Rift and Revolt in Hungary: Nationalism versus Communism (Publications Written Under the Auspices of the Center for International Affairs, Harvard University)

This is a vivid picture of a Soviet satellite regime based on published and unpublished sources and on personal history. It is the first scholarly treatment of the Hungarian experience after World War II; simultaneous events in Moscow, Belgrade, the satellite area, and the U.N. are considered, and even an informed reader will find much that is new to him in the book. Ferenc Váli discusses five “phases”: Phase One (1949–53), the Stalinist era under Rákosi; Phase Two (1953–55), the “New Course” under Rákosi and Nagy; Phase Three (1955–56), Rákosi’s attempt at stabilization after Moscow removed Nagy; Phase Four, the Revolution of 1956; and Phase Five (1957–61), the aftermath.Váli “is peculiarly qualified to write such a volume,” Robert R. Bowie says in his Foreword. “International lawyer and political scientist, professor and public servant, he experienced Communist rule in Hungary from the inside. Arrested by the Hungarian Security Police, interrogated according to the usual methods, condemned for conspiracy and high treason, he spent five years of his life in Budapest prisons.” FOREWORD AUTHOR’S PREFACE CONTENTS 1. Summons to the Kremlin 2. The Historical Setting: Expansionism and Satellitism 3. The Communists Take Over THE FIRST PHASE. Hotbed of Conflicts: The Stalinist Dictatorship 1949–1953 4. Party and State 5. Security Police: Purges and Terror 6. The Army of a Satellite 7. Economics in Stalinist Hungary THE SECOND PHASE. Dual Leadership — Conflicting Policies 1953–1955 8. The Gladiators Square Off 9. Rivalry of Party and State 10. The Third Party Congress and the People’s Patriotic Front 11. Economic Problems of the New Course 12. Political Prisoners — Liability and Peril 13. About-face in Moscow: Nagy’s Fall THE THIRD PHASE. Single Leadership — Divided Party 1955–1956 14. Rákosi Sole Master — but with Strings Attached 15. Imre Nagy: “Withdrawal” and “Return” 16. The Eager Flock of an Unsuspecting Shepherd 17. Effect Beyond Intent — Impact of the Twentieth Party Congress 18. Rákosi’s Fall THE FOURTH PHASE. The Revolution. 1956 19. Rajk’s Body and Imre Nagy’s Return 20. Yugoslavia Complies—Poland Rises—Hungary Revolts 21. Party and Government during the Revolution 22. Hungarian Armed Forces during the Revolution 23. Revolutionaries and Revolutionary Institutions 24. Foreign Factors: The Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, and Suez 25. The Second Soviet Intervention — Kádár versus Nagy THE FIFTH PHASE. Aftermath of a Revolution. 1957–1961 26. Consolidation, Restoration, and Repression 27. The New “New Party” and Its Government 28. Means of Coercion and Control: Soviet and Domestic 29. Synchronizing a Satellite 30. International Implications of the Hungarian Situation Nationalism versus Communism 31. Nationalism versus Communism Bibliography Notes Index