Minister of Human Capacities Zoltán Balog thanked the Germans and Germany for the assistance they provided to Hungarian refugees in 1956 and for their solidarity.
At a commemoration of the sixtieth anniversary of the 1956 Revolution and War of Independence held in Berlin’s world famous Konzerthaus on Tuesday evening, the Minister recalled that after the Revolution was quashed refugees who fled to West Germany experienced the solidarity of the Germans and received all kinds of support from everyday people, from factory workers and university students to artists, the Church and politicians. “Everyone gave what they could”, the Minister recalled.
In his speech, Mr. Balog noted that Hungary had paid a high price for the freedom it later won. Amongst others, he pointed out that 2500 people lost their lives during the revolution, including many Roma, who we are “proud of”, as the Minister put it.
“Some 22 thousand people were given prison sentences until the end of 1961, 229 people were executed and the age for the death penalty was lowered to sixteen. 13 thousand people were interned and 180 thousand people fled the country. Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Canada, the United States and Australia received tens of thousands of them”, he continued.
The Minister also pointed out that those refugees strived to be “better Germans and better Swiss”, and many sought to help their homeland with everything they learned and experienced abroad.
Mr. Balog also referred to the current wave of millions of refugees and the differences between these refugees and the ones who fled Hungary in 1956. “A common characteristic of 1956 emigrants and the mass migration that involves millions of people today is human suffering. In 1956, people with a similar cultural background emigrated and it was a one-off emigration event. The migration we are experiencing today will last until these people have a chance of making a living at home in their own homeland within a fairer world order. What is common to both migrations is human suffering”, Mr. Balog said.
“But the question today is where, when, who and how should we help”, he added. “Those who put forward quick, moralising solutions must ask themselves how they can assume responsibility for their decisions before future generations”, the Minister said, adding that solidarity and the willingness to help is also based on reciprocity between Hungary and Germany.
“In 1989, when the Eastern half of Germany needed Hungary’s solidarity, the country gave it, with a free decision in a country that was not free and under soviet occupation”, he said, stressing that “this led to the reunification of Germany and Europe”.
In his speech, the Minister characterised the Hungarians as the people of freedom, adding: “when they had the chance to choose freely they always chose freedom”. However, he also highlighted the fact that freedom is a precious treasure that must be protected. It cannot develop without the rule of law and legal order. “Hungary is convinced that it is protecting this freedom and the continuity of the European Union by protecting its southern border”, he emphasised.
With relation to this the Minister again highlighted the primary importance of solidarity. “But solidarity also requires that we mutually understand each other”, emphasised Mr. Balog, according to whom mutual understanding is particularly true of Germany and Hungary.
The Minister of Human Capacities stressed that German-Hungarian relations rest on solid foundations. “The two peoples and the two countries belong together, even if they sometimes provide different answers to the same question”, he declared.
In closing, Mr. Balog recalled the uprisings on Berlin in 1953, Budapest in 1956, Prague in 1968 and Poland in 1981, pointing out that those who took up arms then taught everyone to appreciate the value of freedom.
(MTI)
