EASTERN EUROPE - THE SITUATION IN HUNGARY

Created: 10/24/1956

OCR scan of the original document, errors are possible

EASTERN EUROPE

in Hungary: The peaceful abegan the afternoon ofnto large-scale, armed violence

a sudden call for Soviet nllltar atoned Hungarian Communist regime imlng that the first group of rio es" has surrendered to Soviet and apparently remains out of contro ared martial lav and has forbidde treots.

mass October in Buda-

during the night,

y assistance Although the

ting "counter-Hungarian troops

1 and the govero-

n public access

radio bas announced tbat Soviet troops, at the request of tbe Hungarian regime, intervened on tho morning of Octobero put dovn "the dastardly armed attack ofin Budapest. The USSR has0 ground troops stationed io Huogary. The Hungarianfor Soviet aid was made on the basis of the Warsaw treaty, after the unreliability of Hungarian army and police personnel was demonstrated by their participation io the rioting.

The new Hungarian premier, appointed on tbe Dight ofctober,emand the next morning tbat the rebels lay down tbelr arms0 (Budapest tine) tbat day. An address0 the night before by party first secretary Gero, stressing tbe continuance of Hungary's ties to the "glorious" Soviet Union, apparently provoked the demoostratore into armed attacks on public buildings. Budapest radio has Implied that casualties have been numerous.

The efforts the night ofd to appease tbe demands of the increasingly restive demonstrators by the hurriedof new party and governmententirely natlonallst-orleDtednot have any effect. ast-aloute plea to tbe crowds to return to their homes by tbe newly appointed premier,re Nagy, whoseto power the demonstrators had been demanding, also failed.

In addition to naming Nagy premier, an emergency meeting of the central committeeew polltburo, only three of whose members predate the Rakosi ouster of laet July. headed by Gero, the polltburo is dominated by the nationalist Communists. Only eight of the formerembers were returned and virtually all of these, with the exception of Goro, have bean identified with the moderate group. Tho retention of Gero--which may bobo designed

Oct 56

INTELLIGENCE3

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to prevent direct Soviet intervention against the course of lntraparty development toward "nationalist Communistand "democratization."

All Western telephone contact with Budapest has been severed and Hungarian authorities have closed the frontier with Austria to all traffic.

ct INTELLIGENCE DIGEST - Page 4

The party and government reorganizationof Gero'smore cautious development than the Polish parallel, but the nationalist moderates are lo control of the party. These forces are ln complete sympathy with Gomulka's "declaration of independence." Nagy ls at this time the most powerful man in Hungary. He has long argued for Hungarian

Original document.

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