Ságvári Ágnes (szerk.): Budapest. The History of a Capital (Budapest, 1975)
From the Liberation to Greater Budapest (1945-1950)
cerned, the Hungarian Communist Party was organized on a Greater Budapest level from the beginning, and the Social Democratic Party set up a branch headquarters for the suburbs, divorced from the Budapest centre but also independent of Pest County. But in 1945 there were many considerations militating against the immediate organization of a Greater Budapest. The Smallholder-dominated city leadership and even some of the Social Democratic leaders opposed the merger. The Smallholders were not enthusiastic about the union of such industrial suburbs as Újpest, Csepel, Pesterzsébet, etc. with Budapest proper: the Social Democrats enjoyed a dominant position in several of the towns on the outskirts of Pest, and had no desire to lose it. The leaders of Pest County at the time were also hostile to the idea of an immediate merger. Nor was feeling in the capital in favour of union with the outlying districts either, since the communal needs of the Budapest population, which had in the meantime again risen above a million, were anxiety enough. At the time the condition of the outer population which would have been added by the merger, and which was living in much less urbanized conditions than those in the fourteen districts, would certainly not have improved by the merger. In such circumstances it was comprehensible that—although Greater Budapest was indeed a fact, and in many respects the conurbation functioned as a single city—the actual merger was postponed. In spite of serious difficulties in the food supply, the winter of 1945-46 also produced considerable achievements. In January 1946 due to the heroic work of the engineers, workers, and people of Budapest, struggling in drifting ice, the Kossuth Bridge, the first standing bridge across the Danube, was completed. In the circumstances of that time the construction of the bridge, designed to last for the limited period of 15 years, was an achievement of fundamental importance: the two parts of the city, Buda and Pest, were once again firmly united. The efforts of the workers in the public utilities assured supplies of water, electricity and gas, as well as municipal transport throughout the winter. The discontent which developed in the autumn of 1945—mainly due to the catastrophic economic situation—increased still further over the winter. Spontaneous mass movements occurred in Budapest as well as in other parts of the country. Improvements in the economy and the removal of the reactionary public officials were demanded in Budapest. In February and March the Budapest workers gave vent to their discontent in strikes and demonstrations. The Left-Wing Bloc, formed on 5th March 1946—made up of the Hungarian Communist Party, the Social Democratic Party, the National Peasant Party and the Trade Union Council—relying on the support of the worker masses, demanded a purge and a change to a more democratic character in the Smallholders’ Party. Acquiescing in this demand, the Smallholders’ Party expelled several members or recalled their mandate as members of Parliament and the Municipal Assembly. In accordance with the policy laid down by the Left-Wing Bloc, the administrative staff was also reduced and purged. But such action achieved little at the time; there were too many obstacles to overcome in the capital, then under the leadership of the Smallholders. The right-wing Smallholders—supported by certain leaders of the Social Democratic Party—managed to reduce the number of dismissals considerably, alleging the need for experienced and competent personnel as the reason. All these political struggles took place alongside a galloping inflation unmatched in extent in the whole of Hungarian history. From May 1946 to the date of stabilization workers underwent every sort of privation. Rations had to be reduced several times in 63
