The Hungarian uprising and

Czechoslovakia
Topic: The Hungarian uprising and Czechoslovakia

• Learning Objectives:
• To explain the Hungarian uprising
• To examine Nagy's reforms
• To analyze Duncek reforms in Czechoslovakia
 (b) Why did Khrushchev order Soviet soldiers into
Hungary in 1956?
• ‘After the hard line communist leaders of Rakosi and Gero, Nagy appeared very
liberal to the Soviet authorities. He wanted to make radical changes which
would appear to loosen the grip of the communists.
• Nagy did not want a one party state. He intended to run free elections so that
the Communist Party would have to compete with other parties.’ ‘Nagy wanted
impartial courts and he wanted to restore farmland to private ownership, rather
than being in the hands of the state.’
• ‘Nagy wanted a total withdrawal of Soviet armed forces from Hungary. Some
Soviet forces had existed in Hungary since the Second World War, although they
had been scaled down when Nagy was first appointed.’ ‘The key factor, which
Khrushchev could not tolerate, was that Nagy intended to withdraw Hungary
from the Warsaw Pact and declare Hungary neutral in the Cold War struggle
between East and West.’
• In June 1956, the Hungarian people began to protest against Rákosi’s
regime, and Moscow replaced him with Ernő Gerő.
• He was no more popular and on 23 October 1956, students took to the
streets and were supported by the workers and the Hungarian army.
• As riots spread, the Soviets agreed to the formation of a new
government under the leadership of the more liberal Imre Nagy - a
popular communist leader.
• On 28 October, Soviet tanks began to withdraw and many Hungarians
were now confident of American support. This led to more pressure for
a series of sweeping reforms.
Nagy’s reforms
• Nagy’s reforms included:
• free elections to choose a democratic government;
• an impartial legal system to ensure fair trials;
• the total withdrawal of Soviet troops from Hungary;
• farmers to be allowed private ownership of their land (instead of it
being state owned);
• Hungary to leave the Warsaw Pact and declare neutrality in the Cold
War.
• On 1 November, Imre Nagy announced the decision to introduce free
elections and to leave the Warsaw Pact.
• However, the Soviets could not allow Hungary to overthrow its
government and leave the Warsaw Pact as such an action would
destroy the unity of the Soviet bloc and weaken the defences of the
USSR.
• The response of the USSR
• Khrushchev refused to accept the idea of Hungary leaving the Warsaw
Pact as it would leave a gap in the USSR's buffer zone with Western Europe.
• Soviet security was Khrushchev's priority, and he decided to crack down on
the new Hungarian government.
• On 4 November 1956, 6,000 Soviet tanks crossed the Hungarian border.
• Bitter street fighting occurred and 30,000 were killed.
• Nagy sought refuge in the Yugoslav Embassy, but was captured and
executed in 1958.
• He was replaced by János Kádár who wiped out the remaining resistance.
• The consequences of the uprising
• About 200,000 refugees fled to the West.
• Nagy was tricked into leaving his refuge in the Yugoslav Embassy and was hanged in
Budapest in 1958.
• Kádár, a communist, ruled until 1988. He was loyal to Moscow but he allowed some
freedom of discussion.
• Hungary was placed under strict communist control.
• In Eastern Europe, there was the realisation that the USSR would not tolerate anyone
attempting to break free from the Warsaw Pact. They also accepted that even if they
remained loyal to communism it had to be on the USSR’s terms.
• Events in Hungary were a clear warning to the other countries within the
Soviet sphere of influence not to attempt any move towards independence.
Duncek reforms in Czechoslovakia
• Dubček was a committed communist, but believed that communism
did not have to be as restrictive as it had been.
• He agreed to introduce reforms which would provide ‘socialism with a
human face’. These included:
• less censorship;
• more freedom of speech;
• legalisation of political opposition groups;
• a reintroduction of capitalistelements into the Czech economy;
• a reduction in the activities of the secret police.
• The reforms were introduced in April 1968 and led to a greater feeling
of hope among the population.
• This became known as the Prague Spring.
• Dubček stressed that they would remain in the Warsaw
Pact and Comecon, but these reassurances were not enough to
