Dr. Sándor Kecskés, 1956er

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(This interview was conducted in cooperation with the Collegium Hungaricum Berlin (CHB) as part of Memory Project Germany.)

Dr. Sándor Kecskés was born on May 10, 1934 in Budapest, Hungary. His father was a famous tailor who came to Budapest in the late 1930's from Mogyoród. After the communist government took control in 1948, the Kecskés Tailor Shop was forced to cut back it's 'capitalist' business model (although the shop was not forced to close, it could only employ family members) and Sándor had a difficult time getting into the university. Eventually, he began to attend the medical university.

In October of 1956, when the Revolution broke out, Sándor was a medical intern and drove medical supplies and food between the Péterfy Sándor hospital to those fighting in the revolution in Budapest. Risking his life, he drove a car draped with a red cross flag to the scenes of fighting on Üllői street and other places near the hospital. After the Revolution was crushed, his father, concerned that he would be punished for taking such an active part in the Revolution, urged him to flee to the West, which he did toward the end of November.

Arriving first to Austria, he was soon sent to Germany to attend medical school. There he became a surgeon at a large hospital near Hamburg. Later, in 1975 he moved to Berlin and became the chief trauma surgeon at a 1000-bed hospital there. He has remained active in the Hungarian community and 1956 organizations.