www.americanhungarianfederation.org / hungary1956.com AMSz Híradó, January - March 2013 |
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AHF Headlines [Go to all news] 3/25/2013 - The 2013 Smithsonian Folk Life Festival features "Hungarian Heritage - Roots to Revival." AHF Executive Committee commits to $10,000.00 seed money toward the $100,000.00 needed for the building of the Hungarian Pavilion and grounds and related expenses. In addition to the structures of the Hungarian Market (Piac), there are two major structures planned. One is a vertical "Peacock Tower," visible from the distance, which would serve as the main architectural symbol, the landmark of the Hungary Program. The frames of the bottom part would create an exhibition area where we could give basic information about Hungary’s geography, history, population, natural resources, heritage sites, etc. The roof structure would exhibit the peacock logo and at the same time it would carry the automated bell-system playing the festival’s musical signal. The central Hungarian Dance Pavilion was designed by Ybl Prize-winning architect József Siklósi. A student of Imre Makovecz, József worked with him for 24 years. They have worked together on many well-known and acclaimed structures such as the famous Sevilla World Fair Hungarian Pavilion where József was also the architect manager of the construction work itself. With its modern circular and open-air structure it is envisioned as the “beating heart” of the festival, where most of the communal events such as the evening dance-parties (dance-houses) and dance teaching would take place. This is a circular 12 sided structure, reminding the form of a so-called dry-mill (szárazmalom). This is the largest and most important event of this kind in the world, reaching approximately 40 million people! AHF calls for volunteers and support! [read more] 3/19/2013 - United States Helsinki Commission holds Hearing entitled, "The Trajectory of Democracy – Why Hungary Matters" to "examine Hungary’s constitutional changes with a particular view to the independence of the judiciary, present-day Hungary’s relationship to its Holocaust-era past, and the implications of Hungary’s sweeping legal changes for civil society, including an independent media and religious organizations." AMERICAN HUNGARIAN FEDERATION TESTIMONY ENTERED INTO THE RECORD. AHF's statement calls for fair and non-partisan analysis of developments in Hungary. The statement briefly addresses two issues: (1) the need to distinguish between genuine concern for the state of democracy in Hungary and the use of rhetorical democratic pretexts skirting democratic institutional norms that are being used to wage a political campaign to negate the voting public’s clear and overwhelming choice of the current government in the 2010 internationally recognized free and fair elections; and (2) the need to vigorously promote democracy by supporting the rights of religious and national minorities, including the rights of the Hungarian minorities living in countries bordering Hungary. AHF's site includes all testimony, video, and radio interview with AHF President, Frank Koszorus. [read more] 3/10/2013 -- AHF and Members of the Community show Support for Autonomy of Rumania's ethnic-Hungarian community... Carrying the Szekely Flag and a sign that read "Autonomy for Szekelyland," the group marched around the White House in Washington, DC, and raised awareness of the situation facing the ethnic-Hungarian community in Rumania. Numerous demonstrations were held in Europe and in North America. [read more] 3/09/2013 - AHF commemorates Hungarian National Day and the 1848 War of Independence. The commemoration emphasized the relavance of Kossuth and the historic fight for democracy to today, Hungary's revered history of standing up for freedom and liberty against great odds, and the serious human and minority rights challenges facing ethnic-Hungarian communities throughout the Carpathian basin. [read more] 2/27/2013 - AHF Media Watch (AMSz Figyelo): AHF Launches Special Service for Individual, Patron and Michael Kovats Freedom Circle-level Members of the American Hungarian Federation. AHF Media Watch (AMSz Figyelo) is a hand-picked selection of news articles from across the Carpathian Basin and worldwide in English and Hungarian. See the archive! To sign up, become a member! [tovább] [read more] 2/27/2013 - Watch the podcast of Subcommittee Hearing: Anti-Semitism: A Growing Threat to All Faiths. Tamás Fellegi, Ph.D., Managing Partner of EuroAtlantic Solutions (Former Minister of National Development Government of Hungary) represented Hungary on the distinguished panel. [See video, review the timeline of remarks and read more] 1/17/2013 - AHF meets with State Secretary Bence Retvari who was representing a Hungarian delegation visiting the United States at the invitation of the US Department of State’s International Visitors Leadership Program. Mr. Rétvari is Minister of State for Public Administration and Justice. He is a Member of Parliament for the KDNP (Christian Democrats) a part of the ruling coalition. A number of topics of interest to the community, such as good American / Hungarian relations and minority rights, were discussed at the afternoon session. The delegation is scheduled for numerous visits across the country. 1/11/2013 - AHF again responds to Senator Ben Cardin, Co-Chair of the US Helsinki Commission. In his December 20, 2012 statement, the Senator was unfairly critical of Hungary. "...we are concerned that (1) your assertions concerning Hungary omit relevant facts; and (2) your statement fails to raise the discrimination and intolerant policies toward ethnic Hungarians in some of the countries bordering Hungary. The statement therefore leaves the impression... of bias, which could result in cynicism toward the Helsinki Commission and its valuable and necessary work." [read more] 12/12/2012 - The Hungarian Scholarship Fund (HSF) / Magyar Ösztöndíjalap surpasses $400,000.00. AHF's Hungarian American Education and Cultural Preservation Fund (Amerikai Magyar Oktatási és Kultúrális Alap (AMOKA) supports the HSF. Founded by AHF Board Member, Prof. Bela Bognar, the HSF supports students who are economically disadvantaged and live in Hungary and in the countries which were separated from Hungary at the Treaty of Trianon which cost Hungary 2/3 of her territory, 1/3 of her Hungarian population and vast natural resources. To date, almost 140 ethnic-Hungarian students from Hungary, Transylvania, Slovakia, Transcarpathian Ukraine, and Vojvodina, Serbia (Vajdasag in Hungarian, annexed by Serbia) have benefitted from the HSF. [read more & HELP!]
