Nation finds its silenced voice

Media Credit: ANDREW GARDNER / The Eagle HUNGARY FOR CHANGE - When an audiotape recorded by Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany was released last year, the Hungarian people discovered that he had deceived the country about the strength of its economy in order to get his party re-elected. This year's protests marked the one-year anniversary of the tape's release to the public.

It's staggering how close Budapest seems to the West when you look at a map. Hungary, smack dab in the middle of Central Europe is a short train or plane ride away from pretty much everything in Europe. But throughout its millennium of existence, Hungary has endured a great many obstacles, making its journey into the industrialized West a difficult one.

In the 20th century alone, the country played an integral role in the start of World War I, where it was part of the losing side and lost vast territory.

It broke from Austrian Hapsburg rule in Vienna only to be plunged deeply into World War II by its ingenious "supreme regent," Miklos Horthy. After several years of loyalty to Hitler, Horthy's backdoor deal with the Allies in 1944 was discovered. Soon after, Nazi Germany invaded the country. Hungarian Jews, who for so long had been protected from the Final Solution, were forced into ghettos and concentration camps. By war's end, only one-third of the Jewish population remained here.

After the war, the country fell into 40 years of Soviet rule, which added an increased burden to the already exhausted Hungarian population.

The Hungarian Revolution of October 1956 was a brave attempt to rebel against the repressive regime. However, it backfired. Most protesters were killed, imprisoned or forced into political indoctrination.

Of course, by the late 1980s, communism's Iron Curtain was lifting and Hungary faced a new challenge of making something of itself in the industrialized world.

It has been a delicate and difficult climb to repair the mistakes of the past, but in recent years, it seemed things were really on the upswing. Hungary was joining the European Union and readying itself to adopt the euro.

Continued...

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