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			{{Short description\|Hungarian communist politician (1898–1980)}}
	{{Infobox_President \| name=Ernő Gerő
			{{Use dmy dates\|date=May 2017}}
	\| image=
	\| nationality=]
	\| order=General Secretary of the ]
	\| term_start=],]
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	\| successor=]
	\| order2 =
	\| primeminister2 =
	\| term_start2 =
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	\| primeminister3 =
	\| term_start3 =
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	\| birth_date={{Birth date\|1898\|07\|8\|mf=yes}}
	\| birth_place=], ]
	\| death_date={{Death date and age\|1980\|03\|12\|1898\|07\|8\|mf=yes}}
	\| death_place=], ]
	\| spouse=
	\| party=],<br>]
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	<!-- Commented out because image was deleted: ] -->
	{{eastern name order\|Gerő Ernő}}		{{eastern name order\|Gerő Ernő}}
			{{Infobox President
	'''Ernő Gerő''' (born Ernő Singer) (], ] - ], ]) was a ] ] leader in the period after ] and briefly in 1956 the most powerful man in Hungary as first secretary of its ruling communist party.
			\| name = Ernő Gerő
			\| image = Enro Gero (Hongarije), Bestanddeelnr 914-2279 (cropped).jpg
			\| caption = Gerő in 1962
			\| nationality = Hungarian
			\| order = First Secretary of the ]
			\| term_start = 18 July 1956
			\| term_end = 25 October 1956
			\| predecessor = ]
			\| successor = ]
			\| primeminister = <!-- ]{{-}}] -->
			\| order2 = ]
			\| primeminister2 = ]
			\| term_start2 = 4 July 1953
			\| term_end2 = 6 June 1954
			\| predecessor2 = ]
			\| successor2 = ]
			\| order3 = ]
			\| primeminister3 = ]{{-}}]
			\| term_start3 = 3 December 1948
			\| term_end3 = 11 June 1949
			\| predecessor3 = ]
			\| successor3 = ]
			\| order4 = Member of the ]
			\| alongside4 = ] and ]
			\| term_start4 = 26 January 1945
			\| term_end4 = 11 May 1945
			\| predecessor4 = ] <small>(''de facto'' head of state)</small>
			\| successor4 = ]
			\| birth_name = Ernő Singer
			\| birth_date = {{Birth date\|df=yes\|1898\|07\|8}}
			\| birth_place = ], ], ]<br /><small>(now ], ])</small>
			\| death_date = {{Death date and age\|df=yes\|1980\|03\|12\|1898\|07\|8}}
			\| death_place = ], ]
			\| spouse = Erzsébet Fazekas <small>(1900–1967)</small>
			\| children = 2 sons <br />1 daughter
			\| party = ] <small>(1918–1942)</small> <br />] <small>(1942–1962)</small>
			\| profession =
			}}

			'''Ernő Gerő''' ({{IPA-hu\|ˈɛrnøː ˈɡɛrøː\|}}; born '''Ernő Singer'''; 8 July 1898 – 12 March 1980) was a Hungarian Communist leader in the period after ] and briefly in 1956 the most powerful man in Hungary as the leader of its ruling communist party.
	Gerő was born in ], ] (now ], ]) to Jewish parents, though he later totally repudiated religion. An early Hungarian communist, Gerő fled from Hungary to the Soviet Union after ]'s brief communist government was overthrown in August 1919. During his two decades living in the USSR, Gerő was an active ] agent. Through that association, Gerő was involved in ] -- the international organization of communists -- in France, and also fought in the ].

			==Early career==
	Ernő Gerő was a member of Hungary's ] (provisional government) between January 26, and May 11, 1945.
			Gerő was born in ] of the ] (now ], ]) to ] parents, although he later repudiated religion. A member of the ] from its foundation (November 1918), he abandoned his studies when the ] was proclaimed and became a permanent member of the Young Communists. When the revolution was crushed, Singer emigrated to Vienna. He returned illegally to Hungary in September 1921 and was arrested after twelve months. Sentenced to 14 years in prison, he was released with a group of Communists after two years following a prisoner exchange agreement between Moscow and Budapest.

