Page 8
University Daily Kansan Supplement
Aftermath of Revolt—
(Continued from page 5)
(Continued from page 5)
Americans in. His parents gave their consent and the three students caught several hours of sleep.
For breakfast that Sunday morning, they had fried fish
"About the only other food I saw were some very green apples," Swan said. He added that even though the Hungarian student's father was a member of the Communist party and a city official, they lived very poorly. Their apartment was drab and colorless. The apartment was almost bare and the halls and entrance had been scarred by machinegun bullets.
The Hungarian's mother was very friendly, and she talked freely, but his father seemed reticent and suspicious, or afraid that it was not in his best interests to have Americans in his apartment.
They met the other students later that Sunday and went as a group to see more of Budapest and exchange ideas.
"I think all our talks were pretty honest from both sides," Swan said. "Most of what they told me sounded reasonable."
Swan said that none of the students they talked with seemed resentful because the West had not come to their aid during the uprising.
"They wanted to know what had happened. It seemed strange to them that the Voice of America broadcasters had all but promised them help if they revolted, then the Free World stood by and let the Freedom Fighters be slaughtered. But they seem to accept nearly anything. As one of them said, "Was kann man denn machen?" (What can we do about it?)
Swan said that "somehow they are different. Most of those we met were in their early teens during the revolt, and when they talk of the revolution they sometimes laugh and joke about some rather horrible things. Two or three of them joked about seeing Freedom Fighters throw Molotov cocktail's (gasoline bombs) on Russian soldiers, and seeing the soldiers run madly around in circles, screaming, until they burned to death."
Sunday afternoon Swan and Wahl went with their Hungarian friends to see some of the scenes of the revolt. They saw the Corvin Cinema, the place where the Kilian Barracks had been, and the hill overlooking the city where the Russians marshaled their tanks to begin shelling the city.
The Hungarians were very interested in American music. They are fond of "rock and roll" and one student had a tape of recorded American popular music.
"One of them had a collection of American-made "rock and roll" records," Wahl said. "I don't know where he got them, but he was very proud of them."
Wahl and Swan are now writing to the Hungarian students and to the textile engineer. They correspond in German and are very careful to avoid any serious prose in their letters—the Hungarians cautioned them over and over to write only chatty letters and avoid any talk of politics.
Sunday afternoon, when the young Americans went to catch their bus out of Hungary, the friends they had made turned out in force to see them off. One of them requested that a copy of James A. Michener's "The Bridge at Andau" be sent in to him if Wahl or Swan met anyone coming to Hungary next year. They warned them not to try to mail it into the country.
Before the bus pulled out, Wahl asked one of the students if there was any danger that they could get in trouble for the weekend they spent with the Americans.
"Yes, there is always danger," the Hungarian said. "But the Freedom Fighters of the 1956 uprising are now almost extinct. They are in jail, dead, or have been taken out of the country. But, after all, what can the Communists do? So many of the young ones are gone now. They are going to build the "new society" upon those of us still here."
Let TERRILL'S take all the work out of Christmas
- FREE Gift Wrapping!
- FREE Wrap for Mailing!
- Blouses Dresses Sweaters Sportswear Separates
- Sleepwear - Handbags - Lingerie
- Accessories - Jewelry
- Fabrics - Bedspreads - Sheets
- Decorator Pillows
- Table Linens
- Knitting Yarns - Place Mat Sets
- Towels by Fieldcrest
We Have Something Just Right For Your Roommate, Friend, Mother. Everyone On Your List.
803 Mass. terri's LAWRENCE KANSAS
VI3-2241
OPEN DAILY 9:30 to 5:30 THURSDAY 9:30 to 8:30
Men's Sportshirts
Checks, Plaids, Solids
- PULLOVER
- ZIPPER FRONTS
- BUTTON DOWN COLLARS
$ 2^{98} $
All Wash N' Wear, Sizes S, M, L
Shop Penney's and Save!