Otras actividades; conferencias y cursos; su etapa e T.V.E.

221. On Tuesday evening, 23 October, Mr. Nagy and his son-in-law, Ferenc Jánosi, a Protestant Minister, were brought to the Parliament by some friends in response to the persistent demand of the people crowded before the Parliament Building that they wanted to see Imre Nagy. Upon Mr. Nagy’s arrival, Ferenc Erdei asked him to try to calm the crowd. Mr. Nagy’s short address was not too well received, perhaps partly because few seemed able to hear him. A little later that evening, shortly after 9 p.m., the shooting began at the Radio Building.(3)

222. Everything the Hungarian public learnt about Mr. Nagy during the next few days was gathered from the radio. It was the content and the arrangement of the radio reports and announcements which caused doubts with regard to Mr. Nagy’s position.

223. Ernő Gerő, the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Hungarian Workers’ (Communist) Party, in his radio speech at 8 p.m. on 23 October,(4) which infuriated the people of Budapest, had stated that the Politburo decided to convene the Central Committee during the next few days.(5) However, at 10.22 p.m. the same evening, after the beginning of the shooting, it was announced that the Central Committee would meet immediately in order to discuss what action to take. This announcement was preceded by a statement that “Comrade Imre Nagy is now conferring with youth delegates and several deputies”.

224. The radio made no mention of the fighting until early Wednesday morning at 4.30 a.m. on 24 October, when an announcement allegedly signed by the Council of Ministers was broadcast. It stated that “Fascist, reactionary elements have launched an armed attack on our public buildings and on our armed security formations …Until further measures are taken, all meetings, gatherings and marches are banned …” The same announcement was read over the radio twice during the next few hours; however, the word “Fascist” was replaced by the word “Counter-revolutionary”.

225. At 8.13 on Wednesday morning an official statement was broadcast to the effect that the Central Committee had recommended that the Praesidium of the People’s Republic elect Mr. Nagy as Chairman of the Council of Ministers while Mr. Hegedűs was to be come First Deputy Chairman instead of Prime Minister.(6) It was also announced that Mr. Nagy had been elected member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party. It was not clear from the announcement whether the Praesidium had already elected Mr. Nagy Prime Minister, or if so, at what time he had taken over his functions.(7) However, half an hour later, at 8.45 a.m. an announcement was read over the Radio which was said to be signed by “Imre Nagy, Chairman of the Council of Ministers”. It stated that:

“The Council of Ministers … has ordered that summary jurisdiction shall be applied throughout the country to acts calculated to overthrow the People’s Republic and to acts of revolt; incitement, appeal and conspiracy to revolt; murder; manslaughter; arson; possession of explosives; crimes committed with explosives; indirect crimes; the use of force against the official authorities; the use of force against private individuals and the illegal possession of arms. Crimes in the categories coming under summary jurisdiction are punishable by death. This order comes into force immediately.”

226. Fifteen minutes later, at 9.00 a.m., another announcement was read declaring that “the dastardly armed attack of counter-revolutionary gangs during the night has created an extremely serious situation… The Governmental organs were unprepared for these bloody dastardly attacks, and have therefore applied for help to the Soviet formations stationed in Hungary under the terms of the Warsaw Treaty’’.(8) The Government also appealed to the inhabitants to keep calm and to support everywhere the Hungarian and Soviet troops who were maintaining order. The statement concluded: “The liquidation of the counter- revolutionary gangs is the most sacred cause of every honest Hungarian worker.” There was no indication given as to the source of this official announcement or as to whose signature, if any, it bore; but many listeners received apparently the impression that it was an announcement of the new Imre Nagy Government, since it was made shortly after the announcement regarding the establishment of this Government and the broadcast of the decree of summary jurisdiction which was said to be signed by Mr. Nagy.

227. Several witnesses have stated that they felt immediately that this was a fraud, since the Russian tanks had appeared in Budapest and had participated in the fighting hours before these announcements. For some it was particularly difficult to believe that Imre Nagy, who had been a champion of legality, should have signed the decree under which the mere possession of arms would come under summary jurisdiction and be punishable by death. However, it is certain that even many of those who had admired Mr. Nagy began to feel uncertain about his true feelings.

228. Their suspicion increased when at noon they heard Mr. Nagy address the nation over the radio as follows:

“People of Budapest, I inform you that all those who, in the interest of avoiding further bloodshed, lay down their arms and cease fighting by 2 p.m. today will be exempted from prosecution under summary jurisdiction. At the same time, I state that, using all the means at our disposal, we will realize as soon as possible the systematic democratization of our country in every field of Party, State, political and economic life on the basis of the June 1953 Programme. Heed our appeal, stop fighting and secure the restoration of calm and order in the interest of the future of our people and our country …”

229. Mr. Nagy in this address also spoke about “hostile elements” who had “joined the ranks of peacefully demonstrating Hungarian youth” and “turned against the People’s Democracy, against the power of the people”. He asked listeners to “line up behind the Party, line up behind the Government”. This speech strengthened the impression that Mr. Nagy actually had signed the decree of summary jurisdiction and was in full control.

230. More doubt was sown when Mr. Nagy made another radio speech next afternoon, 25 October, at 3.25 p.m. shortly after it had been announced that Mr. Kádár had replaced Mr. Gerő as First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party. He said:

“In this address as Premier, I wish to announce that the Hungarian Government will initiate negotiations on the relations between the Hungarian People’s Republic and the Soviet Union, and, among other things, concerning the withdrawal of the Soviet forces stationed in Hungary. These talks will be carried out on the basis of Soviet-Hungarian friendship, proletarian internationalism and equality and national in dependence between Communist Parties and Socialist countries. I am convinced that Hungarian-Soviet relations resting on this basis will provide a firm ground work for the future friendship between our peoples, for our national development and our Socialist future. The recall of those Soviet forces, whose intervention in the fighting has been necessitated by the vital interests of our Socialist order, will take place without delay after the restoration of peace and order.”

231. The phrase: “has been necessitated by the vital interests of our Socialist order” was obviously apt to create the impression that Mr. Nagy was at least in sympathy with the invitation to the Russian forces.

232. The many appeals, which during the first days of the uprising were issued by Prime Minister Nagy, or at least in his name, to the workers and the students to cease fighting, had little effect, partly on account of the doubts which had arisen with regard to Mr. Nagy’s integrity and true position. It might well be that Mr. Nagy could have stopped the fighting at a much earlier stage, if it had not been for the compromising position in which Mr. Gerő had placed him in linking his name with the invitation to the Soviet forces and the decree of summary jurisdiction. Witnesses explained to the Committee how it took many visits of delegations of students, workers and other fighters to Mr. Nagy, and long discussions with him, to restore their confidence; it was not until the last days of October that most of them recognized him as the leader and heeded his appeals to re-establish order.(9)