Interviews:

Bowie,
Robert

Khrushchev,
Sergei

Kiraly,
Bela

Lowis,
Flora

Pongracz,
Gergely

Vajda,
Anika

Wheeler,
Charles



     
   

INTERVIEW WITH ANIKA VAJDA

INTERVIEWER: This is an interview with Anika Vajda, veteran of the Hungarian revolution in 1956 in her New Jersey home, and the home of her daughter and her son-in-law. Anika, can you tell me, how did you first hear about the news of the protest demonstrations in Budapest.

ANIKA VAJDA: Yeah I was working, in a book factory in (unintelligible) as a matter of fact, and then we heard it on the radio, and that somebody wanna, I guess one of the foreign men was, glad to shut off the radio so we told him no keep the hands off because we want to know what's going on. And then, so we heard the students was marching, in heart of Budapest, he was going to the statue of Patoffi, and then they had the twelve point, that time they wanna, rather be in a radio program and what they was, they like to have. And so my husband was, we were listening the radio here, and the few youngster, include myself, they says, that we had to go there because, ah then we was listening the radio, we was hearing gun shot also. And then we couldn't figure what happened. So then they said the arrow, we calling (unintelligible), they were shooting at the protesters the, students, and the students when they was marching to the statue they was asking anybody to help them and join them, young or old, workers, farmers, professors anybody, so there was a big, big crowd the time they went to the statue. Then the same time, we were in a factory, quite a few of us youngsters says we have to go there and find out what's going on. So then, we was half a way to the place, we took we gonna go first and then, we look around there was about thirty of us, youngsters and we asking each other where're you going, back to the city see what's going on. So then we kept going, there was one horse buggy, the guy says he's going close to that area where we was supposed to go, so we asked him to give us a ride, so he give us a ride and then we walked a while and then we went to the (unintelligible) and at that, before we got to the (unintelligible) we was going to Pratel so that's the school house and they was lot of, people there already, and there was a couple of guns, and they had the Russian type, they call like a machine gun. So then, like myself I don't know how the guns work, but there one older man his name was Pistovachi, he says don't worry about it, I gonna teach you, and then I looked at the gun was bigger than me, and it taller than me, and for a while you know I was smiling I said how you gonna do that you know how you gonna use that. And so then everybody around me they was, much younger people, older people, boys, girls and so they said don't worry we teach you, we teach you so OK. So we went to the school house, then we went down the cellar they keep coal and wood for the winter time, and one part was like potatoes for your people for food, they keep the store there for the winter. And then the other was teaching me how the bullets you know look like and how they put it in how they, push it you know then, locked it, they call Karchosh you know the other gun, so then if they hold it to your eyes but then, if that was happen when you, pushed the roller (unintelligible) I said then the firing the bullets gonna come back my eye he said no, no, no, just hold that so then, they explained to me and showed me a couple of times, and, my very first time I had to use I close my eyes because you know for scared I never use gun before. So then, now looked around and there was couple of soldiers there, and they teared up from the uniform they had stars for the Russian stars so they teared it off, and he said don't worry little girl we'll take care of you. So I said OK, but then I was, in that time there was, the news kept coming in, to that place they says, lot of people dead, youngster with their babies, they had no where else to go, ambush they was killing anybody. And then it start getting dark, because we went the evening, and they said the worst part is overnight. So then overnight if it's OK then, one of the, then I met one guy, Paul Gratz, he was a, a leader over there at that time, and his brother was (unintelligible) cause we was in the school, and then they had, one lady doctor, then they had men doctor there, and