Béla Biszku
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Béla Biszku (13 September 1921 – 31 March 2016) was a Hungarian
communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
politician, who served as Minister of the Interior from 1957 to 1961. He was charged of suspicion of committing war crimes during the suppression of the
Hungarian Revolution of 1956 The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 4 November 1956; ), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was an attempted countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the policies caused by ...
, becoming the first and to date only former top-official in Hungary who has been prosecuted because of political role in the
communist era A communist era is a sustained period of national government by a single party following the philosophy of Marxism–Leninism. Many countries have experienced such a period of communist rule. Current communist states China The Chinese Communist ...
.


Early life

Béla Biszku was born in Márok,
Bereg County Bereg (; ) was an administrative county ( comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is now mostly in western Ukraine and a smaller part in northeastern Hungary. The capital of the county was Beregszász ("Berehove" in Ukrainian, ''Bere ...
(today
Márokpapi Márokpapi is a village in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county, in the Northern Great Plain region of eastern Hungary. Jews lived in Márokpapi for many years until they were murdered in the Holocaust Geography It covers an area of and has a popula ...
, Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County) on 13 September 1921 as the son of György Biszku and Etelka Debreczeni, who were farm workers. After finishing six years of elementary studies and four years of state civil school, he came afterwards to the locksmith's apprenticeship for the Wertheim Elevator & Machine Manufacture in 1937. Already in 1938 Biszku was active in the youth organisation of the metalworkers in the workers' area of
Angyalföld Angyalföld (; literally: "Angel's Field or Angel Land") is a neighbourhood in Budapest, Hungary. Administratively it belongs to the 13th district. The traditionally working-class neighbourhood went through a process of gentrification due to t ...
in
Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
. From 1941 to 1942, he worked at Marx & Mérei Scientific Instruments Plant, and from 1942 to 1945, he was employed by Hungarian Philips Works.Bölöny József: ''Magyarország kormányai. 1848–1992''. 4. bőv. és jav. kiad., Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, 1992. 269. p. In 1943, Biszku joined ''Vasas Szakszervezet'', the metalworker's trade union and participated energetically in organizing work. Biszku joined the
Hungarian Communist Party The Hungarian Communist Party (, , abbr. MKP), known earlier as the Party of Communists in Hungary (, , abbr. KMP), was a communist party in Hungary that existed during the interwar period and briefly after World War II. It was founded on Novem ...
(MKP) in 1944 and participated in the Angyalföld resistance movement that fought against the Nazi German occupation force and against the collaborationist pro-fascist
Arrow Cross Party The Arrow Cross Party (, , abbreviated NYKP) was a far-right Hungarian ultranationalist party led by Ferenc Szálasi, which formed a government in Hungary they named the Government of National Unity. They were in power from 15 October 1944 to ...
government during the end of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. After the war, he played a role in the organization of the Budapest Police, then he established the Angyalföld branch of the communist party. He had worked for the MKP's Budapest Party Committee since 1946.


