Géza | Práter street

„Our house was built to be a building of the post; when it was finished, the employees of the post office lived in it. There are other houses like this in the area, and when you go along Üllői Road outwards from the city, you can recognise these four-storey buildings with their green, lattice windows and doors. I lived already nearby after the war, also in Práter Street, in a house with lift, that we, children never used, of course. I took the stairs by threes up and down, when we rushed from one place to another, constantly. The small, one-storey buildings were typical at the time, and if one car or any kind of vehicle, a Csepel truck went by, it was a great thing then. Mostly carts pulled by big, Muraköz horses went by. Cool guys lived in the neighbourhood, they stood up for their truth. Of course, it happened that we climbed the back of the cart and we took a couple of treats, but only food, and what we needed, or just to tease the person delivering them. Well, we were big rascals. At the corner of Tömő and Szigony Streets, there were horse shoeing smiths, for example, so it was a different world really, than it is now.”
“You mentioned that you had been in touch with the people around here before you moved here.”
“Yes, I was a regular already in 1948-49 because I came here often; a very cute little girl lived in one of the upper floors, we went to the same school, and I always ticked after her. I carried her bag, I brought it to the gate, then I gave her a kiss on the cheek on he left and on the right, and as it was a back staircase, and her parents let me go in. We came here to play war of numbers, and the one whose number was read had to give a forfeit that had to be earned back. It sometimes happened that up to 15-20 children got together to play here.”
“I guess you were in the middle of the events in 1956.”
“Yes, the 8th district was one of the centres. One of the accommodations of the rebels was here in the school in Práter Street, and the Kilián military base is nearby, so things were busy here. I remember, a shot guy was brought here on a truck that was open all sides, they put him down near here, they covered him with the national flag, and then the skirmish began. The guys took a 57 mm weapon from the military base or somewhere like that. It was very big, and they shot the tanks coming from Nagyvárad square all along Üllői Road with that. Somebody stood next to the road and gave a sign when the tank was in the right lane. There was a terrible roughhouse, the buildings were more or lass the same as now, and I remember that dead bodies were piled up like wood after a few days. Poor souls had nowhere to be taken to.”