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Primary sourcePhotograph1919

Sándor Garbai and Béla Kun, Leaders of the Hungarian Soviet Republic

1919

A photograph from 1919 showing a crowd scene connected to Sándor Garbai and Béla Kun, the two leading figures of the Hungarian Soviet Republic.

This image is linked to Kun as the real power behind the nominal leadership of Sándor Garbai in the 1919 Soviet Republic.

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Sepia photograph of a dense crowd of men in hats and coats gathered in a city square in front of a stone building with arched windows. Lamp post and banners rise above them; a large statue on a pedestal stands at right, and a man on the far right holds a flag.
Sándor Garbai and Béla Kun, leaders of the Hungarian Soviet Republic, 1919.

About this source

What it is

This sepia photograph shows a dense crowd gathered in a city square in front of a stone building, with banners, a lamp post, a statue, and a flag visible above the crowd. It is linked to Sándor Garbai and Béla Kun, the two leading figures of the Hungarian Soviet Republic of 1919.

Why it matters

Garbai was the nominal head of the revolutionary government, while Kun, as People's Commissar of Foreign Affairs, held the real power behind the scenes. Images like this, showing mass gatherings in public squares, capture the atmosphere of the short-lived Soviet Republic and the public displays that supported its rule.

Look closer

  • What details in the photograph—banners, statues, flags—suggest a political gathering rather than an everyday scene?
  • Why might a photograph pairing Garbai and Kun be useful for understanding who really held power in 1919?
  • What is missing from this image that would help you understand what event is taking place?

This photograph is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Béla Kun on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Vörös Újság: First Editorial

Béla Kun · 7 December 1918

Spine and cover of a bound book with a dark green spine and grey-brown boards. Gold lettering on the spine reads 'TREATY OF PEACE... HUNGARY' and 'Cmd. 896'. A white library barcode label reads 'DOCS. COLL. CU-1' and 'D001182819'. A Google digitized watermark appears at the lower right.Document

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Treaty of Trianon

4 June 1920

Black and white photograph of a man in a dark suit and vest speaking to a dense crowd of men in hats in front of a building; other men sit on a rooftop and balcony at left and right.Photograph

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Béla Kun, Leader of the 1919 Hungarian Revolution

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Photograph of a yellowed Nazi propaganda pamphlet titled 'Die Totengräber Russlands' with a headline 'Nicht wegwerfen!' and 'Weitergeben!'. It has rows of ink caricatures of men's faces with text captions naming Soviet communist leaders, and the slogan 'Vor dem bolschewistischen Chaos bewahrt uns nur Adolf Hitler!' at the bottom. A handwritten note 'März 1937' is at the top left.Photograph

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Soviet postage stamp, 10 kopeck denomination, 1986, printed with the name Бела Кун and dates 1886 and 1939 above a black-and-white engraved portrait of a man with short dark hair and a mustache, wearing a suit and tie, with a laurel branch below and the text ПОЧТА СССР 1986.Artifact

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Soviet postage stamp honouring Béla Kun (1986)

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