prevent a Soviet invasion.
• Events of the Prague Spring
• Dubček’s reforms began to worry the Soviets because although he
claimed to be a committed communist, Dubček proposed allowing
non-communist political parties to be set up and to put up candidates
for election.
• Also Dubček said that Czechoslovakia would remain in the Warsaw
Pact, but then welcomed Marshal Tito, President of Yugoslavia, to
Prague.
• Yugoslavia had been communist since World War Two but was not a
member of the Warsaw Pact and Moscow was wary of him.
• The Soviet response
• On the night of the 20-21 August 1968 a ‘tourist’ flight from the USSR
landed at Prague airport.
• On board were 52 KGB officials who then took over the Control Tower
so that they could help land airborne divisions of Warsaw Pact forces.
• Though 5 members of the Warsaw Pact were involved, most troops and
tanks were supplied by the USSR.
• The Soviet Union blocked NATO radar stations in West Germany, so the
arrival of such a large number of troops took everyone by surprise.
Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev justified the invasion in a speech.
• The Brezhnev Doctrine
• Worried that Czechoslovakia was slipping from his grasp, the Soviet leader,
Brezhnev, declared that the USSR would not allow the countries of Eastern
Europe to reject communism, "even if it meant a third World War."
• This became known as the Brezhnev Doctrine.
• The USSR feared liberal ideas would spread to other Eastern European states
causing instability and threatening the security of the Soviet Union.
• They feared growing trade links between Czechoslovakia and West Germany
would lead to an increase in Western influence in Eastern Europe.
• To the USSR it was important to hold onto Czechoslovakia which had the
strongest industry in the Eastern bloc.
• Faced with an invasion force of 500,000 troops from Warsaw Pact
countries, the Czech government recognized the futility of resistance
and appealed to the population to act with restraint.
• They responded with what became known as Passive Resistance.
• They employed peaceful protest tactics such as standing in front of
tanks and offering flowers to soldiers.
• The student activist, Jan Palach, burned himself to death in Prague’s
Wenceslas Square.
• There was no popular uprising.
• Instead, the people refused to cooperate with the Soviet troops and
jeered and chanted at the invaders, daubed walls with anti-Soviet
slogans and painted out all signposts except those pointing to
Moscow.
• The Prague Spring quickly came to an end.
• Dubček was arrested and taken to Moscow. The pro-Soviet, Gustáv
Husák, was installed as the Czech leader to be Brezhnev’s servant.
• Husák reversed Dubček’s reforms and Czechoslovakia remained a
communist country inside the Warsaw Pact.
• The response of the West
• As with Hungary in 1956, the Western powers did nothing to actively support
the Czechs in their ‘Prague Spring’.
• The USA accepted that the Soviets were taking this action in their own sphere
of influence.
• The USA was not going to consider any intervention that would
constitute rollback of communism in Eastern Europe.
• There was widespread international criticism of Moscow’s actions in
Czechoslovakia.
• In the United Nations, a number of countries voted for a resolution condemning
the Soviet intervention, though the resolution failed because of the USSR’s veto.
• The American reaction was comparatively mild, chiefly because the
USA and its leadership were more focused on the worsening situation
with the Vietnam War.
• US-Soviet relations had been easing and President Lyndon Johnson
did not want to provoke Moscow.
• The USA believed that if they acted behind the Iron Curtain, the USSR
would see support to Czechoslovakia as an ‘act of war’.
• Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria and East Germany had agreed to help the
USSR so America would have been surrounded in Czechoslovakia had
they sent support.
(a) What was the Warsaw Pact?
• g. ‘It was signed in 1955.’
• ‘It was signed between Russia and her satellite states shortly after
West Germany was admitted to NATO.’
• ‘The Pact was a mutual defence agreement.’
• ‘A joint command structure was set up under the Soviet Supreme
Commander.’
• ‘The Pact was conceived by Stalin but implemented by Khrushchev.’
(a) Describe how the Berlin Wall affected the
people living in Berlin.

