János Kádár
441860
225076107
2008-07-11T19:36:58Z
Paula71
4499016
additional typo fix
{{Infobox_President | name=János Kádár
| image=KádárJánosOperaház1964.jpg|300px
| nationality=[[Hungary|Hungarian]]
| order=General Secretary of the [[Hungarian Communist Party]]
| term_start=[[October 25]],[[1956]]
| term_end=[[May 27]],[[1988]]
| predecessor=[[Ernő Gerő]]
| successor=[[Károly Grósz]]
| order2 = [[Prime Minister of Hungary]]
| primeminister2 =
| term_start2 = [[November 4]], [[1956]]
| term_end2 = [[January 28]],[[1958]]
| predecessor2 = [[Imre Nagy]]
| successor2 = [[Ferenc Münnich]]
| primeminister3 =
| term_start3 = [[September 13]], [[1961]]
| term_end3 = [[June 30]],[[1965]]
| predecessor3 = [[Ferenc Münnich]]
| successor3 = [[Gyula Kállai]]
| birth_date={{Birth date|1912|05|26|df=yes}}
| birth_place=[[Fiume]], [[Kingdom of Hungary|Hungary]]
| death_date={{Death date and age|1989|7|6|1912|05|26|df=yes}}
| death_place=[[Budapest]], [[Hungary]]
| spouse=
| party=[[Hungarian Communist Party]]
| profession=
}}
'''János Kádár''', né '''Giovanni Czermanik''' (his Italian first name was due to the laws of [[Fiume]], his father, the soldier János Kressinger, denied paternity and refused to support his mother Borbála Czermanik<ref name="th">[http://www.hungarianquarterly.com/no164/17.html Kádár's Shadow] Tibor Hajdu, The Hungarian Quarterly, VOLUME XLII, No. 164, Winter 2001</ref>) ([[May 26]], [[1912]]–[[July 6]], [[1989]]), was a [[Hungary|Hungarian]] politician, the communist leader of [[Hungary]] from 1956 to 1988, and twice served as [[Prime Minister of Hungary]], from 1956 to 1958 and again from 1961 to 1965. He had [[Hungarian people|Hungarian]] and [[Slovaks|Slovak]] from his mother's side and [[Danube Swabians|German]] roots from his father's side.
==Early life==
János Kádár was born as Giovanni Czermanik in [[Fiume]] ([[Rijeka]], [[Croatia]]) as illegitimate son of the soldier János Kressinger and the Slovak - Hungarian worker Borbála Czermanik, who was from the little town [[Hurbanovo|Ógyalla]], [[Komárom county]], [[Kingdom of Hungary|Hungary]] (today [[Hurbanovo]], [[Slovakia]]). Later his name was spelled János Csermanek.
Kádár spent his first six years with foster parents in [[Kapoly]], [[Somogy County]], until reunited in [[Budapest]] with his mother, who worked occasionally as a washerwoman and sent him to school until he was 14.
(He met his biological father, who lived as a small landowner, and his three half-brothers only in [[1960]]).
==His political activity before and during WWII==
He apprenticed as a typewriter mechanic, joined the trade union's youth group at 17, and joined the illegal [[Hungarian Communist Party]] in 1931, and was subsequently arrested several times for unlawful political activities: he was sentenced to two years imprisonment in 1933.<ref name="th"/><ref name="rev">[http://www.rev.hu/history_of_56/szerviz/kislex/biograf/kadar_uk.htm János Kádár] ''rev.hu'', The Institute for the History of the 1956 [[Hungarian Revolution</ref>
Later, as cover of illegal communist activities, János Csermanek joined the Hungarian Social Democratic Party and sat on its [[Budapest]] branch committee.
