Historical General Assembly, 1956

Dear Delegates,

Michael George

It is my distinct pleasure to welcome you to the Historical General Assembly of Harvard National Model United Nations 2012!  My name is Michael George, and I am a sophomore at Harvard.  Although I am American by birth and was born in Hawaii, I’ve spent the last 18 years of my life between the Philippines, India, Malaysia, Kenya and Mexico. At Harvard, I plan to major in Government with a focus on American politics. In addition to Harvard’s National Model United Nations conference, I am also part of Harvard’s traveling Intercollegiate Model United Nations team. I am also heavily involved with the Undergraduate Council, our student government.

I am incredibly excited to work with you in the General Assembly for HNMUN 2012. As delegates in the Second Emergency Session of the General Assembly in 1956, you will be confronted with one of the most heated issues the United Nations has ever faced—the Soviet suppression of the Hungarian Revolution. This issue serves as the nexus of a variety of issues, most crucially as a proxy for the Cold War, threatening the stability of the region and potentially posing a threat to international peace and security. And while the outcome of the Revolution was decided once by history half a century ago, I hope that you will confront the issue in 2012 with new creativity and innovation. This will be nothing short of a thrilling experience, and I hope that you are becoming more and more excited about the conference as it approaches, as I am.

As our committee takes place over 50 years ago, it would be best to keep in mind the historical viewpoint of your country within the context of the contemporary political climate. The study guide is a great starting point for research, but I encourage you to continue to find information from other sources so that our debate will be as substantive as possible. As the conference approaches, feel free to email me with any questions or concerns.

I look forward to meeting all of you in February!

Sincerely,

Michael George
Director, Historical General Assembly, 1956
Harvard National Model United Nations 2012

Topic Area: The Hungarian Revolution, 1956

On 23 October 1956, Hungary rose up; revolting against an unresponsive Communist government, poor socioeconomic conditions and a political culture of suppression, rebels throughout the country began to demonstrate and seize power. Although Soviet troops were called in to stop the uprising, by 30 October, most had begun to withdraw in the face of continued resistance. Indeed, the Kremlin seemed to recognize the tide was turning, with the party’s paper Pravda publishing on 31October an article announcing that the USSR would enter negotiations with Hungary to end the presence of Soviet troops. Newly anointed Hungarian Prime Minister Imre Nagy made dramatic moves towards reform, insisting on creating a multi-party state, withdrawing from the Warsaw Pact and establishing Hungary’s neutrality.  Hungary appeared to be on the cusp of one of the most dramatic transformations of the Cold War.

It was not to last. In the early morning hours of 4 November 1956, the Soviet Union suddenly reversed course and launched “Operation Whirlwind,” a major invasion of Hungary aimed at ending the twelve-day old revolution that had threatened Communist control of the country. Prime Minister Imre Nagy made his final announcement on radio at 5:20 A.M., pleading for assistance, but the Government fell soon afterwards, with his Soviet-backed replacement Janos Kadar  proclaiming the establishment of a new government just forty minutes later.

The 4 November invasion was a dramatic turnaround for a spontaneous movement that had appeared to be on the verge of success just days earlier.  It is in this climate that the deadlocked Security Council passed Resolution 120 calling for an Emergency Special Session of the General Assembly to recommend a United Nations response. It is now up to you, the delegates of the Second Emergency Special Session of the General Assembly to find a resolution to this crisis, authorized by General Assembly Resolution 337—“Uniting for Peace”—to recommend even the use of armed force to restore international peace and security. Our clock is set to 4 November 1956: should the United Nations act to restore the revolution?