The 1956 Hungarian Uprising, often referred to as the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, is considered by many as the nation's greatest tragedy. The Uprising was an almost spontaneous revolt by the Hungarian people against the ruling Communist Party of the time and the Soviet policies which were crippling post-war Hungary. It comprised of several major events, beginning with a student protest on 23rd October in Budapest and ending with a proclamation by Soviet-backed Janos Kadar on 11th November that he had crushed the Uprising. Around 2,500 Hungarians died in the course of the Revolution. 200,000 fled to the West in the aftermath of the struggle.
Post War Hungary... Sowing The Seeds of Dissent
After World War II, Russian troops still occupied Hungary and they had no plans of going anywhere as Stalin sought to extend his sphere of influence as far and wide as possible. In 1949 the Hungarians were coerced into signing a mutual assistance treaty with the Soviet Union, granting them rights to a continued military presence and thereby assuring ultimate political control. Gradually power was transferred from the freely elected Hungarian government Independent Small Holders Party to the Soviet-backed Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party led by the sinister Matyas Rakosi.
A man of Stalin's ilk, Rakosi began an authoritarian regime over Hungary and set about communising the country and purging the nation of dissidents, arresting or executing his political opponents. Meanwhile his mishandling of the economy led to drastic falls in the quality of life for virtually every Hungarian.
Things got better in 1953 with the death of Stalin, when the far more liberal Imre Nagy took over as prime minister. Unfortunately Rakosi was able to hold onto a decent slice of political power as General Secretary of the Hungarian Workers Party. As Nagy set about releasing anti-Communists from jail and removing state control of the media, Rakosi campaigned against him, eventually managing to discredit him and have him voted down from his post. Rakosi once more became the nation's leading politician only to be forced from power when Nikita Khrushchev (who had succeeded Stalin in the Kremlin in Moscow) made a speech denouncing Stalin and his followers. Before he stepped down however Rakosi secured the appointment of his close friend Erno Gero as the new General Secretary. The scene was still ripe for unrest.
It turned out that events in Poland were the trigger for the Hungarian Revolution. After workers in Poznan had staged mass protests earlier in June 1956 (which although they were violently put down by government forces, worried the Soviets in Moscow), Wladyslaw Gomulka has managed to negotiate wider autonomy and liberalization for Poland. [The year before Austria had managed to declare itself neutral and avoid joining the Warsaw Pact]. There was hope by many Hungarians that something similar could be achieved for Hungary, and when students of the Technical University (who had become a strong political voice) heard that the Hungarian Writers Union planned to lay a wreath at the statue of Polish-born General Bem to express solidarity with pro-reform movements in Poland, they decided to join them.
Protests Meet Violence
So it was that in the afternoon of 23rd October 1956 fifty thousand people gathered at the statue of General Bem. It was to those assembled that Peter Veres of the Hungarian Writers Union read out a proclamation of independence, to which the Techies added a sixteen point resolution demanding everything from the withdrawal of Soviet troops from the country to the right to sell their uranium deposits on the free market. National songs and mantras were sung, and the communist coat of arms was torn from the Hungarian flag.
After this the crowd marched across the Danube to demonstrate outside the Hungarian Parliament. By 6pm, 200,000 people had gathered and the mood was spirited but peaceful. However, at 8pm Erno Gero broadcast a speech dismissing the demands of the Writers' Union and the students and labelling the crowds a 'reactionary mob'. This uncompromising stance prompted the Hungarian people to take things into their own hands and so they carried out one of their demands of the sixteen point resolution, tearing down the statue of Stalin which had been erected in 1951.
Post War Hungary... Sowing The Seeds of Dissent
After World War II, Russian troops still occupied Hungary and they had no plans of going anywhere as Stalin sought to extend his sphere of influence as far and wide as possible. In 1949 the Hungarians were coerced into signing a mutual assistance treaty with the Soviet Union, granting them rights to a continued military presence and thereby assuring ultimate political control. Gradually power was transferred from the freely elected Hungarian government Independent Small Holders Party to the Soviet-backed Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party led by the sinister Matyas Rakosi.
A man of Stalin's ilk, Rakosi began an authoritarian regime over Hungary and set about communising the country and purging the nation of dissidents, arresting or executing his political opponents. Meanwhile his mishandling of the economy led to drastic falls in the quality of life for virtually every Hungarian.
Things got better in 1953 with the death of Stalin, when the far more liberal Imre Nagy took over as prime minister. Unfortunately Rakosi was able to hold onto a decent slice of political power as General Secretary of the Hungarian Workers Party. As Nagy set about releasing anti-Communists from jail and removing state control of the media, Rakosi campaigned against him, eventually managing to discredit him and have him voted down from his post. Rakosi once more became the nation's leading politician only to be forced from power when Nikita Khrushchev (who had succeeded Stalin in the Kremlin in Moscow) made a speech denouncing Stalin and his followers. Before he stepped down however Rakosi secured the appointment of his close friend Erno Gero as the new General Secretary. The scene was still ripe for unrest.
It turned out that events in Poland were the trigger for the Hungarian Revolution. After workers in Poznan had staged mass protests earlier in June 1956 (which although they were violently put down by government forces, worried the Soviets in Moscow), Wladyslaw Gomulka has managed to negotiate wider autonomy and liberalization for Poland. [The year before Austria had managed to declare itself neutral and avoid joining the Warsaw Pact]. There was hope by many Hungarians that something similar could be achieved for Hungary, and when students of the Technical University (who had become a strong political voice) heard that the Hungarian Writers Union planned to lay a wreath at the statue of Polish-born General Bem to express solidarity with pro-reform movements in Poland, they decided to join them.
Protests Meet Violence
So it was that in the afternoon of 23rd October 1956 fifty thousand people gathered at the statue of General Bem. It was to those assembled that Peter Veres of the Hungarian Writers Union read out a proclamation of independence, to which the Techies added a sixteen point resolution demanding everything from the withdrawal of Soviet troops from the country to the right to sell their uranium deposits on the free market. National songs and mantras were sung, and the communist coat of arms was torn from the Hungarian flag.
After this the crowd marched across the Danube to demonstrate outside the Hungarian Parliament. By 6pm, 200,000 people had gathered and the mood was spirited but peaceful. However, at 8pm Erno Gero broadcast a speech dismissing the demands of the Writers' Union and the students and labelling the crowds a 'reactionary mob'. This uncompromising stance prompted the Hungarian people to take things into their own hands and so they carried out one of their demands of the sixteen point resolution, tearing down the statue of Stalin which had been erected in 1951.
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