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Hungarian Revolution |
The Hungarian Revolution: Fifty years
later
A commemorative event at the UW
This article was provided by the Center for West
European Studies, University of Washington
Posted
October 11, 2006
|
October 23, 2006, marks the fiftieth anniversary of the
Hungarian uprising against Soviet occupiers. The revolt lasted
until November 4 and resulted in numerous casualties on both
sides and the reestablishment of Soviet domination over Hungary.
After World War II, the European continent was divided between
the “West” and the “East.” Western Europe, assisted by the
Marshall Plan, was allied with the United States; the Eastern
Bloc comprised the Soviet Union and its Central and East
European satellite states and allies. Hungary fell under the
Soviet sphere of influence, adopted a communist government, and
in 1955 signed the Warsaw Pact, the Eastern Bloc’s response to
NATO. In October 1956, a small student demonstration in Budapest
grew into a mass protest as millions of soldiers, workers, and
other Hungarians rose up against the pro-Soviet government. The
revolt led to the installation of Imre Nagy as Prime Minister,
who, after an initial ceasefire, attempted to break free from
Soviet domination by withdrawing from the Warsaw Pact. In
response, Soviet troops invaded Hungary to crush the uprising.
For nearly two weeks, Hungarian resistance fighters fought
against the Soviet invaders with Molotov cocktails, strikes, and
the destruction of the symbols of communist rule. On November 4,
the USSR supported the installation of a pro-Warsaw Pact
government, reimposing Soviet domination over the country.
Soviet control of Hungary ended in 1989 with the Autumn of
Nations, that epochal moment in European history when communist
regimes in Eastern and Central European countries were
overthrown and the Cold War came to an abrupt and peaceful end.
The Autumn of Nations began in Poland and sparked similar,
mostly peaceful revolutions in East Germany, Czechoslovakia,
Hungary, and Bulgaria. In 2004, ten countries, including eight
from Central and Eastern Europe, joined the European Union. More
former communist countries are slated to join the EU in the near
future.
On
October 23, 2006, the University of Washington will host a
special commemorative event “The Hungarian Revolution: Fifty
Years Later” from 7:00 to 9:00 pm in the Walker-Ames Room of
Kane Hall. Keynote speaker Péter Dobay, Professor at the
University of Pećs, one of Europe’s oldest universities and
located in a sister city of Seattle, will provide a historical
background of Hungary up to 1956. A panel of eyewitness
accounts by people who experienced the revolution of 1956 will
include author of The Fall of the Red Star, Helen M. Szablya.
Former Foreign Service Officer David Hughes will discuss the
events of 1989 and Hungary today, and conclude the evening with
comments by Mark Palmer, former US Ambassador to Hungary.
This event is sponsored by the Center for West European Studies,
the Ellison Center for Russian, East European and Central Asian
Studies, and the European Union Center of Excellence at the
University of Washington, in cooperation with the
Hungarian-American Association of Washington, the Honorary
Consulate of Hungary, Seattle-Pećs Sister City Association, the
Hungarian-American Chamber of Commerce, and the World Affairs
Council.
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2006 All content property of European Weekly unless where otherwise
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