Institute of Texan Cultures' Texans Series
Hungary is a country in east-central Europe and people from many different backgrounds live there. Magyar, German, Slav, Romanian, Romany, and Slovak people have lived together there for centuries, but it was a very troubled country.
Hungary was often controlled by rulers from other neighboring countries. In 1848, some Hungarians began a revolution against the Austrian rulers that controlled Hungary, but they were not successful and many people were forced to leave their home to find a safer place to live.
During World War I, Hungary found itself on the losing side. At the end of the war, Hungary lost 75 percent of its land. Again, Hungarians found themselves controlled by foreign rulers. During World War II, Hungary hoped to regain some of its lost territory, but they lost again.
At the end of World War II, the communist army of Russia marched into the Hungarian capital of Budapest and took control. Many Hungarians fled the country in 1944, and many more left in 1956. Hungary finally gained its independence in 1989.
