HUNGARY IN THE MIRROR OF THE WESTERN WORLD

CHAPTER I.

LIST OF EVENTS

This chapter contains a list and short outline of events which occurred either within or outside of Hungary. These events influenced the thinking in leading political circles between 1938 and 1958 and, on some occasions, aroused the passions of the Hungarian people.

This is not a complete chronology. It is intended as a reference and guide for the material of the following chapters.

1914

Hungary, part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, participates in World War I.

1919

In the general upheaval after losing the war, the Communists come into power. Their reign is short lived. As a reaction to everything that happened during their regime, Hungary becomes anti-Communist.

1920

The reestablishment of the prewar political system in Hungary begins. The necessary social, economic and political reforms are not realized. A war hero, Admiral Miklos Horthy, becomes the Head of State. The same political party will remain in power for the next 25 years.

After World War I the victors redraw the map of Europe. The prewar Hungary is divided into five parts. From nearly twentyone million people in prewar Hungary only eight million remain citizens of the new Hungarian State. The prewar territory of 325,000 sq. km. is reduced to 92,833 sq. km.

At the same time four million Hungarians become subjects of the newly created Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and Greater Romania. This peace treaty is signed in Versailles in the building called "Trianon"and because of this treaty, all Hungarians become Arevisionists."

1921

Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and Romania sign a pact for mutual mlitary help in order to maintain their new borders.

1934

Italy, Austria and Hungary sign a pact of economic cooperation.

1938

In the spring of 1938 Germany annexes Austria. The German military arrive at the border of Hungary.

In the fall, with the agreement of the English and French, Czechoslovakia gives back to Germany and Poland the areas inhabited by Germans and Poles.

In October the eastern-most part of Czechoslovakia, the socalled Ruthenia, demands autonomy.

In November the Czechs accept arbitration as a method of solving the Hungarian territorial demands. The German and Italian Ministers of Foreign Affairs as arbitrators, return to Hungary the southern portion of northern Hungary (The first Vienna Award).

1939

In March the Slovaks declare the sovereign state of Slovakia. In the same month Hungary, with Polish backing, demands the evacuation of all Czech troops from Ruthenia. The demand is accepted, after which Hungary annexes Ruthenia, which had been the northeastern portion of prewar Hungary.

In September Germany attacks Poland and World War II begins. Hungary declares her neutrality.

Based on a secret agreement between Hitler and Stalin, the Soviets annex the eastern provinces of Poland. Through this act the Soviet military arrive at the Hungarian border. Close to 100,000 Poles of military age enter Hungary and receive friendly treatment.

1940

In the Spring Germany over runs Denmark and Norway.

In England Prime Minister Chamberlain is ousted and Churchill becomes Prime Minister.

Germany occupies Luxembourg, Netherlands and Belgium.

The British Expeditionary Force withdraws from the continent at Dunkirk.

During the summer France capitulates. Paris is occupied by German troops.

In August Romania accepts arbitration to solve the Hungarian demands concerning Transylvania. The Italian and German Ministers of Foreign Affairs as judges give back Northern Transylvania to Hungary (Second Vienna Award).

In September the Tri-Partite Pact is signed by Japan, Germany and Italy. Hungary and Romania join the Tri-Partite Pact.

In December Hungary and Yugoslavia sign the Everlasting Peace Treaty.

1941

In March Yugoslavia declares the previously signed Tri-Partite Pact to be null and void. Hitler attacks Yugoslavia. Hungary is forced to choose between German occupation and breaking her friendship treaty with Yugoslavia. Prime Minister Pal Teleki commits suicide. Croatia declares her independence. At that point the former Yugoslavia ceases to exist. Horthy cooperates with the Germans and Hungary is rewarded by a return of part of her territories which she had lost to Yugoslavia at the end of World War I.

On June 21, Hitler attacks the Soviet Union. Six days later, as a reaction to the aerial bombing of the Hungarian city, Kassa, Hungary enters the war on the side of Germany.

On December 7, Japan attacks the U.S.A. at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Two days later Hungary declares war on the U.S.A.

1942

Hungary sends a new army, made up of 200,000 soldiers and 50,000 Jewish laborers, to the Soviet front.

In September the German tanks reach Stalingrad.

In November the successful Soviet counteroffensive begins in the area of Stalingrad.

1943

During January and February, in the area of Voronezh, the Soviet offensive is successful. In those battles 100,000 Hungarian soldiers and 25,000 Hungarian Jewish laborers lose their lives. In the summer of 1943 Prime Minister Miklos Kallay begins his overtures toward the Western Allies.

In November the first meeting between Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill takes place in Teheran. The Soviet demand for a second front in France is accepted and Churchill's plan for a Balkan invasion is canceled.

1944

Prime Minister Kallay's plan to achieve a separate peace agreement with the western allies fails.

On March 19, the Germans occupy Hungary. A new Hungarian Government accepts and executes the German demands which had been previously thwarted by Kallay.

