The Manifesto of 101

Following the Soviet invasion of Hungary in October 1956, the Budapest uprising and its ruthless repression by the Red Army, a document expressing strong dissent from the Soviets was subscribed by Italian Communist intellectuals. The document (known as "Il Manifesto dei 101"- "The Manifesto of 101") was written by historians Luciano Cafagna and Francesco Sirugo, both Communist Party (PCI) members, and co-signed by 99 more intellectuals, among whom philosopher Lucio Colletti, economist and politician Antonio Giolitti, historians Alberto Caracciolo and Renzo De Felice. The document, initially submitted to the Direction Bureau of the Communist Party with the intent of initiating a debate on the Budapest events, triggered instead a brutal reaction from the Party’s leadership and the General Secretary Palmiro Togliatti, who rejected any debate attempt and threatened the dissidents with heavy political consequences. Intimidated by the leadership's reaction some signatories decided to retract their adhesion to the Manifesto. Those who refused to do so (Cafagna, Sirugo, Giolitti, Caracciolo and others) were forced to leave the Party. The Manifesto's authors initial dissent will be followed by a more general and complex re-thinking of the historical legitimacy of Communism and his compatibility with democracy and intellectual freedom and a few (Cafagna, Colletti, De Felice, Giolitti, Sirugo) will end up cutting their ties with Communism forever.

ReferenceNello Aiello, Intellettuali e PCI 1944-1958 (Intellectuals and PCI 1944-1958). EDITORI LATERZA. BARI