
decades later, when I was teaching at Yale, a young man asked me, if I was
the same Be'la Lipta'k, whom his aunts talk about? Who knows?)

11 AM

It was mid-morning on this Tuesday, the 6th of November. One could
hear bursts of gunfire from the Pest side of the Danube. Here, on the Buda
side, all is quiet. It feels strange, now, that the subma chine-gun is not
pulling on my right shoulder. I got so used to the gun, that I feel
incomplete without it. I still have my tri-colored arm- band. There is no
traffic, the streets are empty. This is a workday, but nobody works.
I walk over the empty bridge. I am the only civilian on the bridge.
The Russian tanks stationed at the bridge-head pay no attention to me
(Picture #1). I see nobody, but Russian soldiers. I am walking over to the
Pest side to visit -gnes. The burned out houses and the burned out tanks
are still smoking and unburied corpses are everywhere. I see the remains
of a Russian soldier in the hatchway of a burned out tank. His clothing
has burned away and his body shrank to the size of a baby.
The Russian tanks have occupied the main Avenues, but have not
entered the side streets (Picture #2). One can see few Russian soldiers.
They feel safer inside their tanks.
On Ra'koczi Street I see a Russian who is just opening the escape
hatch on his tank and is sticking his head out. In a couple of seconds, I
hear a burst of gunfire. It comes from one of the roofs. The head of the
Russian disappears and the three tanks in the group, aim their cannons at
the roof, where the fire came from.
Because of the fighting on Ra'koczi Street, I go over to a parallel
street, named Wessele'nyi Street. As I am walking toward Elizabeth
Boulevard. On the corner of Aka'cfa Street, I hear firing and one of the
bullets hits the wall behind me. I suspect that it was intended for me.
There must be some pufajka's -VH snipers in the area. These brave souls
now came out of hiding and are firing again at the freedom fighters and
the members of the National Guard. All they needed to regain their self
composure, were a quarter million Russians.

Noon

For a second, I consider removing my tri-colored arm-band, but
then, I hear this voice inside me: My arm? Yes! But the band? No! So, I
just proceed a bit more carefully. I try to flatten myself against the
walls of the buildings. As I advance on Wessele'nyi Street and approach
the Kerte'sz Street corner, which is only one block from Elizabeth
Boulevard, I see a Russian tank at the entrance of Wessele'nyi into
Elizabeth Boulevard. The tank's cannon has been lowered, it is pointing
directly into Wessele'nyi Street.
As I am carefully lurking forward, I see a group of about ten people.
They are unarmed, older workers, standing in the protection of the
Kerte'sz Street corner. They were probably hoping to cross the Boulevard,
but did not dare to, because of the tank. As I reach them, I hear the
siren of an ambulance. It is coming from behind me. As I turn, I see a
mini-van with it's roof covered by a large Red Cross flag. As the driver
notices the tank, the car slows down.
A blond nurse is sitting next to the driver, she is leaning forward,
staring at the tank. A wounded man is laying in the back. The car has
passed the Aka'cfa Street corner, when the tank cannon shivers a little,
something black emerges from the barrel, followed by flames and smoke. By
the time I hear the blast, the car has reached our corner. The left half
of the car is crumpled, like a sardine can, hit by a hammer. The driver
has disappeared. We just stare at the burning wreckage, frozen by shock
and fear.

Madness!

