Baják László Ihász István: The Hungarian National Museum History Exhibition Guide 4 - The short century of survival (1900-1990) (Budapest, 2008)

Room 20. The Rise and Fall of Communism (1945-1990). István Ihász

Despite the internal breaking-up of this four-and-ahalf decade-long period, from one aspect it can be considered unified, and that is the Soviet presence which determined Hungary's fate, the development in its internal affairs, what options it had in forging economic and ideological paths and its contacts in foreign policy. (The Yalta Conference forced upon Eastern Europe not only dependence upon the Soviet Union, but a defined social structure.) Despite occupation by the Soviet army, on the surface it appeared that between 1945-1948 there was civilian, democratic development in the multiparty system. By the summer of 1945 the political parties had organised their bodies and stood ready to be tried: their aims were the clarification of domestic political power relations and to bring an end to the temporary character of government and law-making. According to the new franchise law, every Hungarian citizen over the age of 20 could elect and be elected, although members of previously abolished parties and of organisations classified as extreme rightist, as well as war criminals, could not exercise that right. As the only parties permitted to form and join the contest were the earlier left-wing opposition parties of the old Horthy regime, the National Assembly election held on November 4, 1945 was won by the Independent Smallholders' Party (with 57%), into which had converged the greater part of the enfranchised middle classes. That notwithstanding, a coalition governElection posters, 1945-1947 (MCP, NPP, Hungarian Democratic Youth Federation, SDP)