History of Hungary
This is the history of Hungary. See also the
The Magyars (known as Hungarians in most western languages, including English) were a nomadic people from the Eurasian plains until the ninth century, when they settled in the plains around the middle Danube river, the area that is now Hungary. The Hungarians established a kingdom under I. (Szent) IstvÃÂán, who was crowned in 1000 AD. He was a descendant of ÃÂÃÂrpÃÂád, the Magyar leader who conquered the territory in the ninth century.
Arpad's descendants ruled the country until 1301. After that, most Hungarian kings were from abroad, except I.(Corvin) Matthew. In 1541, after centuries of war, the Turks finally conquered parts of Hungary. Hungary fell into three parts. The northern and western parts went to the Habsburgs keeping the name Hungarian Kingdom. The eastern part Transylvania became independent (and a Turkish vassal state), and the central area, including the dual capital of Buda and Pest (joined to become the city of Budapest in 1873), became Turkish. In 1699, Austria conquered the area.
Following the rise of the passive resistance throughout Hungary, and foreign aggression from Prussia, the Austrian leadership under Franz Joseph was desperate to calm the domestic political situation. In 1867 the Ausgleich (KiegyezÃÂés, Compromise) with Hungary was signed. Franz Joseph was then crowned as King of Hungary. The old Constitution was re-established. The Ausgleich established the Austro-Hungarian Empire under a dual monarchy. Austria and Hungary maintained essentially separate governments under the same monarch. Foreign policy, Military and Economy remained common cases but the Hungarian government became an equal partner in the governance of the Empire. There was also a Hungarian-Croatian Ausgleich in 1868, as Croatia, a part of Hungary kept its Constitutianl freedom. The Hungarian government was able to influence the policy of the Austrian Empire, and successfully prevented the other ethnic minorities of the Empire, such as Slovaks, Czechs, and Poless, from gaining power. Julius Andrassy was the first premier of Hungary after the Ausgleich.
Minority problems were rising, however, and there was no Hungarian policy (e.g. federalization) against the threat of the collapse of the old Kingdom. After the centuries of war, only about 50% of the population of Hungary was Hungarians(Magyars). The rest were German, Romanian, Slovak, Croatian, Serb, Ruthenian, or Gypsy. A good number of Jews, however, had a Hungarian (or German) culture and mother tongue throughout the Kingdom.
After the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire during the last few months of the First World War, leftists carried out the Aster revolution. This led to Mihaly Karolyi being appointed premier of a short-lived democratic republic which was declared on November 16, 1918. Karolyi formed a cabinet of socialists and other radicals and tried to implement social democratic reforms. He was considered by many to be an ineffective premier. One of the largest errors attributed to his regime was that his minister of Defense dissolved the Hungarian army. Shortly after this action Romania marched into Hungarian Transylvania, which was now, like all of Hungary, undefended by an army. The Czech-Slovaks and Serb-Croats began taking Hungarian territory as well.
Karolyi resigned on March 20, 1919. The Transylvanian communist Bela Kun came to power and proclaimed a Hungarian Soviet Republic. Kun reformed the army and drove the Romanians from Transylvania. He also took over what Hungarians called "Upper Hungary" (and what others called "Slovakia"). The Allied Armistice Commission ordered Kun to withdraw from Upper Hungary, and Kun complied, demoralizing the army somewhat. He also lost support among peasants when it was announced land was to be nationalized instead of redevided. He also did not get the help from the Soviet Union that he had hoped for. Romanian troops neared Budapest, and Kun fled abroad - first to Austria, then to the Soviet Union. In 1939 he was executed by the USSR.
Kun's place as leader of Hungary was taken by Miklos Horthy, who restored the monarchy (with himself as regent) and re-established the old Constitution . Allied leaders were almost uniquely harsh in their judgement of Hungary: only Germany received harsher treatment. In the Treaty of Trianon (July 4, 1920), Hungary finally made peace with its enemies from World War I, but at a high cost: More than half of Hungary became territory of Romania, Czechoslovakia or Yugoslavia instead.
