Anarchism in Hungary
Anarchism in Hungary began in the late 1800s as part of the labor and socialist movements. A left-wing anarchist current grew alongside the Social Democratic Party, calling for the overthrow of capitalism and the state. They published newspapers in Hungarian and German, faced censorship, and were often forced underground. In the 1890s an agrarian socialist wing joined with Christian anarchists to work among the countryside, helping to form the Independent Socialist Party in 1897. Repression followed: the government banned groups, shut publications, and jailed leading organizers. Some activists went into exile.
In the early 20th century, activists like Ervin Szabó and Lajos Kassák worked to oppose Hungary’s participation in World War I. They spread anti-war ideas and built networks across Europe. A significant anti-war circle about the time was the Galileo Circle, which helped organize demonstrations and protests. In late 1917 and 1918, street actions and workers’ strikes grew, culminating in large demonstrations and a first workers’ council in Budapest.
Hungary’s 1918 revolution brought big change. The Aster Revolution toppled the old government, and the new leaders moved to pull Hungary out of the war. In November 1918, communist ideas also arrived with Béla Kun, who formed the Hungarian Communist Party. Anarchists and other dissidents joined the evolving left, and tensions grew as peasants seized land and workers occupied factories. In March 1919 a general strike helped push the government out and the Hungarian Soviet Republic was declared. Anarchists organized openly for a time, forming the Anarchist Union and running self-managed projects. However, hard conflicts between different left-wing groups and the new regime led to repression. In July 1919, attempts at insurrection failed, and the Soviet Republic collapsed after defeats in the region, followed by a harsh “White Terror” against leftists. By 1920, Miklós Horthy’s regime ruled as regent, and most anarchists went into exile or stayed underground.
Between the wars, Hungary’s government solidified and left-wing ideas were kept on the margins. During World War II, some anti-fascist and anti-Nazi activity appeared, but anarchists were not a major force in the resistance. After the Nazi occupation, a repressed but revived movement fought on, and a division grew between anarchists and the dominant communist leadership.
After the war, the new one-party state led by the communists moved to suppress all independent movements. The 1947 coup and the rise of a Stalinist regime brought years of harsh dictatorship. The 1956 uprising briefly put workers’ councils in power, but Soviet troops crushed the revolt and János Kádár took over, running a controlled form of communism known as Goulash Communism.
The 1989 changes in Eastern Europe ended communism in Hungary. Democracy returned, along with freedom of speech and assembly. The anarchist movement began to rebuild in the 1990s. One notable group, the Barricade Collective, emerged to study capitalism in Hungary and to analyze protests like those in 2006. Today, Hungarian anarchists continue to work in labor rights, anti-fascist organizing, and social critique, building on a long history of resistance and political experimentation.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 16:53 (CET).