Imre Nagy:  Last Message
November 4, 1956

In late October 1956, Hungary was a communist state with a new prime minister, Imre Nagy. Hoping to gain more freedom, Hungarians called on Nagy to bring about the removal of Soviet troops. After days of demonstrations, Nagy announced that Hungary would become a neutral country and withdraw from the Warsaw Pact. Soviets immediately entered Budapest with tanks and firepower to stop the insurrection. Western powers, afraid of starting another war, and wanting to avoid setting a precedent, offered little help against the Soviets.

As fighting raged throughout the city, Nagy broadcast the following message only hours before he was arrested by the Soviets, who eventually executed him. In his message, Nagy offers a grim view of the future if Western countries fail to act against the Soviet threat.

This fight is the fight for freedom by the Hungarian people against the Russian intervention, and it is possible that I shall only be able to stay at my post for one or two hours. The whole world will see how the Russian armed forces, contrary to all treaties and conventions, are crushing the resistance of the Hungarian people. They will also see how they are kidnapping the prime minister of a country which is a member of the United Nations, taking him from the capital, and therefore it cannot be doubted at all that this is the most brutal form of intervention. I should like in these last moments to ask the leaders of the revolution, if they can, to leave the country. I ask that all that I have said in my broadcast, and what we have agreed on with the revolutionary leaders during meetings in Parliament, should be put in a memorandum, and the leaders should turn to all the peoples of the world for help and explain that today it is Hungary and tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow, it will be the turn of other countries, because the imperialism of Moscow does not know borders and is only trying to play for time.