Hello, my name is Mr. Williams and I'm going to be your history teacher for today.

This lesson is part of a unit of lessons about the origins of the Cold War from 1941 to 1958.

I'm really looking forward to teaching you today, so let's get started.

By the end of today's lesson, you will be able to explain the causes, key events and consequences of the Hungarian Uprising of 1956.

There are five keywords essential to understanding today's lesson.

They are satellite state, a country that is dominated by another country, uprising, an act of resistance or rebellion, reform, a change introduced to improve something, often a system or law, Warsaw Pact, a military alliance of Eastern European countries led by the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

It was formed in 1955 in response to NATO.

And finally, containment, using American influence and military resources to prevent the spread of communism into non-communist countries.

Our lesson today will be split into three parts.

In this first part, we're going to be learning about why there was an uprising in Hungary in 1956.

Hungary was a Soviet satellite state and had been governed by the Communist Party as a dictatorship since 1949.

Matyas Rakosi, a strong supporter of Stalin, had emerged as leader of Hungary and ruled through terror.

He was responsible for the killing of over 2000 people and the imprisonment of up to 200,000 political opponents.

Rakosi's brutality made him extremely unpopular and this increased due to a steep decline in living standards caused by his Stalinist economic policies.

Rakosi's attempt to develop heavy industry at the expense of producing consumer goods meant that Hungarians suffered widespread shortages of basic items. Workers also faced poor working conditions and low wages.

In July, 1956, when Rakosi's spiralling unpopularity led him to lose Soviet support, he was forced to step down.

However, the Hungarians remained angry.

As a result, the Hungarian Uprising began on the 23rd of October, 1956.

Hungarians in the capital, Budapest took to the streets to protest against their lack of freedom and problems caused by fuel shortages and poor harvests.

Protestors clashed with police and Khrushchev responded by sending Soviet troops into the city to restore peace.

On the 25th of October, 12 protesters were killed and hundreds more were injured when Soviet tanks fired on a demonstration.

Let's take a moment now to check your understanding.

On the screen, there are three statements and they're all incorrect.

I want you to identify and correct the mistakes.

Pause the video now and press play when you're ready to see the corrected statements.

Okay, well done for your hard work on that task.

You were asked to identify and correct the mistakes in the three statements.

The corrected statements could read as follows.

Number one, Matyas Rakosi was an extremely unpopular leader of Hungary.

Number two, Rakosi's economic policies made people in Hungary angry because they led to lower living standards.

And number three, people in Hungary remained angry when Rakosi stepped down as leader in July, 1956.

Very well done if you managed to identify and correct all of those mistakes.

On the 26th of October, in an attempt to end the protests, Khrushchev installed Imre Nagy as leader of Hungary.

Nagy was a former leader of Hungary and although he was a communist, he was supportive of greater personal freedoms. Khrushchev hoped that Nagy's appointment would end the uprising as he would introduce reforms, which would please the Hungarian people.

Within days of becoming leader, Nagy invited non-communists to join the government, which ended one party rule and he ordered the release of thousands of political prisoners.

Khrushchev's priority was to end the uprising and so he agreed to support the reforms and withdrew Soviet troops from Hungary.

Let's take a moment to check your understanding.

On the screen are some key events in the Hungarian Uprising, but they're in the wrong order.

I want you to put these events in chronological order.

Pause the video now and press play when you're ready to see the correct answer.

Okay, well done for your hard work on that task.

You were asked to place key events from the Hungarian Uprising of 1956 into the correct chronological order and the correct order is as follows.

Rakosi emerged as the communist dictator of Hungary.

Rakosi ruled through terror and introduced Stalinist economic policies.

Rakosi lost Soviet support and was forced to step down as leader of Hungary.

Hungarians began to protest on the streets of Budapest.

Soviet tanks fired on the protesters and killed 12 people.

Khrushchev installed Imre Nagy as leader of Hungary.

Very well done if you managed to put those events in the correct chronological order.

