The Impact of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution on Religious Life in Eastern Europe [antikvár]

INTRODUCTION THE EFFECT OF THE 1956 HUNGARIAN REVOLUTION ON THE CHURCHES The 1956 Hungarian Revolution had a remarkable effect on contemporary Europe, especially on the Eastern European communist states. Due to the threat of dire consequences it was impossible to research the history of the revolution until 1989. In the past twenty years historical research has produced impressive results and several detailed critical interpretations have been published. However, there has been no analysis of the impact of the revolution on the Church in Hungary, nor on those of neighbouring countries. After 1945, commur\ist dictatorships (under Soviet guidance) tried to eliminate the Churches in every possible way. Church properties were natioi\alised, schools were appropriated and religious associations and foundations were dissolved. Religious practice was confined to the churches. The Hungarian revolution generated an enormous paruc in the communist governments of the region. They made every effort to ensure that it did not spread beyond the border.^ News was spread mostly by those who were able to listen to the Free Kossuth Radio, Radio Free Europe or the Voice of America. In spite of the prohibition, news of the revolution spread quickly, and in this the priests of neighbouring countries played a great role. Sometimes solidarity was expressed in sermons, while at other times priests and believers discussed the development in the churches after service. Unfortunately we do not know a great deal about these activities as the oppressive regimes reacted strongly against them. The well-developed secret services of the communist states were widely present in the Churches. In this way all information quickly reached the gatherers of intelligence. Uiifortunately, many secret service reports have been destroyed over the past decades. However, in some countries, like Czechoslovakia, the archive was kept intact and can be researched in Prague.^ It is likely that since the mid-90s the secret service documents on the Churches have been open for consultation in Romania. Judicial records also provide an important source for research; we can learn from these the severity of the sentences which followed the revolution. It is clear that the Cf. ZOMBORI, István: Az 1956-os forradalom hatása a szomszédos országok egyházaira. In: Az 1945 utáni magyar katolikus egyháztörténet új megközelítései. Ed.: VARGA, Szabolcs - VÉRTESI, Lázár. Pécs, 2007. 219-239. : Cf. HACKO, Jozef: Az 1956-os magyar forradalmi események egyházi visszhangja Szlovákiában a csehszlovák állambiztonsági jelentések tükrében. In: Együtt. Az 1956-os magyar forradalom és a határon túli magyarok. Ed.: SZESZTAY, Ádám. Budapest, 2006.161-175.