1956International memory

Exhibition · 17 stories

Stories from the exhibition

Hungary’s 1956 Revolution as the world saw it: diplomats, refugees, athletes and the people who took them in. Choose a story, or scan the QR code next to an exhibition panel.

  1. 01 The Hungarian Refugee Crisis in 1956 The historical significance of the 1956 Hungarian refugee crisis lies particularly in the fact that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees…
  2. 02 The Hungarian Embassy in Berlin The events of the October Revolution divided the staff of the Hungarian Embassy in Berlin. Ambassador Emánuel Safrankó sided with the positions held…
  3. 03 A Swiss Diplomat on the Revolution Words from a Swiss diplomat of the time regarding the Hungarian Revolution:
  4. 04 Switzerland and the Refugees In 1956, the only agency from Switzerland to report on events in Hungary was Jack Metzger’s small photo agency, Comet, based in Zurich.
  5. 05 Memorials in Italy Several significant memorials and plaques in Italy pay tribute to the Hungarian Revolution and War of Independence of 1956. These sites commemorate…
  6. 06 Indro Montanelli Indro Montanelli (April 22, 1909 – Milan, July 22, 2001) was a popular journalist, writer, and historian who served as the Budapest correspondent for…
  7. 07 The Vatican’s Reaction From October 24, 1956, the Vatican’s daily newspaper reported continuously on the events in Budapest. Pope Pius XII spoke several times on Vatican…
  8. 08 Key Memorial Sites in Paris On the Right Bank of the Seine in Paris, in Plot 44 of the Père Lachaise Cemetery, stands a monument to the 1956 Revolution and War of Independence …
  9. 09 France and 1956 News of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution and the Soviet intervention sparked massive public demonstrations and displays of solidarity across France. An…
  10. 10 Korean Students in 1956 It is little known that in the fall of 1956, a large-scale solidarity movement in support of the Hungarian Revolution emerged in South Korea. The…
  11. 11 Mohamed Ataur Rahman and Árpád Göncz Indian diplomat Mohamed Ataur Rahman served as Chargé d’Affaires at the Embassy of India in Budapest between 1956 and 1959. During and after the…
  12. 12 Ilona Szablya: From Refugee to Honorary Consul She was born Ilona Bartha-Kovács in Budapest on September 6, 1934. The family fortune was nationalized in 1948, and facing the threat of forced…
  13. 13 South American Tour of the Honvéd of Budapest Bp. Honvéd represented Hungary in the 1956–1957 edition of the European Cup. The Hungarian team entered the competition in the Round of 16, where they…
  14. 14 József Komlóssy: Time Has Caught Up with Me “…Today, in the twilight of my life, I can state with a clear conscience that in Canada, ‘Sopron’ is a concept in itself. The Sopron-trained forestry…
  15. 15 The Sopron Division The exodus of the Sopron Forestry College at that time was a unique event, unparalleled in history.
  16. 16 The Games of the XVI Olympiad With the exception of the equestrian events, the 1956 Summer Olympics were held in Melbourne, Australia, from November 22 to December 8, 1956. A total…
  17. 17 You Can Trust the Dane Povl Bang-Jensen (Copenhagen, April 6, 1909 – New York, November 25, 1959) was a Danish diplomat. During World War II, he served at the Danish Embassy…