After Soviet tanks crushed the 1956 Revolution, thousands of young Hungarians were forced to flee their country and sought out new beginnings and a new lives in the United States. The statue of the “Budapest Lad” honors their memory and the memory of Hungarian freedom fighters everywhere.

The life-size bronze statue of the “Budapest Lad” depicts a typical Hungarian student of the time holding the Hungarian national flag of the Revolutionaries with a hole in the middle where the symbol of the oppressive Communist regime has been cut out.

Speaking at the unveiling ceremony, Minister of National Development of Hungary Miklós Seszták said that the statue “tells the story of thirst for freedom and the strength of a unified nation to stand up for its rights.” “This statue symbolizes the common desires and principles that always bonded or countries and nations together,” added the Minister.

Other VIPs who spoke and were in attendance included Colleen Bell, US Ambassador to Hungary, Zsolt Németh, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Hungarian National Assembly, and János Horváth, Ambassador-at-large and former Doyen of the Hungarian National Assembly.

The unveiling ceremony took place in Scott’s Circle at 1500 Rhode Island Ave, NW on the grounds of the new building of the Embassy of Hungary and was followed by a wreath-laying ceremony and a tour of the new Embassy building.

The unveiling of the statue of the “Budapest Lad” was made possible through generous donations by private citizens, and the following American and Hungarian organizations and businesses: the American-Hungarian Heritage House, Szabo Gear Manufacturing Ltd, Citi, Pannonious Foundation, DBH Group, Paccar Inc, Comcast Corporation, BorgWarner, the Hungarian America Foundation, the Magyar Club of the Triangle, and the Memorial Committee established for the 60th Anniversary of the 1957 Hungarian Revolution and Freedom Fight.

(Source: kormany.hu)