In Hungary itself, state anti-Semitism grew during the 1920s and 1930s partially as reaction to the Bela Kun revolution. (An example of that was the Numerus clausus law which limited the educational possibilities of young jewish people.) During World War II, Hungary was one of the minor Axis powers, motivated by a dislike for the Treaty of Trianon and hope that Germany, similarly victimized, would help it reclaim territory and prestige. Germany did indeed help Hungary reclaim territory lost in Romania, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia. Hungarians joined the Germans in their attack on the Soviet Union. The Hungarian Jews were not deported to concentration camps like those in Germany and the conquered areas -- that is, not until the Germans invaded Hungary itself on March 19, 1944 and replaced Horthy with German collaborator. About 437,000 Hungarian Jews were sent to Auschwitz in July. Only the Budapest Jews survived the war as an intact community.
The Soviet Army liberated/occupied Hungary in September 1944. It set up an alternative government in Debrecen on December 21, 1944 but did not capture Budapest until January 18 1945.
Soon afterwards ZoltÃÂán Tildy became the provisional prime minister.
In elections held in November 1945, the Smallholders Party won 57% of the vote. The Hungarian Workers' Party, now under the leadership of Matyas Rakosi and Erno Gero, received support from only 17% of the population. The Soviet commander in Hungary, Marshal Voroshilov, refused to allow the Smallholders Party to form a government. Instead Voroshilov established a coalition government with the communists holding some of the key posts. Zoltan Tildy, was named president and Frenc Nagy prime minister. Matyas Rakosi became deputy prime minister.
Laszlo Rajk became minister of the interior and in this post established the security police. In February 1947 the police began arresting leaders of the Smallholders Party and the National Peasant Party. Several prominent figures in both parties escaped abroad. Later Matyas Rakosi boasted that he had dealt with his partners in the government, one by one, "cutting them off like slices of salami."
By signing the Peace Treaty of Paris Hungary has lost again all of the mainly Hungarian populated territories regained by the Vienna Treaties (1938 Upper Hungary, 1939 Sub-Carpathia, 1940 North-Transsylvania, 1941 BÃÂácska,MurakÃÂöz, South-Baranya), first of all Stalin opposed to keep in Hungary some mainly Magyar populated territories of Romania and Slovakia. The Sowiet Union itself occupied Sub-Carpathia, a territory of Czechoslovakia between the two WWs. Czechoslovakia wanted to make wider it's bridge-head against Hungary at Pozsony(Bratislava), and occupied three more Hungarian villages in 1947.(OroszvÃÂár-today:Rusovce, DunacsÃÂúny- today:Cunovo and HorvÃÂátjÃÂárfalu- today: Jarovce) Slovakia could redirect the Danube to build the Gabcikovo(Bos)Dam in 1995 only, because of this territory-gain.
The Hungarian Communist Party became the largest single party in the elections in 1947 and served in the coalition People's Independence Front government. The communists gradually gained control of the government and by 1948 the Social Democratic Party ceased to exist as an independent organization. Its leader, Bela Kovacs was arrested and sent to Siberia. Other opposition leaders such as Anna Kethly, Frenc Nagy and Istvan Szabo were imprisoned or sent into exile.
Matyas Rakosi also demanded complete obedience from fellow members of the Hungarian Communist Party. His main rival for power was Laszlo Rajk, who was now foreign secretary. Rajk was arrested and at his trial in September 1949 he confessed to being an agent of Miklos Horthy, Leon Trotsky, Josip Tito and Western imperialism and admitted that he had taken part in a murder plot against Matyas Rakosi and Erno Gero. Laszlo Radk was found guilty and executed. Janos Kadar and other dissidents were also purged from the party during this period.
Matyas Rakosi now attempted to impose authoritarian rule on Hungary. An estimated 2,000 people were executed and over 100,000 were imprisoned. These policies were opposed by some members of the Hungarian Workers Party and around 200,000 were expelled by Rakosi from the organization.
Rakosi rapidly expanded the education system in Hungary. This was an attempt to replace the educated class of the past by what Rakosi called a new "toiling intelligentsia". Communist indoctrination took place in schools and universities. Religious instruction was denounced as propaganda and was gradually eliminated from schools.
Cardinal Joseph Mindszenty, who had bravely opposed the German Nazis and the Hungarian Fascists during the Second World War, was arrested in December, 1948, and accused of treason. After five weeks of torture he confessed to the charges made against him and he was condemned to life imprisonment. The Protest churches were also purged and their leaders were replaced by those willing to remain loyal to Rakosi's government.
