Szotyori-Nagy Ágnes (szerk.): A Magyar Mezőgazdasági Múzeum Közleményei 2013-2015 (Budapest, 2015)
Tanulmányok - Farkas Gyöngyi: Termelőszövetkezetek elleni tüntetések 1953 nyarán. "Nem hallgatunk a kommunistákra, mert miénk a hatalom, mi rendelkezünk."
Protests against farming co-operatives in the summer of 1953 GYÖNGYI FARKAS During the summer of 1953 the release of the government plans associated with Imre Nagy resulted in open conflicts between villagers and the local powers in several areas of the country. The flashpoint was the different interpretation of the possibility and the practical realisation of leaving the co-operatives. The government plan stopped compulsory collectivisation and even made it possible to leave co-operatives, but only at the end of the economic year. Nevertheless those wishing to withdraw started immediately after the publication of the plan to restore their private farms. Local representatives of the state were unprepared both for the change in the official tone concerning collectivisation and the degree of local resistance, as well as the contradictory information from above. The standpoint of Rákosi, which accentuated the preservation of ‘achievements’ and the importance of keeping co-operatives together, rather than concessions, was easier for them to interpret and therefore their attitude towards the spontaneous movement of withdrawal from co-operatives were defined by this official line. Their characteristic attitude was an attempt to sustain co-operatives, by force if necessary. The current study examines conflicts between co-operative members and local representatives of state power in the villages of Szabolcs-Szatmár County in the days immediately after the release of the government plan. 272
