Prime Minister Péter Magyar has pledged to establish a museum dedicated to the heroes and victims of Hungary’s 1956 Revolution, saying the country has failed to honour this historic debt for 70 years.
Hungary will establish a dedicated museum commemorating the 1956 Revolution and its heroes, Prime Minister Péter Magyar announced in a speech in Budapest on 23 October, marking the uprising’s 70th anniversary.
Speaking at Bem József Square, Magyar said it was both shameful and painful that Hungary had not yet created a worthy national memorial devoted entirely to those who fought against Soviet-backed rule and those who lost their lives.
“We undertake to create, in the coming years, a worthy sanctuary of Hungarian freedom. We will establish a genuine museum of 1956 that pays tribute to the victims, the fighters and the anonymous heroes,” the prime minister said.
A museum to honour the heroes of 1956
Magyar stressed that, seven decades after the revolution, Hungary still lacked a dedicated place where the memory of the uprising could be preserved in its entirety.
He described the proposed institution as a long-overdue tribute to those who risked their lives for the country’s freedom, including the many ordinary people whose names never became widely known.
The prime minister arrived at Bem Square after walking along the Bem embankment from Budapest University of Technology and Economics. It was from the university that students began marching towards the city centre on 23 October 1956, helping set the Budapest uprising in motion.
“There is no force stronger than the determination of free Hungarian young people,” Magyar said, praising the students who took a leading role in the revolution.
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‘Thirteen days that shook the world’
Reflecting on the events of October 1956, Magyar described the uprising as a historic turning point that shook the foundations of tyranny and left an enduring mark on world history.
The revolution began on 23 October and developed into 13 days of resistance against Soviet domination and Hungary’s communist regime. Although the uprising was crushed by Soviet military intervention, Magyar argued that it had made Hungarians free citizens in a way that subsequent repression could never entirely undo.
He also highlighted the courage required of those who joined the movement, noting that individuals had to decide for themselves what they were willing to risk for their country.
“Someone had to say that it was time to set off. Someone had to take the lead, and everyone had to decide individually what they would do for their homeland in its hour of need,” he said, expressing gratitude to the students and all the heroes of 1956.
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Magyar praises Polish-Hungarian solidarity
The prime minister also paid tribute to the longstanding friendship between Hungary and Poland, explaining that the choice of Bem József Square was particularly fitting because the square is named after a Polish-born general who became a hero of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848–49.
Magyar recalled how workers in the Polish city of Poznań had given Hungarians hope during protests in the summer of 1956. In the autumn, he said, the Hungarian uprising in turn inspired and encouraged the Polish people.
“Thus, in those days, the friendship between the two nations became courageous solidarity, active cooperation and life-saving assistance,” he said. He also paid tribute to the heroes of both nations.
A call to remember the victims and overcome divisions
Magyar called the 1956 Revolution an enduring symbol of Hungarian freedom, while stressing that celebrating the country’s spirit did not mean forgetting the tragedy that followed the uprising’s defeat.
He urged Hungarians to remember those who were executed or persecuted, the young revolutionaries known as the Pesti srácok (‘the boys of Pest’) and the girls who also took part, the innocent victims of the shootings, and families torn apart by repression.
Their memory, he said, demonstrated that the Hungarian people had not been broken and could still look one another in the eye with pride.
Magyar also used his speech to call for national unity, arguing that there are moments when Hungarians should put aside political loyalties and other divisions.
“Dividing this homeland is a sin,” he said, adding that people still had a choice between paying tribute to the heroes of 1956 and prioritising their immediate political interests.
He concluded by calling for a free and genuinely independent Hungary. The prime minister also invited the public to attend the anniversary celebrations at Kossuth Square, in front of Parliament, later that day.