Rakosi had difficulty managing the economy and the people of Hungary saw living standards fall. His government became increasingly unpopular and when Joseph Stalin died in 1953 Matyas Rakosi was replaced as prime minister by Imre Nagy. However, he retained his position as general secretary of the Hungarian Workers Party and over the next three years the two men became involved in a bitter struggle for power.
As Hungary's new leader Imre Nagy removed state control of the mass media and encouraged public discussion on political and economic reform. This included a promise to increase the production and distribution of consumer goods. Nagy also released anti-communists from prison and talked about holding free elections and withdrawing Hungary from the Warsaw Pact.
Matyas Rakosi led the attacks on Nagy. On 9th March 1955, the Central Committee of the Hungarian Workers Party condemned Nagy for "rightist deviation". Hungarian newspapers joined the attacks and Nagy was accused of being responsible for the country's economic problems and on 18th April he was dismissed from his post by a unanimous vote of the National Assembly. Rakosi once again became the leader of Hungary.
Rakosi's power was undermined by a speech made by Nikita Khrushchev in February 1956. He denounced the policies of Joseph Stalin and his followers in Eastern Europe. He also claimed that the trial of Laszlo Rajk had been a "miscarriage of justice". On 18th July 1956, Rakosi was forced from power as a result of orders from the Soviet Union. However, he did manage to secure the appointment of his close friend, Erno Gero, as his successor.
On 3rd October 1956, the Central Committee of the Hungarian Communist Party announced that it had decided that Laszlo Rajk, Gyorgy Palffy, Tibor Szonyi and Andras Szalai had wrongly been convicted of treason in 1949. At the same time it was announced that Imre Nagy had been reinstated as a member of the Communist Party.
The Hungarian Uprising began on October 23 by a peaceful manifestation of students in Budapest. The students demanded an end to Soviet occupation and the implementation of "true socialism". The police made some arrests and tried to disperse the crowd with tear gas. When the students attempted to free those people who had been arrested, the police opened fire on the crowd.
The following day commissioned officers and soldiers joined the students on the streets of Budapest. Stalin's statue was brought down and the protesters chanted "Russians go home", "Away with Gero" and "Long Live Nagy". The Central Committee of the Hungarian Communist Party respond to these developments by deciding that Imre Nagy should become head of a new government.
On October 25 Soviet tanks opened fire on protesters in Parliament Square. One journalist at the scene saw 12 dead bodies and estimated that 170 had been wounded. Shocked by these events the Central Committee of the Communist Party forced Erno Gero to resign from office and replaced him with Janos Kadar.
Imre Nagy now went on Radio Kossuth and announced he had taken over the leadership of the Government as Chairman of the Council of Ministers." He also promised the "the far-reaching democratization of Hungarian public life, the realisation of a Hungarian road to socialism in accord with our own national characteristics, and the realisation of our lofty national aim: the radical improvement of the workers' living conditions."
On October 28, Nagy and a group of his supporters, including Janos Kadar, Geza Lodonczy, Antal Apro, Karoly Kiss, Ferenc Munnich and Zoltan Szabo, manage to take control of the Hungarian Communist Party. At the same time revolutionary workers' councils and local national committees are formed all over Hungary.
The new leadership of the party is reflected in the comments made in its newspaper, Szabad Nep. On October 29 the newspaper defends the change in the government and openly criticises Soviet attempts to influence the political situation in Hungary. This view is supported by Radio Miskolc and it calls for the immediate withdrawal of Soviet troops from the country.
On October 30, Imre Nagy announced that he was freeing Cardinal Joseph Mindszenty and other political prisoners. He also informs the people that his government intends to abolish the one-party state. This is followed by statements by Zolton Tildy, Anna Kethly and Ferenc Farkas concerning the reconstitution of the Smallholders Party, the Social Democratic Party and the Petofi Peasants Party.
Nagy's most controversial decision took place on 1st November when he announced that Hungary intended to withdraw from the Warsaw Pact. as well as proclaiming Hungarian neutrality he asked the United Nations to become involved in the country's dispute with the Soviet Union.
On 3rd November, Nagy announced details of his coalition government. It included communists (Janos Kadar, George Lukacs, Geza Lodonczy), three members of the Smallholders Party (Zolton Tildy, Bela Kovacs and Istvan Szabo), three Social Democrats (Anna Kethly, Gyula Keleman, Joseph Fischer), and two Petofi Peasants (Istvan Bibo and Ferenc Farkas). Pal Maleter was appointed minister of defence.