Political career

For six weeks, he functioned as deputy head of the Cadre Department of the Central Leadership of the
Hungarian Working People's Party The Hungarian Working People's Party (, , abbr. MDP) was the ruling communist party of Hungary from 1948 to 1956. It was formed by a merger of the Hungarian Communist Party (MKP) and the Social Democratic Party of Hungary (MSZDP).Neubauer, Joh ...
(MDP) in May 1949. By the 1949 parliamentary election, the MDP had established a single party state and Soviet-type totalitarian dictatorship. Biszku worked for the Cadre Department of the Budapest Party Committee until 1951, when he was replaced. Following that, he became the secretary of the Party Committee of the
Kőbánya Kőbánya (, , ) is the 10th district of Budapest () and one of the largest by territory. It is located in southeast Pest (city), Pest, easily accessible from the downtown by Budapest Metro, Metro 3, whose Terminal station, terminus is named ' ...
branch. He had attended the party's Political College (PF) since September 1953. He was appointed First Secretary of the Angyalföld branch's Party Committee in the Spring of 1955. During the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, he recruited local pro-communist armed groups among party members and workers against the rebels in the first days of the popular uprising. As a result, he was awarded with Medal for Worker-Peasant Power in April 1958, after the suppression of the revolution. Following long years of work in party organizations, Biszku sprang into prominence after the events of 1956. Between 1957 and 1961 he served as Minister of the Interior in the
government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...
of
János Kádár János József Kádár (; ; né Czermanik; 26 May 1912 – 6 July 1989) was a Hungarian Communist leader and the General Secretary of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party, a position he held for 32 years. Declining health led to his retireme ...
. In this capacity, he became known for the severity he showed in suppressing and punishing after the 1956 revolution, which was one of the largest revolt against the communist government in the
Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc (Combloc), the Socialist Bloc, the Workers Bloc, and the Soviet Bloc, was an unofficial coalition of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America that were a ...
and its Soviet-imposed policies, was defeated. Between 1961–1962 Biszku became the deputy prime minister, alongside
Antal Apró Antal Apró (8 February 1913 – 9 December 1994) was a Hungarian Communist politician, who served as Speaker of the National Assembly of Hungary between 1971 and 1984. Early life Born in Szeged, Apró was brought up in orphanages. He arrived ...
,
Jenő Fock Jenő Fock (; 17 May 1916 – 22 May 2001) was a Hungarian Communist politician who served as Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the People's Republic of Hungary from 1967 to 1975. Career Fock joined the Communist Party of Hungary in 1 ...
and
Gyula Kállai Gyula Kállai (; 1 June 1910 – 12 March 1996) was a Hungarian communist politician who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1949 to 1951, Chairman of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister) from 1965 to 1967 and Speaker of the Natio ...
. He was replaced by
Lajos Fehér Lajos () is a Hungarian masculine given name, cognate to the English Louis. People named Lajos include: Hungarian monarchs: * Lajos I, 1326-1382 (ruled 1342-1382) * Lajos II, 1506-1526 (ruled 1516-1526) In Hungarian politics: * Lajos Aulic ...
on 27 November 1962.Bölöny József: ''Magyarország kormányai. 1848–1992''. 4. bőv. és jav. kiad., Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, 1992. 211. p. Biszku was also elected Member of Parliament during the 1958 parliamentary election, representing Constituency I in Szabolcs-Szatmár County. He was MP until April 1971, when did not stand for re-election in the 1971 parliamentary election.Történelmi Tár
/ref> From 1962 until 1978, he was the Secretary of the Central Committee of the
Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party The Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party (, , MSZMP) was the ruling Marxist–Leninist party of the Hungarian People's Republic between 1956 and 1989. It was organised from elements of the Hungarian Working People's Party during the Hungaria ...
(MSZMP).Szabó Miklós, M.: Adalékok a Magyar Néphadsereg 1961–1962. évi történetéhez. 1. rész. In.: Új Honvédségi Szemle. LXI. évf., 2007/9. sz., 96. p. Biszku, as a hard-line communist, strongly opposed the
New Economic Mechanism The New Economic Mechanism (NEM) () was a major economic reform launched in the People's Republic of Hungary in 1968. Between 1972 and 1978, it was curtailed by the prevailing winds of Eastern Bloc politics. During the subsequent decade, until the ...
(ÚGM) which was imposed by the Kádár regime in 1968 and contained "capitalist elements". In 1972, together with Zoltán Komócsin, and other fellow communists, he became involved in a plot to force János Kádár to resign from virtually all of his public functions in an effort to return
Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
to a more orthodox Soviet-style line. To achieve his goals, Biszku tried to convince
Yuri Andropov Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov ( – 9 February 1984) was a Soviet politician who served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from late 1982 until his death in 1984. He previously served as the List of Chairmen of t ...
of the rightness of his cause, who immediately alerted Kádár. Afterwards Kádár slowly removed Biszku from power. Biszku was again MP between 1975 and 1985, representing Constituency II in Szabolcs-Szatmár County. He was forced into retirement in 1978, when Károly Németh replaced him as Secretary of the Central Committee. From 1980 to 1989, he served as Chairman of the Audit Committee of the National Council of Trade Unions (SZOT). The MSZMP's leadership adopted a new electoral system for the 1985 parliamentary election which imposed a multiple candidacy system in each constituency. Biszku was defeated by another MSZMP member and lost his parliamentary seat.


