The exhibition, entitled ?Annus Mirabilis ? 1989, Hungary: The Year That Accomplished What 1956 started?, contains 65 black-and-white and colour photographs never before published. The images are being shown on the ground floor of the building in the hall next to the Vienna Café.
The photographs show images of the Kádár regime, the first political demonstrations in 1988, the reburial of Imre Nagy, the first so-called ?roundtable talks?, the visit by US President George Bush in 1989, the exodus of East Germans to the West through Hungary, the departure of Soviet troops and the first democratic elections. Most of the pictures are from private collections, but the Hungarian News Agency (MTI) has provided 26 images.
?Hungary?s fight against oppression is an example to other countries as to how it may be done,? Amir Dossal, Executive Director of the UN Office for Partnerships (UNFIP), said at the opening of the exhibition.
Zsolt Németh, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Hungarian Parliament, noted that the same enthusiasm for freedom and democracy can be seen in the pictures from 1989 as in images from the 1956 Revolution.
?During this time of uncertainties in Hungary and Central Europe, we must realise that the change of system is a long process. A solution to this could be to look back to the testimony of ?56 and ?89, to that which pervaded society,? Németh said.
The exhibition was organised by the Budapest-based International Centre for Democratic Transition (ICDT).
Source: Múlt-kor / Hungarian News Agency (MTI)