He was arrested in [[1937]] by the [[Miklós Horthy|Horthy]] regime and was sent to prison for three years. On his release he did not go to the [[Soviet Union]], but together with his friend [[László Rajk]] ran the underground communist movement during the [[Second World War]], since [[1943]] under the pseudonym János Kádár. (In [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]] kádár means cooper) In 1944 while trying to pass the border into [[Serbia]], in order to make secret contacts with [[Josip Broz Tito|Tito]]'s [[partisan|partisans]], he was arrested and dispatched with a transport of Jews to [[Mauthausen]] [[concentration camp]]. On the way at [[Komarno]] while temporarily transferred to the town's prison, he managed to escape and went back to Budapest.
Between [[1943]] and [[1945]] he was the first secretary of the Communist party, and between [[1943]] and [[1944]] he led its legal cover organization, the Peace Party.
==The years 1945 - 1956. From leadership to show trial==
After the occupation of Hungary by [[USSR]] and the come back of the [[Moscow]] branch of the leadership of the Communist Party, Kádár was appointed deputy head of Budapest's new police.
In 1946, he was elected Deputy Secretary-General of the Hungarian Communist Party. In 1949, he succeeded [[László Rajk]] as Minister of the Interior. Rajk was appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs by the Communist Party leader [[Mátyás Rákosi]] when he had already been secretly chosen as the chief defendant of the "show trial," to be staged by Rákosi in Hungary by the analogy of the show trials, initiated by [[Stalin]] in the [[Soviet Union]]. Rajk and "his spy ring" were accused of conspiring with [[Josip Broz Tito|Marshal Tito]], President of [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]] and were executed.
In a [[Niccoló Macchiavelli|Machiavellian]] scheme, Rákosi put Kádár, who was friends with both Rajk and his wife Julia, in the Interior Minister's position to make sure Kádár was visibly involved in Rajk's trial. In fact, the Hungarian State Security Agency ([[ÁVH]]), which was in charge of the investigation, took its orders directly from Rákosi; but as interior minister, Kádár condemned Rajk's "crimes", tried to force a confession out of him and attended his execution.
Only a year later, Kádár found himself the defendant in a show trial of his own - on false charges of having been a spy of Horthy's police. This time it was Kádár who was beaten by the security police and urged to "confess." He was found guilty, and sentenced to life imprisonment. His incarceration included three years of solitary confinement, conditions far worse than he suffered while imprisoned under the Horthy regime.
He was released in July [[1954]], after the death of Stalin and the appointment of [[Imre Nagy]] as Prime Minister in [[1953]].
Kádár accepted the offer to act as party secretary in the heavily industrialised 13th district of Budapest. He rose to prominence quickly, building up a large following amongst workers who demanded increased freedom for [[trade union]]s.
==Role in the Hungarian Revolution of 1956==
Nagy began a process of liberalisation, removing state controls over the press, releasing many political prisoners, and expressing wishes to withdraw Hungary from the [[Warsaw Pact]]. He formed a coalition government. Although the Soviet leaders issued a statement that they strived to establish a new relationship with Hungary on the basis of mutual respect and equality, in the first days of November, the [[Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Presidium of the Soviet Communist Party]] took a decision to crush the revolution by force.
In the meantime, the Hungarian Communist Party decided to dissolve itself and to reorganize the party under the name of [[Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party]]. On [[25 October]] [[1956]] Kádár was elected Secretary-General. He was also a member of the Imre Nagy Government as Minister of State. On the 1st of November, Kádár, together with [[Ferenc Münnich]] left Hungary for Moscow with the support of the Soviet Embassy in Budapest. There the Soviet leaders tried to convince him that a "counter-revolution" was unfolding in Hungary that must be put to an end at any cost. Despite his opposition to the leaving the Warsaw Pact decided by Nagy, allegedly he first resisted the pressure and argued that the Nagy government did not wish to abolish the Socialist system{{Fact|date=June 2007}}. He yielded to the pressure only when the Soviet leaders informed him that the decision had already been taken to crush the revolution with the help of the Soviet troops stationed in Hungary and that the old Communist leadership would be sent back to Hungary, were he not willing to assume the post of Prime Minister in the new government. The Soviet tanks moved into Budapest to crush the revolution at dawn on November 4. The proclamation of the so-called Provisional Revolutionary Government of Workers and Peasants, headed by Kádár, was broadcast from [[Szolnok]] the same day.
He announced a "Fifteen Point Programme" for this new government:
#To secure Hungary's national independence and [[sovereignty]]
#To protect the people's [[democracy|democratic]] and [[socialism|socialist]] system from all attacks
#To end fratricidal fighting and to restore order
#To establish close fraternal relations with [[Eastern bloc|other socialist countries]] on the basis of complete equality and non-interference
#To cooperate peacefully with all nations irrespective of form of government
#To quickly and substantially raise the [[standard of living]] for all in Hungary
#Modification of the [[Five Year Plan]], to allow for this increase in the standard of living
#Elimination of [[bureaucracy]] and the broadening of democracy, in the workers' interest
#On the basis of the broadened democracy, management by the workers must be implemented in [[factory|factories]] and [[Business|enterprise]]s
#To develop [[agriculture|agricultural]] production, abolish compulsory deliveries and grant assistance to individual [[farmer]]s
#To guarantee democratic [[election]]s in the already existing administrative bodies and Revolutionary Councils
#Support for [[artisan]]s and [[retail]] trade
#Development of [[Culture of Hungary|Hungarian culture]] in the spirit of Hungary's progressive traditions
#The Hungarian Revolutionary Worker-Peasant Government, acting in the interest of our people, requested the Red Army to help our nation smash the sinister forces of [[reactionary|reaction]] and restore order and calm in Hungary
#To negotiate with the forces of the Warsaw Pact on the withdrawal of troops from Hungary following the end of the crisis
The 15th point was withdrawn after pressure from the USSR that a 200,000 strong Soviet detachment be [[garrison]]ed in Hungary. This development allowed Kádár to divert huge defence funds to welfare.
Nagy, along with [[Georg Lukács]], [[Géza Losonczy]] and László Rajk's widow, Julia, fled to the [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslav]] [[Embassy]]. Kádár promised them safe return home at their request but failed to keep this promise as the Soviet party leaders decided that Imre Nagy and the other members of the government who had sought asylum at the Yugoslav Embassy should be deported to [[Romania]]. Later on, a trial began to establish the responsibility of the Imre Nagy Government in the 1956 events. Although it was adjourned several times, the defendants were eventually convicted of treason and conspiracy to overthrow the "democratic state order". Imre Nagy, [[Pál Maléter]] and [[Miklós Gimes]] were sentenced to death and executed for these crimes on June 16, 1958. Geza Losonczy and [[Attila Szigethy]] both died in prison under suspicious circumstances during the court proceedings.
==The Kádár era==
Kádár assumed power in a critical situation. The country was under Soviet military administration for several months. The fallen leaders of the Communist Party took refuge in the Soviet Union and were conspiring to regain power in Hungary. The Chinese, East German, and Czechoslovak leaders demanded severe reprisals against the perpetrators of the "counter-revolution." Despite the distrust surrounding the new leadership and the economic difficulties, Kádár was able to normalize the situation in a remarkably short time. This was due to the realization that, under the circumstances, it was impossible to break away from the Communist bloc. The people realized that the promises of the West to help the Hungarian revolution were unfounded and that the logic of the Cold War determined the outcome. Hungary remained part of the Soviet sphere of influence with the tacit agreement of the West. The people feared the return of the old Communist leadership and gradually realized that Kádár's intents were sincere to improve the quality of life but the conditions were not given to change the political system. Though influenced strongly by the Soviet Union, Kádár enacted policy slightly contrary to that of the Soviet Union, for example, allowing considerably large private plots for farmers of [[Collectivization in Hungary|collective farm]]s.
