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HU OSA 400
Fonds 400: Az MSZP Budapesti Reformkörének és a reformköri mozgalomnak dokumentumai [Documents Relating to the MSZMP Budapest Reform Circle and the reform circle movement]

Magyarul (in Hungarian)

Date(s) 1989-2006

Extent and medium

17 Archival boxes, 2 linear meters
1 Oversized box (40cm), 0.40 linear meters

Name of creator(s)

Benkő Judit, Kerekes György, Szántó György, Vajda János, Szenes Imre, Sík Júlia, dr. Somos Iván, Mózes Ferenc, Rekvényi László, Wilk János, Pál Eda, Novák Zoltán

Administrative/Biographical history

Archival history

The documents were used as the basis of a monograph by Zoltán Novák. The documents presented here were preserved by former members of the Budapest Reform Circle such as Judit Benkő, György Kerekes, György Szántó, János Vajda, Imre Szenes, Júlia Sík, Dr. Iván Somos, Ferenc Mózes, László Rekvényi, János Wilk, Eda Pál and Zoltán Novák.
The documents that they saved were handed over to Zoltán Novak, who further expanded the collection and wrote his work on the basis of it.

The former members of the Organizing Committee of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party instructed Zoltán Novák to pass the above-mentioned documents on to the Open Society Archives and to take the necessary steps for their donation in the name and with the authority of the Organizing Committee of the Budapest Reform Circle.

Scope and content

The Budapest Reform Circle was established by young intellectuals - KISZ (Communist Youth Association) members and Party officials - at the beginning of 1989, originally with a reform communist orientation. During the spring, by accepting its platform, the Circle grew more radical as well as becoming an opposition faction against the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party’s reform communist center, which was headed by Grosz. One of the main objectives of the Circle was to create a pro-reform wing within the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party and, with its help, to become the majority within the Party. They rejected proposals for a 5-6 year transition period which would have ensured the Party's hold on power. Instead, they wanted free elections and a multiparty parliamentary democracy. In order to ensure a peaceful transition they urged for negotiations with the opposition; they wanted fair meetings where they would agree on a temporary constitution that would later be replaced by a Constitution accepted by a Constituent National Assembly. During the summer of 1989 the Platform did not adhere to the principle of democratic socialism: they believed in seeking a solution to the crisis in the country in the option of social market capitalism based on private property and parliamentary democracy. At the beginning of October, in the new situation that emerged right after the Congress of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party, the objectives previously defined by the Reform Circle became part of the new political process, and as a result the reform circles lost their original importance and stopped working.
The Budapest Reform Circle was one of the most significant communities of the reform movement. This collection of papers documents the most important strands of the activities of the Budapest Reform Circle. These are the following: confronting the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party’s leadership headed by Grosz; discussion between the various platforms within the party; arguments between the four members of the leadership of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party, confrontation and cooperation with the Government; discussions within the Budapest Reform Circle as well as discussions with the various trends within the reform movement, in addition to relations with opposition parties and organizations.

Accruals Not expected

System of arrangement

Language/scripts of material Hungarian

Publication note

Novák Zoltán
Az MSZMP Budapesti Reformköre
Politika, államigazgatás/Magyar belpolitika
(rendszerváltás, MSZMP, Magyar Szocialista Párt), Budapest, 2002

http://mek.oszk.hu/01900/01961/

Note Most of the records are copies, only few are originals.

Archivist's Note

When the documents received by OSA were processed the Fond, which was originally named “Budapest Reform Circle", included about 273 article titles and 319 document titles. During processing the number of documents was already rising and new materials are expected to further expand the existing collection at OSA.

Date(s) of descriptions

Described by Béla Révész, 15 February, 2006
Online version updated 19 April 2012
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