”A People Cried Out” – Homage to the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and Emigration to Belgium (2016)
In commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the Revolution of 1956 an exhibition was organised by the Hungarian Embassy in Brussels and the Balassi Institute – Cultural Institute of the Embassy of Hungary. The show was realised with the expert assistance rendered by the Museum of the Hungarian Parliament.
In the wake of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 some two hundred thousand people were forced to leave their country and find new homes in the four corners of the world. The exhibition commemorates those courageous revolutionaries who stood up for freedom as well as the refugees who sought a new home in Belgium, where they nurtured their Hungarian identities throughout their lives and passed on the love of their homeland to their children.
The exhibition comprised of three main themes:
• the most important events of the Revolution of 1956
• the history of Hungarian emigration to Belgium from the 1920s
• the process of integrating the refugees into Belgium society (with special regard to the Hungarian communities in Leuven, Liege and Namur)
A noteworthy feature of the exhibition was the display of personal belongings of the Hungarian émigrés of 1956 living in Belgium, which rekindled memories and brought alive unique stories and adventures of individuals and the daring escapes they made. Exhibits included a piece of the statue of Stalin that was toppled in Budapest on 23 October as well as the world-famous pictures of László G. Sodró, who now lives in Belgium, one of which served as the model for the drawing printed on the cover page of Time Magazine’s issue of 7 January 1957 depicting the Hungarian revolutionaries of 1956 collectively chosen as the Man of the Year.
Play Your Own Game, a documentary by Ferenc Török encapsulating the events of the revolution, the struggles waged and their consequences, was screened at the exhibition in French.
The show could be viewed at the Balassi Institute in Brussels between 8 and 25 November 2016.
”A PEOPLE CRIED OUT” – Homage to the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and Emigration to Belgium (2016)
Curators: Dr Gyula Kedves and Eszter Légrády (Museum of the Hungarian Parliament)
Collegium Hungaricum in Leuveni: István Csonta, director
Exhibition design and installation: Enikő Tattay and Lajos Czeglédi (Studium Design)
The exhibition was supported by the Committee of National Remembrance set up for the 60th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.
