ONCE AGAIN SOVEREIGNTY Studies from the History of Hungary After 1945
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Miklós Horváth ONCE AGAIN SOVEREIGNTY Studies from the History of Hungary after 1945 Miklós Horváth ONCE AGAIN SOVEREIGNTY Studies from the History of Hungary after 1945 The volume was published by the financial support of the Public Foundation for the Research of Central and East European History and Society Research by Miklós Horváth was supported by No. K 49465 programme of Hungarian Scientific Research Fund (OTKA) Translated by Bob Dent and Katalin Rácz Military linguistic revision Panajotu Nikosz Language editor Zsófia Medgyesy Maps Béla Nagy Cover photo credit Military History Institute and Museum 90156 (Jack Esten) Photos FORTEPAN Individual essays were originally published in the following volumes: 1. Hogy jobban értsük a huszadik századot (ed. György Markó, Mária Schmidt) Korrajz 2013 – a XX. Század Intézet Évkönyve, pp. 155-179.; 2. In English: 1956: The Hungarian Revolution and War for Independence (eds. Lee Congdon, Béla K. Király and Károly Nagy; translated by Paul Bődy, Andrew Gane, Brian McLean) Columbia University Press, New York, 2006. pp. 263-298, 384-397, 432-464, 477-493.; 3. A dimenziók éve – 1968: Nemzetközi konferencia a ’68-as események negyvenedik évfordulója alkalmából (ed. Mária Schmidt) XX. Század Intézet, Budapest, 2008. pp. 89-117.; 4. Hogy jobban értsük a huszadik századot, pp. 16-28.; 5-6. Excerpts in: Miklós Horváth, Vilmos Kovács, Magyarország az atomháború árnyékában – Fejezetek a hidegháború korszakának had- és haditechnika történetéből, Zrínyi Kiadó, Budapest, 2016. 6. Rendszerváltás 1989: Témák között válogatva (ed. Sándor M. Kiss) Antológia Kiadó, Lakitelek, 2014. pp. 269-290. and Felderítő szemle XII:2. pp. 54-71. An abridged version of Chapter 6 was prepared for the conference organised by the József Antall Knowledge Centre in 2013, translated into English by Zoltán Móra-Ormai ISBN 978-963-446-778-6 A kiadásért felel Láng András, az Argumentum Kiadó igazgatója Felelős szerkesztő: Medgyesy Zsófia Borítóterv: Hodosi Mária Tördelte: Siba László Nyomta az Argumentum Kiadó nyomdaüzeme Contents 1. STUDIES ABOUT THE PERIOD OF DEVELOPING AND STABILISING THE DICTATORSHIP .................. 9 Repressive organisations in building and maintaining the communist system of terror (1945–1953) .............................................. 9 Repressive organisations in the service of the Communist Party ...... 9 War against the Hungarian people ........................................................... 13 The agency as an important tool of the “class struggle” ....................... 14 A “new phase” (!?) in operating the system of terror ............................ 15 “Anti-democratic elements” in the state security records .................... 18 Methods applied during the “class struggle” ........................................... 19 Notes ............................................................................................................... 22 2. CHAPTERS FROM THE MILITARY HISTORY OF THE 1956 REVOLUTION AND FREEDOM FIGHT ...................................... 35 The demonstrations become a revolution ................................................... 35 Responses of the Hungarian and Soviet governments to the events of 22-28 October ................................................................. 39 28 October: victory of the revolution ....................................................... 50 Creation of the National Guard ................................................................. 54 29 October: establishment of the Preparatory Committee for Public Safety .......................................... 55 Establishment of the Supreme Command of the National Guard ..... 58 Notes ............................................................................................................... 63 General characteristics of freedom-fighter groups .................................... 69 Freedom Fighters in Budapest ................................................................... 70 National Guard combat activity in Budapest ......................................... 71 Freedom fighters in the countryside ........................................................ 74 Notes ............................................................................................................... 76 The first war between socialist states ........................................................... 78 Decision in the Kremlin: 30-31 October, 1956 ....................................... 78 The massive Soviet invasion of Hungary ................................................. 82 1 November: declaration of neutrality and leaving the Warsaw Pact ............................................................................................ 84 5 Declaration of Imre Nagy on the state of war: 4 November, 5.20 a.m. ........................................................................... 87 Notes ............................................................................................................... 97 Losses of life in the war and during the reprisals ...................................... 104 Hungarian casualties during the Soviet intervention ........................... 104 Casualties of Soviet troops ......................................................................... 104 Reprisals during the Kádár regime ........................................................... 105 The ideology of reprisal ............................................................................... 107 Legal institutions of reprisal ....................................................................... 108 Conclusions ................................................................................................... 110 Notes ............................................................................................................... 112 3. HUNGARY IN THE SERVICE OF SOVIET POWER ASPIRATIONS .................................................................................................. 117 1968 – Czechoslovakia ..................................................................................... 117 The appearance of military force as an instrument of political pressure ..................................................................................... 117 The beginning of the military exercise ..................................................... 120 The dress rehearsal was not successful – the occupation of Czechoslovakia ........................................................................................ 124 Evaluation of the consequences of the military occupation ................ 126 The real reasons for the occupation ......................................................... 129 “Comrade Kádár’s prestige has been lost” ............................................... 134 Notes ............................................................................................................... 137 4. MARTIAL LAW IN POLAND AS REFLECTED IN HUNGARIAN MILITARY INTELLIGENCE DOCUMENTS (1980–1983) .................... 145 Notes ............................................................................................................... 156 5. SOME MOSAICS FROM HUNGARY’S COLD WAR HISTORY ............ 159 Hungary in the service of internationalism ................................................ 159 The Soviet troops remained in Hungary! ................................................ 163 Ideas about the export of revolution, or Hungary’s position and role in the Soviet war plans ........................................................... 166 The objective is to destroy “the reserves of manpower in the imperialist bloc” ............................................................................... 167 Hungarian participation in liberating the workers of Austria and Italy ......................................................................................... 170 An attack through Yugoslavia – as if the Yugoslav People’s Army had disappeared into thin air23 ................................................. 170 “Self-defence” from the Hungarian-Austrian border to Trapani in Sicily .................................................................................. 171 6 The presumed effects of a nuclear war on Hungary – on the hinterland and the population ................................................ 176 “The population must be guaranteed minimum protection…” ........... 180 Notes ............................................................................................................... 183 6. THE RESTORATION OF HUNGARY’S SOVEREIGNTY ........................ 189 The withdrawal of soviet troops and the contribution of Hungary to the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact ................................... 189 Short historical background ....................................................................... 189 Decision about the withdrawal of Soviet forces ..................................... 192 Withdrawal of Soviet troops from Hungary ........................................... 196 Hungarian decision about leaving the Warsaw Pact ............................. 199 Activity of the Government-Authorised Temporary Commission .... 204 The first conference in Prague ................................................................... 205 The first consultation in Budapest ............................................................ 206 Sofia – second meeting of the Government-authorised Commissions ........................................................................................... 208 “Intermezzo” in the Ministry