Identity Statement

Reference Code

HU OSA 375-0-1

Title

Interviews and Research Documentation on Soviet Influence, the Emergence of the One-Party System and the Events Preceding the Uprising in 1956 in Hungary

Date(s)

1947 - 1988

Description Level

Series

Extent and medium (processed)

1 Archival boxes, 0.12 linear meters
1 Oversized box (40 cm), 0.4 linear meters

Context

Name of creator(s)

Pallai, Péter

Content and Structure

Scope and Content (Narrative)

The series consists of interview transcripts and excerpts with Hungarian politicians, members of the Social Democratic Party, the Smallholders Party, as well as the Hungarian Worker’s Party. Mostly, the documents are Péter Pallai‘s own works, but two interviews were made by other journalists. One is a Hungarian transcript of an interview with György Marosán (high ranked member of the Social Democratic Party), done by David Irving in 1978, as part of his research for the book "Uprising! One Nation‘s Nightmare: Hungary 1956". Also, David Morton, former head of the BBC Russian Service, prepared an interview with Communist politician Zoltán Vas, a supporter of Imre Nagy. The transcript has questions in English and answers in Hungarian. The series also contains an interview with Denis Healey, secretary of the International Department of the Labour Party. Moreover, it includes letters (1947-1948) exchanged between the Social Democrat Vilmos Böhm and several party members, related to topics such as resignations from political posts within the Social Democratic Party of Hungary. The series explicitly reveals Soviet influence in Hungarian politics that eventually resulted in the emergence of the Communist one party system.

Accruals

Not Expected

System of arrangement

The series is arranged in alphabetical order.

Conditions of Access and Use

Conditions governing access

Partially Restricted

Languages

English, Hungarian

Allied Materials

Publication note

Pallai, Péter - Sárközi, Mátyás: A szabadság hullámhosszán - Az 1956-os magyar forradalom története - Az 1956-os magyar forradalom története a BBC elmondásában [At the Wavelength of Freedom - The Story of the 1956 Revolution - As Told by the BBC], (Helikon, Budapest, 2006.) Pallai, Péter - Sárközi Mátyás: Némi demokráciától a népi demokráciáig (1945-1948) [From Some Democracy to People's Democracy (1945-1948)], (Helikon, Budapest, 2008) Irving, David: Uprising! One Nation's Nightmare: Hungary 1956 (Hodder and Stoughton, 1981)

Notes

Note

David Irving's interview with György Marosán, and correspondence of Vilmos Böhm can be accessed upon the permission from the Donor.

Description Control

Archivist's note

Processed by Zsófia Mária Schmidt and Örs Lehel Tari, February 20, 2019.