During the summer months the deportation of the Hungarian Jews (with the exception of those in Greater Budapest) takes place.

In June the Allied Forces land in Normandy and establish the second front against the Germans.

In August the Romanians execute an armistice with the Soviets.

The front reaches the Hungarian border.

In October, in Moscow, Churchill suggests to Stalin that the influence of the Western Powers and the Soviets for Hungary and Yugoslavia should be 50-50%.

In the same month Horthy's attempt for a separate armistice with the Soviets fails and the leader of the Extreme Right, Ferenc Szalasi, comes into power.

In December, in Soviet-occupied Debrecen, a pro-Soviet Cabinet is formed.

In the same month the Soviet military accomplishes the encircling of Budapest.

1945

The siege of Budapest ends on February 12th. A large number of male civilians, as P.O.W.s, are deported to the Soviet Union.

The Muscovite, Rakosi, as Secretary of the Hungarian Communist Party, makes his first public appearance in Budapest.

By Easter the Soviet military arrives at the Austrian border. By then, over one million Hungarians had crossed the same border.

On May 7, the Germans sign the document of unconditional surrender. In June the Reparation to the Soviet Union by Hungary is set at two hundred million dollars ($200,000,000), to be paid over a period of 15 years.

In the same month the representatives of Ruthenia and the representatives of the Soviet Union agree that this portion of the historical Hungary should become a part of the Soviet Union.

In July Radio Moscow announces that up to that time in Budapest 22,000 Fascists had been apprehended.

In August the U.S.A. drops the atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima.

In September Japan signs the document of unconditional surrender.

In October the trial of the German war criminals begins in Nuremberg.

On November 1st the first postwar elections are held in Hungary: the Communists receive 17%, the Small Holders 58%, the Social Democrats 17%, the National Peasant Party 8% of the votes.

A new Hungarian Cabinet is formed. Zoltan Tildy, a member of the Small Holders Party, becomes the Prime Minister.

1946

In February Zoltan Tildy is elected as Head of the Hungarian State.

Another Small Holder Party member, Ferenc Nagy, becomes the new Prime Minister.

In March the Communists, the Social Democrats and the National Peasant Party create the Leftist Bloc. The Small Holders accept their demand for cooperation.

In the same month Churchill gives his "Iron Curtain" speech in Fulton, Missouri. His warnings are not believed and he is accused of warmongering.

During the same time Hungary becomes a Republic.

Throughout the entire year, in separate trials, Ex-Prime Minister Laszlo Bardossy, Bela Imredy and Dome Sztojay are put to death. Ferenc Szalasi and his entire Cabinet are also executed.

1947

In January the Communists begin the destruction of the Small Holders Party. Their excuse is the secret police findings of an alleged "conspiracy" involving well-known Small Holders. The Strong Man of the Party, Bela Kovacs, is apprehended by the Soviets. The Communists force the resignation of Prime Minister Ferenc Nagy.

In February the new peace treaty is signed in Paris. The borders of pre-World War II Hungary are reinstated.

In June the U.S.A. recognizes the new Hungarian Cabinet.

In August a new parliamentary election takes place. The Small Holders percentage drops to 15%. The percentage of Communist votes increases to 22%.

In October the banks are nationalized.

In the same month President Truman proclaims "The Truman Doctrine."

In November the Hungarian Parliament endorses the method of government by decree.

1948

In February the Hungarian Parliament nationalizes the bauxite mines and the aluminum factories.

In the same month Hungary and the Soviet Union sign the Treaty of Bilateral Help and Cooperation.

In April all enterprises with more than 100 workers are nationalized. In the same month the U.S.A. announces the Marshall Plan. The postwar rebuilding of Western Europe begins. In May the Hungarian Parliament declares the annulment of the citizenship and disenfranchisement of those 300,000 Hungarian refugees who refuse to return to the Sovie-tcontrolled Hungary.

In June the Social Democratic and the Communist Parties declare their union. Matyas Rakosi is the Secretary General of the new party.

In July the Hungarian President, Zoltan Tildy, resigns his post as Head of the Hungarian State. His son-inlaw is apprehended and condemned to death.

In December the Primate of Hungary, Cardinal Mindszenty, with thirteen of his staff, is apprehended and accused of "treachery," "espionage" and "hard currency manipulation."

1949

In February the Independent People's Front is created under leadership of Matyas Rakosi.

In the same month Cardinal Mindszenty is condemned to life in prison.

In April the United States, Canada and the West European countries create the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The treaty states that an attack on any one of the member nations is an attack on all.

In May the first one-party election is held in Hungary. The Independent Peoples Front receives 96.5% of the votes.

In August a new Soviet-type constitution is instituted.

In September Laszlo Rajk, the non-Moscovite national Communist leader, is condemned to death and is executed in October.

In December all enterprises with more than 10 employees are nationalized.

1950

The first 5-year Plan in Hungary begins.

Four thousand Democratic Party functionaries, including Anna Kethly, are apprehended.

