1956: Western Aligned Hungary

What if, the new government of Hungary would have been accepted NATO membership before the Soviet intervention? Would this have delayed Soviet response indefinitely or would there have been heated negotiations over Hungary between the West and USSR? This question was inspired by an interview with a Hungarian survivor of the Revolution that shared the hope Hungary expressed to align with the West against the Soviets.
 
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The EU didn't exist yet, so there is no way that can happen. As for NATO, for them to accept Hungary in 1956 would have been tantamount to a declaration of war against the Soviet Union. The USSR knew that if other nations in the Warsaw Pact figured they could just leave the alliance with no consequences then they would all leave, and the Soviet Union was willing to do anything to keep that from happening.
 
What if, the new government of Hungary would have been accepted NATO membership before the Soviet intervention? Would this have delayed Soviet response indefinitely or would there have been heated negotiations over Hungary between the West and USSR? This question was inspired by an interview with a Hungarian survivor of the Revolution that shared the hope Hungary expressed to align with the West against the Soviets.

This was absolutely out of the question. Nobody thought that the USSR would accept a NATO state on its border. Imre Nagy was reluctant even to leave the Warsaw Pact and proclaim neutrality. To request to join NATO would make prompt Soviet intervention--which was likely in any event--absolutely certain.

On the decision to leave the Warsaw Pact, see my post at https://groups.google.com/d/msg/soc.history.what-if/RXa1R-tM8Xs/IVunrD8z3mMJ
 
What if, the new government of Hungary would have been accepted NATO membership before the Soviet intervention?


Not happening. The fantasy of the Hungarian working class, former intelligentsia, and all four legal parties and the three new parties was for United Nations assistance.

Further, the workers councils are likely to ring up Nagy and kick him eight ways from Sunday, Pal Maleter will publicly resign, etc.

Would this have delayed Soviet response indefinitely or would there have been heated negotiations over Hungary between the West and USSR?

It would have immediately precipitated the Soviet Response. The Soviet Political Committee was vacillating on intervention, with Mikoyan's recommendation from the ground being to support the revolution, Khrushchev being pointedly non-committal in a genuinely non-committal way, Zhukov arguing against the military sense of the operation (correctly so, based on casualty figures and days of combat). More over, both the Yugoslav and Chinese parties were also vacillating. This immediately firmed up in favour of intervention from everyone except (IIRC) Mikoyan maintaining his line and Zhukov being pointedly non-committal until the dominant line was expressed. The Yugoslavs and Chinese also firmed based on the withdrawal.

If withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact causes immediate action, then alignment or attempted entry to NATO will cause immediate action.

This question was inspired by an interview with a Hungarian survivor of the Revolution that shared the hope Hungary expressed to align with the West against the Soviets.

While this trend existed during the revolution, it certainly wasn't the opinion outside of a few regional councils. The dominant position being put by workers councils and most regional councils, the students party, and the revolutionary section of the communist party was for socialist neutrality. This was also the line from the rank and file social democratic party activists, and what we've got the peasants and smallholders figures expressing during the revolution publicly.

yours,
Sam R.
 
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