Hungarian Uprising (1956)

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Hungarian Uprising (1956)

Causes

  • Hungarians were strongly Christian people, but Communists discouraged religious beliefs and penalized the Catholic church (Its leader, Cardinal Minzenty was imprisoned.
  • Rakosi was Hungary's dictator from 1949-56. He was seen as a 'mini Stalin' who dealt ruthlessly with any opposition. His regime imprisoned 387,000 and was responsible for more than 2000 deaths.
  • There were food shortages which many blamed on the new collective farming. Industrial workers were poorly paid and saw coal, oil and wheat shipped off to the USSR.

Effects

  • 23rd October- Students and workers in Budapestthe capital of Hungary, held a demonstration
  • Imre Nagy joined the communist uprising in Hungary, Prime minister in 1953
  • 30th October- Nagy accepted all rebels demands, asked USSR to remove troops from Hungary
  • 1st November- Nagy announced that Hungary would leave the Warsaw Pact and become neutral
  • 4th November- Khrushchev ordered soviet tanks to move into Budapest to put down the uprising

Overall summary

- 20,000 Hungarians were killed-150,000 fled abroad-Nagy was replaced with a pro-soviet Janos Kadar-Communist control re-established-America offered food and medical aid worth $20 million to Hungary and allowed 80,000 refugees to move to the USA

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