In 1919 there was a state which lived only 133 days
The story of the Hungarian Soviet Republic
It was the second socialist state in the world after Russia, lasted only 133 days, yet it is considered an independent era in Hungarian history. Proletarian dictatorship, red terror, Romanian occupation — all in one of the most stormy and crisis year of the Hungarian people.
The fall of the First Hungarian Republic
After the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy and the Aster Revolution, Hungary’s new form of state became a republic, headed by Count Mihály Károlyi, a former opposition politician.
Károlyi, first as prime minister and then as president of the republic, pursued a fundamentally pacifist policy and sought to compromise with both nationalities and the Entente forces.
Seeing that his aspirations did not lead to success, Mihály Károlyi would have been ready to defend the country armed even in March 1919, but later the government received the so-called Vix Note, in which the Entente called on the Hungarian government to evacuate new territories and establish a neutral zone vis-à-vis Romania.
Both Károlyi and the cabinet, headed by Dénes Berinkey, considered the demands unacceptable. The latter eventually chose to resign instead of refusing or signing, and Mihály Károlyi entrusted the Hungarian Social Democrats with the formation of a government.
The Social Democrats, on the other hand, did not intend to govern alone: even that day, Jenő Landler and his colleagues secretly agreed with the Hungarian Communists and their leader, Béla Kun, who were still in prison at the time. Among other things, they decided to unite the two camp and to proclaim the Republic of Councils in Hungary and introduce the proletarian dictatorship in Hungary.
On March 21, 1919, the Communists and Social Democrats spread the news that Károlyi had resigned voluntarily, handed over his power to the proletariat, and proclaimed the Soviet Republic. Of course, this was not true, Károlyi did not resign from his presidency, but in the end he took note of what had happened and retired.
The Hungarian Soviet Republic
Although historiography and the public consciousness basically count and mention it as ‘Republic of Councils in Hungary’, it is important to know, that the term itself covers a form of state in which power is exercised by workers councils (soviets).
After the unification of the Social Democrats and the Communists, the united Hungarian Socialist Party was formed, which immediately set about transforming not just the country, but also society.
The main goal of the Revolutionary Governing Council (which was the new government), headed by Sándor Garbai, was in fact to transform Hungarian society into the Soviet model. However, the most influential politician (and actually leader) of the Hungarian Soviet Republic was Béla Kun, who held the post of People’s Commissar for Foreign Affairs.
Measures that completely contradicted and broke with previous traditions also had an impact on public administration, the economy, and culture.
Administration and economy
The former administrative system and the old municipalities were abolished and councils were established in their place, at the municipal, district, city and county levels.
The legislature, as already mentioned, was in the hands of the Revolutionary Governing Council, in which the role and task of the ministers were performed by people’s commissioners. Elections to the councils were first held in April 1919, in which all men and women over the age of 18 could vote. Only priests and those dubbed “exploiters” were not eligible to vote.
In the field of justice, the old court system was replaced by the institution of revolutionary courts, which was characterized by disregard for legal regulations, simplification of court procedures and lack of appeal.
The liquidation of private property was of paramount importance to the Hungarian Soviet Republic. The socialization to be implemented on the basis of the Soviet model included the nationalization of factories that employed more than twenty workers, including industrial, mining, and transportation establishments.
In practice, however, smaller farms have also been socialized. The creation of production cooperatives already arises and state farms are created with it. Land reform, therefore, did not take place in this sense, as the expropriated lands were not distributed among the peasants but remained public property.
Society and culture
In the area of social measures, efforts have been made to improve the living conditions of workers and employees, including the introduction of 8-hour working hours, wage increases, and reductions in rents and house prices.
Education has also been nationalized. Eight-grade, compulsory and free primary education was introduced, high schools were merged, and new textbooks were printed. However, the anti-religious nature of the Council’s power also left its mark on educational reforms. For example, daily prayers and religious education were not allowed.
