Interviews:

Bowie,
Robert

Khrushchev,
Sergei

Kiraly,
Bela

Lowis,
Flora

Pongracz,
Gergely

Vajda,
Anika

Wheeler,
Charles



     
   


INTERVIEW WITH ANIKA VAJDA

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INT: What was it like when you, when you've, when you heard that, that the Soviet soldiers had decided to leave Budapest after the first period of fighting, and that a new government had been created and that there was a feeling that you had won, what was that like.

AV: That was, that was a, a really good feeling for us, because we told this is it, after 1945 when the Russian came in, so this is gonna be a free country, and anyone who had (unintelligible) they all put it in their window, they was blasting all over the city the radios, and (unintelligible) then he was talking to us, first he was saying to trying to say was give up our guns and ammunition and stuff, but then a few minutes later I don't know who was on the radio, and then, (unintelligible) came on again and he was, calling us he says, just do the best you can, and never give up your gun, because I guess he was first to say lot of things they said, Russian was behind and they hold the gun so he had to say what, ever they want him to hear, I mean to say, and, when they felt so happy, so free, and they was kissing and hugging each other then one of the soldier who was charged in our, place, he said he has to get a line, and go to the street and push them on, people who die there because they was afraid of the disease. And then what happened was, later on, they heard (unintelligible) was captured. And then, there was other member of the parliament also, and then, we heard that, more Russian troops came in from different direction, approaching to the city. So then, that city was happy for a little while, and now we had to start all over again and what gonna happen. He says, anyone who had gun, or, participating with the freedom fighter, they all gonna be killed, or hanged the youngster they gonna be, sended to civilia that Russian gonna have a, a railroad ready to ship all the freedom fighters. And, then we kept hearing the, tanks, they says is coming closer and closer to the city. And at one point, then they came to the city, we was over (unintelligible) no matter which was you look we wasn't enough to, help you know for nobody even ourselves it was very hard to keep up because they were shooting anything that move they shoot, and then they have a curfew, for the evening nobody allowed on the street. So then what we did, we was crawling one gate to the other after we were communicate with one or the other. And then a Russian the second part came to the city, and some who speak a little Russian or Polish, they tried to explain to them, they in the wrong place, this is a happy people here and this is Hungary, they're freedom loving people, then when I hear it nobody, well they better go back where they came from leave us alone. And then one of the Russian says they, not in Hungary, they in the Suez Canal, and we was all looking at each other say, what the heck he's talking about this is Budapest and he said cross (unintelligible) no, no and he hold the gun on us if we say, they not in the Suez, maybe we gonna say he's in Hungary they gonna shoot us. So then the guy who was talk to them he says OK, OK, he says yeah you in the Suez because, he says like a happy look around me a lot of youngsters he gonna kill us with one shot, cause he had a machine gun. And, so then there was, lot of, lot of rushing all over, and what happened was, we getting smaller and smaller our group, because left to right we was, like a flies we was dying, and, and what happened was we went back to the school, we stayed down in the cellar, so the Russian don't know, because there're a couple of gates, and you could go underground, the buildings you could go one street to the other, so then we tried to work that way, we carrying ammunition and guns or bandages, wit was needed, one stick to the other and then we had a signal, now you could come the other one keep an eye on you know so make sure you're in your crawl your hais for (unintelligible) so you don't get hurt. And, what happened was then, we went all around, the city again, and then we heard that, somebody get one dead, one of the leaders, or they says hang on here or there, or what we supposed to do you know they always told us. So that was the, that was, you know (unintel

 

INT: You told a story about how Soviet soldiers actually gave you some tanks, how did that happen.

AV: No they came to the (unintelligible)and some of us would speak German or Russian we learn in school, we tried to tell them what's going on, and what we are, we not what they was told we are. And they said they were hungry, they don't eat they don't have nothing to drink so what happened was couple of guys they said oh, let's give a little bread a little water, they feed them and, and they says, give me more bread, and they give us the tank they says you just take it and do what ever you want, and don't tell the lead General, lead General whatever they was calling Lieutenant I think, he got two stripes, that the Russian tanks. And today we got two tanks and our boys take over, and they went to different part of the city where they was needed. And, the funny thing was, in (unintelligible) where they had an army camp, (unintelligible) soldiers came there and then we had, a cable, above ground because the, a cable car they call in English, that's why we was travelling and then a Russian tank came, they had a, the cannon thing part, up, and, and he hit the cable, and what happened was they was stuck there, and they, they couldn't move off, and then he start open fire, and then the machine gun and everything whatever they had they was going around, around and shoot anything or anyone, so all the building the windows everything are damaged, and then they had more tank and more tank, they was so down they don't know the wire was across the road, the power room there. And so that how we, we got the tanks and some of us was, trying to, get the tank to, point them, but we was not enough people you know they got lotta, lotta tanks a lot of Russians, so we wasn't enough… held them back for a little while you know but not, too long.

 

INT: How much of a hero was, Imre Nagy to you.

AV: Now, he was, he was like a father to me, Imre Nagy because, they what he wanted for Hungary, that would be the best, a beautiful paradise, for my opinion, so what, the Chinese even, they were right because they captured him and later on and they kill him and Mallitah too, and, the Notah, army camp, Mallitah was there, that was the other side of Corvin, and he was in that camp and, then later on, later then I was wounded then later I heard that, Imre Nagy, Mallitah and one reporter was, they captured, and I don't know who else, presuming was forty years it gets so hard to remember names.