Family dissimilarities
Poland and Hungary since 1945
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
There are parallels between the most recent political events in Poland and Hungary. It is tempting to explain them from the perspective of their similar historical development during the course of the 20th century. However, in reality, the experiences of the two countries were very different. They were on different sides during the Second World War, and while in 1956, the uprising in Hungary was put down by the Red Army, in Poland, the party leader Gomułka succeeded in preventing Soviet troops from marching into the country after the Poznań riots. Accordingly, the relationship between the regime and society, as well as the history of the opposition during the three decades that followed, developed in different ways. The rise of the Law and Justice party (PiS) and Fidesz is not a direct consequence of the communist era. Both parties owe their success to their specific portrayal of history.
(Osteuropa 3-5/2018, pp. 387–412)