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THE LEGACY In the foregoing chapters we have seen how the children of the convicts faced up to their unique situation and how they came to terms with the resulting conflicts . Today it has become clear to most of them what happened to them and why, and what examples can and should be followed from all that their fathers did in 1956. With respect to the taking of public or political roles, and to the revolution and the retribution, the standpoints they have adopted depend on the nature of the father’s participation, on his conviction, and on his attitude following release. “IT WAS A HARD LESSON” Those for whom events meant only pain and loss blamed politics for their fate. They either became withdrawn and bitter, or, acting on impulse, regularly voiced their opinions within their own circle while consciously avoiding politics and not assuming public roles. As a natural consequence of their resistance to the system they never joined any political organisations. “I never joined anything political because back then I made up my mind that I never would. Because the wheel turns and one day you’re declared a freedom fighter, then something happens and you’re the biggest criminal of all. Even in school I didn’t want to be a pioneer leader or a leader in any kind of group, not even the choir leader. I didn’t want to be involved or to do things, because it just doesn’t pay. This continued later on in my life. I’m not saying that I wouldn’t offer help to someone in need. That’s a different thing. But I don’t get involved in politics. I express opinions only in front of people I know. So, it was a hard lesson.” (SAROLTA RIMÁN) “The last thing my father said to me when we said goodbye was that I should never get involved in politics. There is not a single political issue about which I don’t have an opinion, but I hold to what my father said.” (KÁROLY SZABÓ) “Ever since I’ve had a mind of my own I’ve been against that system and against all such crazy systems. I’m opposed to anyone who claims infallibility.” (IMRE FARKAS) The legacy Those who had had a sense of responsibility for others instilled in them by their families and who saw their fathers’ conduct as an example to be followed chose professions in which they could address human problems. If their fathers had not been broken by the discrimination but were proud of their revolutionary activities, and if within the family dealing with political matters responsibly was among the accepted and permanently reinforced values, children participated from the very beginning in the moves made by the political opposition, read and circulated samizdat publications or, as members of one of the parties involved in the change of system, began to be actively involved in politics. “I have always been fighting for the rights of various people. I didn’t do it on the level of politics, but it must have been down to my father.” (KINGA GÖNCZ) “I remember from about the end of elementary school hearing such warnings as ‘Don’t get involved in politics, son, because you’ll either get a heart attack or you’ll be hanged’. He tried to ease the tension with humour but I have no doubt that for him politics represented a life mission. He was entirely submerged in it but he didn’t want to spoil the lives of any of us. It took a very long time, and an entirely new and structurally strange situation, before I was able to utilise my accumulated—in part professional, in part emotional—experience from my childhood and later.” (LÁSZLÓ DONÁTH) Eventually, however, even these people—with a few exceptions—abandoned politics. They were disappointed either because the change of political system did not meet their expectations or because they soon realised that they were not prepared or suited to be politicians. “In 1989 the Alliance of Free Democrats were very radical and this appealed to me. At the time I thought my place was with them and that I could do a great deal among them. Then, after the 1990 elections, they began to hold back. Once they’d got their seats in Parliament they began to play a different tune. I even worked for the local council but I soon realised that...

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