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Hungary like most of Europe was severely damaged by the World War II. It was not one of the worst damaged countries. It was not heavily bombed. And until the final months of the War, fighting did mot take place on Hungarian territory. The major fighting took mplve for Budaspest and much of the city was destroyed. Hungary was under effective Soviet control formed a provisional government while fighting wa still raging in Budapest (December 22, 1944). It was based on a Provisional National Assembly which was composed of large numbers of Communist and the other "antifascist" parties. A cabinet was formed of both regozizable figuees from the old regime and many new figures. The first major action of this government was to conclude an armistice with the Soviet Union (January 20, 1945). Fighting was still going on, in part because much of it was being carried on by German units. Under the terms pf the armistice, an Allied Control Commission (ACC) was established with Soviet, American, and British representatives. Hungary was treated legally as a defeated Axis nation. The ACC theoretically held sovereignty over occupied Hungary. In reality the Soviets controlled the situatioin as there were no Allied military forces in Hungary.
German diplomacy during the 1930s sought to bring former World War I ally Hungary within the NAZI orbit. The NAZIs used financial enducements as well as the growing strength of Fascist elements in the country. Hungary also had territorial claims on neighboring countries which it hoped to avhieve through cooperation with the NAZIs. Hungary which had fought with Germany (as Austro-Hungary) in World War I, joined the Axis (November 20, 1940). Hitler rewarded the Hungarians with a substantial slice of Romania at the Vienna conference (November ? 1940). The Hungarians cooperated in the NAZI invasion of Yugoslavia (April 1941). Admiral ordered Hungarian military units to occupy territory claimed by Hungary in Yugoslavia. These areas had ethnic Hungarian populations. Hungary subsequently annexed a part of Vojvodina. German successes in the early phases of World War II convinced many in Europe that the NAZIs would prevail in the War. This strengthened the position of right-wing Fascist elements in the country. Admiral Horthy named right-wing politician Laszlo Bardossy to succeed Teleki as primeminister. Bardossy as a NAZI ally led Hungary into World War II. Hungary played a modest role in Basrbarossa (1941), but after the Soviet Winter ofensive (December 1941), the NAZI compelled Hungary to mobilize additional forces in the German Summer offensice (1942). The Soviets devestated the Hungarian Second Army as part of its Stalingrad offensive. Hungary subsequently withdrew its army rom the Eastern Front (April 1943). Hitler fearing that Hungary was preparing to sign a separate peace occupied the country (March 1944). When the Red Army arrived (September 1944), Hungary became an intense battlefield. Hitler rushed in reserves, but in doing so depleted the forces needed to defend Berlin.
Hungary signed the Peace Treaty of Paris. This stripped Hungary of all the territories that it gained as a NAZI ally from Czechoslovakia. Romania, and Yugoslavia (1938-41). In addition, the Soviet Union annexed Subcarpathia. This former area of Hungary is now part of Ukraine.
Hungary was affected by the War in a range of ways. Large numbers of Hungarians were killed or captured in the Soviet Union. As the War went against Germany, more of Hungary's economic output was devoted to the war effort, causing shortages and inflation. The German scorced earth retreat ad Soviet offensive devestated the country. Budapest was in ruins.
Hungary under effective Soviet control formed a provisional government at Debreceu in eastern Hungary while fighting wa still raging in Budapest (December 22, 1944). It was based on a Provisional National Assembly which was composed of large numbers of Communist and the other "antifascist" parties. A cabinet was formed of both regozizable figuees from the old regime and many new figures. There were three military officers, two communists, two Social Democrats, two members of the Independent Smallholders' Party, one member of the National Peasant Party, and one unaffiliated member.> The first major action of this government was to conclude an armistice with the Soviet Union (January 20, 1945). Fighting was still going on, in part because much of it was being carried on by German units.
Under the terms pf the armistice, an Allied Control Commission (ACC) was established with Soviet, American, and British representatives. Hungary was treated legally as a defeated Axis nation. The ACC theoretically held sovereignty over occupied Hungary. In reality the Soviets controlled the situatioin as there were no Allied military forces in Hungary. The ACC chairman, Marshal Kliment Voroshilov, was very close to Stalin. Thus he in effect had virtually absolute control of the country.
There was little support for the Hungarian Communist Part (HCP). Bela Kun's short-lived Hungarian Soviet Republic (1919) had turned most Hungarians against Communism. The following white terror had eliminated many Hungarian Communists. There were two small Hungarian Communist groups during World War II. Laszlo Rajk was a student communist leader who fought with the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War (1936-39). Durungthe War he organized a communist cell which operated underground in the country. Matyas Rakosi led a Moscow-based Hungarian group. Rakosi returned to Hungary in the wake of the Red Army. His group became known as the "Muscovites". Rajk's organization also surfaced. Rakosi's close ties with the Soviets greatly strngthened his his influence within the Party. A rivalry developed between the two factions. As the Red Army moved steadily west through Hungary, Party membership swelled. Hungary formally abolished the Kingdom of Hungary and created the Second Republic (February 1, 1946). Post-war Hungary was eventually taken over by a Soviet-allied government and it became part of the Eastern Bloc. The People's Republic of Hungary was declared (1949). The Communists divided the large estates among the peasantry and nationalised industry and other means of production, following the Stalinist line of heavy industry and collectivised agriculture. Secret police terror, forced displays of loyalty and worsening living standards generated deepening resentment among the Hungarian people..
