The Third World War

What the Hungarians Want

Hungary’s 1956 “freedom revolution”—as it is called because of the parallel for Hungarian minds to the “freedom revolution” of 1848-49, which was also smashed by Russian troops—went through three plainly marked phases, apart from the long preliminary build-up and the aftermath that still continues. The first lasted from October 23, when shooting began, to’ October 31, when the last of the defeated Russian tanks withdrew from Budapest. Then, from October 31 to November 3, Hungary was free, and the Imre Nagy cabinet functioned as an independent government. At dawn on November 4 the reinforced Russians attacked throughout the country, and this third phase lasted until November 10, by which date large-scale organized fighting stopped. (Resistance in other forms, from guerrilla actions to passive sabotage, continues.) * The transcript of the internal broadcasts during those days by the various Hungarian radio stations is a wonderfully dramatic and illuminating—and tragic—document. Radio transcripts can almost be thought of as a new medium of historical understanding. Carefully interpreted they reflect not merely the narrative of events but the shifting power relations and the aims of the contending groups.

JB

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James Burnham

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What the Hungarians Want

Hungary’s 1956 “freedom revolution”—as it is called because of the parallel for Hungarian minds to the “freedom revolution” of 1848-49, which was also smashed by Russian troops—went through three plainly marked phases, apart from the long preliminary build-up and the aftermath that still continues. The first lasted from October 23, when shooting began, to’ October 31, when the last of the defeated Russian tanks withdrew from Budapest. Then, from October 31 to November 3, Hungary was free, and the Imre Nagy cabinet functioned as an independent government. At dawn on November 4 the reinforced Russians attacked throughout the country, and this third phase lasted until November 10, by which date large-scale organized fighting stopped. (Resistance in other forms, from guerrilla actions to passive sabotage, continues.) * The transcript of the internal broadcasts during those days by the various Hungarian radio stations is a wonderfully dramatic and illuminating—and tragic—document. Radio transcripts can almost be thought of as a new medium of historical understanding. Carefully interpreted they reflect not merely the narrative of events but the shifting power relations and the aims of the contending groups.