History of Hungary

August 4, 2015

For a brief time, Hungary was part of the Roman Empire, and it was the Romans who founded the city of Buda. After the Romans withdrew at the end of the 4^th century, the land was inhabited by Germanic peoples. The Magyars came to the land in 895, these people would later be called Hungarians. In 1526 the Hungarians met the Turkish ruler Suleiman the Magnificent in battle as he advanced into their territory. The Hungarians were defeated and the Turks burned Buda. Turkish power diminished by the end of the 17^th century.

Hungary became part of the Austria-Hungarian Empire under the Hapsburgs in 1867. For this reason they fought on the side of the Germans during WWI. The Austria-Hungarian Empire collapsed in 1918 after WWI. During WWII, Hungary originally sided with Germany, but later attempted to switch sides. The Germans occupied Hungary and deported Hungarian Jews, many of whom died in concentration camps. After WWII, Hungary was under the power of Russia. Russia introduced communism using 'salami tactics', which eliminated their opponents gradually "slice by slice" so that they would not realize what was happening.

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With the gradual takeover complete, Russia introduced a tyrannical regime in Hungary, which lasted from 1947 to 1989. Stalin conducted one of his infamous purges and many Hungarians were imprisoned or executed.

There was an unsuccessful Hungarian Uprising in 1956. Students demonstrated demanding that the Soviet troops withdraw. The uprising was crushed with Soviet tanks and the death of 25,000 people. There were also reprisals which led to the arrest of 20,000 people and the execution of 2000 people.

In the 1960s, gradual reforms were introduced by Janos Kadar. Hungary enjoyed a higher standard of living than other communist countries until the 1980s. The Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, and Hungary has transitioned to a democratic republic. The population of Hungary is 9.5 million.