Fraternity-Testvériség, 1962 (40. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1962-03-01 / 3. szám
8 FRATERNITY the crimes of Stalin, and launched a vehement attack against the cult of personality which was practiced by the Hungarian regime, too. Though Khrushchev’s speech was never published by the Communist press, its contents became known everywhere. Stalinists and their policies became the target of criticism in several satellite states. The Hungarian regime first tried to resist de- Stalinization, angering the victims of former purges who slowly emerged from prisons. The writers now believed that the XXth Congress gave them a mandate, too, as Gyula Hay, prominent playwright and an old-time Communist, put it — “to help to free multitudes of working, thinking and sensible people from the humiliating practices of the personal cult and its consequences. A new spirit, a new tone must be inaugurated in every phase of our life. Scrvilism, uncritical acceptance of dogmatic phrases, demagogy, lawlessness must come to an end. Human lives cannot be sacrificed any longer for the sake of the personality cult.” Defying the Party leaders, the writers went out into every sector of the country, visting villages, farms and factories to see with their own eyes the conditions in which the peasants and workers live. Imre Sarkadi, one of the most talented authors and playwrights, who came from peasant stock, justified the writers’ venture in a letter to the editor of “Szabad Nép”, the official Party newspaper, in the following words: “The XXth Party Congress has given rise to more and more new ideas, and the thirst for action among our people also is evident . . . Was it not the XXth Party Congress which made free debate within the Party once more the most vital source of our strength? This and this alone can be our stand, and now that our self- assurance has grown, we must stand up against all lack of principle and against vain tricks.” The UX Special Committee report refers to
