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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives wish to recognize the 60th anniversary of the
4Hungarian Revolution of 1956; and
 
5    WHEREAS, A nationwide revolt against the government of the
6Hungarian People's Republic and its Soviet-imposed policies
7began on October 23, 1956, lasting until November 10, 1956; it
8was the first major threat to Soviet control since the USSR's
9forces drove out Nazi Germany from its territory at the end of
10World War II and broke into Central and Eastern Europe; and
 
11    WHEREAS, The revolt began as a student demonstration, which
12attracted thousands, marched through central Budapest to the
13Parliament building; one student died and was wrapped in a flag
14and held above the crowd, starting the revolution; as news
15spread, disorder and violence erupted throughout the capital; a
16new government formally declared its intention to withdraw from
17the Warsaw Pact, and pledged to re-establish free elections; by
18the end of October, fighting had almost stopped and a sense of
19normality began to return; and
 
20    WHEREAS, On November 4, 1956, a large Soviet force invaded
21Budapest and other regions of the country; the Hungarian
22resistance continued until November 10; over 2,500 Hungarians

 

 

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1and 700 Soviet troops were killed in the conflict, and 200,000
2Hungarians fled as refugees; mass arrests and denunciations
3continued for months thereafter; by January of 1957, the new
4Soviet-installed government had suppressed all public
5opposition; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Since the easing of tensions between the East and
7the West in the 1980s, the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 has
8been the subject of intense study and debate; at the
9inauguration of the Third Hungarian Republic in 1989, October
1023 was declared a national holiday; and
 
11    WHEREAS, On February 13, 2006, the U.S. State Department
12commemorated the 50th anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian
13Revolution; former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
14commented on the contributions made by 1956 Hungarian refugees
15to the United States and other host countries, as well as the
16role of Hungary in providing refuge to East Germans during the
171989 protests against communist rule; U.S. President George W.
18Bush visited Hungary on June 22, 2006 to commemorate the 50th
19anniversary; therefore, be it
 
20    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
21NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
22recognize the 60th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution of
231956 and the sacrifices that were made; and be it further
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
2presented to the Hungarian Cultural Advisory Council of
3Chicago.