 Canadian film producer Robert Lantos is one of our most famous Hungarian-Canadians. (SUN MEDIA)
|
The Hungarian Revolution only lasted a matter of a couple of weeks, but it had long-standing effects on both Hungary and Canada.
The revolution itself was sparked after protesting students and workers marched to the national radio headquarters in Budapest on Oct. 23, 1956. They simply wanted their protest to be heard on radio. When they got there, shots were fired ~ and what started out as a peaceful protest turned into an all-out war.
"Fifty years later, I am convinced that on the morning of the 23rd none of the protesters imagined there would be a revolution that night," says William "Pufi" Kosaras, host of Magyar Kepek on OMNI TV.
He remembers listening to radio broadcasts that night from Budapest while sitting with his mother in the small town of Zalaegerszeg and hearing the gunfire as background noise. After the revolution began, he noticed how the police who used to monitor the bread and mail lineups left town ~ and his mother soon dispatched him to Budapest to check on relatives.
"Two days later I went to Budapest to check and bring food for my mom's sister. I couldn't believe what I saw. It was like the Second World War over again. Buildings were knocked down, there were stones in the street."
Hungarians had freedom for "10 beautiful days," before Russian tanks crushed the revolt. Eventually 38,000 Hungarians fled to Canada.
Many of those Canadian-Hungarians have gone on to enrich this country. Earlier this month, the National Arts Centre in Ottawa hosted an event that honoured 50 Canadian-Hungarians for their contributions to this country. Not all of them were 56ers, but the event displayed the profound link between the two countries.
Those honoured included:
Robert Lantos, arguably the most influential producer in Canadian film. He orchestrated the merger of the Alliance-Atlantis film studio.
Laszlo Barna, well-known film and TV producer, a key in Barna-Alper, which has made such series as Da Vinci's Inquest, G-Spot and Show Me Yours.
Anna Sandor, award-winning screenwriter who was key in such grounbdreaking shows like The King of Kensington and Seeing Things.
John Polanyi, University of Toronto's famed Nobel Prize-winning expert on reaction dynamics.
Anna Porter, officer of the order of Canada, author and publisher with Key Porter Books.
Elvis Stojko, the three-time world figure-skating champion is a son of a 56er.
George Jonas, award-winning writer and poet.
Most of these Canadian-Hungarians would never have realized their careers without 1956. The great Hungarian exodus of 1956-57 prompted Canada to change its immigration policy, allowing for mass numbers of refugees to be processed at one time. It was the event that gave Canada its reputation as a safe have for refugees.
Fifty years later, the effects of the Hungarian Revolution on Canada are still being felt.
- Steven Sandor, 24 hours
