Erich Lessing Months before the revolution, steel-workers begin striking at the Stalinvarosz steel-plant, the flagship and pride of the Hungarian Communist industry. Stalinvarosz steel-plant (now Dunapentele), l (...)
ocated 60 km south of Budapest on the bank of the Danube river. Hungary. 1956. © Erich Lessing | Magnum Photos
Erich Lessing A membership meeting of the Writers' Association on December 28, 1956. Tibor Dery has the floor. Pictured in the foreground is Gyula Hay, with his chin in his hand. Several weeks after this meeting (...)
, both men were sentenced to prison terms. In January 1957 the Writers' Association was dissolved and it was only permitted to re-form in 1959. Budapest, Hungary. 1956. © Erich Lessing | Magnum Photos
Erich Lessing The Hungarian Revolution began with an initial mass rally in Budapest on October 23, 1956.It was crushed by Soviet troops after days of street-fighting. Two insurgents watch a side-entrance to a re (...)
cently conquered AVO building. Budapest, Hungary. 1956. © Erich Lessing | Magnum Photos
Erich Lessing Bystanders try to catch the first issue of the new, pro-revolution communist party paper. When Imre Nagy became prime minister in the first days of the Hungarian revolution, the paper was no longer (...)
called ‘Nepszabadsag’ (Peoples Freedom), but ‘Szabad Nep’ (The Free People). October-November. 1956. © Erich Lessing | Magnum Photos
Erich Lessing HUNGARY. Budapest. 1956.
The Hungarian Revolution began with a first mass-rally in Budapest on October 23,1956.It was crushed by Soviet troops after days of street-fighting.A dead AVO-man, killed (...)
during the storming of the Headquarters of the Communist Hungarian Workers' Party, is decked out with a picture of Rakosi. © Erich Lessing | Magnum Photos
Erich Lessing The beginning of the deStalinisation period in Hungary saw the development of an opposition movement, particularly among students and intellectuals. Imre Nagy, who was called in as Prime Minister, (...)
found his country demanding that Soviet troops be withdrawn. He was faced with the spread of an insurrectional movement in Budapest and the provinces. Abolishing the 'unique' party system on the 13th October 1956, he demanded Hungary's withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact and neutrality. Armed insurrection started in the streets on 24th October until the Soviet troops occupied Budapest, on the 1st November 1956, and crushed the movement. The uprising resulted in a a death-toll of over 10 000 people. Budapest, Hungary. October-November, 1956. © Erich Lessing | Magnum Photos
Erich Lessing HUNGARY. Budapest. 1956.
The Hungarian Revolution began with a first mass-rally in Budapest on October 24, 1956. It was crushed by Soviet tanks and artillery after days of street-fighting. Life mu (...)
st go on in between battles: Budapest shoppers eye a Soviet tank. © Erich Lessing | Magnum Photos
Erich Lessing In a stormy meeting of the Hungarian Writers' Union, György Szüdi called the planned rise of agricultural production by twenty-seven per cent 'simply idiotic'. The Writers' Union was dissolved in J (...)
anuary 1957 but was allowed to re-form in 1959. Karzag. Hungary. 1956. © Erich Lessing | Magnum Photos
Erich Lessing HUNGARY. 1956. Stalinvaros steel-plant (now Dunapentele), located 60 km south of Budapest on the bank of the Danube river.
Months before the October anticommunist upheaval, steel-workers begin st (...)
riking at the factory, flagship and pride of the Hungarian Communist industry. © Erich Lessing | Magnum Photos
Erich Lessing The Soviet bookshop ‘Horizon’ is attacked by revolutionaries. Books and portraits of hated communist leaders are burnt in the street. An enthusiast recites poems by Sandor Petöfi, the poet of the H (...)
ungarian uprising of 1848. Budapest, Hungary. October-November. 1956. © Erich Lessing | Magnum Photos
Erich Lessing HUNGARY. Budapest. October-November 1956. Insurrection. Heavy T-34/85 tanks protect a street crossing on the Pest side of Kossuth Bridge. These havy tanks proved too unwieldy for downtown battles, (...)
and many were destroyed or captured by insurgents. The visible numbering on the side of these tanks indicates that they are Soviet; the Hungarian army did not have such tanks. © Erich Lessing | Magnum Photos
Erich Lessing HUNGARY. Budapest. October-November 1956. Insurrection. Insurgents walk home past the Kilian barracks after a day of fighting/ In the entryway of the barracks sits Colonel Pal Maleter's tank, whic (...)
h he used to reach the barracks on October 25th. On November 3rd, Maleter became Minister of Defense of the Nagy government. After the revolution, Maleter was sentenced to death and executed together with Imre Nagy. © Erich Lessing | Magnum Photos