Hungary Flashcards
Who was the leader before the uprising?
Matyas Rakosi and Erno Gero
(1949-1956) (1956)
Why were the Hungarians not happy?
Everything that Hungarian workers produced was sent to Russia. They didn’t have freedom of speech, they feared the secret police, they had to pay for Soviet forces to stay in Hungary, and the Hungarian culture was being oppressed, e.g Russian schools and street signs.
Why did people rose up, what gave them motivation?
Stalin died in 1953 and Khrushschev was the new leader in 1955. He started very differently from Stalin, being much more open. He gave a 6 hour speech, where he criticised Stalin’s policies. This gave hope for change to the Hungarians.
When did it start?
The 23rd October 1956
Which people were protesting? And what did they do?
Mostly students and they pulled down a huge statue of Stalin in Budapest.
What did the uprisings lead to?
The USSR allowed a new government to form with Nagy the reformer as president.
What did Nagy’s government plan to do?
To hold free elections, to restore farmland to private ownership, to total withdrawal of Soviet army in Hungary and to leave the Warsaw pact ( to be neutral)
How did Khrushchev respond?And when?
He sent the tanks and the red army in November 1956 to Budapest.
What did the Hungarians do?
They bitterly fought for 2 weeks and around 3,000 of them were killed!
How many Russians were killed?
Up to 1,000 Russians were also killed.
How many Hungarians escaped to go where?
200,000 Hungarians fled to Austria.
In response to the fighting in Budapest, what did the Western powers do? And why?
The Western powers protested, but sent no help, as they were busy with Suez crisis.