Nikita Khrushchev, the leader of the Soviet Union, became increasingly concerned about these developments and on November 4 1956 he sent the Red Army into Hungary. Soviet tanks immediately captured Hungary's airfields, highway junctions and bridges. Fighting took place all over the country but the Hungarian forces were quickly defeated.
During the Hungarian Uprising an estimated 20,000 people were killed. Imre Nagy was arrested and replaced by the Soviet loyalist, Janos Kadar.
Imre Nagy was imprisoned and executed in 1958. Other government ministers or supporters who were either executed or died in captivity included Pal Maleter, Geza Lodonczy, Attila Szigethy and Miklos Gimes.
In 1988, Kadar was replaced as General Secretary of the Communist Party, and reform communist leader Imre Pozsgay was admitted to the Politburo. That same year, the Parliament adopted a "democracy package," which included trade union pluralism; freedom of association, assembly, and the press; a new electoral law; and a radical revision of the constitution, among others. Since then, Hungary has tried to reform its economy and increase its connections with western Europe, hoping to become a member of the European Union as soon as possible. A Central Committee plenum in February 1989 endorsed in principle the multiparty political system and the characterization of the October 1956 revolution as a "popular uprising," in the words of Pozsgay, whose reform movement had been gathering strength as Communist Party membership declined dramatically. Kadar's major political rivals then cooperated to move the country gradually to democracy. The Soviet Union reduced its involvement by signing an agreement in April 1989 to withdraw Soviet forces by June 1991.
National unity culminated in June 1989 as the country reburied Imre Nagy, his associates, and, symbolically, all other victims of the 1956 revolution. A national roundtable, comprising representatives of the new parties and some recreated old parties--such as the Smallholders and Social Democrats--the Communist Party, and different social groups, met in the late summer of 1989 to discuss major changes to the Hungarian constitution in preparation for free elections and the transition to a fully free and democratic political system.
In October 1989, the communist party convened its last congress and re-established itself as the Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP). In a historic session on October 16 - October 20, 1989, the Parliament adopted legislation providing for multiparty parliamentary elections and a direct presidential election. The legislation transformed Hungary from a people's republic into the Republic of Hungary, guaranteed human and civil rights, and created an institutional structure that ensures separation of powers among the judicial, executive, and legislative branches of government. But because the national roundtable agreement was the result of a compromise between communist and noncommunist parties and societal forces, the revised constitution still retained vestiges of the old order. It championed the "values of bourgeois democracy and democratic socialism" and gave equal status to public and private property. Such provisions were erased in 1990 as the need for compromise solutions was obviated by the poor performance of the MSZP in the first free elections.
In May 1994, the socialists came back to win a plurality of votes and 54% of the seats after an election campaign focused largely on economic issues and the substantial decline in living standards since 1990. A heavy turnout of voters swept away the right-of-center coalition but soundly rejected extremists on both right and left. Despite its neocommunist pedigree, the MSZP continued economic reforms and privatization, adopting a painful but necessary policy of fiscal austerity (the "Bokros plan") in 1995. The government pursued a foreign policy of integration with Euro-Atlantic institutions and reconciliation with neighboring countries. But neither an invitation to join NATO nor improving economic indicators guaranteed the MSZP's re-election; dissatisfaction with the pace of economic recovery, rising crime, and cases of government corruption convinced voters to propel center-right parties into power following national elections in May 1998. The Federation of Young Democrats (renamed Fidesz-Hungarian Civic Party (MPP) in 1995) captured a plurality of parliamentary seats and forged a coalition with the Smallholders and the Democratic Forum. The new government, headed by 35-year-old Prime Minister Viktor Orban, promised to stimulate faster growth, curb inflation, and lower taxes. Although the Orban administration also pledged continuity in foreign policy, and has continued to pursue Euro-Atlantic integration as its first priority, it has been a more vocal advocate of minority rights for ethnic Hungarians abroad than the previous government. In 2002 it was decided that Hungary, together with 9 other countries was to join the European Union on January 1, 2004.
