Preserving the kingdom of St. Stephen: Nationalism as a factor in Catholic resistance to communism in Hungary (1944--1956).

摘要

Following the "liberation" of Hungary after World War II, the Catholic Church adopted a stance of resistance toward both the post-war Provisional Government and later, the Hungarian Communist Party. The Catholic bishops, led by Prince Primate Jozsef Mindszenty, fought against the nationalization of religious schools, but eventually signed a Church-State Agreement with the Communist Party in 1950. This research determined that nationalism was a motivation for Catholic resistance and that the clergy often resisted under a collaborative guise. Furthermore, this research determined that the nationalism espoused by Cardinal Mindszenty was out of sync with the nationalism exhibited during the Hungarian Uprising of 1956---a fact which may have rendered Mindszenty's leadership ineffectual during the uprising.