Budapest '56

Hungarian and Polish Autumns of Nations

The fate of the Poles and Hungarians intertwined in the history many times. In the not so distant years 1944-1989, when both countries involuntarily found themselves in the Soviet zone of influence and domination, their fate interweaved especially close.

The community of fate of the both nations was particularly evident in the autumn of 1956. The events in Warsaw and Budapest, the relations of both states and societies with Moscow complemented each other to form parallel attempts to gain independence by the conquered nations from the Soviet domination, and were also mutually dependent.

In the both countries, after Stalin's death, there began to appear “thaw” tendencies. The 20th congress of the Soviet Communist Party and Khrushchev's debunking speech were a strong impulse. With a huge resistance of local Stalinists and reluctant attitude of Moscow the dominance was slowly gained by the contemporary reformers. Enthusiasm prevailed in Hungary after the election of Gomułka for the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party. “Poland has given us an example” could be heard at the monument of Józef Bem in Budapest.

The events in Hungary began to take increasingly radical, violent, and sometimes bloody nature. There were dead and wounded. Nagy, the new Prime Minister announced Hungary's neutrality and the restitution of multiparty system. The Soviet army invaded Hungary again and conducted a brutal pacification. Janosz Kadar, supported by the Soviets, came to power. The time has come for revenge and burying hope.

Gomułka and leaders of the Polish October were able to control the emotions. There was no bloodshed. Although the Russians did not conduct an open intervention, October ideas, social enthusiasm and hope for change with the time melted away in the dullness of real socialism. With time, they disappeared.

Another Autumn of Nations came to Vistula and the Danube in 1989. Hopes evoked by the Polish August of 1980, although suppressed by martial law in December 1981, spread on a large part of the Soviet domination. This time with success. Poles and Hungarians, Poland and Hungary were again in the family of free nations and peoples.

Please visit the Internet exhibitions "Budapest '56" and "Executed cities. Poznań - Budapest 1956”.
 

Visit our Internet portal www.june1956.ipn.gov.pl You will find: a multimedia map of Poznañ, showing the route of the manifestation on the 28 June 1956 the calendar of events 1953-1957 photographs from the Institute of National Remebrance's archive, and many historical commentaries photographs and bio notes of the victims the communist propaganda and the evidence of repressive measures against the protesters, materials from investigations and law suits interviews with participants of the Poznañ rebellion audio materials from the collection of the Polish section of Radio Free Europe information on the opposition's struggle for rememberance of June 1956 (photographs of construction of the monument and independent manifestations)

Nagy örömmel mutatjuk be a magyar nyelvû www.poznan1956.ipn.gov.pl weboldalt. Az oldal tartalma: Poznañ multimédiás térképe, az 1956 júniusi események fontosabb helyszíneivel  az 1953 és 1957 közötti lényeges történések kalendáriuma fotók a Nemzeti Emlékezet Intézete Archívumából, történészi kommentárokkal az áldozatok fényképes életrajza kommunista propaganda, a résztvevõkkel szemben alkalmazott büntetések és megtorlások, valamint nyomozati anyagok és periratok interjúk a poznañi felkelés résztvevõivel a Szabad Európa Rádió Lengyel Osztálya gyûjteményének hanganyagai az 1956-os Poznañi Június emlékének megõrzéséért folytatott ellenzéki harc (felvételek az emlékmû építésérõl, a független tüntetésekrõl).