			Already speaking seven languages, he was hired by the Comintern apparatus in 1925, which immediately sent him to a factory for six months to learn Russian. During his two decades living in the USSR, Gerő was an active ] agent. Through that association, Gerő was involved in the ]—the international organization of communists—in ], and also fought in the ], during which he performed purges against ] groups in the ].<ref name=Roman>Eric Roman. . Infobase Publishing, 2003, pg. 478.</ref>
	In the November 1945 elections, ], the ], under Gerő and ] got 17% of the vote, compared to 57% for the ], but the ] Commander in Hungary, Marshal ] installed a ] with Communists in key posts. The Communists took control in 1948, with Rákosi as party leader, ] (and effective ]), with Gerő and ] as his right-hand men. Rákosi's authority was shaken in 1953 by the death of Stalin, when the Soviet Union insisted on ] taking over as prime minister, but Gerő was retained as a counterweight to the reformers. Rákosi, having managed to regain control, was then undermined by ]'s ] in early 1956 denouncing ], and forced to leave office on ] ], although he was able to designate Gerő to succeed him as party leader. Even before the October uprising, Gerő and ] in Budapest requested that Rákosi be retained in the USSR since they thought he would only complicate matters if he returned to Hungary. Meanwhile Rákosi continually tried to contact his Budapest colleagues from Russia.<ref> Johanna Granville, Texas A & M University Press, 2004, p. 33.</ref>

			The outbreak of the ] ] ] found him in ] again, and he remained for the duration of the war. After the dissolution of the ] in 1943, he was in charge of propaganda directed at enemy forces and prisoners of war. Gerő was among the first communist functionaries to return to Hungary in early November 1944.<ref name=Roman/> He was a member of Hungary's ] (provisional government) between 26 January and 11 May 1945.{{cn\|date=July 2020}}
	Had János Kádár or Imre Nagy succeeded Rákosi in July 1956, rather than Gerő, the entire Hungarian revolution might very well have been avoided altogether. In truth, the Hungarian Politburo members disliked Gerő, but were too timid to admit this to their Russian comrades. They described Gerő as "coarse" , "impatient," and "very austere in his relations with the people." They said, "He does not tolerate criticism, does not follow the advice of comrades… does not love the people."<ref>Granville, ''The First Domino,''p. 34.</ref>

			In the ], the Hungarian Communist Party, under Gerő and ], got 17% of the vote, compared to 57% for the ], but the Soviet commander in Hungary, Marshal ], installed a ] with communists in key posts. The communists held an ] and took full control in 1949, with Rákosi as party leader. Gerő and ] were Rákosi's right-hand men.{{cn\|date=July 2020}}
	Soviet Presidium members ] and ] visited Budapest on October 24 - during the first Soviet military intervention - to assess the situation. Gerő informed them that "the arrival of Soviet troops in the city has a negative effect on the disposition of the inhabitants, including the workers."<ref> Johanna Granville, [http://www.scribd.com/doc/14152546/Soviet-Archival-Documents-on-Hungary-October-November-1956-Translated-by-Johanna-Granville
	"Soviet Documents on the Hungarian Revolution, 24 October - 4 November 1956"], ''Cold War International History Project Bulletin'', no. 5 (Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars, Washington, DC), Spring, 1995, pp. 22-23, 29-34.</ref>

			Rákosi took over the ] as well in 1952. However, his authority was shaken a year later by the death of ], when ] took over as prime minister. Gerő was retained as a counterweight to the reformers. Rákosi, having managed to regain control, was then undermined by ]'s ] in early 1956 denouncing ] and forced to leave office on 18 July 1956 by ]. He retained enough influence that the MDP designates Gerő to succeed him as party leader.{{cn\|date=July 2020}}
	Gerő was finally forced by local envoys of the Soviet Politburo to resign on October 25, 1956, during the second day of the ], after his unduly harsh speech enraged the people. He fled to the ], but after the revolution was crushed, he was prevented from returning from Moscow by the counter-revolutionary regime of ] until 1960, when he was stripped of his Communist Party membership. Back in Budapest, Gerő worked as an occasional translator during his retirement.

