Their Traces | Part 5

Peace treaties that brought World War I to an end, brought new problems to life. The objectives and possibilities of Hungarian leadership were set on a path that ended with political and moral defeat. What led the country to this direction?

Extradition agreement between the Hungarian Kingdom and the German Reich, in which the two countries agreed that legal assistance would be created between them, and the offenders would be mutually extradited to the other country.

Prime Minister Pál Teleki’s farewell letter to Regent Miklós Horthy, in which he warned him about the moral loss and political problems would occur with the attack of Yugoslavia.

Letter from László Bárdossy, ex-Prime Minister, to Miklós Horthy, in which he thanked for the Grand Cross with the Holy Crown of the Hungarian Order of Merit, and expressed his hopes that Horthy will soon be welcoming him for a private meeting.

Letter from Minister of Defense, Károly Bartha to the Minister of Interior, Ferenc Keresztes-Fischer on implementation of the Act of 1939 nr. 2. on the National Defense.

Not long after the destructions of the war, a new, Soviet-type state was established under the leadership of Mátyás Rákosi and his circle. He had the absolute power in Hungary, meanwhile served the Soviet interests.

The Act No. 20 of 1949, the Constitution of the Hungarian People’s Republic. The law determined the government form of the state of Hungary, its social structure, the system of state administration and the judicial organs, which was authenticated by Árpád Szakasits as President of the Republic, and instead of the Prime Minister, Mátyás Rákosi, Deputy Prime Minister.

Order of Gábor Péter, the Head of the State Protection Authority about the appointment of Antal Beszédes, to Commander of the Border Guard, József Mázi to the Head of the Political Department of the Border Guard, and József Korompai to the Logistics Commander of the Border Guard.

Order of Ernő Gerő, Minister of Interior, issued on July 24, 1953, which, according to the decision of the Presidential Council of the People’s Republic and the Council of Ministers, orders the appointment of people with various police and state security degrees.

One of the most decisive events of 20th century Hungarian history began with the peaceful protest of university students and ended with bloody fights. It was followed by nation-wide retaliation, in which Prime Minister Imre Nagy fell victim as well.

Imre Nagy’s letter of December 14, 1954 to the Political Committee of the Hungarian Workers’ Party, announcing that because of his illness he cannot attend at the meeting of the Political Committee.

Judgment of 15 June 1958 by the People’s Tribunal of the Supreme Court led by Judge Ferenc Vida in the criminal proceedings of Imre Nagy and his associates (Ferenc Donáth, Miklós Gimes, Zoltán Tildy, Péter Maléter, Sándor Kopácsi, Ferenc Jánossi, Miklós Vásárhelyi).

The decision of the Supreme Council of the Supreme Court, led by Dr. Jenő Szilbereky, on July 6, 1989, in which Imre Nagy, Ferenc Donáth, Miklós Gimes, dr. Ferenc Jánossi, Pál Maléter, Zoltán Tildy, dr. József Szilágyi, Miklós Vásárhelyi, and Sándor Kopácsi were acquitted of the charges and the Council repealed the judgments Nr. TB.Nb.003/1958/12. and TB.Nb.003/1958/18.

After the revolution and freedom fight of 1956, the politics turned toward consolidation. According to János Kádár, it was necessary to offer the people a policy, in which they could find their limited possibilities. This was the so-called Goulash Communism.

János Kádár’s personal response to Mikhail Gorbachev, in which he expresses his gratitude for Gorbachev’s trust in his politics and importance of their personal relationship, which based on total trust. In the year of the letter, he has been the leader of the Hungarian Socialist Workers’ Party for 31 years.

In his letter, György Ránki informs János Kádár that he found a Gestapo report in the archives of the German Foreign Ministry, which documented the capture of Kádár in 1944. He sent the report to Kádár in a copy.

There was a fundamental turnaround in Central and Eastern Europe at the end of the 1980s. The state-socialist regimes gave place for democracies. How did this process take place in Hungary?

John Paul II, the “traveling Pope”, visited 129 countries. The decision to invite the Holy Father to Hungary was made in 1988, and it was approved by His Holiness in November in the very same year.

The Social Committee, founded for the celebration of October 23, 1956, called for the removal of the Red Star from the Parliament’s dome, on a press conference. The five-member delegation of the committee held talks with Tibor Soós, in which it was decided to turn off the lights of red star at a certain point of the ceremony and make it impossible to switch the lights back, but it will be removed only later.