Retirement

From 1989, the end of communism and transition to democracy until 2011, he successfully evaded any kind of prosecution for human rights abuses committed under the Kádár regime while living in relative obscurity, and sought to portray the regime in a favorable light. In the summer of 2008, Hungarian blogger and documentary filmmaker Fruzsina Skrabski published a post with the title "''Kommunisták, reszkessetek!''", where she announced a search for still living former Communist politicians. Skrabski and Tamás Novák presented themselves as members of a non-existent local organization to Biszku, claiming that they intended to make a movie about him, "Márokpapi's famous son". They disclosed their true intention only during their last meeting, after organizing a fake celebration with background performers in the village. At first, Biszku did not reject his contribution and answered sensitive political questions also. There, Biszku called the 1956 revolution a "counter-revolution" and added he had not felt any regret or remorse for the death penalties and retaliatory measures. He also said that
Imre Nagy Imre Nagy ( ; ; 7 June 1896 – 16 June 1958) was a Hungarian communist politician who served as Council of Ministers of the Hungarian People's Republic, Chairman of the Council of Ministers (''de facto'' Prime Minister of Hungary, Prime Minis ...
, prime minister of the revolution, had "deserved his fate". Biszku first consented to the premiere but after major media coverage, withdrew his permission. His family also protested against screening in a cinema in Budapest. The documentary movie entitled "''Crime Without Punishment''" was screened in June 2010. Later, Biszku's daughters, after seeing the movie contributed to the projection. The parliamentary Committee on Culture and Media also supported the screening and the national assembly later adopted a law that historical documentaries in general should not be banned from public showing on grounds of rights to privacy.


Criminal investigation and trial

The National Assembly adopted a so-called "lex Biszku" bill, which aims to prosecute former leading communist politicians and law enforcement officials who are seen as responsible for the deterring of the 1956 uprising. Gergely Gulyás told a press conference in October 2011 that the bill is constitutional and consistent with international law. A criminal investigation against Biszku was opened in 2011. He is being charged with "denial of communist crimes" that may result in a three-year jail sentence. On 10 September 2012, Biszku was placed under house arrest on charge of suspicion of committing
war crimes A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hos ...
. He is the first politician of the 1956 Communist leadership to face a criminal inquiry. He is accused of failing to protect civilians in wartime. In addition, he needs to hold responsibility for ordering the security forces to open fire on crowds. In case, he is found guilty of the charges brought up against him, which he himself has denied, he could face a life imprisonment. His trial was scheduled to begin on 18 March 2014. On 13 May 2014 he was found guilty of war crimes during the suppression of the 1956 uprising. He was convicted of ordering security forces to open fire on civilians, killing 49 people, and was sentenced to five years and six months in prison. Biszku was also found guilty of other charges, including "denial of communist crimes". However, the Metropolitan Court of Appeals set aside the first degree sentence and ordered a new trial on 1 June 2015. The Court of Appeals argued that there were "essential and substantive differences between establishing historical responsibility and criminal responsibility." During the repeat procedure, the Metropolitan Court of Budapest sentenced Biszku to two years in prison, suspended for three years for complicity in war crimes on 17 December 2015. The court also ruled, however, that there was insufficient evidence that Biszku as Minister of the Interior and member of the MSZMP's so-called Provisional Executive Committee had issued the order to fire on 49 protesters in
Salgótarján Salgótarján (; , German: ''Schalgau'') is a city with county rights in Hungary, the capital of Nógrád County, north-eastern Hungary, making it the third least populous county capital. The nearby Salgó Castle is a well-known tourist attra ...
in December 1956 or beat up academics in March 1957. Biszku died in Budapest on 31 March 2016 at the age of 94, before the potential sentence of the repeat procedure's second degree. Fruzsina Skrabski, who made that documentary film which brought Biszku's impunity and high pension salary to the surface, said the Hungarian jurisdiction "are awaiting his death ..to prevent the start of an avalanche ..with regard to the impeachment of former high-ranking Communist politicians."


Literature

* Szabó, Miklós: ''Adalékok a Magyar Néphadsereg 1961-1962. évi történetéhez''. 1. rész, in: Új Honvédségi Szemle. LXI. évf., 2007/9. sz., 96. p * Bölöny, József: ''Magyarország kormányai''. 1848–1992, 4. bőv. és jav. kiad., Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, 1992. 269. p. * G. Tabajdi, K. Ungvári: ''Elhallgatott múlt'', Corvina, Budapest, 2008, pp. 99–100.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Biszku, Bela 1921 births 2016 deaths People from Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County Hungarian Communist Party politicians Members of the Hungarian Working People's Party Members of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party Ministers of the interior of Hungary Historical negationism Hungarian people convicted of war crimes Hungarian politicians convicted of crimes