			==Gerő interregnum==
	==References==
			]

			Gerő led the country for a brief period, known as the 'Gerő Interregnum', from 18 July 1956 to 24 October 1956, just over three months. He had been Rákosi's close associate since 1948, and was involved in party expulsions, the industrialization and collectivization of Hungary.{{cn\|date=July 2020}}
	<references/>

			==Later life and death==
			On 23 October 1956, students marched through Budapest intending to present a petition to the government. The procession swelled as several people poured onto the streets. Gerő replied with a harsh speech that angered the people, and police opened fire. It proved to be the start of the ].<ref>, '']''; accessed 22 July 2020.</ref>

			As the revolution spread throughout the country, the central committee met on 25 October and agreed that ] should be made party leader and ] be made prime minister, marking the end of the Gerő interregnum. Gerő went to the Soviet Union, but after the revolution was crushed, the Communist government of Kádár initially refused to let him return to Hungary.{{cn\|date=July 2020}} He was finally allowed to return from exile in 1960, but was promptly expelled from the Communist Party. He worked as an occasional translator in Budapest during his retirement. His character plays a central role in ]'s 2012 novel, '']'', and the whole series. He died in ] in 1980 at the age of 81.<ref>"". ''Encyclopedia Britannica'', Britannica.com. Revised and updated by Kathleen Kulper. 4 July 2023. Retrieved 15 January 2024.</ref>

			==References==
			<references/>

			===Bibliography===
	{{start box}}
			{{Commons category}}
	{{succession box\|title=]\|before=]\|after=]\|years=1956}}
			* Almendros, Joaquín: ''Situaciones españolas: 1936–1939. El PSUC en la guerra civil''. Dopesa, ], 1976.
	{{end box}}
			* Chacón, R.L.: ''Por qué hice las checas de Barcelona. ] ante el consejo de guerra''. Editorial Solidaridad nacional, ], 1939.
			* Texas A & M University Press, 2004, p. 33.
			* Johanna Granville, , ''Cold War International History Project Bulletin'', no. 5 (Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars, Washington, DC), Spring, 1995, pp. 22–23, 29–34.
			* {{cite book \|last1=Thomas \|first1=Hugh \|title=Historia de la Guerra Civil Española \|language=es\|year=1976 \|work=Círculo de Lectores \|location=Barcelona \|isbn=84-226-0873-1 }}<!--\|access-date=22 August 2010 -->
			* Boris Volodarsky: ''Stalin's Agent: The Life and Death of Alexander Orlov'', Oxford University Press, 2014, p. 151 and 212.

			{{s-start}}
	{{Hungary-politician-stub}}
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			{{succession box\|title=]\|before=]\|after=]\|years=1948–1949}}
			{{succession box\|title=]\|before=]\|after=]\|years=1953–1954}}
			{{s-ppo}}
			{{succession box\|title=]\|before=]\|after=]\|years=18 July 1956 – 25 October 1956}}
			{{s-end}}
			{{Leaders of the Ruling Parties of the Eastern Bloc}}
			{{HungarianInteriorMinisters}}
			{{HungarianFinanceMinisters}}

			{{Authority control}}

	{{DEFAULTSORT:Gero, Erno}}		{{DEFAULTSORT:Gero, Erno}}
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Latest revision as of 06:24, 4 December 2024

Hungarian communist politician (1898–1980)

The native form of this personal name is Gerő Ernő. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.

Ernő Gerő
Gerő in 1962

First Secretary of the Hungarian Working People's Party
In office 18 July 1956 – 25 October 1956
Preceded by	Mátyás Rákosi
Succeeded by	János Kádár
Minister of the Interior
In office 4 July 1953 – 6 June 1954
Prime Minister	Imre Nagy
Preceded by	József Györe
Succeeded by	László Piros
Minister of Finance
In office 3 December 1948 – 11 June 1949
Prime Minister	Lajos Dinnyés István Dobi
Preceded by	Miklós Nyárádi
Succeeded by	István Kossa
Member of the High National Council
In office 26 January 1945 – 11 May 1945Serving with Béla Miklós and Béla Zsedényi
Preceded by	Béla Miklós (de facto head of state)
Succeeded by	József Révai

Personal details
Born	Ernő Singer (1898-07-08)8 July 1898 Terbegec, Kingdom of Hungary, Austro-Hungarian Empire (now Trebušovce, Slovakia)
Died	12 March 1980(1980-03-12) (aged 81) Budapest, People’s Republic of Hungary
Political party	Hungarian Communist Party (1918–1942) Hungarian Working People's Party (1942–1962)
Spouse	Erzsébet Fazekas (1900–1967)
Children	2 sons 1 daughter

Ernő Gerő ([ˈɛrnøː ˈɡɛrøː]; born Ernő Singer; 8 July 1898 – 12 March 1980) was a Hungarian Communist leader in the period after World War II and briefly in 1956 the most powerful man in Hungary as the leader of its ruling communist party.

