Background
Wittner was born in Budapest on 9 June 1937. Abandoned as a child, at the age of two Wittner was placed in an orphanage run by nuns. In 1948 she met with her mother, who after a short period of time sent her to state care.
Wittner was born in Budapest on 9 June 1937. Abandoned as a child, at the age of two Wittner was placed in an orphanage run by nuns. In 1948 she met with her mother, who after a short period of time sent her to state care.
Wittner was placed into various state-run, prisonlike educational institutions.
Mária Wittner moved to a town in east-central Hungary, Szolnok, where she found a job first as a caretaker in an orphanage and later as a secretary.
On the afternoon of 23 October 1956, Mária Wittner joined a group of street fighters assaulting the Hungarian Radio Station, helping the young men staging the attack to load machine guns on rooftops. Together with Kati Sticker, and as a member of the Corvin Group, she fought against State Security Authority (AVH) forces then stationed in the Ulloi Street barracks.
Later, in November 1956, when Soviet heavy military forces staged the recapture of the barracks, she was hit by shrapnel in her thigh, leg, and spine as she and Kati Sticker were carrying munitions to their group. Her streetfighting days were over, but her troubles were not. After partial recovery from her injuries, she planned to flee from the country, but when she returned for her son, she was arrested and imprisoned on 16 July 1957. After long and drastic interrogations, the trial of Wittner and nine others began in May 1958.
The Court of First Instance sentenced both Wittner and Sticker to death; however, the death sentence was commuted in her case because of her youth. She was, however, not released from prison until 1970.
Since 1972, Wittner has lived in Dunakeszi near Budapest. After 1989, she founded the Association of Political Prisoners, so that she could give her fallen brethren of 1956 a proper burial. The bodies of the victims of the revolt and many later dissenters were hastily dumped in mass graves. Only in 2006 could Wittner bring herself to participate in politics again.
Today remains Wittner fights for justice and freedom in Hungary. She views the democratic movement of 1990 severely, like a facelift for the same old political elite and their protégés. She is criticizing the excesses of liberal democracy.
Quotations:
"Every single day we could hear the people being brought for execution. There was an execution either every day or every other day, by hanging. The people who were being brought to the execution, each one said their name aloud and left some sort of message in their final words. Some sang the national anthem, others praised their country, there were people saying ‘avenge me’. There were days when several people were hanged, even seven a day. My friend Catherine was also sentenced to death. We spent our last night together in the cell. We said our goodbyes in the morning. The guards took her. The last sight I saw of her was that she straightened herself up, and went with her back ramrod straight. The door closed, and then I was left alone. I started to bang on the door, shouting, “Bring her back!” even though I knew perfectly well that it wouldn’t matter. Then I fainted. When I came to my senses, I swore to myself that I will never be silent about what I have seen, if I have the opportunity to bear witness."
"I’ve been thinking a lot about fear, as such. What is fear? Someone who is afraid is going to be made to do the evilest things. If someone is not afraid to say no, if your soul is free, there is nothing they can do to you"
Maria became a member of the Vajdahunyad Street resistance group and with her companion, they occupied the Police station of the X. district to find weapons on 30 November 1956.
She was a member of the Committee on Employment and Labour between 30 May 2006 and 13 May 2010.
Mária Wittner was appointed a member of the Committee on Human Rights, Minority, Civic and Religious Affairs on 14 May 2010.
Wittner struggled to survive the guards’ brutality amid the filthy quarters of the Kalocsa prison. Her only toilet was an open bowl in the corner of her cell. Her bug-infested sheets made it impossible to sleep. She spent twelve years in prison before she was finally pardoned.
In 1955 Mária Wittner gave birth to a son. Because Wittner had not yet reached legal adulthood and lacked a residence permit, her newborn was forcefully taken from her to become a ward of the state.
When Marie was in prison, she was able to find her son, infrequent contact with him dwindled until she got news of his death of illness from hospital administrators.