Guess where we are . . . .
The Hungarian Opera House
.. in Budapest
.. in Budapest
It's a little celestial .. to be sure !
One of the grandest in Europe . . .
Many wide winding Red Carpeted Staircases . . .
( and tour groups galore )
Through the Boxed Seats . . we get to go
Pretending to be Royalty .. we watch stage hands prepare for the
Opening performance of "OTELLO"
( as they spell it )
The center Chandelier has hundreds of bulbs
To clean it . . the entire fixture has to be lowered to seat level . . then raised again
From days gone by .. Notice the .. round .. Vents .. underneath every seat
for Heating and Cooling
Multi - Tiers
.. The largest box .. for top royalty only
When the
Austrian Hapsburgs
controlled Hungary . . .
Franz Josef and adored wife 'Sisi' occupied that space
When ' Sisi ' came .. alone .. she had to sit in the side box
Hungary uses its' own Currency . . .
so crossing the Border . . we change to 'FORINT'
And to ballpark its' comparative value ..
we bring the decimal left 2 .. Then divide the remainder by 4
So .. 2000 becomes 20.00 .. divided by 4 becomes $5
And ( above ) .. 10,000 becomes 100.00 .. divided by 4 becomes $25
Coins work the same way
One of the immediately appealing aspects of Budapest ..
is the greenery lining so many streets
We are staying just around the corner from
THE HOUSE OF TERROR
Home to the vilest parts of
2 Regimes :
.. The German Nazi Gestapo - like "ARROW CROSS" ..
and
.. Russian Soviet AVI secret police
( insidious government KGB - type )
Considered
Budapest's
best education about . .
living under . . "COMMUNISM "
☛ Circling the exterior of the building .. are photos of the
'Perpetrators' - 'Victimizers'
Even before . . getting to the ticket counter
the
thumping sound
of
HEART BEAT
fills the air
and makes it clear
this is .. NOT .. 'Fun 'n Games'
( In line .. soon to enter )
A video clip sets the eye - opening stage . . .
'Socialism' is one of the easiest forms of propaganda
It blends well with all . . . ISMS
It easily 'hooks' those who want to 'do the right thing'
Socialism's' ROOTS sink deep ..
and its' DAMAGE .. destroys .. slowly
( We are not allowed to bring any bags or use any kind of camera )
We are introduced to The HOUSE of TERROR by
a Soviet tank
and
a wall displaying
3, 200 victims .. whose lives ended in this building ..
The occupation was
DOUBLE
➤ .. the Propaganda 'Promises' of the NAZIS
Transitioned into by
➤ .. the Lies about 'Liberation' by the Soviet COMMUNISTS
HUNGARIANS
were
confused . un-informed . hungry . concerned about "survival"
and were divided about .. which "side" to be on (?)
There were . . NO "good" Choices . .
They "changed" . . from one to the other . . in "desperation"
. . " hanging on to " . . HOPE
Being on the losing side of . . World War I
HUNGARY lost ➤ Property
and ➤ People
( hundreds of thousands of fellow citizens )
They suffered through . .
➤ Communist Hard Labor Camps . . ( under the disguise of . . 'rescue' )
( sound familiar ? . . same fake promises neighboring Poland fell for )
➤ " So - called " . . democracy . . ( actually 'pre - marked' Voting Ballots )
➤ Choreographed 'show' - trials
➤ Coerced Confessions . . ( to false political crimes ) ..
( with . . smiley - faced Communist propaganda ! )
Communist Secret Police
. . incited . .
➤ Fear . Intimidation
ONE . . out of every . . THREE Hungarian families
➤ Imprisoned . Tortured . Murdered
( 2nd .. only to the atrocities in .. Poland )
We see the . .
Torture Devices :
.. Hot Pads
.. Electrical Appliances
.. the GALLOWS "Hanging" Room
.. HALL of TEARS .. dedicated to Hungarian Victims ➤ ( 1945 - 1967 )
But
It was not until . . 1991 . . that finally the Soviets left
_____
We ask ourselves
.. If we were in Hungarian shoes in 1991
would our first thought be to provide
Museums . . for the World to visit
Probably . . . NOT
So now . . WE who are late in ' tuning - in - to '
Humanities Most Important Stories
can
THANK these SURVIVORS
for
EDUCATING US
years later
while
simultaneously
working through this HORROR
finding much
Personal . . Catharsis and Renewed . . Determination
and .. appreciation of
.. Self Rule .. and .. Liberty ..
HUNGARIANS matter !
Rusty and Wrinkles will share a few more things
about
Hungary's Capital . . " Budapest " . . in the next blog
____________________
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