Y11: 3-10. Hungary (1956)

(HOW SECURE WAS THE USSR’s CONTROL OVER EASTERN EUROPE, 1948-c.1989?)

Today we are going to look at: Resistance to Soviet power in Hungary (1956).

You need the following textbook information for this topic:

(Unfortunately this book is out of print – hence the online version.)

USSR’s control over Eastern Europe – Introduction. (8:00 minutes long)

What happened?

Soviet Control – background…

Comecon & Warsaw Pact

Dislike of Soviet Control

Hopes for reduced control

Hopes increased further…

The Revolution began…

Soviet Reaction:

Hungarian Uprising, Budapest (1956). (2:50 minutes long)

Something else that may be relevant…

Cardinal József Mindszenty, the highest Catholic official in Hungary, was convicted of treason and sentenced to life imprisonment by the Communist People’s Court (Feb.1949). He was accused of anti-government activities. Outraged observers in Western Europe and the United States condemned both the trial and Mindszenty’s conviction as “perversions” and “lynchings.”

The case was significant in demonstrating the depth of the anticommunist movement in Hungary. In 1956, Mindszenty was released when a reformist government took power in Hungary. Shortly thereafter, Soviet troops entered Hungary to put down anticommunist protests. Mindszenty took refuge in the U.S. embassy in Budapest and stayed inside the embassy grounds until 1971. That year he was recalled by the Vatican and settled in Vienna, where he died in 1975.

You can read the full article here:

Cardenal Mindszenty