Intriguing! “Solidarity between museologists and nephews. On the 70th anniversary of the Hungarian October 1956

Much has already been said about the Polish-Hungarian friendship. Its essence was brilliantly expressed by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Hungary to Poland, Dr. Orsolya Zsuzsanna Kovács:

Experience shows that Hungarians and Poles — wherever they are in the world — always find each other. We are all responsible for preserving this unique and priceless value of Polish-Hungarian friendship. Our millennial relationship is also one of the pillars of the European Union, so important to us, which must be protected and which we seek to enrich with our Central European intellectual, moral, political and worldview values”.

In 2025, the second Hungarian astronaut in history, Tibor Kapu, flew into space accompanied by Polish Sławosz Uzneski-Wiśniewski, Indian Shubhanshu Shukla and American Peggy Whitson. The latter was the commander of their joint mission organized by the American company Axiom Space. The Hungarians noted with satisfaction that the composition of the crew reflected, among other things, the tradition of Polish-Hungarian friendship. The “nephews” once again managed to do something together.

This month marks the 70th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. What happened then in Budapest, but also outside the capital, had the characteristics of a social revolution, but at the same time it was a national uprising in which representatives of all classes and social strata participated in solidarity. And this rebellion against foreign oppression, in the name of one's own dignity and sovereignty, was dominant at that memorable time.

Fig. Beata Stragierowicz

The Hungarian Revolution, which practically from the first moments took on a bloody and tragic character, was met with a lively response from the Polish society. Already from 24 to 25 October 1956, newspapers in Poland brought the first news about the Hungarian drama, and a day later the Polish Radio for the first time called for an honorary blood donation for the “Hungarian brothers”. The response was huge — a total of about 12 thousand Poles donated blood for the Hungarians.

Polish transports with medical aid and blood arrived in Hungary first. At the same time, a large group of representatives of the Polish medical services came forward, who expressed their readiness to leave immediately to help with the care of the wounded on the spot.

An important symbol of solidarity were the Hungarian flags displayed in various Polish towns and villages, usually tied with a black ribbon. The largest number of flags appeared in Lower Silesia. The workers of the “Pafawag” factory replaced the red star, which was located above the entrance to the plant, with the Polish and Hungarian flags. They stayed there for a few weeks.

In Wrocław, the most important city building — the town hall — has also become a symbol of Polish solidarity with the Hungarian people. On the town hall tower was hung the Hungarian flag with a wreath sewn by the employees of the Historical Museum of Wrocław, which had its seat in the town hall. This event was recorded in the memorial book:

“To commemorate the Hungarian Revolution, the employees of the Historical Museum in Wrocław City Hall, at a meeting convened by the head of the Museum, Mgr. Józef Piątek, decided unanimously to hang the national flag of Hungary and the Polish flag on the tower of the Wrocław Town Hall. Glory to the nations fighting for freedom!”

It should be clarified here that in 1956 the Historical Museum, located in the Wrocław City Hall, was a branch of the Silesian Museum (in 1970 transformed into the National Museum). The solidarity gesture of our colleagues certainly deserves a reminder, because museum workers are very rarely mentioned in the context of community and identity.

Photo: MnWr archive

Józef Piątek (1921—1991) was a long-time employee of the National Museum in Wrocław. For years he was associated with regional museums, which substantively supported the Wrocław museum. Later he became the head of the Museum Warehouse in Lubiąż, and from 1981 he headed the “Panorama Racławicka” Branch in the organization. In 1985 — after the battle painting was made available to visitors — Józef Piątek became the curator of Panorama Racławicka and worked in this position at the Museum until his retirement.

The Hungarian Revolution began with a student demonstration at the Budapest monument to General Józef Bem. This most famous Pole who fought for the freedom of Hungary will soon be commemorated also in Wrocław. The Rakoczi Association donated to the capital of Lower Silesia the bust of the general, which is soon to be placed on a pedestal and displayed on the square between Bema, Prusa and Na Szańce streets.

The first presentation of the sculptural image of Bem took place in March of this year in the interior of the city hall.

Beata Stragierowicz, retired curator of the National Museum in Wrocław October 23, 2026