The Hungarian Uprising

The Hungarian Uprising - 1956

In 1956, people in Hungary began to protest against communist rule. Hungary was one of the Soviet Union's satellite states.

Hungary's background under Stalin

Josef Stalin had died in 1953, with Nikita Khrushchev taking over as the leader of the Soviet Union.
Under Stalin, Hungary's labour, land, and raw materials had been used to produce industrial goods, many of which had been sent straight to the Soviet Union.
Hungary was led by Matyas Rakosi from 1953 until the end of 1955. Hungary had become a 1 party state under Stalin, and then Rakosi's rule.

'Destalinization'

Khrushchev made a speech in 1956 and said that a process called 'destalinization' could happen in Eastern Europe, with a more liberal regime.

Imre Nagy

In the winter of 1956, Hungarian people began demonstrating on the streets and pulled down statues of Stalin. There had been food shortages and a year of bad harvests due to adverse weather. This seems to be what triggered the protests.
Nikita Khrushchev asked Imre Nagy to become the Hungarian Prime Minister. Nagy was a communist, but he was viewed as more liberal and open than Rakosi.

Imre Nagy's extreme reforms

However, Nagy was more extreme than Khrushchev had expected.
Nagy announced plans to allow other political parties, end 1 party rule, and then in November 1956, announced that Hungary would be leaving the Warsaw Pact.
These moves threatened the Soviet Union's control of Hungary and if they happened across Eastern Europe would wipe out the 'buffer' of satellite states that they had created.

The Response to the Hungarian Uprising

After the uprising in late 1956, the Soviet dictator, Khrushchev, reacted violently. Hungary was invaded and the USSR's actions were condemned by other nations.

Khrushchev’s response

Khrushchev saw the threat to the Soviet Union from Nagy leaving the Warsaw Pact and ending the 1-party-state in Hungary. If this happened in other Soviet satellite states in Eastern Europe, then the Soviets would have no buffer zone and very little influence in Europe. He had to discourage the behaviour.
The Soviet Union invaded Hungary on the 4th of November 1956.
2,500 Hungarians and 700 Soviet soldiers died as an army of over 200,000 men rolled into Budapest in tanks.
Khrushchev justified the invasion by saying that communist people were being killed by protestors.
Imre Nagy was executed by hanging in June 1958.

Janos Kadar

After Nagy was overthrown, Janos Kadar became the Prime Minister of Hungary, appointed by Khrushchev and the Soviet Politburo (leadership committee).
Hungary then adopted something called the '15 Point Programme'. This aimed to reverse Nagy's suggestions and tighten up communist control in Hungary.
However, Kadar was more moderate than other satellite state leaders, like Josip Tito in Yugoslavia.

International reaction to the Hungarian Uprising

The reaction to the Soviet Union's conduct in Hungary was vocal but weak.
The 1956 Olympics were in Melbourne, Australia. Spain, the Netherlands and Switzerland boycotted in protest.
The United Nations wrote a statement 'condemning' the actions of the Soviet Union.
America accepted tens of thousands of Hungarian refugees (estimated at about 80,000), like Andy Grove (CEO of Intel), Kesha's grandmother and Milton Freidman (the economist).
However, writing statements does not free people from military rule.
The USA and West looked weak. They had shown that in a world with nuclear weapons, they would not intervene in Eastern Europe.

1The Cold War

1.1Early Tension

1.1.1The Grand Alliance

1.1.2Yalta & Potsdam Conferences

1.1.3Exam-Style Questions - Potsdam Conference

1.1.4Ideological Differences Between the Superpowers

1.1.5Early US-Soviet Relations

1.1.6End of Topic Test - Early Cold War Tension

1.1.7Grade 9 - Early Tension

1.2The Development of the Cold War

1.2.1The Truman Doctrine & Marshall Plan

1.2.2East-West Boundaries

1.2.3End of Topic Test - East & West

1.3The Cold War Intensifies

1.3.1The Arms Race

1.3.2The Hungarian Uprising

1.3.3End of Topic Test - Developing Tension

1.3.4Grade 9 - The Development of the Cold War

1.3.5Exam-Style Questions - Hungarian Uprising

1.4Cold War Crises, 1958–70

1.4.1The Berlin Wall

1.4.2Czechoslovakia

1.4.3The Cuban Missile Crisis

1.4.4End of Topic Test - Cold War Crises 1958-70

1.4.5Grade 9 - Cold War Crises

1.5Attempts to Reduce Tension Between East & West

1.5.1SALT & Helsinki

1.5.2End of Topic Test - SALT & Helsinki

1.5.3Grade 9 - SALT & Helsinki

1.5.4Exam-Style Questions - Helsinki Accords

1.6The End of the Cold War

1.6.1Flashpoints

1.6.2Reagan & Gorbachev

1.6.3The Collapse of Soviet Control

1.6.4End of Topic Test - Reducing Tensions and The End

1.6.5Grade 9 - The End of the Cold War

1.6.6Exam-Style Questions - Eastern Bloc Collapse

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