Modern period III (1946-1989)

The Post-war Communist period

The Stalinist era (1949 – 1956) and The “salami slicing” tactics of the Rákosi government

After World War II (WWII), Hungary was for the second time declared as a Republic in February 1946 and, as a Soviet satellite state, under the leadership of Mátyás Rákosi (chief secretary of the Hungarian Working People’s Party), the country underwent immense changes through Stalinization. Rákosi possessed infinite power and demanded complete obedience, and successively an unlimited personality cult took shape around him. During his regime (1948 – 1956), the KGB-like secret police (the ÁVH) imprisoned and executed about 350 000 intellectuals and officials. Notable characters of the Horthy era; freethinkers and democrats; were arrested and sent to Gulags (labor camps) without a fair trial, and their housing became confiscated. At least 200 000 of those sent to the Soviet Union died, and many never were found again. Subsequently to the arrest of the leaders of the Smallholders´ Party, in 1947, many prominent figures emigrated or escaped abroad. In addition, at the elections in 1947, the communists committed election fraud by misusing absentee ballots. Despite this, they still could only marginally increase their support. Next, opposition parties were proclaimed illegal, and in 1949, Hungary had been declared the People´s Republic. The state leadership claimed that their main goal was to achieve Socialism. Hence, the Communist Party sought a merger with the Social Democratic Party, whereupon together they formed the Hungarian Working People´s Party. However, the new party still mainly consisted of the same members of the earlier Communist Party, and at the 1949 elections, there only was a list of names from one party to vote for. Moreover, the first written constitution of the country from 1949 was also modeled after the example of the Soviet constitution from 1936. Additionally, the new coat-of-arms became the red star, hammer, and sickle.

The communists expanded the education system in an effort to spread communist ideology and foster a new “working intelligentsia”. To further enforce the ´Russification´ of Hungary, they introduced mandatory Russian language studies in schools while also banning the National Song (a Hungarian patriotic poem)[1] from being performed in public. They banned religious organizations and occupied the majority of key positions in public administration. By the 50s, the state controlled most of the country´s economy. All became nationalized without compensation, and although the country lacked iron ore, it would become a “country of iron and steel”. In preparation for World War III against Western imperialism, a large proportion of the country´s resources were spent on the forced development of heavy industry and the building of new industrial cities and plants. In addition, when the discretionary and disposable income of workers was reduced by the compulsory financial contribution to this aim, living standards diminished. Scarcity further arose as Hungary´s crucial branch, agriculture, declined because of the mismanagement of resources. Hence, as a result of shortages in supply, in 1951, necessities such as bread and meat were only available through a ticket system. Thus, the Rákosi government´s new policies of collectivization, militarization, and industrialization, coupled with war compensation, caused a considerable decline in living standards. While Hungary did not receive any financial assistance neither from the Molotov Plan nor through the Marshall Plan and also was prohibited from trade with western countries, the country had to stand for the costs of occupation and even pay war reparation costs for the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. Also, the Rákosi government was one of the most repressive against sexual, political, and religious minorities in the Eastern bloc.

The death of Stalin in 1953 and the destalinization of the Soviet Union led to the deposition of Rákosi and the installation of Imre Nagy. Whereas the political orientation of Nagy was still leftist, it allowed some reforms within the limits of Marxism. Hence, he encouraged public discussion on economic and political reforms, closed forced labor camps, released political prisoners, and reduced the tax- and quota burdens of peasants. This new political openness raised the interest of intellectuals and students in political life and Nagy promised market liberalization. Nonetheless, although Nagy´s popularity was widespread in Hungary, Rákosi still managed to get him replaced with Ernö Gerö in 1955. However, the dissatisfaction with the regime increased even more when Hungary joined the Warsaw Pact. In the following, led by university students, 20 000 peaceful protestors filled the streets of Budapest beside the statue of Polish and Hungarian national hero, General József Bem, and presented 16 demands[2], amongst which was the request for the independence of Hungary from all foreign power, freedom, and rights for all citizens and membership in the UN. To broadcast their demands, the protestors also gathered at the ÁVH guarded building of Magyar Rádió (Hungarian Radio). But the peaceful demonstration turned into a violent uprising when some false rumors of the ÁVH killing student delegates started to spread. Subsequently, the secret police and Soviet soldiers shot at demonstrators, and thus, on the 23^rd of October, the Revolution of 1956 began. Next, revolutionary militias were organized against the ÁVH. In response, the government requested military intervention, and during the night, Soviet tanks filled the streets of Budapest. As Soviet officers did not speak Hungarian, and since their troops couldn’t differentiate civilians from military, almost 20 000 Hungarians were killed in the trace of the turmoil, and another 21 600 became imprisoned for political reasons. During the revolt, Nagy had also returned to his position, and by promising free elections, abolishing the one-party state, and freeing Cardinal Mindszenty and other political prisoners, he hoped to still the frustration. In addition, on the 1^st of November, Nagy also announced that Hungary would leave the Warsaw Pact which secured the noninterference in domestic affairs and the sovereignty and independence of member states. However, the ÀVH and the Soviet army came under attack by 3000 resistance fighters and revolutionary militias who were using machine pistols and Molotov cocktails against Soviet tanks. Although the harsh resistance and severe losses, the Soviet leadership decided to keep intervening to prevent the destabilization of the Soviet bloc, and on the 4^th of November, Khrushchev sent 2500 tanks and 150 000 troops to Hungary. In the following, Nagy was arrested and replaced by the head of the Hungarian Socialist Workers´ Party, János Kádár. In addition, roughly 13 000 people were interned, and 230 were brought to trial and executed after the revolt, amongst others Imre Nagy himself. He was hanged in June 1958.

