Mária Wittner (''Gazdagh-Wittner;'' 9 June 1937 – 14 September 2022)1956 Hungarian freedom fighter Wittner dies aged 85
/ref> was a Hungarian revolutionary and politician who participated in the

Hungarian Revolution of 1956 The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 4 November 1956; ), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was an attempted countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the policies caused by ...

Early life

Wittner was born in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

on 9 June 1937. She did not know her father and her mother sent her to nuns. At the age of two, she was sent to a

Carmelite The Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (; abbreviated OCarm), known as the Carmelites or sometimes by synecdoche known simply as Carmel, is a mendicant order in the Catholic Church for both men and women. Histo ...

cloister. In 1948, she met with her mother, who soon sent her to state care. She discontinued her secondary school studies and began to work as a typist and shorthand writer in Szolnok and for the Council of Kiskunhegyes district. She gave birth to a son in 1955 and, half a year later, moved to Budapest. She meanwhile undertook odd jobs.

1956 revolution and aftermath

Wittner participated in the demonstration on 23 October 1956 and joined the revolutionaries during the siege of the

Magyar Rádió Magyar Rádió (, MR, ''The Hungarian Radio Corporation'', also known as ''Radio Budapest'') was Hungary's publicly funded radio broadcasting organisation until 2015. It was also the country's official international broadcasting station. Since ...

building. She met Katalin Havrila, and on the following days, they together helped the provision of the wounded. Later, she became a member of the Vajdahunyad Street resistance group and with her companion they occupied the police station of the tenth district to find weapons on 30 October 1956. She was wounded by shrapnel in

Üllői út Üllői út (Üllői Avenue, lit. means "Road to Üllő", ) is a major transport artery in Budapest, Hungary. Üllői út is the longest avenue in Budapest. It is 15.6 km long and nearly perfectly straight. It starts at the edge of Inner Cit ...

on 4 November during the Soviet invasion. Wittner was treated in Péterfy Sándor State Hospital. She tried to escape from the occupied country but was arrested. She was questioned and then freed and then tried to flee the country once again and spent a few weeks in Austria. Then, she came back to Hungary and began to work as an unskilled worker. Wittner was arrested on 16 July 1957 and was sentenced to death on 23 July 1958. The sentence was modified to life imprisonment by the second appeal court on 24 February 1959. She was released from prison on 25 March 1970. Firstly she worked in a dressmaker's room and later as a cleaner. Since 1980, she has been a disability pensioner. After the end of communism, she has been actively involved in the work of different veteran organisations of the 1956 revolution. She was awarded the Grand Cross

Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary The Hungarian Order of Merit () is the fourth highest Order (honour), State Order of Hungary. Founded in 1991, the order is a revival of an original order founded in 1946 and abolished in 1949. Its origins, however, can be traced to the Order of ...

in 1991.

Political career

Wittner was elected Member of Parliament from the

Fidesz Fidesz – Hungarian Civic Alliance (; ) is a national-conservative political party in Hungary led by Viktor Orbán. It has increasingly identified as illiberal. Originally formed in 1988 under the name of Alliance of Young Democrats () as ...

National List in the

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

and 2010 parliamentary elections. She was a member of the Committee on Employment and Labour between 30 May 2006 and 13 May 2010. She was appointed a member of the Committee on Human Rights, Minority, Civic and Religious Affairs on 14 May 2010.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wittner, Maria 1937 births 2022 deaths People of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 Hungarian anti-communists Hungarian prisoners sentenced to death Prisoners sentenced to death by Hungary Grand Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary (civil) Fidesz politicians Members of the National Assembly of Hungary (2006–2010) Members of the National Assembly of Hungary (2010–2014) Politicians from Budapest Women in European warfare Women in war 1945–1999 Hungarian politicians convicted of crimes Hungarian female criminals 21st-century Hungarian women politicians Women sentenced to death