Arrest and Сonviction of Cardinal József Mindszenty 1948–1949. Part 2. “Most pitiful prisoner of the country”
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31168/2412-6446.2020.15.3-4.04Keywords:
Arrest of a Hungarian Cardinal, conspiracy, martyrdom, people’s court, political parties in Hungary, political police, Roman Catholic Church in Hungary, show trial, physical and mental torture, judgment, Holy SeeAbstract
See part 1: Balogh, M., 2020. Arest i sudebnyi protsess nad kardinalom Iozhefom Mindsenti v 1948–1949 gg. Chast’ 1. “On khochet stat’ muchenikom, no ia ne okazhu emu etoi liubeznosti” [Arrest and Conviction of Cardinal József Mindszenty 1948–1949. Part 1. “He wants to be a martyr, but I would not do him this favour”]. Slavic World in the Third Millennium, vol. 15, no. 1–2, pp. 73–88.
As a result of the political struggle that unfolded in Hungary after the Second World War, the only independent institution remaining in the country was the Catholic Church headed by the Archbishop of Esztergom, Cardinal József Mindszenty. Part One of the article reconstructs the investigation and political process against the primate, who was arrested on charges of high treason, preparing a coup aimed at overthrowing the republican system, espionage, and currency speculation. Part Two deals with the political process and show trial of Mindszenty. The hearings began on 3 February 1949 at the Budapest People’s Court, and, on 8 February 1949, the guilty verdict was announced. The facts were so cleverly manipulated that Mindszenty’s hopes for a change in the political system in the country were qualified as a political conspiracy. The cardinal was sentenced to life imprisonment, deprivation of civil rights, and complete confiscation of property. While preparing for the court of second instance, Mindszenty put forward new projects aimed at reconciling the state and the Church. Deeply disappointed, the cardinal signed his letters “condemned”, “prisoner”, and “condemned archbishop”. The show-trial and long prison confinement only strengthened the cardinal’s faith. This article is based on documents held by the Hungarian National Archives, the Historical Archives of the State Security Services, the Esztergom Primate Archives, the Archives of Foreign Policy of the Russian Federation, the National Archives and Records Administration (USA), and others.