Featured Books & Articles
T. Zane Reeves: "Shoes Along the Danube." Based on a true story, this amazing book follows the lives of two extended Hungarian families, the Rézlers and the Földes, one gentile and the other Jewish, through three decades. The story begins in pre-World War II Budapest, as increasing fascism and anti-Semitism lead Hungary to become an ally of Germany. In 1944, Germany invades Hungary to exterminate Europe’s last remaining group of Jews at the infamous Auschwitz death camp. The story builds through the siege of Budapest, the Russian occupation of Hungary, and separation by exile. It includes the story of Col. Ferenc Koszorus and the battle against Nazi forces. Buy [his books] and other products on the AHF Amazon Store
How did a wine from a remote corner of Europe gain unparalleled fame worldwide? This is the central question answered on virtually every page of Tokaji Wine: Fame, Fate, Tradition, a new book that promises to be a touchstone for all future writing on Tokaji. The world's first botrytis wine, Hungary's Tokaji won an enviable reputation centuries ago. But never before have the development of its winetypes and the story of its ups and downs in fame and prestige been presented so fully in English. [read more] or Buy his books now on the AHF Amazon Store
AHF Store on More member books on AHF's Amazon Store: Miles Lambert-Gocs: "Tokaji Wine: Fame, Fate, Tradition: A Journey into Tokaji Wine History." Wine Spectator called it "the most comprehensive reference book on Tokaji available in the English language." [read more] and Buy his books now on the AHF Amazon Store "The Porcelain Figurine" (A Porcelánbaba) by Eva Mecs.[read more] and Buy her book now on the AHF Amazon Store Kitty Gogins: "My flag Grew Stars" by [Read more] about the book or purchase the book on
Lapossy, Susanna (Zsuzsanna):
Simon, Paul M: "The Old lady and the Fawn," the first bilingual edition of "Öreg néne ozikéje" (Hungarian)
Order now at Simpa Books
Professor Peter Hargitai's Daughter of the Revolution: A Novel (2006 - A story of a brave freedom fighter - a 14 year-old girl) [read more]
Rebecca McEldowney's "Soul of Flesh: A Novel of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution" [read more]
Dr. Katalin Kadar Lynn's "Tibor Eckhardt in His Own Words: An Autobiography" [read more]
[ >> GO to the AHF News Archive] |
Do you give to charity? Please consider supporting AHF! AHF and its volunteers and members have been serving the community for over a century. Please join and support your AHF, an all-volunteer, non-partisan, non-profit 501(C)(3), charitable and educational organization. Your support may be tax deductible.
INVITATION / MEGHÍVÓ [Read more] and Join DC-area Hungarian-Americans for a fun day at the Sausage Festival! Enjoy great Hungarian sausage and fried bread “langos,” beer and wine, raffle with fun prizes, mother-daughter beauty contest, and even a moustache contest!! Listen to live music. We will have a big dance floor for dancers all day! [read more]
Sültkolbász, lángos, csapolt sör, élozene, szórakoztató programok kicsiknek és nagyoknak! Színes zenei kínálat, szórakoztató programok, látványos musor. Táncparkett a táncolni vágyóknak. Tombola, anya-lánya szépségverseny, bajusz verseny! Gyermekeknek egész nap kreatív foglalkozások, hogy a szülok is tudjanak bulizni! [tovább] The 2013 Festival's theme will be "Hungarian Heritage - Roots to Revival" and will feature a wide spectrum of activities from Hungarian folk crafts to dance and music. The Festival takes place on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. from June 26 to July 7. This is a tremendous opportunity to showcase our heritage and presence in the Carpathian Basin. The site of the Hungary Program on the Mall was approved (the area on the side closest to the Capitol with a nice open view to the Capitol building) and construction plans are tremendous and expensive! We need volunteers and your financial support! Learn how to help make this amazing event a resounding success! [Read a message] from George Szapary, Ambassador of Hungary to the United States. [read more and help!]
