...say what you want about tenets of National Socialism, at least it's an ethos."
- Walter Sobchek
During our time in Budapest we had time to visitan outdoor museum called Memento (or Statue) Park. When the Iron Curtain came down, it was the beginningof the end of Communism in Hungary as well as for most of the rest of EasternEurope. All the statues that linedthe streets as propaganda in the former Socialist governments were to bedestroyed. The Hungariangovernment decided to save some, to both “…commemorate the past and look to thefuture.” The park, as described byits architect, “is about dictatorship. And at the same time, because it can betalked about, described, and built up…is about democracy. After all, only democracy can providean opportunity to think freely about dictatorship.” A walk through the park reminds you of how lucky we are tolive in a free, democratic society. And when we saw the Tatra, a really small and really ugly carmanufactured by the Communist governments, I realized why capitalism is great!
One of the most interesting statues in the parkwas the Stalin monument. Actually,all that’s left of the 25meter (75ft.) icon are his two boots. On October 23rd of 1956 a group ofdemonstrators gathered in Budapest to show their support for the Poles who hadjust gained their independence from the Soviet Union.
“… a group of Hungarian students compiled a list of sixteen pointscontaining key national policy demands. Following an anti-Soviet protest marchthrough the Hungarian capital of Budapest, the students attempted to enter thecity's main broadcasting station to read their demands on the air. The studentswere detained, and when people gathered outside the broadcasting station tocall for their release, the state security police fired on the unarmed crowd,setting off the 1956 Hungarian Revolution.”
After the bloody demonstration the protesters tookblowtorches to the gigantic statue and cut it down at the knees with a signover the mouth that read, “Russians, when you run away don’t leave me behind!” (Wikipedia)
I have to say that traveling Eastern Europe isgreat, but the longer we’re here the more we notice the certain subtle differences.People seem to keep to themselves a little more, maybe a bit more reserved/private;or maybe, under Communism that was just how they were raised. Either way, all the people we’ve met sofar have been nothing but friendly and eager to help and we can’t wait to seethem again!
“It has been said that democracy is the worstform of government except all the others that have been tried.”
-Winston Churchill
