Born in 1892, Joseph Mindszenty became a priest at age 23, and was
eventually appointed Archbishop of Esztergom, Hungary. During World War
II Mindszenty opposed the occupying Nazis and their Hungarian fascist
allies. Becoming a cardinal in 1946, he also became vocal in his
opposition to the hardline communist government of Mátyás Rákosi in postwar
Hungary. In 1948 he was charged with treason and imprisoned. After
weeks of torture he "confessed" and was sentenced to life in prison.
On October 23, 1956, a gathering of students in Budapest demanding an
end to Soviet occupation grew into a demonstration, and when army
troops were sent in the next day to break it up, many of the officers
and soldiers instead joined with the students and others in their
demands, and soon the demonstration turned into an uprising against the
Soviet occupation of the country. Soon a new premier, Imre Nagy,
ordered Mindszenty released from prison and all of his rights restored.
However, on November 4 the Soviets sent in the Red Army to crush the
rebellion, and Mindszenty was granted asylum in the U.S. Embassy in
Budapest. He stayed there, a symbol of Hungarian resistance, until
1971, when an agreement was reached with the Hungarian government that
allowed him to go abroad. He died in Vienna in 1975.
