P.O. Box 771066, Cleveland, Ohio 44107, USA
Phone: (216) 651-4929
www.HungarianAssociation.com
2021 June 15 edition
„We Were, We Are, We Will Be”
60th Anniversary of the Hungarian Congress!
Dr. János Nádas, president of the Hungarian Association (founded in 1952) and Board members Dr. Ferenc Somogyi and Dr. Béla Béldy, joined
together and worked to organize the first Hungarian Congress
meeting in Cleveland in 1961.
The purpose of the meeting was defined:
… to embrace our humanity and embrace our Hungarian
heritage … to be open-minded and listen to others … and to be a free forum for spiritual and intellectual renewal of our
Hungarian identity.
Doctor of Economics (Hungary), specializing in economics and politics, a member and eventually secretary of the Hungarian Press Chamber, and the national president of all the rural weekly newspapers. He was also the
national Secretary-General of the Hungarian Life Party. He was
president and board member of multiple Hungarian organizations in America.
(Hungary-Cleveland, Ohio)
Doctor of Law and Political Science (Hungary), professor of legal history at the University of Pécs in 1937. He was a writer and editor, and a Member of Parliament for the city of Pécs. In 1940 he was named a
national social inspector. In 1941 he became the permanent Deputy
Chairman of the National People’s and Family Protection Fund. Later he became head of the public welfare departments of the Ministry of the
Interior. In America he became known as a historian, lecturer and was on the board of many organizations.
(Hungary-Cleveland, Ohio).
Doctor of Economics (Hungary), writer, journalist, editor, head of the propaganda department of the Party of National Unity, former Member of Parliament, and editor of the “Hungarians of Canada” newspaper in Toronto.
(Hungary-Toronto, Kanada)
THE HUNGARIAN ASSOCIATION and the ÁRPÁD ACADEMY
invite you and your family to celebrate the
60th Hungarian Congress
on Saturday, November 27, 2021.
FEATURING:
Lectures, Discussions, Book Sale, Gala Banquet and Musical & Literary Program
Hilton Garden Inn Downtown 1100 Carnegie Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio, USA 44115
We are pleased to announce that
Natália Váradi
from the Subcarpathian Region of Ukraine
will be one of our guest lecturers presenting on
Impressions of the KGB in the region on the aftermath of the
1956 Hungarian Revolution.
The “Hungarian Krónika”
reported on the first Hungarian Congress in 1961:
The Hungarian Congress was successful because it realized an urgent desire that had long been building in the spirit of the Hungarian emigrant community.
What was that desire? It was the desire to meet and be together with other members of the Hungarian family. It was a natural desire to get to know others, to be casual, to be free, to “talk.” But even beyond that— it was the desire for the excitement one feels whenever one anticipates meeting with a soul mate.
…The participants did not want to have a “showdown” of opinions and did not want to win the other over to solve the unresolved problems of Hungarians, but rather gathered for an exchange of friendship.
Reasons Remain the Same Today
The reasons for the first Congress of 1961 remain the same today in 2021.
Our desire to meet with members of our large Hungarian family is very strong after more than a year of quarantine.
How many times during the year did it occur to us how nice a casual “conversation would be with our peers?”
How many times did it occur to us how nice it would be to exchange ideas with our presenters or to listen to the out- standing artistic performers of the Music & Literary program.
This quarantine drew our attention to the importance of a friendly handshake, a kind hug, and the meeting of old and new friends. We realized how precious human life is, and how un- predictable and fleeting.
We promise that once this pandemic passes, we
will take every opportunity to celebrate and reaffirm our survival, our humanity and our values.
This is what we hope to achieve at the 60th Hungarian Congress!