Melbourne 1956

No Games in Hungary's history carries the weight of Melbourne in 1956. They opened in November, weeks after the Hungarian Revolution had begun and just as Soviet forces moved to crush it, and the Hungarian team that arrived in Australia did so in the middle of a crisis at home. This chapter sets out what happened to the team, the boycotts, the flag, the athletes who did not return, and the way the episode is remembered. The politics are contested, and the course describes the events and the disagreements without taking a side. Names, dates and figures are from general knowledge and flagged for checking.

The Background

The Hungarian Revolution began in Budapest on 23 October 1956 with a demonstration that grew into an uprising against the government and Soviet influence (check the details). After a period in which it seemed that change might be possible, Soviet forces intervened in force in the first days of November, and the uprising was crushed with heavy casualties (check the dates and figures). Hundreds of thousands of people are said to have left the country in the following months (check). The Melbourne Games opened later in November, and so the revolution and its repression happened between the preparation for the Games and their start.

The Journey

• The team. A large Hungarian team had been selected and was preparing to travel (check the size). Some athletes were already abroad before the worst of the fighting; others left in the days of the revolution (check who and when).
• The route. Accounts describe a journey out of Hungary via Czechoslovakia and onwards by air, with the final party arriving in Melbourne only shortly before the Games (check the route and dates).
• Uncertainty. Many team members had little reliable news of their families, and the situation at home was changing fast (check).

Boycotts and Tensions

The Games themselves were affected by the crises of the year. Several countries stayed away, some in protest at the Soviet action in Hungary and others for different reasons connected with the Suez crisis and with the status of China (check which countries and why). The political tension was present in the Olympic Village and in the competition venues, and nowhere more than at the Hungary and Soviet Union water polo match (Chapter 4).

The Flag

An important detail concerns the flag. The Hungarian team in Melbourne is said to have flown the flag without the communist emblem, the red, white and green tricolour of the earlier period, in the Olympic Village (check the details and who decided). The choice of flag, at a time when the Hungarian government had changed hands, was a visible sign of the situation, and photographs and film from the time show it (check).

Those Who Stayed

A substantial number of the Hungarian team did not return home after the Games. Estimates vary, and figures of several dozen are often quoted (check). They settled in Australia, the United States, Britain, Israel and elsewhere. Ágnes Keleti (Chapter 6) is one of the best-known cases. The reasons differed: fear of what awaited them at home, opposition to the government, or the wish for better prospects, and the choice was not easy, because it meant leaving families behind (check). Those who returned home were also in a complex position, and the course does not treat either choice as a measure of character.

How It Is Remembered

• In Hungary. The revolution was officially condemned for decades and became openly commemorated after 1989, when 23 October became a national holiday (check). The sporting story of Melbourne is recalled in documentaries, books and anniversary events (check examples).
• Abroad. The episode is remembered in Australia and in emigre communities, with the Hungarian community in Melbourne marking it (check).
• The interpretation. Was the team's performance an act of defiance, an escape into sport, or both? Accounts disagree, and the athletes' own statements vary (check).

Exercises