Interestingly, the Hungarian Soviet Republic was initially supported by a number of well-known artists, mostly those who were also adherents of the Aster Revolution in 1918. To mention only a few names, Mihály Babits, Zsigmond Móricz, but Frigyes Karinthy and Dezső Kosztolányi (famous Hungarian writers and poets) were also members of the so-called Literary Directorate. However, it is important to point out that most of them, like the population of the country, began to become disillusioned with the proletarian dictatorship after a while.
“Red Terror”
„Power is in our hands. Whoever wants to return to the old rule must be hanged mercilessly. This one has to bite his throat. The victory of the Hungarian proletariat so far has not suffered much. Now, however, it will be necessary for blood to shed. There is no need to be afraid of blood. Blood — steel: strengthens the heart, strengthens the proletarian fist. The blood will make us mighty. It will be the blood that leads us to the real world of communion. We will exterminate the whole bourgeoisie if we need to! ”– said Tibor Szamuely, Deputy People’s Commissar of War, in his speech in Győr, on April 20, 1919.
Radical changes in the home affairs also included the creation of the Red Guard, which was in fact intended to replace the police and the gendarmerie. The Red Guard consisted largely of disarmed soldiers and armed workers, peasants. In addition, so-called terrorist detachments have sprung up in other parts of the country against “anti-class” forces.
One of the best-known “terror brigade” was a group called “Lenin Boys” led by Tibor Szamuely and József Cserny, who rode the country on armored black trains, with frequent bloodshed and violence against people they described as anti-class and dangerous.
One for all, all for one…
The Versailles peace conference, which was intended to end the First World War, watched the events in Hungary with concern. On the one hand, they feared that Bolshevik ideas could reach the West through Hungary, and on the other hand, the already mentioned Vix List was still not accepted.
The Entente then tried to negotiate with Béla Kun through the British General Smuts — among other things, they offered to invite Hungary to the peace conference if the Hungarian Soviet Republic accepted the new demarcation lines. Eventually no agreement was reached, Smuts traveled home and the Entente gave the green light to Serbian, French, Romanian and Czech military intervention.
On April 16, the Romanian troops crossed the demarcation line and pushed all the way to the Tisza River, while the Czech legions set off in Salgótarján, in the direction of Miskolc and Eger. Initially, the Red Army was not able to stop the forces invading the country, but thanks to propaganda and recruitment rallies, the Hungarian army consisted of about 200,000 people by the end of May.
On the 20th of May, the northern counterattack started, the Czech and Romanian troops were separated and in the north-eastern direction, in just three weeks, they managed to break forward to the Besztercebánya-Rozsnyó-Bártfa line. However, on June 13, the peace conference communicated to Hungary its new northern and eastern borders, which it considered final, and again called on it to withdraw its troops from those areas. In return, the Romanians also evacuate the occupied Tisza region.
To a great surprise, Béla Kun accepted the offer of the Entente, and on June 30, the Red Army began evacuating the so-called Highlands (today Slovakia).
The fall of the Hungarian Soviet Republic
Béla Kun finally obeyed the peace conference, citing home affairs reasons — he claimed that a retreat had to be blown out in order to completely settle the counter-revolution. In fact, there were strikes in several places in the country at that time and there was growing dissatisfaction.
In any case, after the evacuation of the Highlands, the Red Army disintegrated, most of the soldiers were disappointed, and part of the officers was oriented towards the so-called National Army, which was led by Miklós Horthy.
At the end of July 1919, with the remaining army, Béla Kun launched another offensive against the Romanian troops — as they did not fulfill their obligations and continued to occupy the Tisza region.
However, the offensive collapsed, the Red Army meanwhile completely disintegrated, and the Romanian troops marched towards the interior of the country and Budapest.
From then on, events accelerated.
Seeing the hopeless situation, the Revolutionary Governing Council resigned on August 1, and Béla Kun with the communist leaders, fearing possible revenge and accountability, fled to Vienna by train.
The Hungarian Soviet Republic lived only 133 days, and historians say it can be considered one of the most problematic chapters in Hungarian history.
Its assessment is still disputed, as in the twentieth century, attitudes towards the proletarian dictatorship changed several times during different systems and ages. After its fall, the domestic political crisis that has plagued Hungary since the end of the First World War has still not been resolved.
This story was originally published at Trafik.
