Hungary

• What made Hungary the most reformist Eastern Bloc state in the early 1980s?

  • Crackdown after 1956 had eased
  • Economic reforms began before Gorbachev
  • Private businesses allowed
  • Skilled workers could contract labour
  • Minimal media censorship
  • Dissent tolerated
• Why did opposition to János Kádár grow?

  • Rising prices due to external debt
  • Resentment over 1956 being labelled a 'counter revolution'
  • Imre Nagy being seen as a national hero
  • Protests on the death of Nagy were difficult to contain
• Who pushed for reforms within the communist party?

  • Progressive members of the party
  • Imre Pozsgay (1987) proposed a free marked and democratisation
  • Reformers outmanoeuvred Kádár who opposed change
• What happened to Kádár in 1988?

  • Replaced as General Secretary by Károly Grósz in May 1988
  • Grósz aimed for a controlled transition to democracy
  • Gorbachev style reform introduced
• What financial support did Hungary receive from reforms?

  • 1 billion mark load from West German banks to support economic reform
• When did Hungary announce free elections?

  • June 1989 to be held in 1990
  • Hungary transitioned to a multi-party democracy
• What major change did Hungary make to its borders in 1989?

  • Ordered the dismantling of the border fence with Austria
• How did East Germans take advantages of Hungary's border opening?

  • East Germans were allowed to visit other Eastern Bloc states
  • Thousands vacationed in Hungary and crossed into Austria
  • They claimed asylum in West Germany
• What was the reaction to this in East Germany?

  • Word spread leading to more East Germans escaping via Hungary
  • East German authorities attempted to seal their southern border
• Why was Hungary's role in the fall of communism significant?

  • Hungary had already been moving towards reform before Gorbachev
  • The border opening had long term effects and accelerated the fall of the Iron Curtain
  • Its transition to democracy was largely peaceful