At the end of WWII Hungary was completely under the control of Nazi Germany. In March 1944, the Germans replaced the Hungarian government with the extreme right wing Arrow Cross Party. In November 1944 Hitler declared Budapest to be a fortress to be held to the last man. The Soviet Army broke through the defensive lines and circled the city in December 1944. The Germans blew up all the bridges across the Danube and destroyed almost all of the Castle District and Royal Palace. The Soviets took control of Pest in January 1945. By March 2 pontoon bridge were in place. After the Red Army liberated Hungary, classic Cold War politics took over the nation. Forced to be part of Joseph Stalin’s Warsaw Pact, the politicians who ran Hungary were handpicked by the hierarchy in Moscow.The KGB, one way or another removed protestors throughout the Eastern Bloc. In an election in Hungary in November 1945, the Hungarian Communist Party only polled 20% of the votes, but they formed the government with Matyas Rakosi at the head of it. The Budapest City Council was formed in 1950 removing local economic control. On November 4th 1956, Soviet forces took over the major airports of Hungary and sent tanks into Budapest. Buildings thought to be harbouring just one sniper were totally destroyed – a policy that resulted in large areas of the city being ruined. The people of Budapest paid a high price for the few days of freedom they had experienced. It is thought that 20,000 died and over 200,000 fled the country in fear of their lives. Under Party Secretary Janos Kadar from 1957 - 1989, there was a commitment to improve the standard of living with infrastructure development including - housing and public transportation with subways,=.