Hungary has witnessed more than one bloody revolution in the past 150 years. The freedom that the Hungarians fought for in October 1956 only lasted for twelve days. They waited in vain for support from the West and the rebels were beaten down by the Russians.
Stalin’s statue at Hungary in 1956
‘Liberty, Equality and Fraternity’ was the slogan of the eighteenth century. It caused a wave of revolutions in Europe, starting with the attack on the French prison La Bastille in 1789. Hungary was under Austrian government at that time and would soon follow the French example.
In 1848 and 1849 the Hungarians fought for their independence. The revolution was beaten down by the Russians but even so the Hungarians kept claiming an independent kingdom. The tables seemed to turn in 1866. Austria had lost a lot of its power and when it was defeated by the Prussians it could no longer ignore the Hungarians. They would get the same rights as the Austrian people. This mostly concerned the elite though. Ethnic groups of Slavic origins that were governed by Hungary such as the Slovakians or the Croatians did not get any say in the national government.
Losing the battle
After the murder of Austrian heir to the throne Franz Ferdinand, Europe plunged headfirst into the First World War in 1914. Hungary was on the side of the Austrians and the Germans. They lost the war and the divided empire fell apart. After four years of war Central Europe had changed completely. The Austrian-Hungarian monarchy was gone and its Slavic inhabitants formed new states, such as Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia, or joined countries that accommodated the same ethnical groups. The Independent Republic of Hungary was proclaimed but it only lasted for one year. In 1919 the country became a monarchy headed by officer Miklós Horthy.
With the rise of the Nazis Hungary chose to side with Germany, a choice that it would pay dearly. After Hitler’s defeat in 1945 the Russian army invaded the country, supposedly to free Hungary but the Russians set up camp and wouldn’t leave. During the elections that followed only 17 percent of the Hungarians voted for the communists. Russian leader Stalin did not accept this outcome and intervened, putting communists in all the high places.
Student rebellion becomes revolution
This time around, the Hungarians were repressed by the Russians but they would not quietly accept it. Hungarian students supported occupied Poland and on the 23rd of October 1956 they protested against the Russian regime in Poland. The demonstration got out of hand and cost 74 people their lives. This brutal Russian answer to the demonstration made the blood of the Hungarians boil and they started a revolution. They claimed independence from Russia and hoped for support from other European countries.
This did not come and on the fourth of November Russian tanks entered the country. A lot of blood was shed and after a couple of days, freedom had come to an end. Nearly 5000 Hungarians died and those who had the means to leave, fled the country. Borders were closed and Hungary became part of the communist Eastern Bloc. It would remain this way until the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Russia had lost power and no longer ruled East Europe. Hungary was finally a free and independent republic and after more than thirty years they could finally commemorate the battle for freedom of 1956. The Hungarians still celebrate their Day of the Republic on the 23rd of October.
Traditional dress on a chess board
The museum has an international collection of chess sets, including one from Hungary. The statuettes of this set are made of wood and dressed in black and white traditional dress. It was made during the time that Hungary was unwillingly a communist state, from 1945 until 1989.
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