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Hungary The Soul of Freedom National independence has always been an object of debate in Hungary. Both the opposition and the Communists liked to recall the key dates of Hungarian national history – for different reasons, of course. After 1989 it became possible for the first time to discuss this history in public without having recourse to the interests of Socialist historiography. Yet the appropriation of history came off in abrupt fits and starts. Different viewpoints and interpretations inflamed the debate. The most recent history is a favourite topic of day to day politics. |
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The Freedom Statue on the southern bastion of Budapest's Gellért Hill was erected by the Communists as a liberation monument, but for Hungarians it also has another meaning. Originally it was conceived as a memorial for István Horthy, the son and deputy of the regent, Admiral Miklós Horthy, who was killed in action on 20 August 1943. The monument was not erected. The sculptor Zsigmond Kisfaludi-Strobl planned to place a genius, or guardian spirit, on a pedestal and the figure of István Horthy in front of it. At Christmastime 1945 the sculptor, now acting on behalf of the Soviets, presented a slightly changed design. The genius was retained, but the planned statue of István Horthy was replaced by that of a Soviet soldier as liberator of Hungary, which remained in place until 1989. The poster from 1950 shows the freedom statue from below with the city of Budapest and the Danube at its feet, and no sign of the Soviet soldier standing before it. Hungary is by itself, as it were. Because of its history as the "Horthy Monument" symbolizing the struggle of the Hungarians against Bolshevism, the monument was not torn down after the political changes of 1989, whereas the figure of the Soviet soldier disappeared very quickly. |
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Members of the opposition used to gather regularly on the 15 th of March, the commemoration day of the revolution of 1848, to articulate their desire for freedom. Since the Communist government did not succeed in putting down the opposition completely, they tried to take over the 15 th of March for themselves. In 1967 they introduced the "Revolutionary Youth Days" for this purpose. The Communist Youth Association was instructed to carry out the festivities celebrating the 15 th of March 1848 (Revolution), the 21 st of March 1919 (setting up of the Soviet Republic) and the 4 th of April 1945 (Day of Liberation). They could not always achieve their aim of preventing spontaneous mass demonstrations. On the poster dedicated to the youth days the youth organization presents itself as patriotic and modern. A hippie girl wears a headband with the Hungarian national colours and wraps herself in the anniversary dates 1848, 1919 and 1945. In this way the date of the liberation was integrated into the other patriotic dates of the past. |
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