Hungary 1956: Forty Years On

This collection of new articles offers a retrospective view of the events of the 1956 revolution in Hungary, the consequences they have had for Hungary’s political development since, and the significance of 1956 in current Hungarian politics. Different articles draw on the findings of various kinds of research, including work in documentary and archival collections that have only recently been opened up, sociological survey research, and in some cases, on personal reminiscences as well. The volume provides new information on such questions as the nature of support for the revolution, the response of the Soviet army in Hungary, diplomatic politics concerning the events in Hungary, and the way the decision to intervene was taken within Soviet ruling circles. A further article reports on a sociological survey of the views of schoolchildren on the 1956 revolution and their views on its relevance to current Hungarian politics, and discusses the relation between the formal history of 1956 and private family histories of the period.