Bob Dent's New Book: Hungary 1930 & The Forgotten History Of A Mass Protest
- 5 Jun 2012 9:00 AM
In 1930, on 1 September, 100,000 workers, employed and unemployed, marched through Budapest under the slogan ‘Work and Bread!’ Many were injured and one person was killed as the police used swords and, at one point, fired into the crowd. This study sketches the political history of the Hungarian labour movement from the late 19th century to the 1920s and the build-up to the 1930 protest, Hungary’s largest in the inter-war period.
Drawing on contemporary newspaper accounts and recollections of participants, it asks:
• Why did such a big demonstration take place?
• How did it come about?
• What happened on 1 September 1930?
• Who was the person who was killed?
• What was the reaction to police repression?
It also reviews subsequent historiography and the development of Hungary’s labour movement politics after 1930.
Bob Dent has lived in Budapest since 1986 and is the author of several works about Hungary.
He is a recipient of the ‘For Budapest’ Prize in recognition of his writings – with their “interesting and unique approach” – about the culture and history of Hungary and in particular Budapest.
Cover illustration: Tüntetés [Demonstration], 1930, line drawing by Gyula Derkovits.
Published by Merlin Press in the UK.
To contact the author just click here
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