21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Twelve Days That Shook The World., October 31, 2006
This review is from: Twelve Days: The Story of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution (Hardcover)
October 20, 2006 marked the fiftieth anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution, the seemingly spontaneous (at least to those outside Hungary) set of demonstrations that quickly morphed into a full-fledged revolution that almost freed Hungary from Soviet hegemony. Twelve days after it began the revolution was crushed under the tread of Red Army tanks. Victor Sebestyen's "Twelve Days: The Story of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution" is an informative and well-written examination of the revolution, its causes and its consequences.
Twelve Days is divided into three parts: "Prelude", "Revolution" and "Aftermath". In the Prelude Sebestyen provides a concise history of Hungary in the first half of the twentieth century. This is an invaluable introduction for readers, such as this reviewer, who have not previously immersed themselves in Hungarian history. After the First World War and the subsequent Treaty of Versailles, Hungary came to be ruled by a fascist regime led by Admiral Horthy. Hungary under Horthy became an ally of Hitler's Germany and found itself at war with the Allied Powers, most importantly the USSR. Toward the end of the Second World War, the German Army occupied Hungary and fought a desperate battle against the Red Army. The 100 day siege and conquest of Budapest was brutal and the damage to Budapest was exceeded only by the damage done to Leningrad, Stalingrad, and Warsaw. (Krisztian Ungvary's "The Siege of Budapest" makes an excellent companion volume to Twelve Days). Sebestyen then takes the reader through the immediate post-World War II years in which the Hungarian Communist Party, under the leadership of Matyas Rakosi gradually seized total control of the reins of power. Sebestyen's description of the brutality of Rakosi, who fancied himself as something of a Stalin-protégé follows. Rakosi's brutality, which rivaled that of Stalin's, laid the groundwork for the 1956 uprising. As noted by Sebestyen, Stalin's death and Khrushchev's denunciation of the cult of Stalin left many Hungarian's feeling that the time was ripe for liberalization and it is with this feeling in mind that Sebestyen begins his recitation of the revolution itself.
The revolution starts with a series of small demonstrations in Parliament square but these demonstrations caused the Communist party structure to collapse like a house of cards. The relatively small Soviet troop presence was humbled by the demonstrators. The Soviets deposed Rakosi and announced that Imre Nagy would take over Hungary's leadership. Nagy is a compelling figure. Sebestyen paints a sympathetic yet objective portrait of Nagy. Nagy, a dedicated Communist (albeit not a hardliner) found himself immersed in a situation he could not control. A jovial, if somewhat plodding bureaucrat, Nagy underwent a transformation from a party-liner to the leader of the drive for total independence from the USSR and from the one-party system then in place in Hungary.
Events in Hungary did not take place in a vacuum and Sebestyen's narrative covers the critical roles played by both the USSR and the USA. Sebestyen takes the reader into the Kremlin and paints a picture of a fragmented and confused Politburo that initially was prepared to grant Hungary some `freedoms' but ultimately decided it had to crush to the revolution brutally lest it lose its grip on the rest of Eastern Europe. The USA's role was marked more by inaction than action. The Eisenhower administration, most notably his Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, made the `roll back of Communism' a key tenet of the administration and Eisenhower's 1956 re-election campaign. At the same time, the USA-sponsored Radio Free Europe regularly urged its Eastern European listeners to take a stand against Communist rule. Unfortunately, the Hungarian people were cruelly disappointed to find that the USA had absolutely no interest in doing battle with the USSR over Hungary. In fact, Eisenhower made it a point to let the USSR know that it wished to remain neutral and, in effect, let the Kremlin know it had a free hand to do what it wanted.
The Kremlin did send in the tanks in great numbers and crushed the incipient revolution twelve days after it started. Order was restored and the Communist Party took back control of the government. The new party leader, Janos Kadar, was responsible for the prosecution and execution of the revolt's leaders, including Nagy. Life returned to the status quo until the fall of the Soviet Union over thirty years later.
Victor Sebestyen's "Twelve Days" provides a great service in providing a concise history of these twelve days. Twelve Days is a scholarly work (thoroughly researched and annotated) that is written with the lay reader in mind. Twelve Days is a thoughtful, well-written account of twelve tumultuous days in Hungary that left this reader hungry for more accounts of Hungary and its history. Highly recommended. L. Fleisig
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A VERY COMPELLING BOOK, February 10, 2007
This review is from: Twelve Days: The Story of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution (Hardcover)
I Think this Book is very well written, I liked how it follows a logical order and tells about the events in a clear way giving all the background necessary to understand the development of the revolution and it's aftermath. I Think the Author makes it more interesting in the way he tells the story in a simple and logical way.The Revolution itself it's a great history wich has everything including Heroes (The revolutionaries ),lots of Action, Treachery, espionage,Villains (Mr. Andropov ,Rakosi,Kadar ),Superpowers in Action (USSR ), And Inactive Superpowers (USA and The West ),indifference (UN ),and victims.