By the time the revolution was suppressed almost a quarter of a million people already fled the country. Another 200 000 Hungarians had become political refugees abroad. Moreover, after crushing the uprising, the Soviets further strengthened their grasp on the Eastern Bloc. In line with this, the Hungarian Army became severely purged, and the remaining units of it underwent political indoctrination.

Kádár-era (1956 – 1989) – Goulash Communism

After a second period of Soviet military occupation, the Soviet leadership appointed János Kádár as chair of the new ruling Socialist Workers´ Party (the MSzMP) and the head of the new Hungarian government. Kádár implemented the so-called ´Goulash Communism´, a somewhat more relaxed, semi-liberal Communism. In line with this, in 1963 the Kádár government granted universal amnesty for the majority of those imprisoned for their participation in the uprisings and released them. In addition, Kádár proclaimed a new policy. Henceforth, people who tacitly accepted socialism as a way of living and the Socialist regime were no longer obliged to confess loyalty to the party. In practice, this meant that people were not allowed to criticize communism, and in this way, it was a kind of restriction of free speech. In addition, by permitting farmers to have sizable plots of private land within the collective farm system (háztáji gazdálkodás) and by prioritizing the production of consumer goods and food instead of military production, the Kádár government increased the living standards in the country. In addition, the relatively high living standard brought a more liberalized economy with less restricted travel rights and a less censored press. In 1968, free-market elements were introduced in the socialist command economy through the New Economic Mechanism (NEM) to create prosperity and political stability. The new reform enabled businesses to grow through horizontal integration and loosened central planning. Even though Hungary started to trade with the West, oil trade was made with the Soviet Union. However, during the ´70s the oil crisis forced Hungary to seek more loans from the West while prices of essential commodities skyrocketed. Since the NEM increased the foreign debt of Hungary, and since the communist regime was during the ´80s unable to adjust to the worldwide recession, the living standards in the country once more steeply declined. As a result, civic activism intensified and gave birth to new parties such as the Federation of Young Democrats (Fidesz) and the Hungarian Democratic Forum (MDF). By this time, the Soviet Union was also in decline, and the younger generation sought the solution to economic and social issues through liberalization. At its last congress in October 1989, the Socialist Party reinvented itself as the Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP).

Communism ended in 1989 with a new “democracy package” containing inter alia a radical revision of the constitution, trade-union pluralism, and freedom for assembly and the press. The legislation ensured the separation of powers between the different branches of governance and guaranteed human and civil rights. A multi-political system was born, and although the involvement of the Soviet Union decreased gradually, Soviet forces stationed in Hungary[3] did not leave until June 1991.

During the 45-year-long Cold War, Hungary´s economic, political and cultural life was heavily intertwined with that of the Soviets. Altogether about 600 000 Hungarians were deported to labor camps of which nearly 200 000 perished. The Soviets Army troops began their withdrawal first in March 1990. According to a secret “percentage agreement” about the division of interests in Eastern-Europe, that was signed at the Fourth Moscow Conference by Winston Churchill (British Prime Minister) and Joseph Stalin (the First Secretary of the Soviet Union), the Soviet Union enjoyed 80 percent of influence in Hungary.

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[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nemzeti_dal

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Written by Gertrúd Windberg 2023, Sundbyberg

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