“We spend the night, without thoughts of sleep, helping unload and load trucks at the Hungarian customs house. We almost forget that we are supposed to be reporters and that this is a news story. It’s so much more than that…”
Frederick ("Fritz") Hier, A Hungarian Diary, 28 October, while working for Radio Free Europe
Zsombat, Október 27
Far away, on the other side of the Atlantic, there were calls to the UN Security Council. A sign of hope. Still, the international policy moves too slowly for those on the ground.
At the same time, there is now an offer of amnesty on the table, designed to stop the revolution, or to, at least, sow incertitude. The proposal has its effects, and among us, Valéria opted for quitting the fight.
On the other side of the barricades, we heard that there also snipers withdrawing, but all remains way too foggy.
The old truck still runs across Budapest, and there we go again, Imre and I, to the University, just to pick up Ferenc, and head to Csepel.
Ferenc was a genius with communication devices, and we were able to improvise radio broadcasts, and thus spreading the voice of the revolution. Furthermore, we knew that so many people were anxiously listening to the radio and trusted us. Our morale has never been so high, despite all adversities.
Corvin Passage was now one of our strongholds, as there were armed civilians maintaining control.
Nevertheless, and as we made progress throughout the city, fire exchange with militia remained frequent, and I was injured yet again.
Vasárnap, Október 28
There was a glimpse of hope, as truce was declared. We were expecting soviet forces to withdraw, leaving room for us, the Hungarians, to take destiny into our hands. But it was not to be. The truce was betrayed, and the soviet tanks were back at four locations at least. Things are taking a darker turn.
More armoured forces are coming into play, as party leaders leave the country, and reinforcements are arriving at HWPP.
We are getting outnumbered. We are getting stuck.
Radio Free Europe still provides a small light in this dark day, but we don’t really know their effective reach, when the clock seems to be ticking faster.
Now we move to Blaha Lujza Square, closer to the enemy forces, where a new fighter joins the group, Péter Hajas. As we were on the move, a tank opened fire and I was hit by shrapnel. I was treated on the spot, thanks to the first-aid kit we were carrying, and at least I was still well enough to get out of there.
We managed to escape, and joined, with Ferenc and Péter, another protest organized at Bem Statute. Playing cat-and-mouse all the time. And these protests were so useful to keep the support high, showing that military power was not enough to break us down.
Hétfő, Október 29
New people were still coming to us, to take part on the protests, demonstrations, and fights. This time it was János who approached us, with his truck.
We were trying to make the best of the confusion that seems to have taken over some of the enemy troops, that were moving back and forth, uncoordinated. All we need is a final push to keep the popular control of the events unfolding on the streets of Budapest, but the forces were piling up on the other side. We knew there were now even more snipers after us.
The situation was bad at Kossuth, with the arms being unleashed, leaving many injured or dead, a bloodbath... We took all the medical supply we could and went there in a hurry. The situation was critical, but nevertheless we managed to take good care of a lot of people, and event to divert a tank from the square.
Even so, there was no time to lose, and soon I had to meet Marta at the Astoria, where we would also get help from Ilóna, an expert in medical emergency. There were tanks nearby, but we avoid them.
We all felt that it was then, or never. We could feel that victory was possible. We rushed through the Radio, Corvin Passage, and back to the University.
Having Ilóna with us proved crucial, as nearby the University an ambulance was under fire, and medical attention was required. Our teamwork was, once again, successfully put to the test.
We are back to the starting point, to our University. The sun goes down, in this mild October, and night falls over Budapest. One week has passed, and it is hard to recall all the frantic moments, and to shut down some sights and sounds from our mind. I was not in good shape, as the constant movement and action did not allow the wounds to heal properly.
The time to make a real assessment of where we stand has come.
Despite the wounds and the fighters we lost – Margit, Júlia, István -, we managed to take decisive action all over the city, and to successfully resolve most of the critical situations and most of the confrontations.
We were that close to achieve victory …
However, there were way too many militias around, and people feared more and more to come to the streets. Movements were increasingly harder. The armed pressure showed no signs of relief. Resources were growing scarce.
What if we had engaged more in an armed fighting?
What if we had targeted more the militia?
What if …
Reality struck, our morale plummeted, and we knew that there was no real point in going on.
The revolution has failed.
List of episodes
Ep. 1 - Serious stuff
Ep. 2 - Meet Dávid Turczi
Ep. 3 - Designer insights
Ep. 4 - At the table
Ep. 5 - I joined the revolution!
Ep. 6 - The fate of the revolution
Ep. 7 - Budapest 1956, and beyond
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