The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 remains one of the most spectacular political uprisings that took place in the former Soviet space in the second half of the 1950s, with major consequences on the relations among the states in the region over the following years. In Romania, the events in Hungary led to a wave of marches and protests, particularly among students. At the same time, the Gheorghiu-Dej government offered ‘brotherly support’ to Hungary to crush the revolts, as it regarded the context as an opportunity to prove its loyalty to Moscow. In the meantime, the Romanian Securitate increased its number of informers in the major Romanian cities and made a substantial number of arrests in late autumn 1956. The ‘Alexandru Sahia’ Documentary Studio, which at the time was in its sixth year of existence, sent a crew to create a visual record of the events. The documentation followed the official interpretation by the Romanian state and mobilised the specific ideological jargon of the time: the context is described in the film as a ‘counter-revolution’ and a ‘fascist rebellion’ where ‘terrorist bands’ engage in ‘odious crimes’ as part of an attempt to destroy the recent achievements of the working people and bring back capitalism. The resulting film is currently held at the National Film Archive as a single positive copy with no credits.

 

The Events in Hungary  (Herman Rabinovici, 1957, 20’) 

 

The screening will be followed by a discussion with historians Stefan Bosomitu (IICCMER) and Adrian Cioflinca ('Alexandru Ioan Cuza' University, Iasi).

 

This film is the cultural product of a far-left totalitarian regime which has conceived it as a political propaganda tool. This screening is organised solely for educational purposes, with no propagandistic intention. (The Institute for the Investigation of Communist Crimes and the Memory of the Romanian Exile)