In notable contrast to Rákosi, Kádár declared that "he who is not against us is with us." Hungarians had much more freedom than their Eastern Bloc counterparts to go about their daily lives. They were by no means emancipated by Western standards, however. While some of the draconian measures against free speech, culture and movement were gradually lifted during the Kádár era, the ruling [[MSZMP]] party still maintained absolute control and high levels of state surveillance, laying pressure on opposition groups and encouraging citizens to join party organisations. The secret police, while operating with somewhat more restraint than in other Eastern Bloc countries (and certainly in comparison to the Rákosi era) were nonetheless a feared tool of repression. Overt opposition to the regime was not tolerated.
As a result of the relatively high standard of living, and more relaxed travel restrictions than that of other Eastern Bloc countries, Hungary was generally considered one of the better countries in which to live in [[Eastern Europe]] during the [[Cold War]]. (See also [[Goulash Communism]] for a discussion of the Hungarian variety of [[socialism]].) Many Hungarians are nostalgic about the Kádár era, due to the dramatic fall in living standards caused by the adjustments to a capitalist economy in the 1990s. This point of view has been expressed by [[Gyula Horn]], a former communist politician elected Prime Minister in 1994. However, the relatively high living standards had their price in the form of a considerable amount of [[state debt]] left behind by the Kádár régime. As mentioned above, the regime's cultural and social policies were still quite authoritarian; their impact on contemporary Hungarian culture is still a matter of considerable debate.
During Kádár's rule, [[tourism]] increased dramatically, with many tourists from [[Canada]], the [[USA]], and [[Western Europe]] bringing much needed money into Hungary. Hungary built strong relations with developing countries and many foreign students arrived. The "[[Crown of Saint Stephen|Holy Crown]]" (referred to in the media as the "Hungarian Crown", so as to prevent it carrying a political symbolism of the [[Hungary between the two world wars|Horthy régime]] or an allusion to Christianity) and regalia of Hungarian kings was returned to Budapest by the [[United States]] in 1978.
Kádár was known for his simple and modest lifestyle and had a strong aversion against corruption or ill-doing. His only real hobby was chess. (see Victor Sebestyen "Twelve Days" p.141). He was often perceived as a convinced Communist who retained his beliefs throughout his life.
Kádár was awarded the [[Lenin Peace Prize]] (1975-76). He was also awarded the title [[Hero of the Soviet Union]] on [[April 3]] [[1964]] <ref>{{ru icon}}[http://www.warheroes.ru/hero/hero.asp?Hero_id=2161 Biography] at the website on Heroes of the Soviet Union and Russia</ref>
==Deposition and death==
János Kádár held power in Hungary until 1988, when he resigned as General Secretary mainly due to mounting economic difficulties and his own ill-health. At a party conference in May 1988, he was replaced as General Secretary by Prime Minister [[Károly Grósz]] who strove to continue Kádár's policies in a modified and adjusted form adapted to the new circumstances. Kádár was named instead to the rather ceremonial position of Party President. He did not wish to be re-elected to the Political Committee, the most important decision-making body of the party. In early 1989, as Grósz and his associates in turn were being sidelined by a faction of "radical reformers" who set out to dismantle the socialist system, Kádár, now visibly [[Senility|senile]], was removed completely from political office, dying not long afterwards.
Kádár was generally known as one of the more moderate East European Communist leaders. While he remained loyal to the Soviet Union in foreign policy, based on the hard lessons of the 1956 uprising, his intent was to establish a national consensus around his policies at home. He was the first East European leader to develop closer links with the Social Democratic parties of Western Europe. He tried to mediate between the leaders of the Czechoslovak reform movement of 1968 and the Soviet leadership to avert the danger of a military intervention. When, however, the decision was taken by the Soviet leaders to intervene in order to suppress the [[Prague Spring]], Hungary decided to participate in the Warsaw Pact operation.
