Communists Take Over after Ousting Prime Minister Ferenc Nagy

As East and West increasingly stood on opposite sides of the Cold War, Europe’s sense of division grew while political changes in Eastern Europe accelerated. Once it had eliminated the multi-party system through its successful application of so-called ‘salami tactics’, the Communist Party immediately embarked upon the radical transformation of property ownership. Farm holdings and schools were nationalized while peasant farmers were forced to join agricultural co-operatives established according to the Soviet model. Within the Party, power was held by Mátyás Rákosi and a few, select number of his supporters.