4. Hungarian Uprising 1956 Flashcards
When did Stalin die?
1953 in the USSR
Who was his successor?
Khrushchev
Evidence of better relations policies with Khrushchev 1955-56 (5)
- Visited Yugoslavia and apologised for how Stalin had treated the country
- Met with leaders of the West in Geneva, the first such meeting for over a decade.
- In his Secret Speech, he denounced the policies that Stalin had followed and urged the development of peaceful co-existence with non-communist nations
- Began a policy of de-Salinisation to end Stalin’s influence over the USSR
- Ordered breaking up of Cominform
How did the E Bloc countries react to Khrushchev’s first years in office? (4)
- The satellite states listened with great interest
- They hoped that a more relaxed system of government might emerge in their countries and that it would provide economic prosperity and a better standard of living
- These changes didn’t happen straight away, and as a result in July 1956 riots and demonstrations occurred in Poland and Czechoslovakia
- Then, in Hungary in October-November 1956, years of bitterness at the hardships of communist rule spilled over into a full-blown rebellion
What happened in July 1956?
There were riots and demonstrations in Poland and Czechoslovakia
Six reasons why Hungarians wanted reforms
- The Hungarians were very patriotic and they hated Soviet control
- Hungary was poor, yet much of the food and goods it produced was sent to the Soviet Union
- The Stalinist System of government included censorship, a vicious secret police and control of education
- As unrest increased when the Hungarian leader Mátyás Rákosi asked for permission to arrest 400 troublemakers, Yugoslavia persuaded Khrushchev instead to replace Rákosi
- Hungarians thought that the United Nations or the new US president, Dwight D. Eisenhower would help them
- The Communist Party had banned the Catholic religion and put the leader of the Catholic Church in prison
Describe the crushing of dissent and the timeline of the rebellion (4)
- 23rd October : Hungarian students followed the polish example and took to the streets demanding reforms
- 24th October : As unrest grew Imre Nagy, a moderate communist, was appointed as leader
- 1st November : Nagy announced that Hungary would hold free multi-party elections and withdraw from the Warsaw Pact
- 4th November : More than 6000 soviet tanks crossed the border to put down the revolt. Pleas were made for the west and UN to intervene
Describe the results of the Hungarian uprisings (6)
- 30,000 died
- quarter of a million fled westward
- Nagy does to the Yugoslav Embassy but was later arrested and executed
- Replaced by Janos Kadar
- Communist control was reasserted
- Some Reforms were introduced
What speech did Khrushchev make and what was it called?
1956 the Secret Speech was made, in which he criticised Stalin and announced his belief that communism and capitalism could live together (peaceful coexistence) but he wouldn’t abandon communism
Conclusion about events in 1956
- Events of 1956 suggested that Khrushchev’s criticism of Stalin did not mean any change in the USSR’s attitude to its defence and control of E Europe
Two reasons why the USSR and Khrushchev wouldn’t allow Hungary to leave the E Bloc
- the opening of a gap in the Iron Curtain would leave the USSR exposed to attack
- the collapse of the iron curtain could happen if one country was allowed to break free and then all the others might follow suit
Why did the USA and UN not help Hungary?
- Hungary was already communist. Policy of containment applied to countries threatened by communism
- The West decided it would be too risky to confront the USSR in Eastern Europe, which it now accepted as a soviet sphere of influence