Early career

Gerő was born in Terbegec, Hont County of the Kingdom of Hungary (now Trebušovce, Slovakia) to Jewish parents, although he later repudiated religion. A member of the Hungarian Communist Party from its foundation (November 1918), he abandoned his studies when the Hungarian Soviet Republic was proclaimed and became a permanent member of the Young Communists. When the revolution was crushed, Singer emigrated to Vienna. He returned illegally to Hungary in September 1921 and was arrested after twelve months. Sentenced to 14 years in prison, he was released with a group of Communists after two years following a prisoner exchange agreement between Moscow and Budapest.

Already speaking seven languages, he was hired by the Comintern apparatus in 1925, which immediately sent him to a factory for six months to learn Russian. During his two decades living in the USSR, Gerő was an active NKVD agent. Through that association, Gerő was involved in the Comintern—the international organization of communists—in France, and also fought in the Spanish Civil War, during which he performed purges against Trotskyist groups in the International Brigades.

The outbreak of the Second World War in Europe found him in Moscow again, and he remained for the duration of the war. After the dissolution of the Communist International in 1943, he was in charge of propaganda directed at enemy forces and prisoners of war. Gerő was among the first communist functionaries to return to Hungary in early November 1944. He was a member of Hungary's High National Council (provisional government) between 26 January and 11 May 1945.

In the November 1945 election, the Hungarian Communist Party, under Gerő and Mátyás Rákosi, got 17% of the vote, compared to 57% for the Smallholders' Party, but the Soviet commander in Hungary, Marshal Kliment Voroshilov, installed a coalition government with communists in key posts. The communists held an election and took full control in 1949, with Rákosi as party leader. Gerő and Mihály Farkas were Rákosi's right-hand men.

Rákosi took over the premiership as well in 1952. However, his authority was shaken a year later by the death of Stalin, when Imre Nagy took over as prime minister. Gerő was retained as a counterweight to the reformers. Rákosi, having managed to regain control, was then undermined by Nikita Khrushchev's secret speech in early 1956 denouncing Stalinism and forced to leave office on 18 July 1956 by Anastas Mikoyan. He retained enough influence that the MDP designates Gerő to succeed him as party leader.

Gerő interregnum

Gerő led the country for a brief period, known as the 'Gerő Interregnum', from 18 July 1956 to 24 October 1956, just over three months. He had been Rákosi's close associate since 1948, and was involved in party expulsions, the industrialization and collectivization of Hungary.

Later life and death

On 23 October 1956, students marched through Budapest intending to present a petition to the government. The procession swelled as several people poured onto the streets. Gerő replied with a harsh speech that angered the people, and police opened fire. It proved to be the start of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.

As the revolution spread throughout the country, the central committee met on 25 October and agreed that János Kádár should be made party leader and Imre Nagy be made prime minister, marking the end of the Gerő interregnum. Gerő went to the Soviet Union, but after the revolution was crushed, the Communist government of Kádár initially refused to let him return to Hungary. He was finally allowed to return from exile in 1960, but was promptly expelled from the Communist Party. He worked as an occasional translator in Budapest during his retirement. His character plays a central role in Vilmos Kondor's 2012 novel, Budapest Noir, and the whole series. He died in Budapest in 1980 at the age of 81.

References

^ Eric Roman. Austria-Hungary and the Successor States: A Reference Guide from the Renaissance to the Present. Infobase Publishing, 2003, pg. 478.
Hungary, Encyclopedia Britannica; accessed 22 July 2020.
"Ernő Gerő". Encyclopedia Britannica, Britannica.com. Revised and updated by Kathleen Kulper. 4 July 2023. Retrieved 15 January 2024.

Bibliography

Almendros, Joaquín: Situaciones españolas: 1936–1939. El PSUC en la guerra civil. Dopesa, Barcelona, 1976.
Chacón, R.L.: Por qué hice las checas de Barcelona. Laurencic ante el consejo de guerra. Editorial Solidaridad nacional, Barcelona, 1939.
The First Domino: International Decision Making During the Hungarian Crisis of 1956 Texas A & M University Press, 2004, p. 33.
Johanna Granville, "Soviet Documents on the Hungarian Revolution, 24 October – 4 November 1956", Cold War International History Project Bulletin, no. 5 (Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars, Washington, DC), Spring, 1995, pp. 22–23, 29–34.
Thomas, Hugh (1976). Historia de la Guerra Civil Española (in Spanish). Barcelona. ISBN 84-226-0873-1. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Boris Volodarsky: Stalin's Agent: The Life and Death of Alexander Orlov, Oxford University Press, 2014, p. 151 and 212.

