The Hungarian Revolution of 1956: History Matters (Short Animated Documentary)

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This episode covers the 1956 Hungarian revolution in which Hungary, under Imre Nagy, demanded independence from the USSR's sphere of influence.

Recommended books:

Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945 by Tony Judt. Best book on the period available. Absolutely phenomenal and a complete tome (worth every penny, though).

A Concise History of Hungary by Miklós Molnár. Like all of the other books in this series its a fantastic introduction to all Hungarian history. Not the cheapest but still a great book for people interested in both Communist and all other Hungarian history.

[HistoryMatters]

I'd like to apologise to any Hungarians watching for butchering your language. I tried, though.


Also, next week's videos will be 'The July Revolution' and 'The Fall of the Knights Templar'.

[mjr_schneider]

Fun fact: The Soviet invasion of Hungary caused most of the members of the British Communist Party to quit in protest and the remaining members who supported the invasion were referred to derisively as "tankies."

[conveyor]

A Hungarian friend told me about a 16 year old arrested in the 50s in Hungary for stealing food. The authorities convicted him but were concerned about maintaining a humanitarian image. So he was hung on his 18th birthday.

[uplink-on-yt]

"You're going to Romania, mister"
"Can't you just torture me to death instead? Please?"

[nikolay-sr]

Russians in a Hungarian revolution?

It's like 1848 all over again

[matthewdery]

My grandad was one of those many thousands of people to flee Hungary during the revolution and he revisited many times years later to see family and friends. He went to the old Secret Police HQ many years after the fall of the USSR whilst it was a museum and saw that on the walls were memorials and names of people tortured and executed by the Secret Police and he cried because he recognised a name as being one of his old friends that he didn’t know had been killed.

[misterkrazy]

You should do a video on the Tito-Stalin Split, and maybe the Sino-Soviet split.

[zephyrna]

Fun fact, the olympics were held in the same year, and Hungary, who was independent for like half a year, got a team of their own into the year's Olympics.

This is significant because that year the water polo finals was between the Soviet Union and Hungary. And what ensued was the most brutal and violent olympic match in history. The water in the pool turned red from the blood, players on both sides were coming in and out of the match with broken bones, cuts, bites, and fractures. And in the end, the Hungarians won gold.

It was a powerful symbol for us at the time. We have always been good at water polo. And even if the Soviets eventually stopped our revolution, we still beat the shit out of them in the Olympics.

[CB]

It woul've been really cool if the revolution had prevailed and Hungary adopted the flag with the hole in the middle.

[silesiaball]

Hungarian revolution of 1956 is also a great example of Polish-Hungarian brotherhood. One was of the causes of revolution were protests in Poland in June 1956. Also after Hungarian revolution had failed, Polish civilians were sending supplies and blood to help.

[juliushakala]

I'm simple Finn
I see video about Hungarian revolution of 1956
Hungary doesn't regain independence
I cry now :(

[spiderpig]

for anyone who hasn't visited Budapest, you can still see holes in some buildings from the time of the revolution. The hole where made from gunshots that missed their target

[demiadam]

When Nagy Imre was executed, he was just thrown somewhere random without a proper burial. He was later identified by his clothing by some family members
In 1989.06.16 a re-burial was held in Budapest Heroes’ square, over 20 thousand people showed up. Just a few months later, Hungary was officially finally democratic

[gcnelite]

I love your animation because people just waddle into the frame holding a sign. It's unique and funny.

[kokojambo]

Another note you missed is that the original protests which sparked the revolution were actually a support protest for the 1956 Poznan uprising (Against Soviet rule) in Poland, a country which many Hungarians considered dear to their hearts.

[belgianwaffles]

Ah yes, the worst place to be exiled: Romania.

[Aggie]

I think one of the biggest mistakes the US made was to not offer some support to the Hungarians. I've read they genuinely believed they would get Western support.

[jonathanredacted]

Ah yes the Soviets, poopers of the socialist party and opponents of imperialism unless it was their imperialism

[AureliusLaurentius]

Crushing Hungarian Revolutions
-Russia’s favourite pastime since 1848

[robertvamosi]

I am from Hungary and it was amazing to watch a video on youtube about our history. Thank you for this video! And your pronunciation wasn't so bad :)