Hungarian Writers' Union

The Hungarian Writers Union (also known as The Free Union of Hungarian Writers) was founded in 1945 at the end of World War II. Initially the union was intended to be an organizational body through which the interests of writers in Hungary could be represented. It grew to become a major voice of dissension against the Communist regime in Hungary during the 1950s and had a significant role in sparking the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. History After the ascension of a communist government in Hungary, the Hungarian Writers Union became a tool through which the communist regime imposed its Stalinist literary policies and propaganda. Its weekly paper, the Irodalmi Újság (Literary Gazette), propagated communist literary works and culture. In the early 1950s, however, the Union's membership shifted to an increasingly less communistic ideology. By 1955, most of the high-ranking members of the Union were non-communists and decided to use the Irodalmi Újság as a means to call for reforms in the Hungarian government. This shift in ideology was instrumental in encouraging several other unions within Hungary to do the same. Sparking the revolution On the afternoon of 23 October 1956, approximately 20,000 protesters convened next to the statue of József Bem - a national hero of Poland and Hungary. Péter Veres, President of the Writers’ Union, read a manifesto to the crowd, We Hungarian writers have formulated the demands of the Hungarian nation in the following seven points: