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Furthermore, it turned out that the events in Poland were the trigger for the Hungarian Revolution. Although the Polish government forces violently put down the staged mass protest of Poznan workers earlier in June 1956, the Soviets in Moscow were worried and they let Poland to negotiate wider autonomy and liberalization in order to avoid further unrest. A year earlier Austria had also managed to declare itself neutral and avoid joining the Warsaw Pact. In turn, many Hungarians hoped to achieve something similar, and when students from the Budapest Technical University (who had become a strong political voice) heard that the Hungarian Writers Union planned to express solidarity with pro-reform movements in Poland, they decided to join them.

The tension reached its peak in October 1956. On the evening of October 22, 1956, students of the University of Technology in Budapest had decided to demonstrate the next day. They organized their demands in 16 point resolution, which included: withdrawal of the Soviet troops from Hungary; granting free elections, liberty of speech and press; abolishment of surrendering of goods and the right to sell Hungarian uranium deposits on the free market; removal of the Stalin statues; Imre Nagy to be appointed prime minister. In the late afternoon of October 23, 1956, over 50 000 people gathered at the statue of Hungarian General Bem to demonstrate on the streets and read out their proclamation of independence together with the Hungarian Writers Union. In the following hours, the crowd marched across the Danube to demonstrate outside the Hungarian parliament where people demanded Imre Nagy to deliver a speech. By 6 pm, more than 200 000 people had gathered and the mood was spirited but peaceful. However, at 8 pm Erno Gero broadcasted a speech dismissing the demands of the Writer’s Union and the students and labelling them Hungarian enemies of the state.<ref>The Hungarian Revolution of 1956: Russians go home! - http://www.historyinanhour.com/2013/02/21/hungarian-revolution-of-1956-summary/ </ref>