Last week a six-week-long series of events began with a conference opened by István Simicskó, the Minister of Defence of Hungary at the National Defense University of Washington. Subsequently, the minister opened an exhibition in the Pentagon, inaugurated a statue in the new block of the Hungarian Embassy and honoured the memory of 1956 by with a film festival and three concerts.
The series of events in the National Press Club in Washington was opened by Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade at the end of a September. Réka Szemerkényi Hungary's ambassador to the United States emphasized in her interview to MTI that this series of events provides an opportunity for us to overcome the everyday disagreements
The ambassador stressed that Hungary and the embassy are aiming to acquaint more and more
Americans as well as Hungarian-Americans with the events that took place in 1956 in Hungary and this significant period of the Cold War through this program series.
“1956 demonstrated at the same time, that the values of the oppressed Hungarian nation differed completely from the values of the Soviet regime” said Réka Szemerkényi, and added that they were looking for the most appropriate expression when they compiled the series of events commemorating the 1956 Revolution and Freedom Fight. The Hungarian ambassador revealed that the films they have chosen for the festival all deal with 1956, enabling the audience to get to know the different aspects of the freedom fight. According to her this was the idea behind the Children’s Drawing Contest as well.
The Hungarian communities in the United States are also organizing celebrations, for example in Cleveland, in Chicago, Boston, Florida and in California.
For further information:
http://washington.kormany.hu/1956-events-organized-by-the-embassy-of-hungary-in-washington-d-c