The Olympics of the Cold War and the '56 Hungarian revolution
There was blood in ' water, and blood was Hungarian. Blood that had stained red the chlorinated water Olympic pool in Melbourne at the end of the semifinal of the men's water polo tournament. It was not a game like any other, was not an Olympics like any other. They are called summer Olympics, but that year, as they competed in the Southern Hemisphere, held in December. It is not a game like the others, because in the field are former Soviet Union and Hungary. And two months earlier, Hungarian innocent blood on the streets of Budapest it is over too. For too many days and too many nights, in the words of Francesco De Gregori, but was referring to another episode, mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters took the wine and we washed the road "from what remained of young offenders only dreaming of a future migliore.
La rivolta ungherese
Tutto inizia con una manifestazione studentesca autorizzata per chiedere la riabilitazione di Imre Nagy, il presidente del consiglio ungherese destituito l’anno precedente, ed espulso dall’ufficio politico, dal comitato centrale e infine dal partito, perché “troppo liberale”. Lui se ne sta sul lago Balaton, per la festa della vendemmia, quel 23 ottobre 1956.
Il corteo, prima proibito poi permesso, raggiunge la piazza del Parlamento nel primo pomeriggio; Nagy, dopo molte resistenze accetta di tenere un discorso. Inizia a parlare: ““ Compagni”, la folla rumoreggia e subito si corregge "Fellow countrymen and friends." Outside the headquarters of the radio is the first clash. The students ask for transmission of the sixteen points of their claims, but will broadcast a speech threatening the party secretary Gero while the guards are sent for hidden weapons. The crowd, however, finds out and takes it.
Meanwhile, on the edge of the park in the capital is cut to pieces the statue of Stalin. It seems that Nagy should return to his post, would be the only reasonable solution. But the party decides to request the intervention of the Red Army on October 24 that sends tanks, as a demonstration. The Nagy government is formed, with Janos Kadar as party secretary. The two ambassadors in the Kremlin, Anastas Mikoyan and Mikhail Suslov, not openly oppose the new course. Workers' councils arising everywhere to demand the withdrawal of Soviet and free elections. Meanwhile the guards dell'AVH continue to fire, while in some provinces the power passes through the hands to the councils. The situation on 25 rushes. And 'the day dell'eccidio in Kossuth Square in front of the Parliament Square. While people talk with the soldiers, someone shot through the windows and the Russians respond at random. Circulating rumors, the next few days, like the one that the headquarters of the Communist Party authors of the hide.
The seat is torn on October 30, the Soviets speak of white terror, but withdrew tanks. The same Nagy announces the end days of one-party regime and the output of Hungary from the Warsaw Pact. The new project has two pillars: national independence and political pluralism. Nagy József Cardinal Mindszenty free tenacious opponent of the communist regime, first arrested in 1944 for high treason and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1949 on charges of conspiracy to overthrow the communist government of Hungary.
Nagy government go forward. The Kremlin has decided for a new military intervention
and the new regime. On 4 November, the president gives a speech on the radio. "This is Imre Nagy, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Hungarian People's Republic of speaking. Today at dawn Soviet troops have launched an attack against our capital with the clear intention to overthrow the legitimate Hungarian democratic government. Our troops are fighting the government is in place to inform the people of Hungary and the public of the world. " János Kádár is taken by the Soviets and brought to Moscow, according to Miklos Vasarhelyi, collobarotore Nagy, Kadar source is put to a choice, "or assist the Soviets in this new maneuver or her fate is sealed, it is treated as a prisoner political. " Nagy was arrested with a trick after a few days stay in the embassy Yugoslav political leaders to follow a period of confinement in Romania. June 16, 1958 will be executed and buried in an unmarked grave with other martyrs of the uprising in Box 301, Budapest cemetery.
Olympics
of gunfire and tanks, the Hungarian men's water polo team does not feel that far away and muffled echoes. Water polo has a long tradition in the country, dating back to the '30s, and with the Olympics drawing near the expectations were high for the final victory. Initially, the players train outside Budapest, but they could hear gunfire and see smoke rising from the city. So were moved into Czechoslovakia. They knew the extent of the revolt and reaction that had taken place around the corner from home only when you arrive in Australia, dall'altra parte del mondo. Molti giocatori giurarono che non avrebbero più fatto ritorno a casa.
