1. ParishCentre,Cardinal HeenanCentre
326 High Road Ilford • Essex• IG1 1QP
T 020 8553 3116•
E office@ech.org.uk
www.hidden-histories.org.uk
Eastside CommunityHeritage is a registeredcharity(1071668) anda companylimitedbyguarantee (3509623)
Stories from the Revolution: Hungary 1956
Eastside Community Heritage and The Hungarian Culture and Heritage Society are
working together on an exciting new project recording the stories of Londoners of
Hungarian descent, with stories and experiences of the Hungarian Revolution of
1956. Stories will be archived for future generations in order to preserve this
important history. We are currently seeking interviewees who are willing to tell us
their experiences of the revolution.
The Hungarian revolution in 1956 was a spontaneous uprising began by students in
Budapest against the enforced Soviet rule in Hungary. After World War Two Soviet
troops occupied Hungary, elected a communist leader and enforced communist
policies. On the 23rd October 1956 a group of students marched to Budapest with a
list of 16 demands which they broadcast through a speaker and tried to announce on
the radio. They built up a large amount of support and the revolution attacked
Russian soldiers, members of the secret police in Hungary, and smashed a statue of
Stalin. To appease the rebels Khrushchev removed the communist leader and
instead elected Imre Nagy, he also removed Soviet troops from Hungary and it
seemed the revolution was on the brink of victory. Nagy introduced a multi party
state, freedom of religion and freedom of speech but pushed the Russians too far
after announcing his intention to withdraw Hungary from the Warsaw pact. With this
Khrushchev decided to crush the revolution and tanks returned to the streets of
Hungary, after this decision it took only a few days to suppress the uprising, execute
Nagy and re install communist leadership in Hungary. Although expressing sympathy
the USA and UK considered it too dangerous to intervene and so until 1989 Hungary
continued under communist rule. After the revolution 200 000 Hungarians fled West,
some into Austria but some to the UK; although immigration statistics are not
accurate it is clear that England has not seen such immigration from Hungary again
until recently, even after Hungary joined the EU in 2004.
This project proposes to record the stories of those who experienced this historical
event, and their experiences of moving to the UK since. If you or any one you know
might have a story or any information or photographs to contribute, please contact
Katherine at Katherine@ech.org.uk or on 02085533116.
Eastside Community Heritage
Was established in 1993 as part of the Stratford City Challenge community history
project. Over the years the organisation has worked on numerous projects
documenting the lives of people who live and work in east London. It created the
East London Peoples Archive which now holds over 2000 oral histories, thousands of
photographs and video material all preserved and archived for public benefit. The

2. ParishCentre,Cardinal HeenanCentre
326 High Road Ilford • Essex• IG1 1QP
T 020 8553 3116•
E office@ech.org.uk
www.hidden-histories.org.uk
Eastside CommunityHeritage is a registeredcharity(1071668) anda companylimitedbyguarantee (3509623)
archive is now accessible to the public for further information contact
office@ech.org.uk
To find out more about Eastside Community Heritage and this project please visit the
website: www.hidden-histories.org.uk or follow us on Twitter @EastsideCH.
Hungarian Culture and Heritage Society
Was established on 3rd of May, 2011. Their aim is to support and preserve the
Hungarian culture and heritage, furthermore promote the cultural heritage for the
benefit of the Hungarian and European public. They also support Hungarian
communities in the UK to integrate and contribute to the wider society.
To enhance Hungarian crafts, culture and heritage for the public benefit they
undertake annual programmes of traditional music and dance and preserve
Hungarian historical traditions through running and supporting festivals and
country/folk dancing. They promote and support artists, craftsmen and
craftsmanship and provide grants, items and services to individuals in need of
assistance which would allow them to further the purposes of their association.