• West Berlin was cut off from East Berlin.’

• ‘If you tried to cross you were shot.’
• ‘It took no account of roads and buildings.’
• ‘It put some people in communist held area and others in capitalist
area.’
• ‘It stopped the movement of refugees.’
• ‘People from the east could not move to the more prosperous west.’
• ‘There was only one crossing point – Checkpoint Charlie.’
• ‘Families were divided.’
(b) Why was the Berlin Wall built?

• e.g. ‘The city had been split at the end of the war and the west enjoyed a
• higher standard of living.’
• ‘Many skilled people left East Germany for the West. This loss of citizens
• was humiliating for communism.’
• ‘Berlin was a focus of Cold War tensions with Khrushchev trying to force the
• west out of Berlin.
• ‘It was to prevent refugees escaping to the west.’
• ‘The East German authorities said it was to keep spies from the west out of
• East Berlin.’
• ‘To try to help the Soviet Union maintain control of its east European
(a) What measures were taken in 1961 to prevent
movement of people between East and West Berlin?

• e.g. ‘On the 13th of August, East German soldiers erected a barbed-wire
barrier along the
• frontier between East and West Berlin, ending all free movement from
East to West.’
• ‘It was quickly replaced by a concrete wall. All the crossing points from
East to West Berlin
• were sealed, except one, known as ‘Checkpoint Charlie’.’
• ‘People were shot.’
• ‘They built the Berlin Wall.’
• ‘They guarded the wall.’
(b) Why was Solidarity formed in Poland in 1980?

• ‘In the late 1970s the Polish economy hit a crisis. 1976 was a bad year
and 1979 was worse, being the worst year for Polish industry since
Communism had been introduced.To help improve conditions a free
trade union was formed.’‘Poland‘s existing trade unions were
ineffective at challenging government policies.’
• ‘Conditions were deteriorating and then in July 1980 the government
announced increases in the price of meat. To help combat the difficult
conditions workers at the Gdansk shipyard put forward 21 demands
including free trade unions and the right to strike. The government
agreed to all the demands.
(c) How far was the collapse of Soviet control over
Eastern Europe due to the reforms of Gorbachev?

• ‘Gorbachev proposed many changes that the hard-line communist found difficult
to accept. He was unpopular because his economic reforms did not work as they
expected too much too quickly. Corruption ran too deeply for the changes to
happen. His withdrawal of Red Army support for other communist countries
resulted in one by one the communist governments coming to an end.’The role of
Gorbachev can be highlighted by:
• ‘Gorbachev proposed that the Soviet economy should be improved by
“perestroika” –restructuring, including capitalist practices.’‘There should be more
“glasnost” – openness to restoring faith in government and end
• corruption. People who criticised the government should no longer be
persecuted.’‘He proposed a cut back in money spent on the arms race and signed a
treaty with the USA.’‘Communist governments in Eastern Europe could no longer
expect support from the Red Army.’
 Continue
• OR ‘The Soviet Union was also in crisis, and needed change, because there was
much corruption with many Party members living in luxury whilst the workers
were living in poverty.
• The people no longer had faith in their government as they saw the West
getting richer and they were living in poverty. This bred unrest.’‘Industry and
agriculture were not efficient and there was the need for expensive imports.’
• ‘Gorbachev realised he could not afford the arms race on which large sums of
money were being spent at the expense of many citizens living in poverty. He
signed Treaties with the USA which effectively ended the Cold War and the
need to support its satellites.
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• Within months the communists were ousted from power in places
such as Poland,Hungary and East Germany as the countries realised
the tanks would not be sent in.
• ’An expensive war was being fought in Afghanistan which was having
a negative world effect on how the Soviets were being viewed.’
• ‘The Solidarity movement showed that if people stood together
against oppression it was difficult to deal with.
• In the 1989 elections in Poland anti-communist candidates won a
striking victory. This sparked peaceful anti-communist revolutions in
Hungary, East Germany and Czechoslovakia.
(b) Why did the Polish government attempt to suppress ‘Solidarity’ in the early 1980s?

