The Hungarian Revolution: Refugees (October-November 1956)

Figure 1.--Gungarians desiring to esape the reimposition of Soviet rule and Stalinist supression fled their country. Camps were hasitly set up in Yugoslavia and Austria. Yugoslavia had broken away from Soviet rule (1948). And the Red Army had exited Austria a year earlier (1955). This Hungarian refugee mother gives her hungary child some milk in a refugee camp, probably in Austria. The torn press caption read, "... she grabbed what she could and fled. Now, after reaching [Austri]a. this mother - wearing a man's jacket - gives milk to her ??? from a tin mug. She also holds a feeding bottle, ready to feed her baby, who travelled in a basket." The photograph was dated November 8, 1956.

Hungarians that could, fled to the West. Some 0.2 million Hungarians fled their country. There were only two possibilities as most of Hungary's borders were with other Soviet-controlled satellite countries (Czechoslovakia, the Soviet Union, and Romania). The only possibilities for escape were neutral Austria to the West an Yugoslavia to the south. The Yugoslave border was much longer than the Austrian border. Budapest is located in the north, about equaldistant to the Austrian and Yugoslav border. Yugoslavia was a Communist country, but had its leader, partisan commander Tito had broken with the Soviets when Stalin attemted to take control as he had done the rest of his the Eastern European Empire. Soviet policy at the time was still Stalin's efforts to ostracize the Yugoslavs. Premier Nikita Khrushchev would later move to normalize relations with Tito's Yugoslavia, but at the time relations were frozen. Unlike the Soviet satellites, Yugoslavia did not support the Soviet intervention and for a time proected Nagy in their embassy. As a result, refugess also flowed into Yugoslavia. Camps for the refugees were hastiy set up in both Austria and Yugoslavia. The Hungarians were the first massive refugee flow in Europe since the end of World War II (1945). It took the Europeans by surprise and they were unprepared. Neither Austria or Hungary had the resources needed to deal with the massive influx. Nor were international humanitarian organizations prepared for the unexpected crisis. The two primary organizatins involved were the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Both institutions had played an important role in the post-World War II refugee crisis, but had no major refugee crisis to deal with for more than a decade. They were suddenly confronted with a huge crisis with few resources in place to meet thge needs of the refugees. About 15 per cent of the Hungarian refugees who reached the West were minors. Most of them came with their parents. And the officials dealing with te refugees gave priority to families. Western countries quickly accepted the families and made provision for them to build new lives. The United States took no military steps to aid the revolution. This would led to a reassessment of American Cold War policies. The United states did, however, aid the refugees. Many eventually emigrated to the United States. Ironically, Hungary had not signifantly participated in the great European migration to America during the late-19th and early-20th century. Congress made special provision for Hungarian refugees (1956). Other Western countries also accepted the Hungarian families and adult refugees. One of the secial tragedies of the Hungarian Revolution were the young people that had fled the Soviets. The children and teenagers who fled without their parents were not properly assisted. There were about 20,000 of them who came to be called 'unaccompaied minors'. For the most part, Westrn Governments did not want to assume the much more difficult responsibility of caring for unaccompanied minors. Most were older teenagers (15-18 years of age). [Nóvé] Ironically these were the same young people that months earlier the Western press had been lauding as valliant freedom fighters.

Refugee Flow (November-December 1956)

Hungarians that could, fled to the West. Some 0.2 million Hungarians fled their country. This began as the Red Army tanks smashed into Budapest. The first refugees began entering Austria over the weekend when some 10,000 people crossed over the Austrian border. (November 4-6). It became the first major crisis in history to appear on television. The plight of the refugees was also prominently featured in newspapers and movie newsreels which were still important at the time. The international public was shocked with the scenes of Red Army tanks in Budapest and the refugees fleeing across the snow-covered border into Austria. This was only possible because the Soviets had withdrawn from Austria a year ealier and the country had agreed to a maintain neutral foreign policy (1955). Fortunately rejecting refugees flleing Red army tanks was not seen as a violation of Austrian neutrality. The number of refugees crossing had risen to 36,000 (by November 16). The number of refugees had risen to 113,000 (end of Nobember). The Soviets and reconstitured Hungarian Army sealed the Austrian border first. But refugees were for a while able to cross into Yugoslavia. The refugees were a cross section of Hungarian society. Students, teachers, doctors, athletes including Olympians and footballers, farmers, architects and workers began streaming toward the Austrian border. Among the students were entire classes. One report suggests that even an entire school crossed. Most of the fefugees crossed over to Austria. There was a longer border with Yugoslavia and unlike the Austrian border remained open for some time. Most of the refugees crossed over to Austria, because Yugoslavia was another Communist country, and the refugees wanted yo reach the West. Camps for the refugees were hastiy set up in both Austria and Yugoslavia. These were the only two possibilities because most of Hungary's borders were with other Soviet-controlled satellite countries (Czechoslovakia, the Soviet Union, and Romania). The only possibilities for escape were neutral Austria to the West and Yugoslavia to the south. The Yugoslave border was much longer than the Austrian border. Budapest is located in the north, about equaldistant to the Austrian and Yugoslav border. Yugoslavia was a Communist country, but had its leader, partisan commander Tito, had broken with the Soviets when Stalin attemted to take control as he had done the rest of his the Eastern European Empire. Soviet policy at the time was still Stalin's efforts to ostracize the Yugoslavs, but Premier Nikita Khrushchev was already moving to normalize relations with Tito's Yugoslavia. The Soviet Hungarian inervention would delay that normalization. Unlike the Soviet satellites, Yugoslavia did not support the Soviet intervention and for a time proected Nagy in their embassy. As a result, some refugess also flowed into Yugoslavia. By the time the borders were sealed, a total of 200,000 Hungarians had fled had fled, 180,000 to Austria and 20,000 to Yugoslavia.

