Here is a BBC report on the celebrations/demonstrations.
The uprising started in Budapest on 23 October 1956,
with a spontaneous demonstration by a crowd of about 23,000, the
reading of a pro-democracy manifesto and the singing of banned national
songs.A giant statue of Stalin was pulled down, leaving only the dictator’s boots on the pedestal.
Soviet tanks were forced to withdraw, but returned with devastating force a week later.
Imre Nagy, the reforming prime minister, made a final impassioned plea to the outside world by radio.
He and hundreds of others were arrested and executed, among thousands of Hungarians who died.
This is Peter Schramm’s personal account of his family’s escape from Hungary and starting a new life in America: “Born American, but in the Wrong Place.” I recommend it, very moving and meaningful.
