Hungarian Uprising

• What happened in October 1956 in Hungary?


  Violent protests in Budapest
• Why did Khrushchev appoint Imre Nagy?


  • He believed he could resolve the unrest in Hungary
  • The people liked Nagy
  • Limited reforms would stop the people from protesting
  • Nagy had previously been Prime Minister of Hungary
• Who did the Hungarian people protest against and why?

  • Rakosi

  They protested against him because:

  • Hungary suffered from poor harvests and fuel shortage
  • The people wanted reforms and freedoms
• What were Nagy's reforms?


  • Reorganising the government - He believed the government should have non-communist politicians which ended the one party state in Hungary
  • Releasing political prisoners - Many people had been arrested for 'crimes against the state' even though they were innocent
  • Withdrawing Soviet troops from Hungary - Nagy persuaded Khrushchev to remove Soviet troops which was popular amongst the people
  • Leaving the Warsaw Pact - Nagy announced 1st Nov 1956 that Hungary would withdraw from the Warsaw Pact
• Why Khrushchev not accept Nagy's attempt to leave the Warsaw Pact?

  • Hungarian troops may be need to suppress uprisings in other satellite states
  • Hungary's withdrawal may have prompted other satellite states to do the same
  • The Soviet Union relied on the collective security of the satellite states
  • He did not want other countries to be like Yugoslavia who broke away from the Soviet Union's influence in 1948 and accepted military support from NATO which made them closer with the West
• How did Khrushchev react to the uprising?


  • 4th Nov 1956 - 1000 tanks sent into Hungary
  • Nagy and his supporters tried to fight the invasion
  • Around 20,000 Hungarians were killed which ended the uprising
  • Janos Kadar was put in place to replace Nagy and established a pro-Soviet, communist government
  • July 1958 - It was announced that Nagy had been executed
• What were the pros and cons of the USA not helping Hungary?


  Pros:

  • Not interfering with another country's internal affairs
  • Avoiding nuclear war/avoiding triggering nuclear war

  Cons:

  • Foreign policy of containment meant the USA would not and could not intervene in already communist countries
  • Not interfering put off more communist rebels
  • Made Khrushchev's position more secure and the Warsaw Pact stronger
  • Looked weak for not reacting with military force
• Who did Hungary receive help from?


  European members of NATO who accepted Hungarian refugees