The information on this page is from BBC Bitesize
Background
- The Hungarians were a proud nation with a strong sense of identity.
- Before 1939, Hungary’s government had been anti-Russian and anti-Communist.
- They did not like being part of the Soviet Empire after World War Two
- In 1940, Hungary allied with Hitler.
- In 1944, the Red Army had pushed the retreating Germans through Hungary and the Soviet forces continued to occupy here after World War Two.
Life under Soviet control
Leadership
- The Hungarian leader, who had been in control since 1949 was Mátyás Rákosi, a hard-line communist fully under the control of Moscow.
- Rákosi’s secret police (the AVH) created a climate of fear and arrested anyone who spoke out or opposed communist rule. Consequently, Hungarians had no freedom of speech and even something as simple as listening to Western music could lead to arrest.
- Thousands of Soviet troops and officials were stationed in Hungary, and they were a drain on Hungarian resources, leading to poverty.
- The Russian language was being forced on the Hungarian people, especially in schools.
- Hungarians were strongly Christian but communism discouraged religious belief. The Catholic Church was penalised, and its leader Cardinal Mindszenty was imprisoned.
The Uprising
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In June 1956, the Hungarian people began to protest against Rákosi’s regime, and Moscow replaced him with Ernő Gerő.
He was no more popular and on 23 October 1956, students took to the streets and were supported by the workers and the Hungarian army. As riots spread, the Soviets agreed to the formation of a new government under the leadership of the more liberal Imre Nagy - a popular communist leader. On 28 October, Soviet tanks began to withdraw and many Hungarians were now confident of American support. This led to more pressure for a series of sweeping reforms. Nagy's reformsNagy’s reforms included:
However, the Soviets could not allow Hungary to overthrow its government and leave the Warsaw Pact as such an action would destroy the unity of the Soviet blocand weaken the defences of the USSR. |
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The response of the Soviet Union
- Khrushchev refused to accept the idea of Hungary leaving the Warsaw Pact as it would leave a gap in the USSR's buffer zone with Western Europe.
- Soviet security was Khrushchev's priority, and he decided to crack down on the new Hungarian government.
- On 4 November 1956, 6,000 Soviet tanks crossed the Hungarian border.
- Bitter street fighting occurred and 30,000 were killed.
- Nagy sought refuge in the Yugoslav Embassy, but was captured and executed in 1958.
- He was replaced by János Kádár who wiped out the remaining resistance.
The response of the West
- Although the West expressed sympathy for the Hungarian people, there was no attempt at intervention by the USA or Western Europe.
- President Eisenhower of the USA said “I feel with the Hungarian people.”
- J F Dulles, American Secretary of State, said “to all those suffering under communist slavery, let us say you can count on us.” But America did nothing more.
- In the midst of the uprising, the West’s attention was on the Anglo-French invasion of Suez, which became one of the USA’s main concerns.
- Eisenhower was campaigning for re-election and was not interested in events in Hungary.
- There was also the problem of getting access to Hungary, as Austria was neutral and NATO forces could not advance through it.
- Khrushchev also threatened Britain and France with rockets if they attempted to intervene.
- It was clear that the West was not prepared to attempt rollback of communism within the Soviet sphere of influence in Eastern Europe.
- Both sides in the Cold War were nuclear powers and the risks were too great.
- Any economic boycott of the Soviet Union would have been pointless as the USSR took what it needed from the countries it occupied.
Media
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