1956-1973 since 1990







Goulash Communism, 1973-1990


Administration . Janos Kadar was the dominant political figure, holding on to his post as Secretary General of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party (HWSP) from 1956 to 1988. Parliamentary elections were held in 1971 and 1975; the next elections were held in 1990.

Foreign Policy . The experience of the Hungarian Rebellion of 1956 and the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, in which Hungarian forces had participated, had taught the Hungarian leadership lessons. Any foreign policy other than unwavering loyalty to Moscow, active membership in COMECON and the Warsaw Pact, was perilous. When Mikhail Gorbachev took the reigns of power in the USSR in 1985, the Hungarian administration found herself under a lesser degree of scrutiny; the USSR was in the process of letting go of her grip of eastern central Europe.
Early in 1989, Hungary openly cut the Iron Curtain, permitting Hungarian citizend to freely visit Austria. That summer several 10,000 East German tourists declared their desire to travel to the FRG rather than return to the GDR. The Soviet Block was in dissolution, and Hungary was in the center of the action. The end of communist rule in Hungary was only a matter of time; it came after the 1990 elections.
While Hungary was experiencing the liberation from Soviet domination and the deficiencies of a socialist system, neighbouring Romania became even more defiant. Ceausescu's secret police oppressed the Hungarian minority living in Transylvania, and many ethnic Hungarians fled to Hungary, where refugee camps had to be established to provide them with shelter (1989).

Political History . 11th HSWP Party Congress 1975, 12th HSWP Congress 1980. 13th HSWP Party Congress 1985. In 1989 the HSWP split in two.
Kadar pursued a policy of gradual liberalization, reducing the powers of the secret police, terminating the policy of party purges etc.
In 1985 at the congress of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party (HWSP), reform communists such as Karoly Grosz and Imre Pozsgay were elected into the Politburo, soon emerging as influential men behing aging secretary general Janos Kadar.

The Economy . Fourth Five Year Plan 1971-1975, Fifth Five Year Plam 1976-1980, Sixth Five Year Plan 1981-1985, Seventh Five Year Plan 1986-1990.
In 1973, Hungary produced 4.50 million metric tons of wheat, in 1988 7.0 million (IHS pp.278-279).
Janos Kadar's Goulash Communism had been relatively successful in the 1960es and early 1970es. The Oil Crisis of 1973 hit Hungary hard, for the country had no oil sources and depended on imports from the Soviet Union or elsewhere. Hungary soon accumulated foreign debt, and another economic reform was necessary.
A new economic policy was implemented in 1979. Industrial monopolies were broken up, consumer prices of many products raised to world market level (hitherto, most prices were state-subsidized). Yet the success of these measures did not satisfy expectation. In 1985, Hungary openly discussed bold plans such as making the Hungarian currency convertible.

Social History . Jan Lahmeyer estimates Hungary's population in 1968 as 10.27 million; the census of 1980 counted 10.70 million, the census of 1990 10.37 million.

Cultural History . Hungary's athletes participated in the Summer Olympics of Montreal 1976, Moscow 1980 and Seoul 1988. Hungary boycotted the games held in Los Angeles in 1984. Hungaryan athletes took 4 gold in Montreal, 7 in Moscow and 11 in Seoul.






EXTERNAL
LINKS 		Articles People's Republic of Hungary, Elections in Hungary, Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party, Janos Kadar, Hungary at the 1972 Summer Olympics, Hungary at the 1976 Summer Olympics, Hungary at the 1980 Summer Olympics, Hungary at the 1988 Summer Olympics, from Wikipedia
The People's Republic, from Hungary : A Short History by C.A. Macartney (1962)
Almost half a century - my lifetime, from Hungary - A Brief History, by Istvan Lazar, 1989/1993
DOCUMENTS Hungarian Statesmen, from World Statesmen (B. Cahoon)
Historical Population Statistics : Hungary, from Population Statistics (J. Lahmeyer)
Hungarian banknotes, from Ron Wise's World Paper Money and from Currency Museum
REFERENCE IHS : B.R. Mitchell, International Historical Statistics. Europe 1750-1988, NY : Stockton Press 1992 [G]
Peter F. Sugar (ed.), A History of Hungary, Indiana Univ. Press 1990, 432 pp.
Article : Hungary, in : Britannica Book of the Year 1974 pp.356-357, 1975 pp.374-375, 1976 pp.397-398, 1977 pp.396-397, 1978 pp.429-430, 1979 pp.421-422, 1980 pp.426-427, 1981 pp.426-427, 1982 pp.423-424, 1983 pp.419-420, 1984 pp.421-422, 1985 pp.550, 699, 1986 pp.544-545, 696, 1987 pp.515-516, 665, 1988 pp.471, 617, 1989 pp.472-473, 618, 1990 pp.489, 633 [G]
Article : Hungary, in : Statesman's Yearbook 1975-1976 pp.1010-1017, 1976-1977 pp.1018-1025, 1978-1979 pp.584-591, 1979-1980 pp.588-595, 1980-1981 pp.586-593, 1981-1982 pp.589-596, 1983-1984 pp.594-601, 1984-1985 pp.595-602, 1985-1986 pp.598-605, 1986-1987 pp.601-608, 1987-1988 pp.607-614, 1988-1989 pp.609-616, 1989-1990 pp.614-622 [G]
Article : Hungary, in : Americana Annual 1976 pp.285-286, 1988 p.270, 1989 pp.269-270, 1990 pp.263-264 [G]
Article : Hungary, in : The World in Figures 1st ed. 1976 pp.232-233, 2nd ed. 1978 pp.232-233, 4th ed. 1984 pp.232-233 [G]
Article : Hungary, in : Funk & Wagnall's New Encyclopedia Year Book 1983 pp.190-191 [G]
Article : Hungary, in : Yearbook on International Communist Affairs 1976 pp.39-51 (Bennett Kovrig), 1980 pp.40-49 (B.K.) [G]


This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted in 2000, last revised on July 6th 2007

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