Today in History...February 8

From History.com:

Joseph Cardinal Mindszenty, the highest Catholic official in Hungary, is convicted of treason and sentenced to life imprisonment by the Communist People's Court. Outraged observers in Western Europe and the United States condemned both the trial and Mindszenty's conviction as "perversions" and "lynchings."

 During the proceedings, the prosecutors produced several documents implicating Mindszenty in anti-government activities. The Cardinal admitted that he was "guilty in principle and in detail of most of the accusations made," but he vigorously denied that his activities were designed to overthrow the Hungarian government. Nevertheless, he was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.

 he case was significant in demonstrating the depth of the anticommunist movement in Hungary. In 1956, Mindszenty was released when a reformist government took power in Hungary. Shortly thereafter, Soviet troops entered Hungary to put down anticommunist protests. Mindszenty took refuge in the U.S. embassy in Budapest and stayed inside the embassy grounds until 1971. That year he was recalled by the Vatican and settled in Vienna, where he died in 1975.