1990: Kossuth in the US Capitol:
To celebrate and commemorate the friendship and shared values between the people of the United States and those of Hungarian descent, The American Hungarian Federation commissioned a bronze bust of Lajos Kossuth and offered it to U.S. Congress. House Concurrent Resolution 251 (Introduced by Congressman Tom Lantos, cosponsored by Congressman William Broomfield and a Senate support motion by Sen. Pell) called for placement of the statue in the US Capitol. It was adopted on Feb 27, 1990 (House) and March 1 (Senate). Featured Members Featured members are selected at random. AHF members come from all walks of life and from different religious and political backgrounds. They join AHF because they believe in working together for common causes and on issues that unite, not divide. This section provides the public a small glimpse at the broad cross section of the community AHF represents. AHF is an all-volunteer, non-partisan, 501(c)(3) non-profit educational and charitable organziation serving the community since 1906! Join and Support Us! Les (Laszlo) Besser, Microwave Engineer, is affectionately known in his industry as "Mr. COMPACT" (Computerized Optimization of Microwave Passive and Active ComponenTs) is “The Father of Microwave Computer-aided Design" and the "Father of Computer-Aided Engineering Software." Les, was national under-16 year hurdle record holder in 1952, graduated from Kando Kalman technical school in 1954, and won two Hungarian national junior championships in 1955. Escaping to Canada after the 1956 revolution, he continued with his running career, and received a track scholarship to study electrical engineering in the US. At the University of Colorado he received the Pacesetter Award and was selected to be “The Outstanding Engineering Student” and co-captain of the school’s soccer team in 1966. In 2013, The Hewlett Packard Memory Project published Les's memoirs entitled, "Hurdling to Freedom: A Hungarian's Escape to America." The two-volume set is avaialable for download. [read more]
Naomi Halas, Dr. Naomi Halas (Halász) is the Stanley C. Moore Chair of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Rice University where she holds faculty appointments in the Departments of Physics and Astronomy, Chemistry, and Bioengineering and leads the Halas Research Group for Nanoengineered Photonics and Plasmonics. She is a pioneering nanotechnologist seeking practical applications for her work.
She is known as the inventor of nanoparticles with tunable optical properties controlled by their shape and structure and pursues fundamental studies of light-nanoparticle interactions that give rise to new properties and effects, leading to useful applications in biomedicine, chemical sensing, and energy. Her "gold nanoshells" (tiny glass nanoparticles coated in gold) are so small that 1,000 would fit across the width of a human hair and absorb large amounts of light, resulting in a dramatic rise in their temperature. They interact with the widest possible spectrum of sunlight energy and can be tuned to absorb specific wavelengths of light. For example, when light passes harmlessly through the human body, that light hits the injested nanoshells where they grow hot enough to burn away targeted nearby tissue such as a tumor. Later research revealed this same behavior could turn ice water into steam with sunlight, leading to far-reaching implications for disinfection, water distillation and desalinization, and green energy. With over 200 publication and election to Fellow of the American Physical Society, Dr. Halas' scientific career and history of innovation is nothing less then remarkable and a great source of pride for the Hungarian-American community.
[see all Featured Members] The DVD now available online! Order your copy of Freedom Dance! "Freedom Dance" re-tells the inspiring story of a Hungarian-born artist named Edward Hilbert who (with his newly wedded wife, Judy) made a dangerous escape from occupied Hungary in 1956 during the violent Hungarian Revolution, taking refuge in the land of Edward's dreams: America! This remarkable story of faith and courage, uniquely animated, can be yours for only $20.
[Read more] about this unique film by AHF member and Grammy-nominated filmmaker Steven Fischer or [Click here] to place your order with your credit card or PayPal account. If you would like to pay by check, [email] the producer for details. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. A new two volume work by the former Polish ambassador to Hungary, Grzegorz Lubczyk and his wife Krystyna under the patronage of the Polish president, document the story of the Polish refugees in Hungary in Emlékezés (Pamiec or Rememberance) Polish Refugees in Hungary 1939-1946. The first volume gives an overview of what transpired and the second volume gives personal stories of many of the nearly 120,000 Polish refugees who were granted redoubt at nearly 200 locations scattered throughout Hungary. [Read the AHF Book Review] by Csaba Zoltani. [ >> GO to the AHF News Archive]
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