[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 84 (Monday, June 10, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S6018]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                  COMMEMORATING THE BIRTH OF IMRE NAGY

 Mr. D'AMATO. Mr President, I rise today to call my colleagues' 
attention to the 100th anniversary of the birth of Imre Nagy, the Prime 
Minister of Hungary during the Hungarian revolt against Soviet 
Communist domination. Born on June 7, 1896, Nagy was executed after a 
secret trial for his role in leading the revolt.
  His contribution to the Hungarian people and to the cause of freedom 
did not end with his execution on June 16, 1958. Thirty-one years 
later, after his secretly interred remains were exhumed, on June 16, 
1989, over 100,000 people took part in public funeral services. This 
was a significant step in the fall of the Soviet Empire, lending 
impetus to Hungary's internal liberalization.
  Over the summer of 1989, Hungary began to dismantle its part of the 
Iron Curtain on its western border. In September 1989, Hungary opened 
the border for East German refugees to travel to the Federal Republic 
of Germany.
  This action sparked the exodus of East Germans to the West, and 
ignited a revolution in East Germany that later spread to 
Czechoslovakia. It led directly to the fall of the Wall, an event most 
Americans never expected to see in their lifetimes, and the eventual 
collapse of the Soviet Union, an even more improbable event.
  Imre Nagy was a dedicated Communist, but he was also a patriotic 
Hungarian, and original thinker, a leader, and a very brave man. He 
fought for the Bolshevik forces during the Russian Revolution of 1917, 
and participated in the Bela Kun Communist regime in Hungary in March 
1919.
  After the fall of that regime, he spent the inter-war years in the 
Soviet Union, studying and making propaganda broadcasts back to 
Hungary.
  After the Red Army drove Nazi forces out of Hungary at the end of 
World War II, Nagy returned and participated in the newly established 
Government, eventually becoming Prime Minister on July 4, 1953.
  His rise to power in Hungary coincided with the death of Josef 
Stalin. He attempted to liberalize the Stalinist system that had been 
imposed on Hungary. His program of National Communism, however, posed a 
grave threat to Soviet domination. He was removed from government and 
expelled from the Hungarian Communist Party in 1955.
  However, as the only communist who had the trust of the Hungarian 
people, he was recalled to be Prime Minister on October 24, 1956, after 
the Hungarian revolt had begun. He held that position until November 4, 
1956, when the Soviet Red Army crushed the revolt in bloody combat.
  Nagy sought asylum in the Yugoslav Embassy in Budapest, where he 
remained until November 22, 1956. Then, apparently believing the 
promises of safe conduct issued by the Janos Kadar government, he left 
the safety of the Embassy only to be arrested by Soviet forces.
  He was turned over to Hungarian authorities, who tried him in secret 
and sentenced him to death. He refused an offer of clemency and was 
executed on June 16, 1958.
  He had made the error of taking the promises of communism at face 
value, when they were false and fundamentally corrupt. He paid with his 
life for that mistake.
  The selflessness, fearless valor, dedication to the cause of freedom, 
and love for his country Imre Nagy displayed throughout the Hungarian 
revolt of 1956 helped highlight the hypocrisy and reveal the basic evil 
nature of Soviet-style communism. It started a fire in the hearts of 
Hungarians that Soviet tanks and secret police were never able to 
extinguish.
  Imre Nagy gave his life for eternal ideals: freedom, liberty, human 
dignity, and selfless love of his people. He saw that evil, in the form 
of Soviet-style communism, triumphed because too many good people, 
including political leaders, did nothing. Imre Nagy dreamed of change 
for the better for all Hungarians. He acted upon his dreams, showing 
true leadership, courage, and determination.
  He paid the ultimate price for his convictions, but his sacrifice was 
not in vain. Hungary, along with other Eastern European nations, 
regained its independence in 1990, and the Soviet Union itself 
collapsed in 1991. His executioners killed Imre Nagy's physical body, 
but they could not kill his spirit. In the end, freedom triumphed, and 
I am confident that future generations will draw inspiration and 
courage from his example.
  For his contributions to his country and the cause of freedom, Imre 
Nagy deserves to be remembered, not just by all those of Hungarian 
descent, but by all who love freedom.

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