3.  The Soviets military was linked with Hungary’s armed forces.  The Southern Group of Forces, a major component to the Warsaw Pact’s military forces, was stationed in Hungary.  Many Hungarian military officers depended on the Soviet Union for a job or career More Soviet Influence

4.  Soviet troops were always present in the country.  The chief Soviet representative of the Warsaw Treaty Organization practiced control of both the Hungarian Army and Soviet Army daily.  A representative of the Soviet military intelligence met with military and political authorities frequently.

5.  After WWI and WWII, Hungary was left in economic decline and it’s fate was decided by whichever superpower brought Eastern Europe under it’s control. It ended up being the Soviet Union.  Hungary wanted to move from dictatorship to democracy.  Ordinary Hungarians believed that democracy would bring prosperity and allow them to be as rich as the Austrians. Imre Nagy

6.  He was a leading member of Communist Party when the Soviets took over Hungary in 1944.  In 1953, he rose to prime minister of Hungary, but was forced out when his “New Course” of liberation was more than the Kremlin liked.  After an anti-Soviet uprising erupted in October 1956, he was made prime minister again.  Imre Nagy announced Hungarian Neutrality and withdrew from the Warsaw Pact. Warsaw Pact

7.  After the Soviets invaded Hungary in 1956, the United States worried about the new found Soviet aggression that was being applied.  In October 1957, the Soviets launched a space satellite, Sputnik. Americans feared that if they could launch a rocket into outer space, the Soviets would surely be able to deliver a nuclear bomb to a country on the same planet.  President Eisenhower refused to help Hungary reach democracy and continue the policy of “containment” in order to not cause a nuclear war between the Soviets.

8.  On November 4, 1956, at about 4:30 in the morning, the Soviets launched an attack on Hungary in hopes of once and for all, crushing the national uprising for democracy.  Prime minister Imre Nagy announced the invasion to the nation as he took refuge but was immediately arrested by Soviet officers as he walked out, and was taken to a secret location in Romania. The outcome?

9.  The Hungarians were easily defeated. It was a dark moment during the Cold War. It seemed as though everyone living in Hungary picked up some kind of weapon to fight against the Soviet military.  On October 31, before the attack, a declaration was published stating that “The Soviet Government is prepared to enter into the appropriate negotiations with the government of the Hungarian People's Republic and other members of the Warsaw Treaty on the question of the presence of Soviet troops on the territory of Hungary.” So it looked as though things would turn around, until the Soviets decided to attack.  By November 7 th, 1956, Hungarians were crushed, and the fight was over.  Click here to watch a short clip on the Hungarian Revolutionhere

10.  "Hungary." Country Listing. Country Studies Series by Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress, Sept. 1989. Web. 18 Feb. 2010..  "Imre Nagy." Answers.com. 2010. Web. 18 Feb. 2010..  “The Presidents." PBS. Web. 18 Jan. 2010..  "Twenty years ago: the birth of Hungarian democracy." Hungarian Spectrum, 10 Jan. 2009. Web. 18 Feb. 2010..  "The Warsaw Pact." Czechoslovakia: A Country Study. Glenn E. Curtis, 1992. Web. 18 Feb. 2010. http://www.shsu.edu/~his_ncp/WarPact.html.