Despite the positive moves of the Fidesz they lost the next election in April 2002, where the MSZP's 51% won over FIDESZ 48% in a very fierce fight showing the loss of trust in Fidesz due to the corruption problems and lack of communication between the government and the other parties (and some strategically very bad connections to extreme right-wing parties while electional fights), and showing the doubt and memories of already mentioned problems with the socialist party's last government. The MSZP went on to continue social reforms while being more opened to cooperate to fight political and corruption problems.
On April 12 2003 Hungary voted for joining the European Union, where 83% of the votes said "Yes" to EU (45% of the population voted). Since the EU already accepted Hungary as a possible member, the 4 leader political parties (MSZP, FIDESZ, SZDSZ and MDF) are about to agree on establish the required prerequisites and policies and to work together to prepare the country for the join with the least possible harm to the economy and people while maximising the positive effects on the country.Origins
The Hungarian State
Austria-Hungary - The Dual Monarchy
Through the centuries the Kingdom of Hungary has kept its old democratic constitution, based on freedom of Nobles and Royal Free Towns(e.g. Buda, Kassa, Pozsony, KolozsvÃÂár). The Austrian Emperors were always crowned as Hungarian Kings and never touched the Constitution.
By the influence of the French revolution, there emerged a national revival in Hungary also among the noble people. The Hungarian Parliament was residing in Pozsony (Pressburg, Bratislva)at that time. The refusal of the reforms by the Habsburg Emperors led to the greatest national revolution and war of freedom in the history of Hungary on March 15th 1848. Hungary declared its independence from Austria. The governor was Kossuth and the first PM was BatthyÃÂány. The Austrian could defeat the Hungarian Army (HonvÃÂédsÃÂég) only by the help of the Russian Czar, which based an enemy feeling in the Hungarians against the Russians. The young Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph executed 13 Hungarian leaders in Arad and PM BatthiÃÂány in Pest.
The whole country was in "passive resitance" after that. Franz Joseph sent the Austrian Bach to rule Hungary. He started a Germanization with the help of Czech(!) officers.Between the Wars
Hungary's second communist government
1956 Revolution
Reform Under Kadar
In the early 1960s, Kadar announced a new policy under the motto of "He who is not against us is with us." He declared a general amnesty, gradually curbed some of the excesses of the secret police, and introduced a relatively liberal cultural and economic course aimed at overcoming the post-1956 hostility toward him and his regime. In 1966, the Central Committee approved the "New Economic Mechanism," through which it sought to rehaul the economy, increase productivity, make Hungary more competitive in world markets, and create prosperity to ensure political stability. Over the next two decades of relative domestic quiet, Kadar's government responded to pressure for political and economic reform and to counterpressures from reform opponents, By the early 1980s, it had achieved some lasting economic reforms and limited political liberalization and pursued a foreign policy which encouraged more trade with the West. Nevertheless, the New Economic Mechanism led to mounting foreign debt incurred to shore up unprofitable industries.Transition to Capitalism
Hungary's transition to a Western-style capitalism was the first and the smoothest among the former Soviet bloc. By 1987, activists within the party and bureaucracy and Budapest-based intellectuals were increasing pressure for change. Some of these became reform socialists, while others began movements which were to develop into parties. Young liberals formed the Federation of Young Democrats (Fidesz); a core from the so-called Democratic Opposition formed the Association of Free Democrats (SZDSZ), and the neopopulist national opposition established the Hungarian Democratic Forum (MDF). Civic activism intensified to a level not seen since the 1956 revolution.Free Elections and a Democratic Hungary
The first free parliamentary election, held in May 1990, was a plebiscite of sorts on the communist past. The revitalized and reformed communists performed poorly despite having more than the usual advantages of an "incumbent" party. Populist, center-right, and liberal parties fared best, with the Democratic Forum (MDF) winning 43% of the vote and the Free Democrats (SZDSZ) capturing 24%. Under Prime Minister Jozsef Antall, the MDF formed a center-right coalition government with the Independent Smallholders' Party (FKGP) and the Christian Democratic People's Party (KDNP) to command a 60% majority in the parliament. Parliamentary opposition parties included SZDSZ, the Socialists (MSZP), and the Alliance of Young Democrats (Fidesz). Peter Boross succeeded as Prime Minister after Antall died in December 1993. The Antall/Boross coalition governments achieved a reasonably well-functioning parliamentary democracy and laid the foundation for a free market economy.