Freedom Fighters & Families: Hungarian Emigration to New Jersey following the 1956 Revolution

Freedom Fighters & Families: Hungarian Emigration to New Jersey Following the 1956 Revolution

Part of the Community Conversations History Lecture Series

Thursday, October 28 at 7pm EST

In the honor of 65th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (October 23-November 10, 1956), join us to learn how Hungary enacted the first step in the dissolution of communism in the Eastern Bloc, and hear the stories of those who survived and escaped against overwhelming odds. Moderated by Andrea Lauer Rice, President of the Hungarian American Coalition and co-founder of “The Memory Project: Visual History Archive of Hungarian Emigration”, the program will feature first-hand accounts from 1956 survivors sharing their emigration stories, the experience of arriving to this country via Camp Kilmer, and the creation New Jersey’s large and vibrant Hungarian-American population.

Andrea Lauer Rice has served as President of the Hungarian American Coalition (www.hacusa.org), a nationwide umbrella organization, for the past 5 years. In 2019, she was elected US President of the Hungarian Diaspora Council and has focused on bringing the Hungarian American community together to face ongoing challenges.  She is co-founder of “Memory Project: Visual History Archive of Hungarian Emigration” (https://MemoryProject.online), an award-winning global initiative to record interviews with Hungarians who emigrated to the US or elsewhere in the world. MP has led to two documentary films: “Cold Warriors:” and “Memory Project: 1956-2021.” She actively uses her background as an author, teacher, game developer and website strategist to find new ways to reach the next generation. Her multimedia credits include: FF56! computer game, Freedom Fighters, a graphic novel, the www.FreedomFighter.com oral history website and 56 Stories and 56 Történet, two coffee table books that she presented at the White House in 2006, and a series of English-language booklets targeting 2nd generation Hungarians – “Magyars in America” and “1956 Freedom Fighters.” (www.lauerlearning.com). She founded the Atlanta Hungarian Festival and is currently leading the initiative to create a 1956 “Freedom Fighter” Statue to be located in Georgia. She serves on the Board of the Kossuth Foundation, based in Washington DC, among many others. She has an MBA from Goizueta Business School at Emory University and a BA in Journalism from Lehigh University. Lauer Rice lives in Roswell, GA, with her husband and children.

Register in advance here:

https://tinyurl.com/1956HungarianHistory

 Co-sponsored by the American Hungarian Foundation.

Funding support has been provided by the Middlesex County Board of County Commissioners and
New Jersey Historical Commission, a Division of The Department of State.

 Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/2208217312658670/

 For accessibility requests or questions, please email:
flora.boros@co.middlesex.nj.us
This virtual program is free and open to the public.