The position of the HCWP on the 1956 events is clear and straightforward. In the opinion of HCWP in 1956 there was a counter-revolution regardless of intentions of those who took part in it and complexity of events. This estimation is not new, in the Hungarian communist movement this viewpoint is generally accepted from 1956.
The Hungarian Communist Workers’ Party organised scientific conference on the 1956 counter-revolution. In 2006 the party Central Committee had formulated the political position of the party. HCWP in principle is guided by the estimation made by HSWP in 1957, according to which the counter-revolution was caused by four factors: first, dogmatism and errors of the leadership with Rakosi at its head made in the cause of socialist construction; second, treachery of the revisionist wing, united around Imre Nagy; third, activity of international imperialism; fourth, conspiracy of internal counter-revolutionary forces.
HWCP revised the role of the Soviet Union and the CPSU. It underlined that the soviet leadership bore direct responsibility for Imre Nagy’s accession to power. It was the result of Khrushchevite revisionism, which later had led to serious problems in the Soviet Union and in the international communist movement.
That is how the HWCP defines the connection between the 1956 events and the events of the 1989. In the history of Hungarian communist movement the HCWP was first to say that the leadership of the Hungarian Socialist Workers’ Party and personally Janos Kadar was responsible for neglecting class struggle, for compromises with international bourgeoisie and internal opposition, which later led to collapse of socialist system.
The HCWP thinks that another error of the former HSWP was its excessive accommodation to the wishes of the CPSU, its efforts to act the way Moscow awaited, its neglecting the experiences of socialist construction in China, Yugoslavia, Cuba, Vietnam, and also the conclusions of the international communist movement.
In our struggle against the anti-communist propaganda connected with the events of the 1956 we also come across many difficulties. Arguments of the HCWP are based mainly on books and articles published in the period of socialism according to the standards and traditions of those times. Today it is already not enough and these materials are not always appropriate. We need to analyse facts and documents of the 1956 from the Marxist position. In this work significant help means the fact that the State Archives published in Internet the documents of the HSWP from the period of 1956-1989. (http://www.digitarchiv.hu).
The HCWP put into electronic form and published in Internet 900 Marxist works, which now are already inaccessible. These works were met with great interest. (http://sala.uw.hu). We are gradually developing this site.
For the HCWP it is also difficult in its counter-propaganda work to overcome those clichés and prejudices of thinking, which had been formed during the period of socialism and are still remaining among older members of the party. Neither is it easy to work with younger generations, already gone through the bourgeois “brainwashing” and gradually being the target of the anti-communist propaganda.
The fact that we practically have no access to the documents published in other countries hinders our work too. We have no possibility to research and interprete those documents.
The cooperation of communist and workers’ parties could play important role in the struggle against anti-communist propaganda on the 1956. It would be expedient to organise professional and political exchange of opinions about the 1956 and its interpretation. We regard the discussion about socialism initiated by the Communist Party of Greece as example of such work.
It would be important to research early and late documents of fraternal parties, in some way connected with the 1956. It would be great help if fraternal parties could keep up with documents published in their countries, particularly important would be the help of comrades from Russia, China, Germany and Great Britain. We step forward in our struggle against anti-communist propaganda if we could by the 55-th anniversary of the events, by autumn of 2011 compile joint research collection, and it would be still better to publish general collection of documents and its up-to-date Marxist comments by the 60-the anniversary, by 2016.