Chapter 14 Hungarian events that shocked the world

One wave is not flat, and another wave rises again.Unrest in Poland inspired unrest in Hungary. The great political change in Poland on October 20, 1956 was called "Polish October Revolution". Just three days later—on October 23, the situation in Hungary changed. Thousands of university students flocked to the streets of Budapest, the capital, to hold demonstrations in solidarity with Gomulka, who was under heavy pressure from the Soviet Union. "The Hungarian Incident". The leader of the Hungarian Communist Party was Rakosi.In 1944, Rakosi, who was in exile in the Soviet Union, came to Hungary with the Soviet army and became the secretary of the Hungarian Workers' Party (Communist Party), and later served as the chairman of the Council of Ministers.Rakosi was a loyal follower of Stalin, the "Hungarian Stalin".In this way, under the impact of Khrushchev's secret report, he stepped down in July 1956 and was replaced by Gero, and the political situation began to be turbulent.

At this time, a Gomulka-like figure quickly won the support of the masses in Hungary.His name is Nagy, he is a Hungarian communist who has experienced twists and turns, he is sixty years old.He joined the Communist Party as early as 1918 and joined the Soviet Red Army.From 1929 to 1944 he worked in Moscow.When the Soviet Army drove the German troops out of Hungary, he returned home to join the government, serving successively as Minister of Agriculture, Minister of the Interior, and Speaker of the National Assembly.In 1948, he became a member of the Politburo of the Hungarian Communist Party.But he was dismissed in 1949 for supporting peasant welfare and criticizing the imposition of Stalin's policy of agricultural collectivization.

In 1953, after the death of Stalin, Nagy became the prime minister of the Hungarian government.After two years in office, he was forced to step down and was expelled from the party because he wanted to free Hungary from Soviet control.However, after Khrushchev's secret report, Najib, like Gomulka, became increasingly active. When pro-Gomulka demonstrations erupted in Hungary, it was self-evident that Najib was elected as the leader of this trend. The upheaval of the situation was so rapid and unexpected: on the morning of October 23, thousands of people participated in the parade.At noon, Budapest Radio hurriedly broadcast the announcement of the Ministry of the Interior, announcing the prohibition of any public gatherings and demonstrations.The announcement backfired, with more and more people taking to the streets.In the afternoon, the number of people participating in the parade suddenly increased to 100,000.

In the evening, people gathered around the bronze statue of Stalin on Dore Gyorgy Street.This bronze statue of Stalin is 25 meters high and weighs hundreds of tons.Under the blazing flames of winches, trailers, and cutting guns, the bronze statue was toppled, pulled to the intersection of Rakozy Street and Najikruk Street, and smashed into pieces. At night, at 8 o'clock, the first secretary Gero made a speech on the Budapest radio station, demanding to control the situation and maintain stability. The marchers chanted "Najib, not Gero" and rushed to the radio station.At 8:40, the radio rang the first shot.Budapest is in chaos.Soon, the radio station was occupied by demonstrators.

The Central Committee of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party (Communist Party) held an emergency meeting the next day and decided to remove Gero from his post, and Kadar Janos as first secretary, while Nagy was appointed prime minister.In addition, the Central Committee also decided to request the Soviet Union to send troops. The chaos was compounded when more than a hundred Soviet tanks showed up in Budapest. On October 27, various newspapers in Budapest hurriedly published the news that Najib presided over the establishment of a "national government" and he became the prime minister.

The Nagy government sent a delegation to hold negotiations with the Soviet government delegation headed by Mikoyan in Budapest on October 31. Najib proposed four conditions: 1. Immediate withdrawal of Soviet troops; 2. Hungary withdraws from the Warsaw Pact; 3. Hungary re-established a multi-party regime; 4. Prepare for free elections. The Soviet army decided to retreat temporarily, retreating from the city of Budapest to the airport outside the city. While Mikoyan was negotiating with Nagy, Khrushchev convened a meeting of the Presidium of the CPSU Central Committee in Moscow to determine that the nature of the Hungarian incident was rebellion and counter-revolution.Khrushchev said: "Although Nagy is a Communist, his words no longer represent the Hungarian Communist Party. He only represents a very small number of his own fugitives who came back to help the counter-revolutionary forces."

Khrushchev asked Marshal Konev of the Warsaw Pact: "If we instruct you to restore order in Hungary and defeat the counter-revolution, how long will it take?" Konev thought for a while and replied, "Three days, no longer." In this way, after three days of preparation, on the fourth day——November 4, 1956, Sunday, at 5 o'clock in the morning, the voice of Kadar sounded on the Hungarian Radio Szolnok, announcing the newly established Hungarian Appeal of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Government: "We should stop the rampant counter-revolutionaries! The bell for action is ringing!..."

What action was Kadar ringing? The roar of Soviet tanks is being heard on the streets of Budapest—two hundred thousand Soviet troops marched straight into Hungary!The Najib government immediately collapsed. In a hurry, Najib and fifteen of his followers hid in the Yugoslav embassy and requested political asylum. Yugoslavia was the only country in the socialist camp that did not obey the orders of the Soviet Union. As early as the Stalin era, President Tito showed his independence.In his secret report, Khrushchev recalled what Stalin said: "If I just move my little finger, Tito will be finished and he will fall." However, Stalin moved his "little finger" many times. Tito is still Tito, still the president of Yugoslavia.

Najib was defeated in Maicheng, and the Hungarian incident came to an end—from October 23rd to November 4th, a full thirteen days.Tens of thousands of Hungarians died in this incident, which became the center of the world's attention at that time. Later, Najib was extradited to Romania and remanded to Hungary for trial.On June 16, 1958, Najib was hanged in Budapest.On leaving this world, he shouted the slogan: "Long live independent, socialist Hungary!"