Polish & Hungarian Uprisings 1956

Polish Uprising 1956

Despite the policy of de-Stalinisation not being fully welcomed both internally and internationally, there was much support for it. Some of the satellite states wanted reform.

Polish Uprising June-October 1956

In Poland, after the contents of the ‘secret speech’ emerged, the Polish people demanded more freedom and political autonomy.
Workers demanded better working conditions, higher industrial worker wages, freedom for the Catholic Church and an end to the Soviet policy of collectivisation of agriculture.
In June, Polish workers went on strike which then led to an anti-communist uprising starting.
In response to this, martial law was imposed and on 19th October, Khrushchev threatened Soviet military action.

Soviet response to the Polish Uprising

On 21st October, Khrushchev accepted a new leader for Poland, Wladysław Gomułka, as the First Secretary of the Polish Communist Party.
Gomułka promised Khrushchev that Poland would remain committed to communism and the Warsaw Pact.
In response to this new post in leadership, Khrushchev decided not to take military action in Poland also aided by the fact that Poland had the backing of China.
He also allowed Poland to have greater autonomy over internal affairs.

The significance of the Soviet response

This was very significant as it showed that if satellite states were led by strong and trustworthy leaders, he would allow them greater autonomy.

Historical interpretations

Historian Mark Pittaway (2004) says there was growing working-class frustration at their living standards in 1956. For example, one Lodz worker in 1956 said, ‘I have slaved all my life. I’ve been told that before the war it was the capitalists who profited from my work. Who profits now? I have a wife, my old mother, and three children to support… it is a treat when I give the children butter on their bread on Sundays. It was never so bad as that before the war.'

Hungarian Uprising October - November 1956

Hungary had been led by the staunch communist Matyas Rakosi up until 1956. He was removed from leadership after he tried to arrest 400 communist opponents who called for reform. Rakosi was replaced by Eno Gero but Hungary was still unsatisfied.

Calls for reform

On 22nd October, students in Budapest organised an anti-Soviet protest. They had 16 key demands including the appointment of Imre Nagy as Prime Minister, the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Hungary, free elections and free press.
Imre Nagy, the leader of the movement called for a multiparty political system and withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact, the defensive alliance founded by the Soviet Union and its East European satellites in 1955.
In October, members of the Hungarian Secret Police took military action against the protestors. Budapest fell into a state of war.

Soviet response

Nagy was appointed as Prime Minister on 24th October 1956. - As soon as Nagy was appointed Prime Minister he met with Soviet officials whom he tried to convince that military intervention was not required as he stated that Hungary was a loyal state.
Despite this, a day later Soviet tanks fired on unarmed civilians and the revolt spread to the countryside.
Soviet troops were removed from Budapest a few days later partly due to Nagy’s desire to negotiate and partially due to the threat from communist China who were backing Hungary.

Crushing the revolt

On 1st November, Nagy announced that he was going to withdraw Hungary from the Warsaw Pact, the defensive alliance founded by the Soviet Union and its East European satellites in 1955.
Nagy declared that Hungary was to be neutral and appealed to the United Nations for support.
Three days later the Red Army surrounded Budapest and crushed the revolt early on 3rd November 1956, causing numerous casualties. 4,000 Hungarian people were killed and 200,000 people escaped.

International response

The UN called for the USSR to withdraw from Hungary.
On 4th November Janos Kadar was placed by the USSR as the Hungarian leader and the revolution ceased.
Although the Hungarian Revolution hurt Soviet standing in world opinion, it demonstrated that the Soviet Union would use force if necessary to maintain control over its satellite states in Eastern Europe.
It also highlighted the fact that many in the West would not be willing to go to war over Eastern states.

Historical interpretations

Historian Mark Pittaway (2004) says that strikes rumbled on into 1957 in Hungary. The new government seriously lacked legitimacy. Eno Gero claimed to rule in the name of the working class but he had just suppressed an industrial worker's revolution. Gero's government had to work hard to rebuild links to the working class and did this through increasing wages and reducing the strict and unpopular workplace conditions that Stalin had introduced.
Historian Mark Pittaway (2004) says of the events of 1956, 'the Hungarians watched Poland go first.'