Now the blond nurse tries to free herself, she opens the door on
the right and stumbles out. She is in the middle of the street, facing the
tank. She is about 15 yards from us. We are protected by the corner of the
building, she is totally exposed. Now, she stands up. She is not more than
18 years old. She is not running away, she is starting to move toward the
wounded man in the burning ambulance, when the tank's machine-gun fires
again. The girl is hit, she loses her balance and falls onto the hood of
the burning car.
I can hear the burning of her hair, I can see her skin getting
darker. I bit my lips, I taste blood in my mouth. Now a bald worker picks
up the garbage can and holding it in front of himself, runs out, into the
street. An other burst of machine-gun fire, and now, he too is moaning in
a pool of blood. The garbage can is full of holes, the bullets went
through it, as if it was tinfoil.
Now, somebody starts pulling on the waterspout, which is running down
the side of the building. Our frozen, paralyzed group suddenly comes to
life and like frenzied madman, we are all tearing at the rain pipe. Our
hands are bleeding, we push and step on each other, rust and plaster is
falling into our eyes, our clothing is torn, but eventually the pipe
begins to give and our frantic effort pays off. Now, we have a 10-15 yard
long pipe, with which we can pull the girl from the burning car. Her long,
blond hair is gone, her white smock is dark, so is her skin. Only her open
eyes and her teeth are white.
It took about a half an hour to pull the two dead bodies into the
protection of the street corner. The driver and the patient, both burned
in the car. The tank's machine-gun kept firing throughout this frenzied
effort.
These 30 minutes filled me with such intense hatred, that I could
have dropped the atomic bomb on Moscow. It took decades to get rid of this
terrible feeling, but to forget that girl, to forget the sense lessness of
a child being roasted like a pig, that, I can not forget and never will.

2 PM

It took some effort to cross the Boulevard, but finally I
succeeded. I found nobody at home in -gnes' apartment. When I ask the
superin tendent, he is not communicative at all. It must be my arm-band,
that scares him. The reflexes of an enslaved people are returning already.
His answers could not be shorter: They left for Austria. - he says. Who
is they? The boy and the girl. Which girl? The blond one. - he answers
and walks away, indicating that the discussion is over. So Judit and
Ga'bor have left, and -gnes is probably still here, may be at Lake
Balaton?
What do I do now? It is well past noon. I am getting very hungry. I
also hear the intense fighting which rages around the triangle of the
Kilian Barracks, Corvin Plaza and Tu"zolo' Street. I start walking in that
direction, toward the south. I stay to the east of the Main Boulevard,
which is bumper-to-bumper with Russian tanks. It takes some effort to
cross Ra'koczi Street. After that, the thunder intensi fies. I not only
hear the roar of tank cannons, but also the scream of mine-throwers and
the Russian aircraft overhead.
My progress is slow, I am hoping to reach Pista Angyal's group in
Tu"zolto' Street, but when I get near, I find, that crossing _ll i Street
is impossible. The street is a mess (Picture #3), it is full of tanks and
they fire at anything that moves. So I stay in the side streets and
eventually reach Istva'n Hospital on Nagyva'rad Square.
You can not enter with arms! You have to leave all your arms here!
- - says the porter. That will be easy, since I have none. Where do I get
something to eat? - I ask in return. Go to the cafeteria in the
basement, they probably have some soup left over from lunch.

3 PM

I get a tray, get my 20 Forints ready and load the plate with two
bowls of soup and a half dozen big slices of bread. I have not eaten in
nearly two days, so I'm ready for a feast. How much is that? - I ask the
fat lady at the check-out. I am worried a bit, because all I have is 20
Forints. It's a lot. - she answers smiling. I mean: how much do I owe
you? - I ask again. Looking at you, it is I, who probably owes you! -
she replies and waves me on. I just can't get rid of this 20 Forint bill!
- - I complain jokingly, and settle down to stuff myself.
The cafeteria is mostly empty. A doctor with black-ringed eyes is
drinking espresso coffee at the next table, his hands tremble as he stirs
the coffee. Another doctor is copying a list or something, while two
nurses stand in the corner, talking to a cleaning lady. So I get down to
some serious eating. When I have finished the first bowl, I put the second
bowl into the empty one, because I am a bit a shamed: I do not want to
advertise my appetite. The windows are trembling from the detonations, the
hospital is overflowing with wounded, yet the cafeteria is peaceful and my
mind is blank, I concentrate on eating.
When I am done with the soup, I still have two slices of bread left.
I am in the process of stuffing them into the side pocket of my corduroy
jacket, when I hear a familiar voice: Is this another test of yours? Are
you testing the limits of the holding capacity of the human stomach? If
it is not the Coffee-Man!? - I say, grinning at Pista Angyal. So, how
are you progressing with your comparative study of the Jewish- Hungarian
vs. the German-Hungarian character? - he asks, also grinning. I do not
answer. Pista, now looks at me very seriously and asks: What is it?
The test is over! There is no German-Hungarian to compare you
with! Jancsi Danner is dead! - I say this, almost shouting. He puts his
hand on my shoulder and after a long while, he mumbles to no one in
particular: It does not look good! Now, does it?

