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Essay about Communist Takeover in Hungary

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“The Communists Come to Power in Hungary”

Hungary is located in what is considered central Europe with its capital city, Budapest, lying towards the northern part of the country. Contemporary Hungarian history is marked with two periods of totalitarian rule. In the years of 1939-1945 Hungary was subjected to Nazi occupation and the rise of Hungary’s own fascist party, the Arrow Cross party. Through 1944-1950 Hungary was liberated by the Red Army and the rise of communism began to take its hold on the war-torn nation. Many contributing factors have caused and allowed the communists to come to power. This paper’s purpose is to identify and evaluate the events leading up to the communist takeover and how the communists …show more content…

Throughout World War II Hungary’s fledgling communist party was receiving large amounts of support from communist Russia, and this became a key factor that assisted the Soviets in gradually seizing power. Furthermore, R.J. Crampton stated that after the war the communist agenda was becoming more and more popular with the citizens of many of the Eastern bloc countries because they witnessed the failure of capitalism and how that gave rise to fascist regimes and a Holocaust (213). Also, the idea of equality and shared economic wealth appealed to the poverty-stricken nation. Another crucial factor that allowed Soviet Russia to be a decisive force in opposition to the Nazis was that east Europeans wanted to restructure society and erect a front against fascism and believed a socialist agenda would help them do that. It is easy to understand why communism became a popular option to the devastated nation of Hungary, not only did Soviet Russia provide a new, optimistic outlook on society but they also became the dominant political force in the country.
After the Red Army liberated Hungary from Nazi occupation, they too occupied Hungary and began to exert their control over the nation. Since Hungary belonged to the Soviet sphere of influence they were soon forced to model their government after communist

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