Hrozova Erzsébet
Born 5 May 1938, Budapest. Before the Revolution she was a nurse at a gyneacological clinic. During the Revolution she became a member of the Víg Street armed group in the 8th District. She was arrested in 1957 and sentenced to death; however, her sentence was reduced to life imprisonment on appeal. She was released in 1970 and got work as a seamstress.
At the age of eighteen in 1956 I was already married. On October 25th my husband came up from Taszár*– where he served as an officer in the army – and came to my workplace to pick me up. He requested permission from the Head Nurse for me to leave, and so we went together to the Central Police Station of the 8th District. There were already revolutionaries there, and Józsi Újvári, a former army comrade of my husband, was the commanding officer. The next thing I know – we got stuck there.
I cooked for the boys – I would not be able to say how many of us were there because some of us simply died; some people just dropped out. And also new ones came to join us.
Sometimes I stayed inside the building and sometimes I went out together with the guys. I also had a gun and knew how to use it, too, since we had already been taught how to use it when we were at school. Then I also took part in the fights in the streets – well, what can I say, I was really in the thick of it. We were the National Guards, and one day we were walking in the street when, suddenly, somebody started shooting at us from an apartment. This time I was injured. We did not have a clue either as to when or from where our photos were being taken. Because most of us got caught that way; namely, we were recognized and picked out by the photos. Surely, they did not know our names. One day people came to the station, requesting that a few of us go with them to help them, because there was a food shop where they wanted to buy some food – since they no longer had anything to eat – but the manager of the shop had said that he would not open the store. So, we had to go with them in order to tell him to open the shop, or else the people would do it themselves and then they would cause some damage for sure. When we got there the manager asked us what we wanted there. "Listen, buddy" – I replied to him – "you got all this food that's just gonna rot away on you here, so why don't you go and open the shop and give some food to the people, 'cause they have nothing to eat." To this he said that he would not open it anyway for how could he possibly settle the bill with the people. And I answered: "Well, you have the people standing right here in front of you." He still refused to open the shop.
"Look, if you open the store – I said to him – then we make a list and I will also sign it to confirm that I forced you at gunpoint to open the foodshop."
And when I aimed the gun at his midriff, then he finally gave me the key; so I did not have to blow the lock away. Then he announced that he would not accept any money from us – well, if he wouldn't accept it, that's fine, too. After that he took off only to appear at our trial and represent another count on the list of charges: namely, armed robbery and attempted murder. I swear I did not take even one ounce of butter from there for myself! Not one hair of the head of the shop manager was hurt. I was sentenced to death just the same.
Once a captain wanted to make me commit perjury, but he failed. I laughed at him. The next day on a landing of the stairs in the prison the goon smashed my face in with a nightstick, applying such a blow that my jaw was broken and six of my teeth were smashed and fell out so that I would not laugh any more.
* : Taszár is a town in West Hungary. It has a military airfield.