Our Jewish Martyr

Pista is with his co-commander, a fellow named Olaf, and a Russian
called Vaszil. It is not clear who this Vaszil is, although they seem to
be good friends and Vaszil seems to be on our side. They ask me about the
our casualties at Mo'ricz Square and I ask them about their prospects here
in the IXth district.
We are holding our own. Actually, we are trying to arrange a 48
hour cease-fire with the Russians. They agreed to a meeting and
supposedly, we will learn the time and place of it at 5 PM. This is why we
are here. We are waiting for that telephone call.
Why can't you call from your garage? - I ask. Oh, they have
pulverized us by bombs and cannon fire. We have no telephone, no
electricity, no water. They are lobbing land grenades at us and are now
also attacking from the air. So what's next? - I come to the bottom
line.
Pista looks at the floor, then at Olaf, before answering: The
Kilian Barrack is giving up. Their defenders, the ones with some heart
left in them, are joining us. Only Corvin Plaza, Csepel Island and Stalin
City are still holding out. They too are running low on ammunition. The
civilians in the IXth district are begging us to give up. This is why we
are here. We want to arrange an honorable cease fire with the Rus sians.
We will try to do that at 5 PM. After that, we'll see, but before either
peace or more war, we will have to get some bread. You are not the only
one with big appetites you know!
While Pista, Olaf and Vaszil are waiting for the telephone call,
Pista also tells me that he has faith in Ja'nos Ka'da'r (Picture #4).
Pista considers himself to be a Communist, who's quarrel with the Russians
is not about their social model, but about their totalitarian methods and
their occupation of our country. He is very optimistic about the cease
fire and when it is signed, he is planning to put up a red (and a black)
flag, next to the Hungarian tri-color, on their building. It was nearing 5
PM, when I said farewell to them.

Istva'n Angyal

That was the last time I have seen Istva'n Angyal. He could
arrange no cease-fire, fought to the last man (Picture #5) and was
captured on the 16th of November, 1956 and was hanged on the 1st of
December, 1958. In prison he wrote: The Hungarians fought and died for
world-freedom in 1848 and we are carrying on the same flag today. This
fight of ours can determine the future of mankind, it can mean the end of
tyranny. It was my honor to be the son of such a nation. I am happy that I
was born to be a Hungarian and if I could relive my life, I would want to
live it again as a Hungarian.
When he was being taken to the gallows, he tore his photograph
(Picture #6) from his identity card and on the back of the passport-size
photo, wrote in pencil: Long live free Hungary! and handed it to his
cell mate, Imre Me'cs.

<-- If you see this, you received the full text of Part IX
.

------------------------------

From: Peter Orban <porban@IAW-1.IAW.RWTH-AACHEN.DE>
Date: Fri, 18 Oct 1996 17:59:20 +0000 (GMT)
Subject: HAL: HL-Action: Funar election campaign

****************** CALL FOR ACTION ****************

Priority:
urgent

Background:
The mayor of Kolozsvar - the notorious Romanian nationalist - Funar is
using a photo of himself and Congressman Hoke shaking hands in the TV
spot of his presidential election campaign.

What to do:
Please write Congressman Hoke and inform him about the photo used
by Funar. Since Hoke is a representative of the 10th district in
Ohio, I especially request the residents of this district to act.
Feel free to use the attached letter.

Address of Congressman Hoke:
(e-mail): hokemail@hr.house.gov

**************************************************************

The Honorable Martin R. Hoke
Washington Office, 212 Cannon
(e-mail: HOKEMAIL@HR.HOUSE.GOV )

RE: Presidential election campaign of Funar (Romania)

Dear Mr. Congressman,

are you aware of the fact that the Romanian chauvinist Funar is using
a photo of you and himself shaking hands in the TV spot for his
presidential election campaign?

I would be glad if you would rethink your contacts with the notorious
mayor of Cluj. Funar got a bad international reputation because of
his anti-semitic and anti-Hungarian statements. Recently he even
attacked the Hungarian-Romanian Basic Treaty harshly and called the
agreement a high treason.