• ‘The Solidarity Congress produced an ‘open letter’ in 1981 saying that they were
campaigning not only for their own rights but for the rights of workers throughout
the Communist bloc. This worried the Polish and Soviet governments.’ ‘Jaruzelski
and Walesa negotiated to form a government of national understanding but this
• broke down in December 1981 after many tense exchanges.’‘The government
declared that it had secret tapes of a Solidarity meeting setting up a new
provisional government, without the Communist Party.’
• ‘There were many factions within Solidarity. Some felt that the only way to make
progress was to push the Communists harder until they cracked under
pressure.’‘The Soviet Union had seen enough. It thought the situation in Poland
had gone too far. If Poland’s leaders would not restore Communist control in
Poland, then it would. This was something the Polish leaders wanted to avoid and,
therefore, they felt they had to take action.’
(c) ‘The collapse of Soviet control in Eastern Europe was not the fault of
Gorbachev.’ How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your
answer.
• e.g. ‘Gorbachev proposed many changes that hard-line communists found
difficult to accept.
• He was unpopular because his economic reforms did not work as they
expected too much too quickly.’
• ‘Gorbachev’s withdrawal of Red Army support for other communist countries
resulted in, one by one, the communist governments coming to an end.’
• ‘Gorbachev proposed that the economy be improved by ‘perestroika’, which
included some
• capitalist practices.
 Continue
• He wanted more ‘glasnost’, an openness to restoring faith in government
and ending
• corruption. Criticism of government would be allowed. He cut back money
spent on the arms
• race and signed a treaty with USA.’‘The USSR was already in crisis and
needed change because there was much corruption with many Party
members living in luxury whilst the workers were living in poverty.’
• ‘Industry and agriculture were not efficient and this led to expensive imports
and this was affecting the economy.’‘Large sums of money were being spent
on defence at the expense of many citizens living in poverty. An expensive
war was being fought in Afghanistan.’
• ‘The Solidarity movement showed that if people stood together against
oppression it was difficult to deal with.
(c) How far were economic problems responsible for the end of
Communist control in Eastern Europe? Explain your answer.
• ‘Large sums of money were being spent on defence, the space race
and the Afghanistan War and the Soviet Union could not spend
money on eastern European regimes.’ ‘
• The main problem was that the economic reforms were introduced
too quickly and with little preparation.
• This threw the Soviet Union into confusion and economic chaos.’
‘Gorbachev introduced “glasnost” where Soviets were allowed to
criticise the government and this brought about challenge to the
Soviet Union countries in Eastern Europe.’
• ‘Gorbachev withdrew Red Army support for other communist
countries, resulting in one by one of the communist governments
coming to an end.’ ‘Solidarity began calling for greater political and
religious freedoms.
• Threats, banning and imprisonment did not work and Solidarity went
from strength to strength. In 1989 Walesa became President of
Poland, the first non-communist since the War.
• This set an example to the rest of Eastern Europe. Solidarity was a
mouthpiece for opposition to communism.’
(c) How successfully did the Soviet Union deal with challenges in Eastern
Europe to Communist control between 1956 and 1981? Explain your answer. .
• ‘In 1956, there were demonstrations against food prices in Poland. The Polish
government was unable to keep control and, therefore, Soviet troops were
sent to restore order.’ ‘After Khrushchev’s bitter attack on Stalin’s treatment of
the USSR’s communist neighbours and the reforms he allowed in Poland,
there was hope in Hungary for greater freedom.
• Nagy hoped to withdraw Hungary from the Warsaw Pact. 200,000 Soviet
troops and 2500 tanks arrived in Budapest and crushed the rebellion.’ ‘In
1968, Dubcek introduced his reforms known as the ‘Prague Spring’ which
included less government control, less censorship and the formation of trade
unions. Brezhnev sent in Soviet troops to Czechoslovakia to take control.
Dubcek was replaced and the reforms scrapped.’
• ‘In July 1980, the Polish government announced increases in food
prices. There was an outbreak of strikes. The most influential union
was ’Solidarity’ which was a union of workers at the Gdansk
shipyards, led by Lech Walesa.
• The Polish government came under pressure from the USSR to deal
with Solidarity before its influence spread to other communist
countries. It did not send troops because it realised that Solidarity had
too much support. Despite declaring martial law, the Polish
government failed to suppress the support for Solidarity.’
(c) How far was the collapse of Soviet control over Eastern
Europe due to the influence of ‘Solidarity’? Explain your answer .
• ‘Solidarity had forced a strong communist government backed by the Soviet
Union to give way by using non-violent methods. This acted as an example to
other Eastern European countries, who felt that they too could stand up for
their rights and freedom from Soviet control.’
• OR
• e.g. ‘Gorbachev cut spending on defence and in 1988 he signalled an end to
the Brezhnev Doctrine. Eastern European countries realised that this meant
that communist governments could no longer expect support from the Red
Army to deal with any disturbances.’
 (c) How far were developments in the Soviet Union responsible for the
collapse of Soviet control over Eastern Europe? Explain your answer.

• ‘The Soviet Union’s economy was in crisis. Gorbachev decided to cut back on
the arms race and the armed forces.
• The Red Army was also fighting a war in Afghanistan. As a result, Gorbachev
decided to inform heads of Eastern European governments that they could no
longer expect support from the Red Army.’
• OR e.g. ‘The Solidarity movement showed that if people stood together
against oppression, it was difficult to deal with.
• In the 1989 elections in Poland, anti-communist candidates won a striking
victory. This sparked peaceful anti-communist revolutions in Hungary, East
Germany and Czechoslovakia.’