Tra questi l'allora stella ventenne della squadra, l'attaccante Ervin Zador. “Eravamo al ristorante, aspettando di cambiare aereo” ha ricordato in un'intervista “quando abbiamo sentito la notizia che i russi si sarebbero 'presi cura' della rivoluzione. Io mi alzai con il bicchiere in mano e dissi che non sarei mai più tornato a casa. Avevo passato momenti difficili, ma sentivo che le cose sarebbero andate peggio e i russi non se ne sarebbero andati più. Normalmente una dichiarazione del genere avrebbe significato niente Olimpiadi. Ma nessuno dei tecnici sapeva how the story would end, so there's nothing happened. And once in Melbourne we had only one goal: to complete the work for which we had worked so hard. Although we had a little 'because of fear get in the water for a month. "
Thus, the table of the Olympic Village, created another revolution, the whole sport in Hungary: the introduction of the zone defense. The game became a game of nerves. The Hungarian defenders and a striker doubled intentionally left free to shoot an attacker, confident of the ability of their goalkeeper. Attackers opponents did not expect to have this opportunity, and this responsibility, they became nervous and not marked almost never. The Hungarians were among the favorites to win the water polo tournament, in an edition of the Games particularly marked by geo-political context. Not only was the Soviet invasion of Hungary, who led the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland to give up participation in the Olympics, France and England are involved in the Suez crisis, and to protest Egypt, Lebanon and Iraq do not start for Australia .
Yet the president of the Olympic Committee, Avery Brundage, had done everything possible to keep politics out of the game: "In an imperfect world as if our sport would have to stop every time the political leaders of violating the laws of humanity, there would never be other such events. It is not maybe better to try to extend the sporting spirit and fair play to the other fields? ". But his call is not answered.
Hungary won the three meetings of the preliminary and semifinal in the draw, the draw, fate, mate the Magyars with the Soviet Union. It will be much of a game, will be the most extraordinary in the history of water polo. These are 15:25, 3 December 1956 and the pool water to Melbourne is about to be colored red.
Blood in the Water
Dezso Gyarmati, Hungary water polo for the Olympic champion explains the meaning of that match: "They were in Budapest with tanks and killed my friends fighting for freedom, I could not feel sympathy for them. Now back on course if I realize that I did not have with the Russians as a sport, but I could not forget what they were doing in my house. We had a very strong charge, we were the rage: "We must not lose" was the imperative that we felt within us. " The plan of the Hungarians is clear: the aim is to intensify the psychological tricks, cause opponents to push them to the error. To do well on the language link. They studied Russian in school, they know how to make it clear to the Soviets what they despise. And the plan fails. The Soviets soon cease to play to start a fight.
The building is full. There are 5,500 viewers, nearly as many victims left on the tarmac of Budapest from 200 000 Soviet soldiers two months ago. It was largely Hungarian emigrants whistling the Soviets, waving the flags of freedom taken by the revolutionaries and push their favorites to the cry of "Hajra Magyarok" ("Go Hungarians!"). Many of them had just come out of the boxing arena where they had enjoyed for a third gold medal won by Laszlo Papp. Many will struggle to understand the arena have changed, and above all to be attending another event, another sport. Dezsö Gyarmati opened the scoring for Hungary, and almost puts KO his marker. Do not take long before he is sent Vyacheslav Kurennoi in the cockpit, temporarily expelled for hitting an opponent. Zador scored two goals, the Soviets are increasingly nervous, they feel that the dream of the Olympic final is now out of hand. It is shortly to an end when the Hungarian Antal Bolvari is hit and calls out: he fears that his fist had received a broken eardrum. Bolvari had the task of marking Prokopova Valentin, who had called all the while giving their opponents of the Fascists: After its exit from the field its role is taken by Zador. The game is decided here.
Zador starts to insult the Russian, saying he is a loser, that his whole family is made losers. Until the ball away, Zador make a mistake. Missing a minute at the end, Hungary has scored another goal in the meantime and leads 4-0. Zador raises his eyes to challenge an arbitral award but loses sight Prokopova who throws his whole body on the opponent and delivers a deadly punch that opens a deep wound just below the right eye of the attacker Hungarian. A friend tells him not to leave the side closest to the one where he was at that time, because the opposite of the stands. Zador crosses the pool, "while everything turns red and you should not watch." Instead, people watch, horrified screams of all the public and try to get in the pool to join the fight, while the American team is shocked and the image of Zador became a symbol of Hungarian revenge on the invasion of the Soviet Army. The referee ends a minute before, but it matters little. The Soviet team left the competition area escorted by the police. Zador can not play the final, despite trying everything to convince the doctors. Hungary beat Yugoslavia 2-1, winning the Olympic title in water polo. After the Games
Magyar half of the delegation, composed of 100 athletes, will not return. Sport Hungarian, who had already had to give up almost all the glories of football, like Ferenc Puskas, the protagonists in the negative "Miracle of Bern" the World Cup in 1954, celebrating a victory that marks the symbolic end of a movement, and perhaps of an era. Zador waiver of career prospects, a future full of flowers, sports not captured in the name of freedom of man made and found in sunny California. Has not abandoned the world of swimming, though. For some time he was coach of a young champion who decades later would break any records and those of its rice in the unmistakable mustache, Mark Spitz. Even in new role, however, Zador has never missed a day in December when the waters of the pool in Melbourne were mixed with the red of blood. And it was Hungarian blood.
0 comments:
Post a Comment