Let's do another quick check.

True or false.

Khrushchev installed Nagy as leader of Hungary because he believed it would help to end the Hungarian Uprising.

Pause the video now and press play when you're ready to see the correct response.

Okay, well done if you said that was true, but we need to be able to justify our responses.

So on the screen are two justifications.

Justification A says, "Khrushchev hoped Nagy would work with the USSR to crush the Hungarian Uprising using force," and justification B says, "Khrushchev hoped Nagy would stop the Hungarian Uprising by introducing reforms that would reduce anger." Which of these statements is correct? Pause the video now and press play when you're ready to see the correct response.

Okay, very well done if you selected justification B, Khrushchev hoped Nagy would stop the Hungarian Uprising not by using force, but by introducing reforms that would reduce anger.

You are now ready for the first practise task of today's lesson.

What I'd like you to do here for the first part is explain two reasons why the Hungarian Uprising began on the 23rd of October, 1956.

You should write just one paragraph and aim to use the following words in your answer, freedom, living standards, Rakosi and communist.

Pause the video now and press play when you're ready to see a model response.

Okay, very well done for your hard work on that first part of our first practise task.

You were asked to explain two reasons why the Hungarian Uprising began on the 23rd of October, 1956, and you were asked to write one paragraph.

You may have written something like this.

One reason that the Hungarian Uprising began on the 23rd of October, 1956 is because people in Hungary were angry about the lack of freedom under communist rule.

Matyas Rakosi had ruled the country as a dictatorship from 1949 until July, 1956, killing and imprisoning many of his opponents.

Another reason for the Hungarian Uprising was anger at falling living standards.

This was due to the economic policies of Rakosi, which had led to a shortage of consumer goods, poor working conditions and low wages.

Very well done if your paragraph looks something like the model one on the screen.

Let's move now to the second part of this practise task, and I would like you to explain why Khrushchev installed Imre Nagy as leader of Hungary on the 26th of October, 1956.

Again, you should write one paragraph and aim to use the following words in your answer, uprising, freedom and reforms. Pause the video now and press play when you're ready to see a model response.

Okay, great effort there on that second part of this first practise task.

You were asked to explain why Khrushchev installed Imre Nagy as leader of Hungary on the 26th of October, 1956.

You were asked to write one paragraph and it might have read something like this.

Khrushchev installed Imre Nagy as leader of Hungary on the 26th of October, 1956 because he wanted to end the Hungarian Uprising.

One of the causes of the uprising was lack of freedom under communist rule.

Nagy was communist, but he believed in greater personal freedoms and wanted to introduce reforms. Therefore, Khrushchev believed that by installing Nagy, Hungarians would be less angry with communist rule and the uprising would come to an end.

Very well done if your paragraph looks something like the one on the screen.

Let's move on now to the second part of our lesson.

In the first part of the lesson, we learned about the causes of the Hungarian Uprising and how Khrushchev attempted to end the uprising by installing Imre Nagy as the new leader of Hungary.

In the second part of the lesson, we're going to be learning about Khrushchev's response to Nagy's reforms. On the screen is a timeline covering some of the key events in the second part of the lesson.

Take a look at it now and you can always come back to this timeline if you need to later on in the lesson.

On the 1st of November, 1956, Nagy announced that Hungary was withdrawing from the Warsaw Pact.

Although Khrushchev had agreed to limited reforms to end the October protests, this was a step too far in Khrushchev's opinion.

Allowing Hungary to leave the military alliance would make the USSR appear weak and could encourage other satellite states to leave too.

Like Stalin, Khrushchev believed that Soviet control of Eastern Europe was essential to protect the USSR against invasion and any weakening of the Warsaw Pact would put this at risk.

Subsequently, on the 4th of November, Khrushchev ordered the invasion of Hungary by 200,000 Soviet troops and 6,000 tanks.

Supporters of Nagy fought back, but they were no match for the Soviet Army who quickly took control of the country, capturing key cities and infrastructure.

Facing the might of the superior Soviet Army, the Hungarians desperately begged for support from the west, but none came.

In the next few days, the Soviet Army brutally crushed Hungarian resistance and it is estimated that 20,000 Hungarians were killed and a further 200,000 were forced to flee the country.

With no hope of victory, the Hungarians agreed to ceasefire on the 10th of November.

Nagy was replaced as leader by Janos Kadar who quickly established a new pro-Soviet communist government.

Let's take a moment now to check your understanding and I want you to discuss this question with a partner.

Why was Khrushchev determined to prevent Hungary from leaving the Warsaw Pact? Pause the video now, discuss the question with a partner and press play when you're ready to see a model response.

Okay, welcome back, I hope that discussion was useful.

You were asked to discuss the question with a partner, why was Khrushchev determined to prevent Hungary from leaving the Warsaw Pact? And you might have said something like this.

Khrushchev believed that allowing Hungary to leave the Warsaw Pact would encourage other Soviet satellite states to leave the military alliance.

He believed that Hungary's attempt to leave the Warsaw Pact was a threat to the alliance and therefore a threat to the security of the USSR.

Well done if your discussion covered those points.

Let's do another quick check for understanding.

How many Hungarians were killed during the Soviet invasion and how many were forced to flee the country? Was it A, 10,000 killed and 100,000 forced to flee, B, 15,000 killed and 150,000 forced to flee, C, 20,000 killed and 200,000 forced to flee, or D, 30,000 killed and 300,000 forced to flee? Pause the video now and press play when you're ready to see the correct answer.

Okay, very well done if you selected C.

As a result of the Soviet invasion of Hungary, 20,000 Hungarians were killed and 200,000 Hungarians were forced to flee the country.

Nagy had made a serious mistake and misjudged Khrushchev.

Like many in the west, he had believed that Khrushchev's criticisms of Stalin might lead him to adopt a softer approach towards the Soviet satellite states.

However, Khrushchev saw Hungary's attempts to leave the Warsaw Pact as a threat to the security of the USSR and responded decisively to protect Soviet interests.

After the defeat of the uprising, Nagy and some members of his government sought refuge in the Yugoslavian embassy in Budapest.

Kadar promised Nagy and his followers that they could leave the country safely, but when they left the embassy, they were kidnapped by Soviet agents, and in July, 1958, the Hungarian government announced that Nagy had been executed.

Let's check your understanding now.

Nagy knew that his decision to take Hungary out of the Warsaw Pact would lead to a Soviet invasion.

Is that statement true or false? Pause the video now and press play when you're ready to see the correct response.

Okay, well done if you said that was false, but we need to be able to justify our response.

So there's two justifications on the screen.

A says, "Nagy thought that Khrushchev would be happy and support Hungary's decision to leave the Warsaw Pact," and B says, "Nagy did not think that Khrushchev would be prepared to use force to stop Hungary leaving the Warsaw Pact." Which of these justifications is true? Pause the video now and press play when you're ready to see the correct response.

Okay, very well done if you selected justification B.

Nagy knew that Khrushchev would not be happy at Hungary's decision to leave the Warsaw Pact, but he did not think that Khrushchev would be prepared to use force to stop Hungary from leaving.

Well done if you got that correct.

We're now ready for the second practise task of today's lesson.

I would like you to write an account that analyses the main events of the Hungarian Uprising of 1956.

You should aim to write about three key events and you might wish to write about the following, protests and clashes with Soviet troops, Nagy's reforms and the attempt to leave the Warsaw Pact and the Soviet invasion of Hungary.

You should try to organise your answer in chronological order.

Pause the video now.

Have a go at answering this question and then press play when you're ready to see a model response.

Okay, welcome back.

Well done for all of your hard work on that task.

You were asked to write an account that analyses the main events of the Hungarian Uprising of 1956.

You were asked to write about three events in three paragraphs, and your answer might look something like this.

In the first paragraph you might have written, "On the 23rd of October, 1956, the Hungarian Uprising began when people in Budapest, the capital of Hungary, started a protest against falling living standards and a lack of freedom under communist rule.

Khrushchev sent Soviet troops to restore order and to stop the protests.

On the 25th of October, 12 protesters were killed during a clash with Soviet troops.

This led to Khrushchev installing Imre Nagy, a communist who believed in greater personal freedoms, as leader of Hungary in an attempt to stop the uprising." Well done if your first paragraph looks something like this one.

For your second paragraph, you could have written something like this, "Within days of becoming leader, Nagy introduced reforms including the end to one party rule and the release of thousands of political prisoners.

Khrushchev supported these reforms, because he believed they were necessary to stop the uprising.

However, on the 1st of November, Nagy went too far for Khrushchev's liking when he announced that Hungary would leave the Warsaw Pact.

Subsequently, on the 4th of November, Khrushchev ordered the Soviet invasion of Hungary as he believed that if he allowed Hungary to leave the military alliance, then the USSR would appear weak and it could encourage other satellite states to leave too." For your final paragraph, you could have written something like this, "The Hungarians fought back against the Soviet invasion, but they were no match for the Soviet Army.

The Hungarians begged the USA and NATO for support, but they received no help from the west.

By the 10th of November, a ceasefire was declared and the Hungarian Uprising was over.

20,000 Hungarians had been killed and a further 200,000 had been forced to flee the country.

Nagy's government was replaced by a new pro-Soviet government led by Janos Kadar and Nagy was eventually captured and executed." Fantastic effort on that second practise task and very well done if your answer looks similar to the model answer that we've just gone through.

We're now ready to move on to the final part of today's lesson where we'll be learning about the international reaction to the Hungarian Uprising and its consequences.

When he announced that Hungary was withdrawing from the Warsaw Pact, it is likely that Nagy believed the country would have the support of the USA and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, NATO.

The USA had been committed to a policy of containment since the establishment of the Truman Doctrine in 1947 and had subsequently provided countries in Europe with billions of dollars to stop the spread of communism as part of the Marshall Plan.

Since the USA had provided so much financial aid, there were some in Eastern Europe who thought that the USA might be willing to help them resist Soviet domination in other ways.

In fact, when Nagy became leader of Hungary, he'd been told by John Foster Dallas, President Eisenhower's Secretary of State, "You can count on us." However, when Soviet tanks rolled into Hungary, the USA was not prepared to back up these words with military support.

Although Eisenhower was sympathetic towards the Hungarians, he did not want to risk war with the USSR to support the uprising, particularly since there was a danger that it could escalate into a nuclear conflict.

Eisenhower's also not willing to involve the USA in a conflict between the USSR and an existing communist country.

The Hungarian Uprising therefore demonstrated the limits of the USA's commitment to containment.

Let's take a moment now to check your understanding.

I want you to discuss this question with a partner.

Why did many people in Hungary believe that the USA would support their uprising against the Soviet Union? Pause the video now, discuss the question with a partner and press play when you're ready to see a model response.

Okay, welcome back, I hope that was a useful discussion.

You might have said something like this.

The USA had been committed to a policy of containment since the Truman Doctrine in 1947.

As part of the Marshall Plan, the USA had sent billions of dollars worth of economic aid to Europe to stop the spread of communism.

Consequently, many Hungarians thought that the USA would be willing to send them military support.

Well done if your discussion covered these points.

Let's do another quick check of your understanding.

Which of the following statements helped to explain why Eisenhower did not send us military support to aid the Hungarian Uprising? A, he was not sympathetic towards the Hungarians, B, he did not want to risk war with the USSR, C, Hungary was already a communist country, D, he was concerned about a possible nuclear conflict.

Pause the video now and press play when you're ready to C the correct answers.

Okay, there were several reasons why Eisenhower did not send US military support to aid the Hungarian Uprising.

He did not want to risk war with the USSR, Hungary was already a communist country and he was concerned about a possible nuclear conflict.

Very well done if he got these correct.

The defeat of the Hungarian Uprising strengthened the USSR's position within the Warsaw Pact and sent a clear signal that the USSR was not prepared to tolerate any attempts by its satellite states to break away from Soviet influence.

By taking decisive action to crush the uprising, Khrushchev also strengthened his own position within the Communist Party and demonstrated that he could be as ruthless as Stalin when it came to protecting the USSR's interests.

Khrushchev also gained significant confidence in his dealings with the USA, because their inaction over Hungary demonstrated that they were unlikely to risk a hot war with the USSR.

Although the USA had not been prepared to go to war with the USSR to defend Hungary, they did join other members of NATO in condemning the Soviet invasion.

As a result, the Hungarian Uprising of 1956 exacerbated Cold War tensions and further deepened the divide between the two superpowers.

Let's check your understanding.

There's three statements on the screen that are all incorrect.

I want you to identify and correct the mistakes.

Pause the video now and press play when you're ready to go through the corrected statements.

Okay, welcome back.

Well done for all your hard work on that task.

You were asked to identify and correct the mistakes in three statements, and the corrected statements could read as follows.

Number one, the Hungarian Uprising strengthened the USSR's position within the Warsaw Pact.

Number two, the Hungarian Uprising strengthened Khrushchev's position within the Communist Party.

And number three, the Hungarian Uprising led to a decline in the relationship between the USA and the USSR.

Very well done if you identified and corrected all of those mistakes.

We're now ready for the final practise task of today's lesson.

And for this final practise task, I want you to explain two consequences of the 1956 Hungarian Uprising.

You should identify two consequences and then write one paragraph per consequence to explain each one.

Pause the video now, attempt this question and press play when you're ready to go through a model answer.

Okay, welcome back.

You were asked to explain two consequences of the 1956 Hungarian Uprising.

For your first paragraph, you could have written something like this, "One consequence of the Hungarian Uprising was that it increased Soviet control over their satellite states in the Warsaw Pact.

The USSR had invaded Hungary on the 4th of November, 1956 after Nagy had announced that Hungary was withdrawing from the Warsaw Pact on the 1st of November.

By brutally crushing the Hungarian Uprising, the USSR demonstrated that they would not tolerate attempts by their satellite states to break away from their influence.

After seeing what had happened in Hungary, the other members of the Warsaw Pact were less likely to challenge Soviet control." Well done if your first paragraph looks something like that one.

For your second paragraph, you could have written, "Another consequence of the Hungarian Uprising was that it led to increased tension between the USA and the Soviet Union.

The USA had refused to come to the aid of Hungary during the Hungarian Uprising, because Eisenhower was not willing to involve the USA in a conflict between the USSR and an existing communist country, and he did not want to risk a nuclear war.

Despite this, Eisenhower did join the other members of NATO in condemning Soviet actions in Hungary.

This increased Cold War tensions and led to a deeper divide between the USA and the USSR." Very well done for all of your hard work on that final practise task and well done if your two paragraphs look similar to the ones that we've just gone through.

We're at the end of our lesson now, so it's a really good chance to recap some of our key learning points.

The Hungarian Uprising began on the 23rd of October, 1956 when Hungarians protested a lack of freedom and living standards.

In an attempt to stop the protests, Khrushchev installed Imre Nagy as leader of Hungary and supported his reforms. When Nagy announced that Hungary would leave the Warsaw Pact, Khrushchev ordered Soviet troops to invade Hungary.

The Hungarians received no help from the USA or NATO and the USSR swiftly and brutally crushed the uprising.

The Soviet defeat led to the strengthening of control over their satellite states in the Warsaw Pact and the worsening of US-Soviet relations.

It's been a pleasure to teach you today.

Well done for all of your hard work and I look forward to teaching you again very soon.