In June the Korean War breaks out. Communist North Korea invades Democratic South Korea. The U.S.A. becomes militarily involved on the side of South Korea.

1951

A number of cabinet members, including the well-known Communist leader, Janos Kadar, are apprehended.

In June, people who were labeled enemies of the State are deported from Budapest.

In the same month the new Catholic Primate, Cardinal Grosz, is condemned to life in prison. As a consequence, Catholic bishops take the oath of allegiance to the new Hungarian State.

Several high officials of the military, including General Bela Kiraly, are apprehended.

In December the statue of Stalin is unveiled in Budapest.

1952

In February the nationalization of real estate including land and all dwellings is declared.

In August the Parliament elects Matyas Rakosi Prime Minister.

The membership in the Communist Party remains at 880,000.

1953

In January the leader of the Hungarian Jewish Community, Lajos Stockler, is apprehended.

In the same month Hungary pays in full the war reparation of $200,000,000 to the Soviet Union.

In March Stalin dies. In the same month the Hungarian Parliament creates a new law for the "preservation of Stalin's memory." In Moscow Matyas Rakosi, as the head of the Hungarian delegation, stands guard at Stalin's coffin.

In July, due to a power shift in Moscow, Matyas Rakosi is removed and another Moscovite, Imre Nagy, takes his place. Imre Nagy brings in several political and economic changes.

The crop deliveries by the peasants are reduced by 10%. The taxes are also reduced.

1954

In January a military court condemns Peter Gabor, the Head of the Secret Police under Rakosi, to life in prison.

As a result of Imre Nagy's amnesty policy, the Communist leader, Janos Kadar, is set free. Also set free is Anna Kethly, the Social Democrat leader.

Enterprises which are jointly owned by the Soviet Union and Hungary become Hungarian-owned.

In the municipal election the nonCommunists receive 1/3 of the total votes.

1955

In February the illness of Premier Imre Nagy is publicized.

In March the Communist Party openly attacks Imre Nagy for rightist deviation.

In April Imre Nagy is removed from all his functions and is expelled from the Communist Party. Rakosi regains his post.

In May Hungary joins the political and military Warsaw Pact. As a result the Soviet troops remain in Hungary after their withdrawal from Austria.

At the same time West Germany becomes a NATO member. In December Hungary becomes a member of the United Nations.

1956

In March Matyas Rakosi announces that Laszlo Rajk had been condemned and put to death in October 1949 on false accusations.

This information creates such a furor of unexpected proportions that by July Rakosi has to resign. His position is given to another Stalinist Moscovite, Erno Gero.

On October 1, Gero visits Kruschev.

On October 6, more than 200,000 people participate at the reburial service of Rajk.

On October 23 the Hungarian Revolution begins.

On October 25 the military battle between the Hungarian revolutionaries and the Soviet Army in Budapest begins.

On the 30th of October the Soviet tanks withdraw from Budapest. On the same day French, Israeli and British forces attack Egypt.

On the 4th of November a new, massive Soviet force reenters Budapest. The battles in Greater Budapest continue until the 11th of November.

Following the military defeat a passive disobedience occurs. The workers do not return to the factories for the remainder of the year.

Before the border is sealed, 174,000 Hungarians flee to Austria.

1957

In January 19,000 Hungarians cross the Yugoslavian border before it is sealed.

In the same month the United Nations General Assembly endorses the report of the committee created to investigate the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, which condemns the Soviet Union for the military repression of the revolution.

In the same month, to bolster the regime of Janos Kadar, Khruschev and all leaders of the Soviet bloc arrive in Budapest. After they leave, Kadar proclaims the Dictatorship of the Proletariat. At the same time the Kadar Government declares the death penalty against strikers.

The first Hungarian refugees from Austria arrive into the United States.

During the summer the Congress of the United States accepts and endorses the Subcommittee's report created for the investigation of the Hungarian revolt. The report condemns the Soviet and the Kadar regimes and urges the resettlement of 193,000 Hungarian political refugees from Austria and Yugoslavia into the countries of the free world.

The elections in Hungary, scheduled for this year, are postponed.

The regime begins sending "untrustworthy elements" into concentration camps.

The death penalty against strikers remains in force.

The judiciary process against the revolutionaries who had not fled Hungary begins. According to the Chief Prosecutor, by the end of the year, 3,000 revolutionaries receive their punishment, which in most cases is death.

Kadar repeatedly and publicly expresses his gratitude to the Soviet Union for the military oppression of the Hungarian Revolution.

The Parliament is called into session for the sole purpose of legalizing the permanent stationing of Soviet troops in Hungary.

1958

In April Khruschev visits Hungary again in order to bolster the standing of the Kadar regime.

On June 17th Moscow and Budapest simultaneously report the execution of Imre Nagy and his coworkers.

By the end of the year the resettlement of 193,000 Hungarian refugees in the Free world is accomplished.

HUNGARY IN THE MIRROR OF THE WESTERN WORLD