By: Alex 9-3

Poem by Sandor Petofi (1823-1849)A knife in the heart of Lamberg,* a rope around the neck of Latour,*And after them others may follow;You begin to be mighty, O people!This is all right, this is perfectly fine,But this has achieved little,Hang the kings.

• Known as the first tear in the Iron Curtain that happened in 1956.

• Lasted from 23 October to 10 November 1956.

• Hungarians rose up against odds to fight the Soviet-installed Hungarian communist government.

• In 1945, during World War II, the Russians came in to liberate Hungary from the Nazis.• When the Communists took over in 1949, the Hungarian government was totally under Soviet control.• There was freedom in the air on October 23, 1956 when Hungarian students began demonstrating against the Communist government.• Hungarians decided that they will rule by their own country, so they rebel against the controller.

•Thousands of people died in fighting.•Others got tortured and executed.• 200,000 people were forced to flee (exile) to another place.

A Brief History of Hungary 943.9 Sze

Nations in Transition: Hungary 943.9 Author: Raymond Hill