Although I didn't post this until today, I wrote this blog on October 23rd, the Fifty second anniversary of Hungary’s attempt to overthrow Russian Communism. It is an important holiday in Hungary, and the Hungarians worked the previous Saturday (the schools were even in session) so they could take off Thursday through Sunday of last week.
(Picture: Hungarians capture a Russian tank)
The Russian "Liberation" of Hungary
When World War Two ended, the Russians claimed to “liberate” Hungary from Nazi rule. Instead, they cut a path across the country raping entire villages as they went. Once in power, they proved every bit as evil as the Nazis. They took all of Hungary’s natural resources and left the Hungarian people impoverished. Religious freedom was seriously curtailed, and school children were encouraged to turn in their parents for expressions of faith in God. Imagine a school child having the power to have their parents imprisoned or killed.
The Hungarian people have always loved to read, write, and debate (as well as commiserate over their living conditions). Their love for these things helped generate the coffee house culture so prevalent in Budapest. You can imagine how they felt when the Russian communists took control of the press and punished even private criticisms against Russia through secret police informants.
(Picture below: Stalin's statue torn down. "W.C." on his head is the European abbreviation for "toilet.")
The 18 Day RevolutionIn 1956, eleven years into Russian tyranny, the Hungarians “gave in to the hope” that they could regain control of their country from the Russians. So strong was their hope that it united every faction of the society—students, philosophers, workers, soldiers, youth and even Hungarian communists! The latter believed philosophically in communism but recognized that Russian communism was little more than slavery. These various factions entered the fight for freedom like people entering the same room through different doors, surprised to find each other there.
They lacked resources and organization but made up for it in courage. Using hand weapons and home-made gas bombs they resisted Russian tanks and well-equipped Russian soldiers. Radio Free Europe promised that the U.S. would send troops if the Hungarians fought their oppressors, and the Hungarians struggled to hold out until Americans arrived. But America failed to arrive, and the Hungarians were mercilessly defeated by the Russians.
(Picture: Hungarians escape across the Austrian border)
The Great Russian Lie
James Michener interviewed hundreds of Hungarians as they escaped across the Austrian border after this failed attempt, and he concluded that Hungary had exposed “the great Russian lie:” Russia had promised to distribute the wealth of Hungary. Instead, as a former Hungarian communist turned ‘56 revolutionary described the regime: “it was an organization of gangsters banded together to protect themselves and get the good things of the nation into their control.”1
But this was not the worst lie of Communism. The worst lie behind the Iron Curtain began long before Communism. It’s a lie that was first told by Satan in the Garden of Eden...that blossomed when Cain killed his brother Abel...a lie that killed mankind in the great Flood...a lie that erected a tower to the glory of mankind at Babel...that led the nation of Israel astray...a lie that refused to recognize the Son of God...that nailed Him to a cross...that refused to accept His resurrection, His authority over death, His Truth, Love and Power...A lie that enslaves people without tanks or secret police. This is, of course, the lie of atheism, the lie that God does not exist, is not good, is not powerful, does not care for mankind.
(Picture: Russian tanks in front of the Hungarian Parliament. There are still bullet holes from the revolution in many old buildings in the city.)
Several years ago, I asked an Eastern European woman what she considered the worst thing about living under Communism. She looked at me a bit surprised that I would not already know the answer, and then she described the horrible consequences of government-mandated atheism: “We couldn’t learn about the Lord. We were like sheep to the slaughter,” she said.
As we remember the brave men and women who fought the “great Russian lie” in Hungary fifty two years ago, may we renew our resolve to fight the great lies of atheism and false religion which continue to lead men and women like sheep to the slaughter.
1-The Bridge at Andau, by James A. Michener, Fawcett Crest, NY, 1957, p32.
Our land lady (Mary) was 9 years old in 1956, and she and her family spent the days of the revolution in the basement of their apartment building to escape the warfare. Her father and the other men ventured out into the fighting every day to find bread for their families.
When the fighting was over, Mary’s father took her hand and led her out into the street. She saw dead bodies fallen in the battle and the remains of the Russian tanks that had run over them. 
“Never forget what the Russians did to us,” her father told her.
“Never forget what the Russians did to us,” her father told her.Fifty two years later, Mary still remembers.
When freedom came in 1989, Hungary was opened to all sorts of religious and worldly influences. Some Hungarians, like Mary, used their freedom to turn their hearts to the Savior of the world. But so many Hungarians are no better off than when Russia ruled their world. Please pray for the hearts of the Hungarian people.
And please pray that God will anoint and empower the work Michael and I do here in Budapest. Please pray for our health, our living conditions and our finances as we continue to make this 3 month rotation between Budapest and the States.
