József Dudás (22 September 1912 – 19 January 1957), a Hungarian politician and

resistance fighter A resistance movement is an organized effort by some portion of the civil population of a country to withstand the legally established government or an occupying power and to disrupt civil order and stability. It may seek to achieve its objectives ...

, was born in Marosvásárhely (in Romanian:

Târgu Mureş Târgu (Romanian for "the market") starts off the names of several places in Romania: * Târgu Bujor * Târgu Cărbunești * Târgu Frumos * Târgu Gânguleşti *Târgu Jiu * Târgu Lăpuș * Târgu Logreşti * Târgu Mureș *Târgu Neamț * Târgu ...

) in

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

(today in

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

).As a very young man, he joined the illegal

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...

in Transylvania. In 1933 he was arrested and sentenced to nine years in prison. When Northern Transylvania was transferred to Hungary as part of the

Second Vienna Award The Second Vienna Award, also known as the Vienna Diktat, was the second of two territorial disputes that were arbitrated by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. On 30 August 1940, they assigned the territory of Northern Transylvania, including all o ...

in 1940, he was released and he moved to Budapest. During World War II, he worked within the anti-fascist movement acting as a liaison between groups. When the war ended, Dudás was a member of an unofficial ceasefire delegation that visited Moscow, and he was a founding member of the Liberation Committee of the Hungarian National Uprising.In late 1945 he joined the

Independent Smallholders' Party The Independent Smallholders, Agrarian Workers and Civic Party ( hu, Független Kisgazda-, Földmunkás- és Polgári Párt), known mostly by its acronym FKgP or its shortened form Independent Smallholders' Party ( hu, Független Kisgazdapárt), ...

and was elected to the Budapest government. As the communists mounted their campaign to take over Hungary, Dudás was arrested and detained until he was handed over to Romanian state security in 1951. Released in 1954, he returned to Hungary.Working as an engineer when the

Hungarian Revolution of 1956 The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 10 November 1956; hu, 1956-os forradalom), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was a countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the Hunga ...

broke out, he took to addressing crowds and on 29 October, established the Second District National Committee, with a 25-point program demanding, a coalition government, a multi-party system and neutrality. He also started a newspaper (Magyar Függetlenség—Hungarian Independence), which headlined, ‘We do not recognize the present government!’ At this same time the so-called "Dudás Group" consisting of about 400 armed men was formed. Dudás soon acquired a bad reputation among the revolutionary forces, as he started negotiations with Colonel Malashenko, acting chief of staff of the Soviet Special Forces, with the aim of being recognized by the Soviets as the main seat of political and military power in Hungary, instead of Imre Nagy. The Dudás group also became known for the campaign of terror it unleashed against members of Hungary's AVH

Secret Police Secret police (or political police) are intelligence, security or police agencies that engage in covert operations against a government's political, religious, or social opponents and dissidents. Secret police organizations are characteristic of ...

, lynching or otherwise executing offenders on sight. The activities of the group went to such an extreme that other revolutionaries began arresting AVH officers for their own protection.He continued publishing his newspaper criticizing the Nagy government until his own armed men dismissed him on 3 November, and he was arrested by government forces for acts attributed to him, or rumors of such acts (an attack on the Foreign Ministry; looting of the National Bank). On 4 November he was wounded and taken to a hospital.On 21 November he was tricked into entering the Parliament building and was arrested by the Soviets. He was charged with leadership of a conspiracy and on 14 January 1957 he was sentenced to death. He was executed on 19 January 1957.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dudas, Jozsef 1912 births 1957 deaths People from Târgu Mureș People from the Kingdom of Hungary Romanian people of Hungarian descent Independent Smallholders, Agrarian Workers and Civic Party politicians Hungarian revolutionaries People of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 Hungarian people executed by the Soviet Union Romanian people executed abroad