The Unburied Man

The life story of Imre Nagy is one of the defining stories of 20th century Hungarian history. He was the first communist leader to become the symbol of a national revolution, who, in addition, abrogated the Warsaw Treaty and stood up for democracy based on a pluralist party system. Many argue that the role he assumed in the revolution of 1956 and his continued loyalty to the notion of the revolution, which prevailed until his death, did not clearly follow from his communist convictions and his past experiences in Moscow. Some attribute his loyalty to the revolution to a mysterious secret event, which resulted in extraordinary catharsis. Even though, such course of events was not entirely surprising in light of his personality and ensuing life story. Imre Nagy became a supporter of the political left as a result of his life experiences of the impoverished country side and the extreme contradictions he perceived around himself. Lenin’s revolution, his experiences of the civil war and his captivity as a POW in Russia, all lead to his becoming a professed communist. However, he always differed from the well-known type of the fanatic revolutionary in that, even his strong internationalist convictions could not undermine his strong feelings of patriotism and genuine love of Hungary and its people. His character is especially moving, because he was much more of a peace-loving agricultural politician, a university instructor or a high-spirited father and grandfather, than a fierce revolutionary fighting on the barricades. His chosen path of martyrdom followed from deep convictions of integrity as a human being and his most-valued identification with his own people. His attitude and demeanor always differed from that of the so-called “party functionary”. The “man of the party” possessed a certain style-not particular to Hungary, but to the entire communist block. This attitude entailed serving dogmas instead of people, demonstrated Puritanism, ascetics, gray and brown suits and the distinct party language that party members used.