Socialism and Democracy in Hungary [antikvár]

This volume presents the development of Hungary over the past quarter of a century, the present situation and the problems of today. It was compiled from speeches and articles by János Kádár and from the documents of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party, the party of communists which leads the country, and from colourful illustrative material. János Kádár, First Secretary of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party (HSWP), is a politician with a world-wide reputation. He was born in Fiume (now Rijeka in Yugoslavia), in 1912. Before the Liberation in 1945, he was a mechanic, who improved his education by self-teaching. He was an active participant in the illegal communist movement from the beginning of the thirties and has been a member of the Party of Communists in Hungary since 1931. He has always retained his revolutionary dedication and his belief in a happy socialist future of the people. He took part in the reorganization of the underground Communist Party from 1940. From 1941 he held various leading positions in the party, and was secretary from the beginning of 1943. After the Liberation he held various high party and state posts; among others he was Deputy General Secretary of the Central Leadership between 1946 and 1948, Minister of the Interior from 1948 to 1950. He was arrested on trumped-up charges in the spring of 1951. After his rehabilitation in 1954 he became the First Secretary of the Party Committee in the XHIth District of Budapest. He was elected a national leader of the party in July 1956. He played a big role in defeating the counterrevolution in 1956. He has been leading the country from his position of responsibility since 1956; he was also Prime Minister for a time.