Hungary 1956 Flashcards
who was the Hungarian leader from 1949 to 1956?
Matyas Rakosi
why did the Hungarians feel restricted during 49-56
- Losing their freedom of speech.
- Living in fear of secret police.
- Présence of if thousands of Soviet troops in country.
- Hungary had to pay for troops in their country
What happened in June 1956
a group within the communist party in Hungary opposed Rakosi so he appealed for Krushchevs help.
How many opponents did Rakosi want to arrest
400 leading opponents
Krushchev ordered Rakosi to be fired for what reason?
‘For health reasons’
Was Erno Gero more accepted to the Hungarian people?
No
What happened on 23 October
Huge student demonstration when the giant statue of Stalin in Budepest was pulled down.
What was the outcome of this? (23 october)
USSR allowed new government to be formed under Imre Nagy.
What happened after this new formed government.
Soviet troops and tanks that had been stationed in Hungary since ww2 began to withdraw.
What happened after the tanks withdrew.
Hungarians created local councils to replace Soviet power.
What happened to soldiers during Hungarian reform
Several thousand Hungarian soldiers defected from the army to the rebel cause. They took weapons with them
What were Imre Nagys reforms
Free elections create impartial courts restore farmland to private ownership total withdraw of the soviet army planned to leave the Warsaw Pact declare Hungary neutral in cold war
What did Hungary hope for the Americans to do?
They hoped Eisenhower would support an indépendant Hungary and arm them if necessary
How did the Soviet Union initially respond? (to nagys reforms)
Ready to Accept some of the reforms.
Would not accept leaving the “Warsaw Pact”
What happened in November 1956?
Thousands of Soviet troops and tanks moved into Budapest.
What followed the USSR troops moving in?
Two weeks of bitter fighting
How many Hungarians/Russians were killed? (during the two week fight)
30,000 Hungary
1000 Russians
How many Hungarians fled across the boarder
200,000
where did the Hungarians flee to
across the boarder to Austria
what did the western powers do in response of USSR invasion
Protested but sent no help
Why didn’t the Western Powers send help
Preoccupied with a crisis of their own
the Suez crisis in the middle east
Who did Krushchev put as leader next after Imre Nagi?
Janos Kadar
What did Janos Kadar do?
He crushed all resistance in a couple of months. 35.000 anti communists were arrested.
300 exacuted.
Did Kadar introduce reforms?
Yes, he cautiously introduced reforms but not the Warsaw Pact
What was the Suez Crisis
The Suez Crisis was when Britain lost control of the Suez Canal. It was a great embarrassment to Britain, and demonstrated that Britain had lost much of its standing in the world.
