864.00/3–2147: Telegram
The Minister in Hungary (Schoenfeld) to the Secretary of State
485. Prime Minister called this afternoon at his request. He said he came not in official capacity but on basis of personal friendship to give me account of recent political developments in Hungary. He said first as note March 5 came at extremely critical moment and had powerful effect in making possible inter-party agreement which was achieved immediately afterward. Besides publicly announced inter-party agreement mytel 398, March 12,1 there is another agreement in writing which has not been announced, and covers following five points:
- 1.
- Cessation of terror against non-Leftists. 2. Prohibition against threat or intimidation by responsible govt officials throughout civil service upon their subordinates to change their party affiliation. 3. No attacks in party newspapers on leaders of other parties without previous notice of nature of such attacks including charges. 4. Coalition parties undertake to present united draft with reference to political groups outside coalition. This was motivated, Nagy said, by fact Sulyok Party had begun to “woo” Communist Party, and was receiving sympathetic hearing. 5. The three other coalition parties undertake to support Smallholders Party in increasing its proportion of civil [Page 291] servants in those areas of public administration where Smallholders Party is disproportionately represented.
Prime Minister said agreement would probably produce political truce for certain time which, he hoped, would be extended until withdrawal occupation forces. If this result were achieved, Nagy felt, Hungary will have been saved from fate which has befallen Poland, Rumania, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia.
He concluded that, despite powerful pressure, Smallholders Party bad stood firm in resisting Leftist demand for official expression by Hungarian Govt regarding American notes (mytel 479, May [March] 21).
He desired to assure me once more that his basic purpose remains to preserve opportunity for Hungarian people to lead free life. In this connection, he declared recent American press comment, especially in New York Times and Herald Tribune creating impression of cowardice and appeasement on part of Smallholders leadership, and he hoped such press despatches would not diminish goodwill which had been shown Hungary in economic matters by US Govt. He conceived basic issue in this part of Europe was problem of adjusting new “desire for security” in these border countries regardless of their political forms to American concern that these peoples shall be enabled to enjoy free life. On solution of this problem his opinion hinged future of this area.
Sent Dept, repeated London 54, Moscow 58.
- The inter-party agreement of March 11 reported upon in the telegram under reference, which is not printed, related to the reconstruction of the Hungarian Cabinet. That agreement is described in Nagy, The Struggle Behind the Iron Curtain, pp. 390–391.↩