After This I Want to Express my Great Admiration to the Hungarian People who showed so great courage and Fought Incredibly against a Superpower Empire, and the Sadness for all the People that died or suffered under these events and the rule of communism.
And at last but not least I Hope that Mr.Andropov stays well attended in Hell by You Know Who.
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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
History with an engaging narrative, October 31, 2006
This review is from: Twelve Days: The Story of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution (Hardcover)
Few writers have the ability to present history to their readers with both historical integrity and quality narration. The former allows the reader an accurate appraisal of history. Yet, writers can easily neglect the latter. It is far easier for them to approach their recount with dry objectivity, void of a human "touch," and void of a true story.
Victor Sebestyen accomplishes both tasks in his book "Twelve Days: The Story of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution." Filled with vivid accounts and character analysis, which comes from Sebestyen's in-depth research, a largely forgotten historical event of the Cold War finds new life.
As a satellite of the Soviet Union, Hungary fell under the control of Maytas Rakosi, a torrid dictator eager to please his appointer, Joseph Stalin. Under Maytas, Hungarians came to know the AVO (the Hungarian equivalent to the KGB), who under the leadership of Gabor Peter, implemented the "salami tactics" of Rakosi to subdue dissent and retain control of the communist country.
After the death of Stalin, and the subsequent approval of Nikita Khrushchev to lead the Kremlin, Rakosi influence in Hungary diminished. Khrushchev and his associates, well aware of Rakosi's brutal "salami tactics" diminished his power. One way in which the Kremlin accomplished this was through the appointment of Imre Nagy as the country's Prime Minister.
Nagy represented a communism that sought to withdrawal from the harsh affronts of Stalin, mirroring the desire of Khrushchev, in favor of a more amicable system for the Party and Hungarians through his "June Road" plan. A polar opposite of the much harsher Rakosi, an embodiment of Stalin-communism, Nagy quickly amassed a loyal following amongst his compatriots. His rival-like stature to Rakosi, the First Secretary of the Hungarian Communist Party, was not unseen by the country's leader. As he had done before with perceived rivals, Rakosi attempted to oust Nagy through trumped-up charges, which would ultimately lead to a show trial (a preferred method amongst Soviet communists to remove threats).
Rakosi failed at this, and was only able to fire Nagy from his position. Khrushchev later tired of Rakosi, and removed him from power. His successor, Erno Gero, would ultimately be in communist power when the Revolution began.
A communist student organization desired to march into Budapest City Park. A last minute approval by Gero sealed the eventuality. What began as a protest march, partly inspired by rhetoric heard on the U.S. sponsored Radio Free Europe, quickly turned into a revolution. Hungarian soldiers joined the side of their country, and what began has a mere protest to voice concerns turned into a hostile takeover of the country. The country rallied around the implementation of a Nagy-led government. Yet, the still loyal communist was unable to inspire and govern a rebellion, whose hatred of communism had grown since initial Soviet takeover of the country after World War II.
Intermixed between these events, Sebestyen places his readers inside both the Kremlin and the White House. Had the Eisenhower taken a more proactive stance to support rebellious Soviet satellite countries, the revolution might have brought significant change for the country. Instead, a more passive approach to communist "containment", coupled with a developing Egyptian crisis, doomed the revolution of help from the West.
In the Kremlin, a Polish upheaval days before the Budapest march gave way to a more moderate communist led country with stronger autonomy. Initially, Khrushchev did not want to retake the country with military force, opting more for the agreement that had been reached in Poland. Yet, the violence exhibited by the revolutionaries pushed Khrushchev to invade, twelve days after the initial protests.
The succinct writing of a well-researched subject makes the book feel more of a narrative than a historical textbook. The reader quickly aligns themselves with the Hungarians through Nagy and various other insurgents based on their immense reproach of Rakosi and the communist leaders. Despite knowing the outcome of the uprising from the beginning of the book, one reads "Twelve Days: The Story of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution" with the investment of possibility, inspired by hope. Very few authors match the narrative power of Victor Sebestyen.
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