Budapest 1956 [antikvár]

The present English edition of this book includes a few additions to the original French text which I considered necessary. They consist in the main of details about the relations between com- munist countries, in particular the USSR, China and Yugo- slavia, and of a few minor corrections of political and biograph- ical facts. But, in the interests of brevity, Chapter III of the French edition, which briefly surveyed Hungarian history as well as other passages had to be omitted. I have refrained from making any changes as a result of events in Prague in 1968. This book was written before the Czech crisis and any attempt to bring it up to date or to place it in the context of subsequent events would have deprived it of its original viewpoint and its specific character. I meant to write a history of the Hungarian Revolution; it is this aim that I reaffirm with even greater conviction than five years ago, when I undertook this task. As an historian, I do not feel the need to rectify my judgements even if they may appear too optimistic today, in the light of the Prague events of 1968. Quite the contrary. If the 'Spring of Prague' was possible despite the lesson of 1956 - in the most peaceful of all the People's Repub- lics - this is only additional proof of my theory, i.e. that the trend working against the present system of domination and administration in East and Central Europe cannot be resisted. But it might be objected that the Soviet Military force which twice crushed it was equally irresistible. And this despite all the caution of the Czechs, which was so much greater than that of the Hungarians! True enough, Mr Dubcek's 'socialism with a human face' was no more successful with the Kremlin than Mr Nagy's 'com- munism caring for man'. Thanks to a balance of power which remained favourable to her and even allowed her to act with impunity, the USSR once again preferred to maintain the status quo rather than to undertake a thorough revision of her relations with the People's Democracies. And in order to do this, she did not even have to justify