[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 144 (Thursday, September 22, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1348]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         COMMEMORATING 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF HUNGARIAN REVOLUTION

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. ANDY HARRIS

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 22, 2016

  Mr. HARRIS. Mr. Speaker, as you may know, both of my parents fled 
Soviet-bloc Communism for the promise of a better and freer life here 
in America. With that in mind, Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate 
the 60th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. Ronald Reagan 
once said, ``Communism only works in two places: Heaven where they 
don't need it, and hell where they already have it.'' The Hungarian 
people, as much as anybody, know this to be true. The movement began on 
October 23rd, 1956 as a student demonstration against Soviet-imposed 
communist policies. The demonstration quickly spread, attracting 
thousands. When a group of student protestors were fired on by the 
State Security Police, and one of the demonstrators killed, the 
revolution began. Thousands organized into militias, battling the 
police and Soviet troops in Budapest and across the country. The 
communist government quickly collapsed and impromptu ``workers' 
councils'' assumed governance of the country. Though Soviet forces 
eventually re-took control of the country, the Hungarian Revolution was 
the first major threat to Soviet control since the fall of the Nazis, 
and signaled the beginning of the end of the reign of Communism in 
Europe. That is why I rise today, Mr. Speaker, to commend the Hungarian 
people for their fight, and ultimate victory, against Communism, and 
commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.

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