Respectfully yours,
name, title, address

------------------------------

From: jek@eugen.pp.se
Date: Fri, 18 Oct 1996 18:33:07 +0200
Subject: HAL: re: Town in Hungary?

In HUNGARY #819 you wrote:

>Was there a town in Hungary called "Oyhell" (phonetic spelling)

My guess is that the town in question is Satoraljaujhely, by the people in
town generally shortened to just Ujhely.
It lies in the Northeast, on the very border to Slovakia.

Jeno
jek@eugen.pp.se

------------------------------

From: avadasz@mnsinc.com (A.J.Vadasz)
Date: Fri, 18 Oct 1996 14:54:56 -0400
Subject: HAL: Kossuth memorials 3rd e-mail

Addition to 2nd e-mail
Counties. Iowa has a Kossuth County. Much information can be obtained from
the following website: http://www.profiles.iastate.edu/county/kossuth/

Kossuth houses. In Washington the Reformed League resides in "Kossuth
House". I believe the street address is 2002 Massachusetts Ave NW
Washington DC. Per Mr.Barnabas Bozoki (Toronto, ONT) there is a "Kossuth
House" on Kossuth Rd. (near airport) Kitchener,ONT. It is an old
schoolhouse, now used by the Kitchener Hungarian Club.

This completes this (first) try. Will shortly propose an action plan for the
future. In the meantime I would appreciate your questions and comments. Andy.
A.J. Vadasz
5743 Pignut Mtn. Dr.
Warrenton VA 20187
USA T:540 349 1408

------------------------------

From: Gotthard Saghi-Szabo <gotthard@chem.umd.edu>
Date: Fri, 18 Oct 1996 16:19:40 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: HAL: New list - Unicum

Dears,
If you live in the DC area, that is VA,WV,MD DE, DC - and maybe NY, NJ
and PA, you might be interested in our local - planned to be Hungarian
language - mailing list. The list is planned as a local, Hungarian
chat-line to advertise local events, meetings, parties, give and recive
suggestions, help in various topics.
We have just started the list w/30-40 local young Hungarians and
Hungarian speaking Americans on it - most of us met first at our annual
picnic.
Technical stuff:

o the list is majordomo based
o majordomo address : majordomo@glue.umd.edu
o list address : unicum@glue.umd.edu

Subscription - same old thing, mail to majordomo@glue.umd.edu, no subject,
in the body write:
subscribe unicum
To unsubscribe, do the same but in the letter write:
unsubscribe unicum

info file, WWW, FTP, Gopher, etc... - as soon as God will give us more
time :-)

Take care,
Gotthard
- --
mailto:gotthard@quartz.ciw.edu
http://granite.ciw.edu/~gotthard/

------------------------------

From: almjm2@micro.lucent.com
Date: Fri, 18 Oct 1996 15:10:27 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: HAL: Marie Matyas response

***[Greetings from Hungarian-American HyperNews]***
***[ http://mineral.umd.edu/hahn/ ]***

My name is Marie Matyas and I live in Allentown, PA, USA. My cousin,
Charles in New York, NY, USA, have been attempting to complete the
genealogy for our family. We have identified ancestors in Vestplan, but
have not spent as much time on this project as we would like. Our goal
is connect our family to the beautiful Matyas Templon in Budapest. Any
help would be appreciated. My email is almjm2@micro.lucent.com

------------------------------

From: Hungarian American List <hungary@glue.umd.edu>
Date: Fri, 18 Oct 1996 10:35:06 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: HAL: *** OMRI Daily Digest *** Oct/18/96

Posted to Newsgroups: soc.culture.magyar,soc.culture.usa

------------------------------

From: Hungarian American List <hungary@glue.umd.edu>
Date: Fri, 18 Oct 1996 12:05:49 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: HAL: *** MTI News *** Oct/18/96 ***

Posted to

------------------------------

From: Hungarian American List <hungary@glue.umd.edu>
Date: Fri, 18 Oct 1996 14:05:33 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: HAL: *** VoA Newswire *** Oct/18/96 *** E_EURO_MARKETS

Posted to Newsgroups: soc.culture.magyar

------------------------------

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