Skip to main content

Primary sourceNewspaper article7 December 1918

Vörös Újság: First Editorial

Béla Kun · 7 December 1918

The leading article of the first issue of the Communist newspaper Vörös Újság, written by Béla Kun, attacking the Károlyi government.

Kun wrote this editorial himself, using the paper as a tool to campaign against the government he would soon overthrow.

Ask Béla Kun about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Front page of the first issue of the Hungarian newspaper Vörös Ujság, dated Budapest, 1918 December 7, with the masthead 'VÖRÖS ÚJSÁG' and subtitle 'KOMMUNISTA LAP', and a lead editorial titled 'Osztályharcot!' in several columns of Hungarian text.
Béla Kun, lead editorial in Vörös Újság, 7 December 1918.

About this source

What it is

This is the front page of the first issue of Vörös Újság ("Red News"), a Communist newspaper, dated Budapest, December 1918. It carries a lead editorial titled "Osztályharcot!" ("Class War!") written by Béla Kun.

Why it matters

The newspaper was the main voice of the fledgling Hungarian Communist movement in the chaotic months after the First World War. Through articles like this one, Kun argued that capitalism was collapsing and that only a revolutionary class struggle could replace it. The paper was used to attack the existing government led by Mihály Károlyi and to build support for a Communist takeover, which Kun would lead within months.

Look closer

  • What words or phrases in the editorial are meant to stir strong feelings in readers?
  • Who is this newspaper written for, and how might that shape its language?
  • What does the choice to call itself a "Communist paper" openly tell you about its goals?

This newspaper article 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.

More Béla Kun sources

Meet the AI Béla Kun →
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

Primary source

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

Primary source

Béla Kun, Leader of the 1919 Hungarian Revolution

1919

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

Primary source

Die Totengräber Russlands

March 1937

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.Photograph

Primary source

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

1919

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

Secondary source

Soviet postage stamp honouring Béla Kun (1986)

1986

Ready when you are

Start chatting with Béla Kun now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions