Humpday History Highlight
By Wyatt Earp | November 4, 2009
November 4, 1956 – Soviets Put Down Hungarian Uprising
A spontaneous national uprising that began 12 days before in Hungary is viciously crushed by Soviet tanks and troops on this day in 1956. Thousands were killed and wounded and nearly a quarter-million Hungarians fled the country.
The problems in Hungary began in October 1956, when thousands of protesters took to the streets demanding a more democratic political system and freedom from Soviet oppression. In response, Communist Party officials appointed Imre Nagy, a former premier who had been dismissed from the party for his criticisms of Stalinist policies, as the new premier.
Nagy tried to restore peace and asked the Soviets to withdraw their troops. The Soviets did so, but Nagy then tried to push the Hungarian revolt forward by abolishing one-party rule. He also announced that Hungary was withdrawing from the Warsaw Pact.
On November 4, 1956, Soviet tanks rolled into Budapest to crush, once and for all, the national uprising. Vicious street fighting broke out, but the Soviets’ great power ensured victory. At 5:20 a.m., Hungarian Prime Minister Imre Nagy announced the invasion to the nation in a grim, 35-second broadcast, declaring: “Our troops are fighting. The Government is in place.” Within hours, though, Nagy sought asylum at the Yugoslav Embassy in Budapest. He was captured shortly thereafter and executed two years later. (H/T – History.com)
This story truly pisses me of because my family has roots in Austria, Hungary, and the former Czechoslovakia. To think that the Soviet bastards came in and wiped out so many civilians is maddening enough. What’s worse is that the United States did little to nothing to stop the slaughter. Not exactly our finest hour.
Topics: HHH | 12 Comments »
November 4th, 2009 at 2:34 pm
Damn, and my Humpday Highlight just has Angelina–in Russian.
November 4th, 2009 at 3:36 pm
True Wyatt on “Not exactly our finest hour.” A tragedy that even one died let alone thousands, but to have confronted them would have led to WW3 and maybe a few hundred million dead since neither side had that many nukes back then, but both sides still had more than a few H-bombs. One day good will win but not in our lifetime. Then again maybe we should have to have prevented the billion or two that will die in a nuke war today. LOL
November 4th, 2009 at 3:48 pm
cbullitt – A fine choice, though.
Jon – Eisenhower barely even made a threatening statement. He was completely frozen the entire time. I realize there was not much militarily that he could do, but make an attempt!
November 4th, 2009 at 3:56 pm
I’m guessing that you’re not a big fan of the Workers World Party for being apologists for the slaughter.
November 4th, 2009 at 3:59 pm
Sully – No, and I am surely no fan of their support of cop-killing thug Mumia abu Jamal.
November 4th, 2009 at 7:28 pm
When Germany invaded Russia in 1941, you had one idiotic idealogy battling another idiotic ideology.
It was almost a lose lose situation, because although the Russians were our allies and prevailed, their victory gave them the momentum to infect the rest of Europe with the same number of lies and moronic ideals that the Nazis supported.
November 4th, 2009 at 8:02 pm
I recall as a teenager, listening to the radio (believe it or not) while the tanks invaded Budapest and waiting for the U.S. to strike back. For years Cardinal Mindszenty lived at the US embassy. The President who rallied the citizenry to rebel I believe was jailed or killed by the worthless commies. NATO never struck back. It took 30 odd more years for the Iron Curtain to be lifted and the Soviet Union to disintegrate and allow people the opportunity for freedom.
I also recall in our school the semiannual practices we would take in the event of a nuclear war. One time we would just go underneath our desks. The next time we would go into the hallway and assume a sitting position against the wall. It would vary each year I guess because there really was no good solution. I would agree at the time Ike was not the warrior that as a very young man I wanted him to be. On the other hand he was a veteran warrior weighing more variables than I could have imagined at the age of 14.
I will always admire the Hungarian people who opposed the communists and ultimately they won. What is sad is there is still marxists among us even though they system has failed and failed and failed.
Anyway, that is my view.
November 4th, 2009 at 11:05 pm
Maybe we should have listened to Patton and kept marching through Berlin and onto Moscow. But Eisenhower had seen a lot and maybe thought the US had been through enough fighting in Europe.
November 5th, 2009 at 1:39 am
My ancestors were Slovaks from Austria-Hungary, though the archived docs I’ve seen list them as from Hungary. Thanks for leaving in time, Pappy!
November 5th, 2009 at 1:48 am
There’s a great story on Ervin Zador, one of the stars of the 1956 Hungarian Olympic water polo team, which, after the Soviet invasion,
playedfought a semi-final game against the USSR in the famous “blood in the water” game, and went on to win the gold that year. A documentary, Freedom’s Fury was made about the incidentNovember 5th, 2009 at 2:30 am
We had a few Hungarian expats in my unit in the army in the 60’s. Good soldiers for the most part in Germany and Viet Nam.
November 5th, 2009 at 6:30 pm
Patton wanted to take care of this just after WWII, imagine if we even threatened to let him loose BEFORE the red’s had the bomb.
Would have been a much different world, my Grandfather told me that everyone on our side was sick of war and just wanted to get on with living.
Can’t blame them for that, but short term pain might have avoided long term losses.