My mother believed that if the Russians decided to intervene in force, they would probably do it early on a Sunday morning.

She said many major battles had begun that way.

Because of her work and her access to information, I took what she said seriously.

Then came Sunday, November 4.

At six o'clock in the morning, the tanks and cannons started.

My mother had been right.

The Russians returned with overwhelming force.

The uprising that had seemed capable, at least briefly, of changing Hungary suddenly faced the reality of military power on an entirely different scale.

The optimism of the previous days disappeared.

By November 9, we understood that it was over.

For me, that realization created another question.

If the revolution was finished, what was I going to do?

Stay?

Or leave?