Historical interpretations cont

Historian J. Mark (2005) argues that after Stalin’s death, Hungarian society became more willing to challenge communist power and started engaging with politics again.
J. Mark (2005) reminds us that 'post-communist states have developed the history of resistance beyond its accurate scale.' The events like those in Hungary in 1956 were actually very rare examples. Generally, working-class people were extremely quiescent.

1Origins of the Cold War, 1945-9

1.1Events of 1945

1.1.1The Grand Alliance

1.1.2Yalta Conference

1.1.3Potsdam Conference

1.2The Collapse of the Grand Alliance

1.2.1Communism in the 20th Century

1.2.2Relations between Roosevelt, Stalin & Attlee

1.2.3A-A* (AO3/4) - Origins of the Cold War

1.3Developing Tensions

1.3.1USSR Actions

1.3.2Long Telegram & Iron Curtain Speech

1.3.3Cominform

1.3.4Greek Civil War & the Truman Doctrine

1.3.5A-A* (AO3/4) - Developing Tensions

1.4US Involvement in Europe

1.4.1US Policy Towards Britain & Europe

1.4.2US Attitudes Towards Germany & Berlin

1.4.3The Marshall Plan

1.5Conflict over Germany

1.5.1Sectors & Bizonia

1.5.2The Berlin Blockade

1.5.3The Formation of NATO, April 1949

1.5.4A-A* (AO3/4) - US Involvement in Europe

2Widening of the Cold War

2.1US Containment in Asia

2.1.1Japan

2.1.2China & Taiwan

2.2The Korean War

2.2.1Causes & Military Action in Korean War

2.2.2Attitudes of the USSR, China & the USA

2.2.3Panmunjon Armistice & Impact of the Korean War

2.2.4A-A* (AO3/4) - Widening of the Cold War

2.3Increasing Cold War Tensions, 1949 -1953

2.3.1McCarthyism & The 'Red Scare'

2.3.2USA Dominance in the United Nations

2.4Global Alliances

2.4.1Global Alliances in Europe & Asia

2.4.2Eisenhower, Brinkmanship & Domino Theory

2.4.3A-A* (AO3/4) - Tensions & Alliances

3The Global War

3.1Khrushchev

3.1.1Polish & Hungarian Uprisings 1956

3.1.2East-West Relations

3.2Cold War Rivalries

3.2.1Arms Race & Space Race

3.2.2Berlin Crisis & The Berlin Wall

3.2.3A-A* (AO3/4) - Khrushchev

3.3Conflict in Asia

3.3.1Indo-China

3.4Confrontation Between Superpowers

3.4.1Relations Between the USA & Cuba

3.4.2The Cuban Missile Crisis & its Significance

4Confrontation & Cooperation

4.1Vietnam

4.1.1Johnson

4.1.2Nixon

4.1.3Paris Peace Talks

4.2Cooperation

4.2.1Khrushchev & Kennedy

4.3Pressures on the USSR

4.3.1Czechoslovakia

4.3.2A-A* (AO3/4) - Confrontation & Cooperation

5Brezhnev Era

5.1Detente

5.1.1Settlements

5.1.2Detente up to 1979

5.2Second Cold War

5.2.1Renewed Hostilities

5.3Developments in Africa & Americas

5.3.1Angola, Ethiopia, Chila, Nicaragua, Grenada

5.3.2A-A* (AO3/4) - Brezhnev Era

6Ending of the Cold War

6.1Gorbachev

6.1.1Gorbachev & Reforms

6.2Cooperation between US & USSR

6.2.1Key Figures & Summits

6.3Collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe

6.3.1Significance of 1989

6.4End of Tensions Across the World

6.4.1Africa, Afghanistan & the Americas

6.4.2Malta Summit & the Aftermath

6.4.3A-A* (AO3/4) - Ending of the Cold War

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