A plaque erected in memory of the 1956 Revolution and War of Independence
The commemorative plaque was erected by the Hungarian Consulate General in Istanbul to honor the 1956 Revolution and War of Independence. The plaque commemorates Márta Arbatli and Attila Hajdú. The staff of the Consulate General knew Márta Arbatli and her family, and they continue to cherish her memory to this day.
In Memory of the 1956 Revolution and War of Independence
1956 Ihtilalinin ve özgürlük savasinin anilarina
Márta Arbatli Attila Hajdú
Stories about this memorial
Márta Arbatlı, then an 18-year-old high school student, was caught off guard by the events of October 70 years ago, when she and her friend set out for a walk toward Margaret Island, saw the crowd gathering at Bem Square, and began to follow them all the way to the Hungarian Radio building. She witnessed the outbreak of the revolution with her own eyes. She was also there with the demonstrators in front of the Parliament, and since most of the bridges had been closed, she was only able to return to her family in Buda the next day, to Retek Street, which was near the site of the later clashes at Széna Square. He joined the young people gathering there and was tasked with bringing medicine from the hospitals so they could treat the growing number of wounded. He saw many casualties at the sites of the revolution and had to get used to the sight of death. After the first three days, he went to the Pest side to bring revolutionary newspapers from there to Buda, but on his way back, he was stopped on the Margit Bridge and imprisoned in the Fő Street jail. After two nights in custody, he was released. Until the end of October, he participated in the fighting in Pest to the best of his ability, then returned to Buda after losing many friends. Until then, his father had believed him to be dead, but by the time he returned home, Pest had fallen; and since his name had been recorded and he had spent two days in prison, his father, out of concern, fled Budapest with his friends, leaving the country for Austria on December 15. In Vienna, when he met with the Turkish ambassador there, it turned out that he could count to 10 in Turkish because his father had worked as a carpenter in Ankara between 1924 and 1937. She went to Istanbul, where she got married, and when, after 10 years, Hungarian refugees were allowed to obtain Turkish passports, she visited Hungary again in 1967. Her children think fondly of their homeland and cherish the memory of their mother’s life story.
Anonymous submission · October 2026