Shattered Hopes amid Violent Repression

Few historical events since 1945 have had the same impact and reverberations as the 1956 Hungarian revolution both inside and outside the country. This article, based on recently declassified and other archival documents, focuses on an important aspect of the international response to the revolution: the response (or lack thereof) of the United Nations (UN) to the revolution and then to the tragic consequences, including trials, imprisonments, and executions that continued for years afterward. The trust placed by some Hungarians in the UN may have done more harm than good. Many Hungarians came to believe that UN officials were concerned less with responding to the ongoing tragic events in Hungary and more with jeopardizing the organization's future ability to prevent or respond to disputes between the Cold War superpowers

Cold war · Economic history · Harm · Political science · Politics · Historical Geopolitical and Social Dynamics · History · Law