The Sad State of the '56 Memorial After Less than a Year

Last Friday, with some friends from out of town visiting, I showed them around for part of their stay. Out in the Városliget, (Budapest's City Park), we walked around until eventually arriving at the 1956 Memorial, at the former Fevonulás tér renamed last year to 56-osok tere. I figured it would be fun to show them the memorial that has colloquially become known as the vaskefe, or "iron comb." I'd read about the recent red paint attack on the memorial, where someone scribbled "Gy. F. Red Handed" onto the side of it, which of course is part of the recent phenomenon of attacking statues, but what I found nonetheless surprised me. Aside from significant residue of the recent paint attack that the city promised to remove, (what did they use, toothpaste?), the state of the entire memorial was shocking.

Completed last year and ceremoniously dedicated last October 23rd as an assembled crowd of protesters shouted insults at the prime minister, the memorial looked as if it hadn't met with any maintenance since. As I walked between the columns at the back of the memorial, I noticed the many broken lights that are used to illuminate it at night. Not just one or two, but at least half of the ones that are within the memorial itself; the ones on the perimeter appeared to be in working condition. While a few appeared to have been removed, others were obviously ripped out, suggesting that they had been removed by city crews after having been smashed by someone else first.

We have questioned the point of city beautification in the past, since it seems aesthetically pleasing designs in the city are built only to fall into ruin. With respect to the memorial, however, there is more to it than just a nice park, due to the emotional significance of the work. It's not merely a pleasant patch of green or an example of admirable architecture, it's a site of national memory, not least of which because it was also the former site of the Stalin Statue that was toppled nearly 51 years before.

One would think that with the Right constantly dogging the Socialists with questions as to their being worthy of leading the commemorations, they would put more emphasis on keeping this site looking as good as the night it was dedicated, but apparently they have not. While I don't suspect the national government is in charge of its upkeep, (that would fall either to the city of Budapest or District XIV, in which it resides), whoever is responsible certainly hasn't done their job.

Of course, the question of who is doing the vandalizing is also worthy of consideration, even though I do not pretend to have any answers, my idea of a good evening not being leading a stake-out in one of the nearby trees. Do these people have a political agenda? Is this someone who spits upon the idea of the revolution, or someone who hates that a Socialist prime minister led the commemorations and therefore through this leap of logic views the memorial itself as communist? Or simply, is it the work of petty vandals who find this entertaining on some pre-Cro Magnon level?

What also left me shaking my head was the condition of the flag flying nearby with the black marble plaque explaining the memorial. Of the times I've been out to the memorial, I have only seen the flag appearing as it should once. Last October, the flag was impaled through its central hole by its own pole. This time, part of the flag was caught in another portion, but what really caught my eye was the state of the flag itself.

Sure, it's acceptable to fly a ragged flag in times of war, and it may well inspire someone to write a poem that will become a national anthem, but not only does it look bad visually, it sends the message that whoever is responsible for the flag does not care about national symbols. And at the site of a national memorial no less, that looks terrible.

Regardless of one's beliefs with respect to nationalism, it is fair to say that all but those holding extreme opinions will agree to respect national symbols, even if they may disagree over what extent to display those symbols. And from a purely aesthetic viewpoint, it suggests to the casual observer that Budapest does not feel it necessary to maintain its appearance neither to its residents, nor to the tourists who come and visit.

Happily, I returned a few days ago to the memorial and saw some workmen looking like they were repairing some of the broken lights. Sadly, the remnants of the red paint remained untouched, the flag was even more disheveled than ever and a second hole had appeared that was more embarrassing than revolutionary. In all, the overall condition of the memorial speaks volumes. Hopefully someone in a position to remedy the situation has already gotten the message.