Hungary is a captive nation. Americans who have loved ones in Hungary must endure many hardships when trying to contact their friends and relatives. I recently received a letter from a constituent who escaped from Hungary in 1956 and is now a naturalized American citizen. He describes the indignities he and his family had to undergo when they returned to Hungary to visit their dying father. Here is a firsthand description of some of the conditions that do exist in Hungary today. Surely. after reading this letter. one must feel a sense of commitment to the plight of Hungarians and indeed of all captive nations. The letter follows: CONGRESSMAN HOGAN: Recently my family and I had to return to Hungary. because my father was dying. We had no time to obtain a visa in the United States. however. the Hungarian Embassy assured us that we could acquire our visa at the airport in Hungary. with no problem. This was not the case. because when we arrived on March 30. 1971. we were detained for four hours. During this time a gentleman took our passports and interrogated me about my personal life. such as. "Were you in the military. how long were you in the army. what outfit and what was my rank?" I told him that I objected to his questions. and did not think this was a requirement to obtain a visa. He then stated that if one Hungarian comes to the United States he has to fill out twohundred pages of questions. so therefore I have to answer his. By this time I could only assume that I was being interrogated.
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visa naturalized