MKP symbol

The Hungarian Communist Party (in Hungarian: Magyar Kommunista Párt or Kommunisták Magyarországi Pártja) was founded on November 24, 1918, and was in power in Hungary briefly from March to August 1919 under Béla Kun and the Hungarian Soviet Republic. The communist government was overthrown by the Romanian Army and driven underground. The party regained power following World War II and held power from 1945 under the leadership of Mátyás Rákosi. In 1948 the party merged with the Social Democrats to become the Hungarian Workers' Party. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... is the 328th day of the year (329th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... Year 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ... Béla Kun Béla Kun (born Béla Kohn) (February 20, 1886, in Szilágycseh, today Cehu Silvaniei, Transylvania, Romania, died August 29, 1938 in the Soviet Union) was a Hungarian Communist politician, who ruled Hungary for a brief period in 1919. ... The Hungarian Soviet Republic was the political regime in Hungary from March 21, 1919 until the beginning of August of the same year, and it is the second Communist (or soviet) government in world history, after the one in Russia (1917). ... The Romanian Army (Armata Română) consists of three branches: Romanian Land Forces Romanian Naval Forces Romanian Air Force The term army is used in Romania when referring to the entire military, while land forces deal only with the actual army itself. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ... Portrait of Mátyás Rákosi Mátyás Rákosi (born March 14, 1892 as Mátyás Rosenfeld –February 5, 1971) was a Hungarian politician and the leader of Hungary from 1945 to 1956 through his post as General Secretary of the Hungarian Communist Party. ... Year 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Hungarian Workers Party (Hungarian: Magyar Dolgozók Pártja - MDP) was the ruling communist party of Hungary from 1948 to 1956. ...

The Hungarian Communist Party was a member of the Communist International. The first edition of Communist International, journal of the Comintern published in Moscow and Petrograd (now Saint Petersburg) in May 1919. ...

[edit] Foundation and Early Years

The Hungarian Communist Party (MKP) was first established in late 1918 by Béla Kun, a former journalist who fought for Austria-Hungary in World War I. After spending time in a POW camp, Kun, along with several associates, set up the initial workings of the MKP in Moscow in October of 1918. These first members returned to Hungary in November, and on the 24th officially created the MKP. Initially, the group was small in number, boasting only its founders and a handful of leftist Social Democrats. Nonetheless, the political instability of the government under Mihály Károlyi and the growing popularity of the Bolshevik movement prompted the Social Democrats to seek a coalition with the MKP. For the Social Democrats, an alliance with the MKP not only increased their standing with the common people, but also gave them a potential link to the increasingly powerful Russian Communist Party, as Kun had ties with prominent Russian Bolsheviks.
1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... Béla Kun Béla Kun (born Béla Kohn) (February 20, 1886, in Szilágycseh, today Cehu Silvaniei, Transylvania, Romania, died August 29, 1938 in the Soviet Union) was a Hungarian Communist politician, who ruled Hungary for a brief period in 1919. ... Austria-Hungary, also known as the Dual monarchy (or: the k. ... “The Great War ” redirects here. ... Moscow (Moskva) (Russian: , romanised: Moskva, IPA: see also other names) is the capital of Russia and the countrys economic, financial, educational, and transportation centre. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Look up November in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Social democracy is a political ideology emerging in the late 19th and early 20th centuries from supporters of Marxism who believed that the transition to a socialist society could be achieved through democratic evolutionary rather than revolutionary means. ... Count Mihály Adam Georg Nikolaus Károlyi von Nagykárolyi (March 4, 1875-March 20, 1955) was briefly Hungarys leader in 1918-19 during an ill-fated spell of democracy. ... Bolshevik Party Meeting. ...

Following the establishment of the Hungarian Soviet Republic in March of 1919, Kun set about nationalizing private industry while embarking on a massive agricultural collectivization project. He also took steps towards normalizing foreign relations with the Triple Entente powers in an effort to gain back some of the land that Hungary was set to lose in the post-war negotiations. For the 133 days that the Hungarian Soviet Republic existed, the MKP concentrated mostly on trying to fix the widespread economic chaos that had resulted from Hungary’s defeat in World War I. Unfortunately, Kun’s economic policy only created higher inflation while also leading to food shortages across the land. Opposition began to grow, lead by Miklós Horthy, and in June, following an attempted coup, the MKP launched a violent terror campaign through its secret police mechanism. Despite all this, the Soviet Republic fell on August 1, 1919, following the Hungarian Army’s crushing defeat by Romania. The invading Romanians seized Budapest from the Communists, exiled Kun to Vienna, and forced the MKP to hand over power to the Social Democrats.
March is the third month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... “Horthy” redirects here. ... is the 213th day of the year (214th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... “Wien” redirects here. ...

[edit] Inter-War Period and Exile

The fall of the Soviet Republic was followed by a year-long anti-Communist purge, known as the White Terror, by the new nationalist government under István Bethlen, in which anywhere from 1,000 to 5,000 people were killed and thousands more were imprisoned and tortured. Much of the old MKP leadership was either executed or exiled, primarily to Vienna. There, remnants of the MKP Central Committee, once again led by Kun, reformed into a Provisional Central Committee, which attempted to keep the Party together despite its illegal status in Hungary. Count István Bethlen Count István Bethlen de Bethlen (October 8, 1874 - October 5, 1946?), was a Hungarian aristocrat and statesman and served as Prime Minister from 1921 to 1931. ...

