IV 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 865 
Commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution and Free-
dom Fight of 1956 and celebrating the deep friendship between Hungary 
and the United States. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 13, 2016 
Mr. ROSS (for himself, Mr. HARRIS, Ms. KAPTUR, and Mr. RUSSELL) sub-
mitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
Foreign Affairs 
RESOLUTION 
Commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Hungarian Rev-
olution and Freedom Fight of 1956 and celebrating the 
deep friendship between Hungary and the United States. 
Whereas, on October 23, 1956, the people of Hungary rose 
up against Communist tyranny and Soviet occupation to 
defend their freedom and sovereignty; 
Whereas the United States gave moral support and encour-
agement to the people of Hungary in their struggle for 
freedom; 
Whereas, on October 23, 1956, Hungarian students orga-
nized a solidarity demonstration with the people of Po-
land and presented a 16-point list of demands, the first 
of which called for an end to Soviet occupation, thus be-
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ginning the first mass scale popular uprising against 
Communism behind the Iron Curtain; 
Whereas, on October 24, 1956, Soviet troops attacked the 
freedom fighters beginning an intense armed struggle 
that lasted for several months between the freedom fight-
ers and the largest army in the world; 
Whereas for the first time under Soviet occupation anywhere, 
the Hungarian protesters demolished the hated Stalin 
statue shattering any remaining illusions about Com-
munism globally; 
Whereas, on October 27, 1956, Imre Nagy formed a new gov-
ernment accepting the demands of the revolutionaries 
and the Hungarian Freedom Fighters halted the attacks 
of the Soviets, paving the way for Hungary to declare its 
independence from the Soviet bloc and reintroduce demo-
cratic multiparty pluralism; 
Whereas in reaction to the Hungarian Revolution and Free-
dom Fight President Eisenhower stated on October 31, 
1956, that ‘‘all the world has been watching dramatic 
events in Hungary where this brave people, as so often 
in the past, have offered their very lives for independence 
from foreign masters. Today, it appears, a new Hungary 
is rising from this struggle, a Hungary which we hope 
from our hearts will know full and free nationhood’’; 
Whereas, on November 4, 1956, the Soviet Union’s invasion 
of Hungary began anew with overwhelming force, bru-
tally suppressing the democratic uprising and toppling 
the legitimate government; 
Whereas the events poignantly showed the truth that Com-
munist power can only be maintained through brute op-
pression and violence; 
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Whereas 400 people were executed in the ensuing reprisals 
and over 21,000 were imprisoned; 
Whereas President Eisenhower called the acts a ‘‘brutal So-
viet repression of the people of Hungary’’; 
Whereas the United States Embassy sheltered Cardinal 
Jo´zsef Mindszenty, head of the Roman Catholic Church 
in Hungary and an uncompromised moral leader of re-
sistance to Communism for 30 years; 
Whereas the United States, recognizing that several thousand 
freedom fighters were imprisoned and tortured following 
the Revolution, pursued a concerted and determined pol-
icy effort over many years to demand the release of these 
freedom fighters from imprisonment, thanks to which ef-
fort many thousand freedom fighters were ultimately re-
leased and could regain their freedom; 
Whereas tens of thousands of Hungarians fleeing persecution 
found a new home in the United States strengthening ex-
isting and creating new bonds between the people of 
Hungary and the United States based on the strongest 
and most noble value of humankind, that of love of free-
dom; 
Whereas the brutality of the oppression could temporarily 
halt the advance of freedom, but the Hungarian freedom 
fighters won the admiration of the world; and 
Whereas after 1956, Communism became morally untenable 
and the Hungarian revolution inspired the 1968 Czecho-
slovak Spring of Freedom and the 1980 Polish march for 
freedom, thus started the dismantling and the eventual 
defeat of Communist tyranny worldwide: Now, therefore, 
be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
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(1) celebrates the 60th anniversary of the Hun-
garian Revolution and Freedom Fight of 1956 and 
values the opportunity to remember the historic 
events with many of the Hungarian heroes of the 
time still with us today; 
(2) honors the determination, courage, and sac-
rifice of the people of Hungary, who rose up to fight 
for what they believed in, advancing the cause of 
freedom in Hungary, Central Europe, and beyond; 
(3) underlines the strong bonds between Hun-
gary and the United Stated based on our most ele-
vating and common values, love of freedom, and an 
unquenchable thirst for liberty; 
(4) recognizes the importance of the alliance be-
tween the United States and Hungary in— 
(A) common security and defense; 
(B) an enduring shared commitment to-
ward our shared values; and 
(C) promoting peace and shared pros-
perity; 
(5) expresses appreciation for the commitment 
of the people of Hungary to democratic ideals and 
a Europe whole and free; and 
(6) reaffirms the deep and historical friendship 
between the people of Hungary and the United 
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States based on the most powerful and most noble 
value of humankind, the love of freedom. 
Æ 
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