Major population changes occurred during and after the War. The Gerrmans with varying degrees of Hungarian support destroyedmuch of tge country's Jewish population. The Hungarian Government expelled about two thirds of the ethnic German minority (202,000 people) was expelled (1946-48). Hungary and Czechoslovakis negotiated a forced exchange of population.
With the Red Army in control of Hungary, domestic politics meant little. Rather the country's future would be decided by Stalin in Moscow. Stalin appears to have decided in 1945 not to immediately allow the HCP to seize power and declare a People's Republic--the polite term for a Communist dictatorship. He ordered the HCP to pursue a gradualist approach. decided against an immediate communist seizure of power in Hungary; rather, he instructed HCP leaders to take a gradualist approach and for some time to share power with other parties and engage in electoral politics and coalition governments. His thinking appears to have been that this would help deflect his policies elsewhere in Eastern Europe, especially Poland where he refused to allow democratic elections. Britain and France had gone to war over Polabnd and the Allies at both Yalya and Posdam did their best to persuade Stalin to permit democfratic elections. Rakosi later reported that Stalin told him to delay a communist takeovers 10-15 years. Stalin's calculation that this would help to reestanlish the economy and avoid a confrontation with the Allies. The United States still had significant military forces in Europe. It is unclear why Stalin thought Hungary would be so important. His policies in Poland and Germany would largely determine American policy. This policy was not popular within the HCP, especially Rajk's underground group. Tgey wantedto nseize power immediately.
Once the Red Army had cleared Budapest and western Hungary of the Germans and Arrow Cross, the Provision Government moved to battered Budapest (April 1945). Authorities selected a second, larger Provisional National Assembly with 495members. Support from the trade unions and the Social Democratic Party gave the HCP enjoyed an absolute majority in the Assembly.
The Hungarians held a relativdly open, democratic election (November 15, 1945). The HCP did poorly. The Independent Smallholders' Party won 245 seats in the National Assembly. The HCP only managed to win an embarassing 70 seats. Other results included: the Social Democratic Party (69 seats), the National Peasant Party (21), and the Civic Democratic Party (2). The National Assembly proceeded to end the monarchy and to establish the Second Hungarian Republic (February 1, 1946). The Smallholder Party formed two coalitions governments under Zoltan Tildy and Ferenc Nagy (November 1945-May 1947). These governments were not free to act on their own authotity. Important decesions had to be cleared tgheoretically with the ACC, but in practice this meant Voroshilov who essentially acted as a proconsul.
The HCP formed an important leftist opposition with the Social Democratic Party and the National Peasant Party. This enabled them to gain control key positions. This included the principal offices of state security--the security police and the army general staff. This was noted by the other parties, but we believed that Voroshilov used his authority to bring this about. He rejected an agreement by the coalition members to appoint a member of the Independent Smallholders' Party to head the Ministry of Interior. (In Europe the Interior Ministry means the police.) A National Peasant Party member with links to the HCP was appointed and converted the Hungarian police into a virtual Communis militia. The National Assembly increasingly adopted coercive measures. The first major step was to begin to chip away at guaranteed rights in Hungary's constitution. It prohibited statements which could be interpreted as hostile to the democratic order or the country's international esteem. Of course the police could interpret virtually any criticsm was violsting this law. As the HCP expanded its influence, this law and control ofthe police was used to arrest critics.
The Hungarian Government in the aftermath of World War II adopted policies economic reconstruction and land reform. Hungary itself was not gouched by the War until tghelast year, byt the fighting in 1944-45 had been extensive and therecwas widespread danage to the economy.The Goverment estimared that about a quater of the industrial plant had been destroyed. Much agricultural land was not being planted. Many of the important landowners and industrialists, fearing the Communists, fled the country. The Government nationalized mines, electric plants, the four largest concerns in heavy industry, and the ten largest banks. The government also implemented a radical land reform. They did not juust seize the large estates, but any land holding greater than 57 hectares. The land was destributed to the country's poorest peasants to give land to as many peasants as possible. The problem with the program is that many of the peasants with larger holdings were some of Hungary's best farmers. In addution, the smll opirtions habnded out to the poor peasants barely enabled them to achieve self-sufficiency. The Government also carried out a currency reform, creatingv the the forint. The mnajor purpose was to limitinflation.
Control of Hungary after World war II became a contest between two competng versions of Communism. Imre Nagy spent years as a refugee in the Soviet Union. As Minister of Agriculture after the War he introduced a popular land reform program. Hungary had been dominted by large landed estates. Nagy was elected Speaker of the Hungarian Parliament (1947). He gradualy emerged as a leading spokesman for those with a liberal vision of Communism. Prime Minister Mátyás Rákosi dominated Hungary and imposed an increasingly authoritarian regime. Rákosi was one of the brutal dictators that Stalin had imposed on the people of Eastern Europe. Rákosi faithfully carried out orders from Moscow. He conducted a dreadful purge in Hungary beginning in 1950 and lasting until Stalin died in 1953. In a country of only about 10 million, 1.3 million were targetted , about half of which were arrested. Here I have seen varying estimates. There were 2,350 were executed. [Sebestyen] Rákosi was Jewish, even so he joined in Stalin's anti-Semetic campaign. Rákosi brutal rule was questioned from withn the Party and Rákosi responded by purging Party membership, expelling 200,000 for disloyalty or lack of sufficent loyalty. The Church was also targetted. Priests were arrested. They also arrested the bishop of Esztergom, Cardinal Mindszenty, and organized a show trial (1949).
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Created: 5:49 AM 7/30/2010
Last updated: 5:49 AM 7/30/2010
