ALL MATERIAL: COPYRIGHT CALIFORNIA EUROPEAN CULTURAL INITIATIVE/MEMORY PROJECT

István Kékedy, 1956er

István Kékedy's father was the police chief in Budapest before WWII and so he was not allowed to attend university and could barely find a job in the post office. He took an active role in 1956 in Budapest, supplying weapons from the post office to revolutionaries. He fled Hungary in 1956 dressed as an old lady, and settled in Cleveland, Ohio where he built a successful welding business. He's been active in the Hungarian community in Cleveland, using his trade to help build the Hungarian club (Tanya) and also to erect a monument to 1956 in downtown Cleveland.

Interview conducted by Eszti and Réka Pigniczky in Cleveland, Ohio in April of 2015.