Kádár's grave at the Kerepesi Cemetery in Budapest was vandalized on [[May 2]] [[2007]]; a number of his bones, including his skull, were stolen, along with his wife Mária Tamáska's urn. A message reading ''"murderers and traitors may not rest in holy ground 1956-2006"'' was written nearby. <ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6616729.stm "Ex-Hungary ruler's remains stolen"], BBC News, May 3, 2007.</ref><ref>[http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/05/02/europe/EU-GEN-Hungary-Tomb-Vandalized.php "Grave of Hungarian Communist leader Janos Kadar vandalized"], Associated Press ''(International Herald Tribune),'' May 2, 2007.</ref> The two dates refer to the [[Hungarian Revolution of 1956]] and the [[2006 protests in Hungary]].<ref>{{hu icon}}The message of the vandals with dates on [http://www.haon.hu/hirek/Orszagos/cikk/eltuntek-kadar-janos-foldi-maradvanyai/cn/news-20070502-02252030 ''haon.hu''] </ref> This act was greeted with universal revulsion across the political and societal spectrum in Hungary. <ref>[http://caboodle.hu/nc/news/news_archive/single_page/article/11/communist_le/?cHash=f8b516f720 Caboodle.hu - Former leader's grave desecrated in Budapest<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Police investigations focused on extremist groups which had been aspiring to "carry out an act that would create a big bang."<ref>[http://caboodle.hu/nc/news/news_archive/single_page/article/11/kadar_grave/?cHash=6db29c8186 Caboodle.hu - Kádár grave robbery investigation leads outside Budapest<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}
==Further Reading==
# [http://tls.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,25336-2489830.html Tibor Fischer: In the Goulash] (A review of Good Comrade by Roger Gough) - Times Online December 06, 2006
# [http://www.hungarianquarterly.com/no187/1.html András Mink: Kádár's Shadow] Hungarian Quarterly VOLUME XLVIII * No. 187 * Autumn 2007
*Victor Sebestyen - ''Twelve Days - The Story of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution'' Vintage Books,november 2007,New York
{{start box}}
{{succession box|title=[[President of Hungary#General Secretaries of the Hungarian Communist.2FSocialist Workers.27 Party .281945-1989.29|General Secretary of the Hungarian Communist Party]]|before=[[Ernő Gerő]]|after=[[Károly Grósz]]|years=1956–1988}}
{{succession box|title=[[Prime Minister of Hungary]]|before=[[Imre Nagy]]|after=[[Ferenc Münnich]]|years=1956–1958}}
{{succession box|title=[[Prime Minister of Hungary]]|before=[[Ferenc Münnich]]|after=[[Gyula Kállai]]|years=1961–1965}}
{{end box}}
{{HungarianPrimeMinisters}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kadar, Janos}}
[[Category:1912 births]]
[[Category:1989 deaths]]
[[Category:Communist rulers]]
[[Category:Hungarian Revolution of 1956]]
[[Category:Hungarian communists]]
[[Category:Prime Ministers of Hungary]]
[[Category:People's Republic of Hungary]]
[[Category:Cold War leaders]]
[[Category:Heroes of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:People from Rijeka]]
[[br:János Kádár]]
[[bg:Янош Кадар]]
[[cs:János Kádár]]
[[de:János Kádár]]
[[es:János Kádár]]
[[eo:János Kádár]]
[[fa:یانوش کادار]]
[[fr:János Kádár]]
[[hr:János Kádár]]
[[io:János Kádár]]
[[it:János Kádár]]
[[he:יאנוש קאדאר]]
[[hu:Kádár János]]
[[nl:János Kádár]]
[[ja:カーダール・ヤーノシュ]]
[[no:János Kádár]]
[[nn:János Kádár]]
[[pl:János Kádár]]
[[ro:János Kádár]]
[[ru:Кадар, Янош]]
[[fi:János Kádár]]
[[sv:János Kádár]]
[[uk:Янош Кадар]]