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The Twilight Zone of Kadar's Hungary
| Article
# : |
12225 |
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Section : |
MODERN THOUGHT
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| Issue
Date : |
2 / 1987 |
9,877 Words |
| Author
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Ivan Volgyes
Ivan Volgyes is professor of political science at the
University of Nebraska. This article was presented at the
PWPA conference held December 18, 1987, in Washington, D.C.,
titled "Gorbachev's Eastern Bloc: The Uncertain Future." It
is reprinted from the book by the same title with permission
from PWPA. |
On a cold, blustery, winter day - November 27, 1956 - 200,000 Hungarians left everything behind them: family friends, job, school, career, the graves of dear ones. They fled the broken city of Budapest, where burned-out buildings still testified to the vicious and brutal fighting between the invading Red Army and the ragtag and bobtail Hungarians who dared to seek freedom. Shop windows were broken; shops stood empty. Tanks patrolled the country; militiamen, Red Army troops, police asked for the identification books; fear gripped the cities. The factories stood ideal. At night, the cities were dark, threatening, the streets empty. The sullen and dispirited people stared dully in the distance, grateful that at least the horror of the fighting was over but knowing that their dream of independence and democracy was never to materialize.
The contrast between the Budapest of 1956 and the city of today cannot be readily depicted in words alone. It is in the smells of the city, its feel, and its noises, and not just in the visual element of the change. The Pearl of the Danube and the Paris of the East is today a city without parallel in Eastern Europe. As the largest capital of the region, it boasts glittering galas, privately owned Mercedes and BMWs, a casino in the Hilton, Western built hotels, a Pierre Cardin salon, and nightclubs galore. The shops - in glaring contrast to those of any of the neighboring states - are well stocked, providing both basic necessities for the population and luxuries for the extremely rich who live in their private villas, complete with swimming pools and two-car garages. While there are many areas of obvious failures, the signs of success are all the results of the accomplishments of Hungary's reform era under the rule of Janos Kadar. Although there are no giant billboards at every street corner
... (1993 of 59358 Characters)
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