Political offices
Preceded byMiklós Nyárádi	Minister of Finance 1948–1949	Succeeded byIstván Kossa
Preceded byJózsef Györe	Minister of the Interior 1953–1954	Succeeded byLászló Piros
Party political offices
Preceded byMátyás Rákosi	General Secretary of the Hungarian Working People's Party 18 July 1956 – 25 October 1956	Succeeded byJános Kádár

Leaders of the ruling Communist parties of the Eastern Bloc

Party of Labour of Albania	Enver Hoxha Ramiz Alia
Bulgarian Communist Party	Georgi Dimitrov Valko Chervenkov Todor Zhivkov Petar Mladenov
Communist Party of Czechoslovakia	Klement Gottwald Antonín Novotný Alexander Dubček Gustáv Husák Miloš Jakeš Karel Urbánek
Socialist Unity Party of Germany	Wilhelm Pieck Otto Grotewohl Walter Ulbricht Erich Honecker Egon Krenz
Hungarian Working People's Party Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party	Mátyás Rákosi Ernő Gerő Imre Nagy János Kádár Károly Grósz Rezső Nyers

Polish Workers' Party Polish United Workers' Party	Bolesław Bierut Edward Ochab Władysław Gomułka Edward Gierek Stanisław Kania Wojciech Jaruzelski Mieczysław Rakowski
Romanian Communist Party	Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej Gheorghe Apostol Nicolae Ceaușescu
Communist Party of the Soviet Union	Vladimir Lenin Joseph Stalin Georgy Malenkov Nikita Khrushchev Leonid Brezhnev Yuri Andropov Konstantin Chernenko Mikhail Gorbachev
League of Communists of Yugoslavia	Josip Broz Tito Stevan Doronjski Lazar Mojsov Dušan Dragosavac Mitja Ribičič Dragoslav Marković Ali Šukrija Vidoje Žarković Milanko Renovica Boško Krunić Stipe Šuvar Milan Pančevski

v t e Ministers of the Interior of Hungary since 1848
Revolution of 1848	Szemere
Kingdom of Hungary	Wenckheim Rajner V. Tóth Szapáry K. Tisza Orczy Baross Teleki Szapáry Hieronymi Perczel K. Széll Khuen-Héderváry I. Tisza Kristóffy Andrássy Khuen-Héderváry Lukács Sándor Ugron J. Tóth Wekerle
Transition period	Batthyány V. Nagy Landler and Vágó Peyer Samassa Perényi Friedrich Beniczky
Regency	Simonyi-Semadam Dömötör Ferdinandy Tomcsányi Ráday Klebelsberg Rakovszky Scitovszky Keresztes-Fischer Kozma Darányi J. Széll Keresztes-Fischer Jaross Bonczos Schell
Transition period	Vajna Erdei I. Nagy Rajk Kádár
Communist Hungary	Zöld Házi Györe Gerő Piros Münnich Biszku Pap Benkei I. Horváth Kamara I. Horváth Gál
Hungary	B. Horváth Boross Kónya Kuncze Pintér Lamperth Bajnai Gyenesei Varga Pintér

v t e Ministers of Finance of Hungary (since 1848)
Revolution of 1848	Kossuth Batthyány Duschek
Kingdom of Hungary	Lónyay Kerkapoly Szlávy Ghyczy Széll Tisza Szapáry Tisza Wekerle Sr. Lukács Fejérváry Hegedűs Wekerle Sr. Lukács Teleszky Gratz Wekerle Sr. Popovics
Transition period	M. Károlyi Szende J. Varga Székely and Lengyel Székely Miákits Peidl Grünn Korányi
Regency	Hegedüs Hegyeshalmi Bethlen Kállay Walko Korányi Bud Wekerle Jr. G. Károlyi Korányi Imrédy Fabinyi Reményi-Schneller
Transition period	Vásáry Oltványi Gordon Rácz Nyárádi Gerő
Communist Hungary	Kossa Olt Kossa Antos Nyers Tímár Vályi Faluvégi Hetényi Medgyessy Villányi Békesi
Republic of Hungary	Rabár Kupa Szabó Békesi Bokros Medgyessy Járai M. Varga László Draskovics Veres Oszkó Matolcsy M. Varga

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