THE ANGLO-AMERICAN RESPONSE TO THE SOVIETIZATION OF HUNGARY, 1945-194

One of the most important consequences of the Second World War was the extension of Soviet control to Eastern Europe and the establishment there of pro-Soviet governments. The present study examines the response of the British and American governments to that phenomenon of sovietization. Hungary is used as a case history, since that country offers an opportunity to examine the sovietization process over a comparatively prolonged period. Of the various Eastern European countries that became sovietized, Hungary was particularly resistant to the establishment of a Communist government, and was the last to adopt the constitutional form of a People's Republic.;The British and Americans became involved with Hungarian affairs in the last month of 1944, when a Soviet-sponsored, anti-German government in Hungary opened armistice negotiations with the Soviet Union and the Western Allies. Hungary remained a subject of Western diplomatic attention through the Yalta and Potsdam summit meetings, the foreign ministerial discussions of 1945, and the 1946 Paris Peace Conference. Washington and London also paid close attention to important political developments in Hungary and became involved in matters pertaining to economic assistance for the country. Throughout this period, the major challenge facing the British and Americans, as well as pro-Western forces within Hungary, was the growing influence of Hungary's Communist Party, supported politically, economically, and militarily by the Kremlin. Beginning late in 1946, the Communists, allied with the Social Democrats, carried out a sweeping purge of all non-leftist forces. This purge culminated in mid-1947 with the ouster of the centrist prime minister and the establishment of a left-wing government in which the Communists and the Social Democrats shared power. In ensuing months, the Communists enhanced their own strength at the expense of the Social Democrats, eventually overwhelming and, by June 1948, eliminating the Social Democratic Party. The Communists thereby acquired unrivalled political control, and virtually all Western influence in Hungary came to an end.;The main focus of the study is to compare and contrast British and American policy toward the sovietization issue. The conclusion reached is that, although both Western governments were opposed to the growth of Soviet control in Hungary, the United States resisted the sovietization process much more aggressively than did Britain. Washington tried to counter most Soviet and Communist moves in Hungary through diplomatic demarche or public confrontation. London, on the other hand, generally chose not to challenge such moves. It is argued that the divergence between British and American policy resulted from the unequal strength and the dissimilar geographical susceptibility of the two Western powers, and the consequent difference in their ability to withstand Soviet advances.;The principal sources used for the study are the British Foreign Office records in London and the U.S. State Department files in Washington. Published government material, memoirs, and newspapers have also been drawn upon, as have British Labour Party documents.