50Hungarian Revolution flag years ago today, on October 23rd, 1956, ordinary Hungarian students and workers marched in protest against the illegitimate Soviet Union’s rule over their country via the viciously authoritarian leadership of a Soviet proxy named Matyas Rakosi. Quickly, those same ordinary Hungarians became insurgents, and a revolution was born.

My father was one of those revolutionaries, at age 17, and today, I, and many others, remember and honour those heroes. Although they won a a short-lived victory, forcing the Soviets to pull back, it quickly became apparent that the help the Americans promised to the freedom fighters via Radio Free Europe was a lie, and the Soviets brought the tanks back in with a vengeance. 2500 Hungarians and 700 Communist soldiers died in the short period of fighting, and though the revolutionaries lost (my father and many others had to flee the country permanently), Hungary never forgot the spirit of ‘56. In 1989, Hungary became the first country to rip down the Iron Curtain. I’ll never forget those images.

Thanks, Dad. Fighting for your people’s freedom against a domineering and abusive occupying superpower (and thus against ridiculous odds) is one of the noblest things I can imagine, and I’m grateful for the example that you and people like you set for humanity. There aren’t that many uncomplicated black-and-white/good-and-evil divisions to be made in history, but I think a good case can be made that your revolution was one of them.

“October 23, 1956, is a day that will live forever in the annals of free men and nations. It was a day of courage, conscience and triumph. No other day since history began has shown more clearly man’s eternally unquenchable desire to be free, whatever the odds against success, whatever the sacrifice required.” – Senator (not yet President) John F. Kennedy