[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 85 (Tuesday, June 27, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1290]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            TRIBUTE TO HUNGARIAN VICTIMS OF COMMUNIST TERROR

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                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 27, 2006

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, a few days ago, President Bush 
traveled to Hungary to participate in events marking the 50th 
anniversary of the Hungarian Uprising. I commend the President for 
making this trip and for recognizing the sacrifices made on the streets 
of Budapest in the name of liberty and justice.
  Fifty years ago, at the height of the Cold War, Central Europe, was a 
prisoner, and Moscow was its jailer. Confronted with overwhelming 
Soviet domination, the Hungarian response was to reaffirm the core 
values of democracy: individual freedom and national independence.
  On October 23, 1956, these two powerful forces--tyrannica1 communism 
and the principles of democracy--met and clashed in the middle of 
Europe. Within the Soviet Empire, the 1956 Hungarian Revolution 
presented an alternative to a deceptively dangerous idea, the idea that 
the best solution to a war-ravaged world is to eliminate political, 
cultural, religious, economic and national differences by imposing a 
single, universal ``truth.'' This idea represented the incontestable 
dogma of communism.
  At the heart of the clash was Imre Nagy who assumed the post of Prime 
Minister even announced Hungary's intention to withdraw from the Warsaw 
Pact. But, when the Soviet Union crushed Hungary's bid for freedom 
during those day in October, Imre Nagy and his colleagues were 
arrested, convicted in secret trials, and eventually executed as 
``traitors'' on June 16, 1958. To prevent the inevitable expressions of 
support for Nagy and what he stood for, he and the others executed with 
him were buried by the Moscow-backed regime in Budapest in unmarked 
graves.
  The significance of his and countless other Hungarians' sacrifice is 
etched onto the political map of the 21st century and echoed in the 
recent developments throughout the world. As President Bush observed, 
``The lesson of the Hungarian experience is clear: liberty can be 
delayed, but it cannot be denied.'' That is the real moral of the 
events of 1956 and the subsequent human sacrifices of Imre Nagy and his 
fellow freedom fighters.
  As we remember and mourn those who gave their lives defending freedom 
those fifty years ago, I would like especially to remember the towering 
courage of a reluctant hero and a great Hungarian patriot, Imre Nagy.

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