Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-11-21
Gallant Hungary

CHllo hllOW bltdb 11ullSdI ldIlS
love liberty. But few Ameri-
cans will comprehend how
deep that love of liberty lies
In Hungarian breasts, and how
closely connected it is with
individuality and self-respect.
Two incidents during a
lengthy stay in Budapest years
ago before World War II will
always loom large in my mem
DRY. They reveal far more than
thousands of words by COM
mentators.
I had become acquainted
with an attractive Hungarian
girl who spoke English, learned
during a visit to England. She
was a sports-loving girl: she
played soccer on a club team,
she loved to ski; she was an
intelligent, normal, young
Hungarian female.
During our acquaintance,
which extended over a period
of nearly two years, / dis
cussed many subjects with her
in order to learn show she and
Hungarians thought and felt.
In one Of our conversations I
asked her what she wanted to
do in life, what was her am
bition.
Her reply was grave, unhes-
itating. She had one wish, she
said, and that was to marry
and bear sons to defend her
country.
The other incident concerns
a young Hungarian man, also
in his early 20s. He informed
me one day, with some excite
ment, that he had received q
challenge to q duel from an
acquaintance, and asked me if
I would be his second. I. an
American, snorted at this fool
ish, (outmoded in my opinion)
method of settling differences.
Especially so, because the
cause of the challenge was
merely the fact that he had
failed to tip his hat to the
challenger in encountering
him on a public street, thus
insulting him. (In Hungary.
men tip their hats to each
other as well as to ladies.) My
own attitude may have influ-
enced him somewhat: the duel
with swords (my young Hun
garian friend was good at this.
and, challenged, he had his
choice of weapon) never came
off.
In Hungary, patriotism is
synonymous with pride, honor
and self-respect, and, above
all, human individual dignity
characteristics which COM
munistic philosophy regards as
bourgeois decadence. Hungar-
ians will never fully accept
communism. They will con-
tinue to die. CALAMITY, in a
world that has largely forgot
ten gallantry and honor, fight
ing it.
Walter Slavik.
4
What has the world come
to when public opinion allows
the United Nations to give pri-
ority to the Middle East mess
and rush off a pathetic little
force to police" everybody's
oil interests there while in
Hungary, a U. N. member is
committing wholesale murder
and shipping those Hungari-
ans unlucky enough to get
caught alive by the carload
to Russia and eventual obliv-
ion?
Throughout this whole mis-
cradle performance the United
States has assumed a detached
position Of sanctimonious dis
tress except for the usual easy
words Of coincidence and the
magnanimous gesture Of Of
fering refuge to a mere 5000
Hungarians
A whole nation is being desc
Grated. the criminals go un-
punished and our President
mutters about faith in peace"
Does he or anyone believe that
even If a temporary cessation
Of action can be achieved in
the Middle East that it means
peace? Does anyone consider
that once the Soviet murderers
have drowned Hungary in a
sea Of blood. withdrawn their
butchers from what's left Of
that country and leaving II
in the moose Of another
Kremlin clique that peace will
have returned to Hungary? Is
that the kind Of peace" we are
supposed 70 have faith in?
Soviet might and confidence
grow daily at the satisfying
spectacle Of their easy sue
cesses while the United States.
the one power left today ca
pable Of curbing the Red pes
thence. speaks not the frs