The Era of Kádár

For years, my country had sought their autonomy from Soviet influence.

And…man did they pay for it.  

So…I figured it was time for some “light reforms”.  And Yeah…hehehe.

First and foremost, I gave the Hungarian populace some breathing room as I lifted some restrictions in regards to speech and cultural aspects (my fellow Eastern Bloc counterparts…be jealous). I followed this act with some of my economic reforms (a.k.a. "Communism with a capitalist facelift."), legalizing small private enterprises, such as retail stores, restaurants, and artisan shops. The people, by no means however, experienced the freedom witnessed by their western counterparts. The state still maintained high surveillance over domestic affairs, and kept a close eye on resistance groups and advocated the masses to join political parties to enhance the well-being of the state. Fortunately, I had the secret police (they were actually quite frightening…) to my disposal to clean up the unwanted subjects under my regime. They were, however, widely considered very repressive, which I thought was extremely…tolerable (as a ruler…it is better to be feared than loved…something I learned in history class). Essentially , I was able to relieve my country of some Soviet suppression and even gained some beneficial relations towards the west.

Moving on, Hungary became an attractive tourist sight for foreigners under my regime. Due to my preference of a moral and civilized community (along with lighter travel restrictions), Hungary stood out from their neighboring satellite countries and drew in many visitors from close by and afar, namely Western Europe and North America, during the Cold War. However, when the barriers between Hungary and Austria were removed (opening a gaping hole in the “Iron Curtain”), access between East and West Germany became strikingly easy, which permitted the mass migration of East Germans into the likes of Hungary. Ultimately, the refugees spent most of their summer in my native state till they decided to continue further into Western Germany.