Throughout the 1920s, many Hungarian Communists moved to Moscow, with Kun among them. Kun’s actions in Russia, most notably the organization of a massacre of White Russian POWs in 1921, drew censure from Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin and other prominent Bolsheviks. Nonetheless, Kun maintained a prominent position with Comintern until 1937, when he was arrested and executed during one of Joseph Stalin’s purges. Furthermore, Kun was the unquestioned leader of the MKP during the inter-war period, with his main rival, Jenö Landler, dying in 1927. The term White Russian may refer to: Members of the White movement whose military arm is known as the White Army or White Guard comprised some of the Russian forces, both political and military, which opposed the Bolsheviks after the October Revolution and fought against the Red Army during the... Year 1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar). ... Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov) Russian: , IPA: , better known by the alias   () (April 22, 1870 – January 21, 1924), was a Russian revolutionary, a communist politician, the main leader of the October Revolution, the first head of the Russian Soviet Socialist Republic and from 1922, the first de facto leader... The Comintern (Russian: Коммунистический Интернационал, Kommunisticheskiy Internatsional – Communist International, also known as the Third International) was an international Communist organization founded in March 1919, in the midst of the war communism period (1918-1921), by Vladimir Lenin and the Russian Communist Party (Bolshevik), which intended to fight by all available means, including... Year 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Josef Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili (Georgian: , Ioseb Besarionis Dze Jughashvili; Russian: , Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili) (December 18 [O.S. December 6] 1878[1] – March 5, 1953), better known by his adopted name, Joseph Stalin (alternatively transliterated Josef Stalin), was General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Unions Central Committee from... Year 1927 (MCMXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

During this time, the MKP held its First Party Congress on August 18, 1925. The Party also organized a legal cover party, the Socialist Workers’ Party of Hungary (MSzMP), to act as its representative in Hungary. But the Hungarian government soon took steps to abolish the MSzMP, and by 1927, the party existed in name only. is the 230th day of the year (231st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

For the remainder of the inter-war period, the internal leadership of the MKP beyond Kun fluctuated tremendously, and membership was minuscule. On the home front, the declaration of martial law in 1931 allowed the government to round up suspected Communists and imprison and execute them at will, damaging the MKP to the point that the Comintern dissolved it in 1936. Further throwing the Hungarian Communists into disarray were the inconsistent policies of the Comintern throughout the 1930s, culminating in the 1939 Soviet-German Non-Aggression Pact and the abandonment of the Popular Front tactic that had marked Communist ideology for the last decade. On top of all of that, Stalin’s purges in the late 1930s had taken a heavy toll on the Hungarian émigrés in Moscow. Year 1931 (MCMXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Year 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Molotov signs the German-Soviet non-aggression pact. ... A popular front is a broad coalition of different political groupings, often made up of leftists and centrists who are united by opposition to another group (most often fascist or far-right groups). ...

[edit] World War II and the Communist Takeover

The MKP entered the 1940s a shell of what it once was. In late 1941, following Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union, the Central Committee advised Party members to work with non-Communist resistance groups in order to present a united anti-German front. This prompted the MKP to attempt to reestablish itself as a legal entity in Hungary, despite the Horthy government’s alliance with Nazi Germany. This movement was quickly put to an end, however, as mass arrests in 1942 effectively destroyed the leadership of the MKP. This, coupled with the dissolution of Comintern in 1943, spelled the end of the MKP as a functioning party for the time being.
For the movie, see 1941 (film). ... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In an effort to continue their actions, Hungarian Communists under János Kádár founded a new party, dubbed the Peace Party, as a replacement for the MKP. This designation lasted until late 1944, at which point the Peace Party reverted back to its designation as the Communist Party. By this point, Horthy was frantically trying to end Hungary’s role in the war. Attempts to scale back the involvement on the German end failed, and so, with the Red Army approaching the country’s borders, Horthy tried to declare Hungary a neutral state. The move backfired horrendously; Arrow Cross forces seized the capital, took power, and set the stage for an almost year long battle that claimed thousands of lives and left Budapest in ruins. The city was finally liberated in April of 1945.
János Kádár, né Giovanni Csermanek (his Italian first name was due to the laws of Fiume, his father denied paternity and refused to support his mother Borbála[1]) (May 26, 1912–July 6, 1989), was the communist leader of Hungary from 1956 to 1988, and twice... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... For other organizations known as the Red Army, see Red Army (disambiguation). ... Flag of the Arrow Cross Party The Arrow Cross (Nyilaskereszt) originated in Hungary in the 1930s as the symbol of the leading Hungarian fascist political party, the Arrow Cross Party, led by Ferenc Szálasi, an ex-army major. ... This article or section needs additional references or sources to improve its verifiability. ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ...

Despite rapid growth in membership immediately following the war, the MKP received minimal support in the elections for the post-war government, drawing only 17 percent, equal to the Social Democrats. But the appointment of party secretary László Rajk as Minister of the Interior, coupled with the presence of the Red Army in the country and strong support for the MKP within other parties, allowed the Hungarian Communists time to whittle away their political opponents. Within two years, the MKP had broken the power base of the Smallholders Party (SHP), the majority party in the new government, and by 1948, every party but the Social Democrats had vanished. These two parties merged in June of 1948 to become the Hungarian Workers Party (HWP), and in 1949, the Communists took over parliament in new elections with no opposition. The Communist takeover in Hungary was complete.
László Rajk László Rajk (May 8, 1909-October 15, 1949) was a Hungarian Communist; politician, home secretary. ... Year 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1949 calendar). ...

[edit] Bibliography

Crampton, R.J. Eastern Europe in the Twentieth Century - And After, 2nd Ed. Routledge Press, 1994. Molnár, Miklós From Belá Kun to János Kádár: Seventy Years of Hungarian Communism, Berg Publishers, 1990 Kenez, Peter Hungary from the Nazis to the Soviets: The Establishment of the Communist Regime in Hungary, 1944-1948, Cambridge University Press, 2006

[edit] See also

• Hungarian Socialist Workers Party
• History of Hungary
• Hungarian People's Republic