Changes

The Soviets backed up the so-called “restoration of order” by heavy artillery and airstrikes. Budapest became a bloodshed field with over 2000 dead casualties, most of them under 30 years old. Another 13 000 were injured, with many more imprisoned and executed, as the Soviet troops often failed to distinguish between civilian citizens and freedom fighters, firing indiscriminately at people and buildings. More than 700 Soviet soldiers also gave up their lives, most of them executed for refusing to fight. Janos Kadar proclaimed the end of the revolution officially on November 11, 1956. Soviets, led by Kadar, later lured, trapped, and arrested Nagy and his followers. Janos Kadar then charged them with treason and executed all on June 16, 1958.

Recriminations followed with tens of thousands of Hungarians arrested, imprisoned, and deported to the Soviet Union, often without evidence or proper trials. Until mid-1957, many enemies of the communist regime were executed without a trace, and more than 200 000 people fled Hungary - either fearing for their lives or to escape from the Communist regime. Moreover, many of them were Hungary’s best-educated people searching for a better life in the Western world.