Humanitarian Effort: Institutional Framework

The Hungarians were the first massive refugee flow in Europe since the end of World War II (1945). It took the Europeans by surprise and they were unprepared. Neither Austria or Hungary had the resources needed to deal with the massive influx. Nor were international humanitarian organizations prepared for the unexpected crisis. The two primary organizatins involved were the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Both institutions had played an important role in the post-World War II refugee crisis, but had no major refugee crisis to deal with for more than a decade. They were suddenly confronted with a huge crisis with few resources in place to meet thge needs of the refugees.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was a small U.N. agency with a tiny budget established during the Korean War (1951). It had a short 5-year mandate. Thus just a the agency was beginning to close its doors just as the refugees began to pour out of Hungary. Even so the agency might have closed down, had not the General Assembly (GA) taken decisive action (November 9). The Soviets protested vigorously, but unlike the Security Council could not block a GA action. The UN GA declared that all international humanitarian aid offered to the Hungarian refugees should be conducted and coordinated solely by the UNHCR. This soon became a problem has neither the Soviets or restored Communist regime in Budapest would have anything to do with the UNHCR. UN Secretary General Dag Hammarskjöld attemoted many times to arrange direct talks on the refufees with both the Communist Hungarian and Soviet leaders. They soon mde it clear that he was persona non grata by the Soviets and the Communit regime that they installed. Thus the UNHCR could not work in Hungary itelf. The UNHCR could only make modest efforts from Austria and Yugsoslavia (which hd broken away from the Soviet orbit, but not from Communism). The UNHCR while totally unprepared, began working to provide desperately needed humanitarian aid and services as well as to address the diplomatic issues involved with stedy flow of refugees out of Hungary.

International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC)

The UNHCR oversaw intense multilateral talks in Vienna. The agency with very limited resources and staff decided to delegate many of it most important tasks to the Internation Committee of the Red Cross. The ICRC had a number of core competencies and not only had well-estabished member organizations, not only in Austria and Yugoslavia where the refugees were arriving, but in the Soviet Union and Hungary as well. Of course the Hungarian and Soviet Red Cross was under Soviet control which meant that after the Soviet intervention, they were not about to aid refugees attempting to flee Soviet control or to dispassionately deal with individuals who decided to return to Hungary. It did not begin that way. A Swiss author described the ICRC's effort in Hungary with several primary source documents on the ICRC's activities in Hungary during the crisis. [Cardia] With the outbreak of the Revolution, the ICRC began transporting and distributing western aid in Hungary, working with the democratically elected new leadership of the Hungarian Red Cross. This changed with the Soviet intervention. There was extensive dmage vecause of the fighting. There was also a general strike paralizing activity. This was aimed at the Soviets, but also impaired relief activities. Hungary as a result desperately needed relief supplies. Thus even the Soviet installed Kádár government renewed copperation with the ICRC (mid-November). The agreement signed at that time ran through June 1957. The initial promising start working with the Hungarian Red Cross soon developed major impediments once the Soviets were back in control. The Soviet installed Kadar government wanted and nbeeded the aid, but Kadar demanded total control over distribution. And Kadar rejected all efforts on the part of the ICRC Swiss staff to provide legal protection and humanitarian assistance to the thousands of Hungarian civilians interned or imprisoned by the Soviets. Another issue which developed was two principles which conflected -- family reunification and the child (minor) refugees that desired asylum in the West. Kádár representative demanded that the ICRC should provide them a list of all the Hungarian refugees in western host countries. And Kadar represenatives insisted that the ICRC actively participate in returning all unaccompaied child (mostly teenafers) refugees as quickly as possible. Here the ICRC showed real backbone. The ICRC Swiss staff agreed with the dominant western point of view, understanding how refuge lists could be used by the KGN and HUngarian security agencies to puish family members still in Hungary and thus pressure if not terrorize the refugees. We now know just how brutlly many of the anti-Communists weretreated. The ICRC steadfastly insisted that political refugees were entitled to anonymity and a free choice in deciding where they wished to live--including the unaccompanied minors. This position infuraured the Soviets and Kadar representatives who could not or would not believe that neferious Western capitalist influences were not a work. Other were quite aware of what they were doing abd simply wanted to punish those who opposed Soviet or Cimmunist control. This included both devout Communists and others who understood that the Soviets were in control and that it was dangerous to resist the inevitable.

Resettlement

Western countries quickly accepted the families and made provision for them to build new lives. The United States took no military steps to aid the revolution. This would led to a reassessment of American Cold War policies. The United states did, however, as hoped by the Hugarian freedom fighters aid the refugees. Many eventually emigrated to the United States. Ironically, Hungary had not signifantly participated in the great European migration to America during the late-19th and early-20th century. Congress acted uncharisteristically with speed. They made special provision for Hungarian refugees to enter America (1956). This included unaccompanied minors. We see Seaboard and Western Airlines bringing unaccompanied minors to America (early-1957). Other Western countries also accepted the Hungarian families and adult refugees.

Unaccomanied Minors

About 15 per cent of the Hungarian refugees who reached the West were minors. Most of them came with their parents. And the officials dealing with te refugees gave priority to families. One of the secial tragedies of the Hungarian Revolution were the young people that had fled the Soviets. The children and teenagers who fled without their parents were not properly assisted. There were about 20,000 of them who came to be called 'unaccompaied minors'. For the most part, Westrn Governments did not want to assume the much more difficult responsibility of caring for unaccompanied minors. Most were older teenagers (15-18 years of age). Ironically these were the same young people that months earlier the Western press had been lauding as valliant freedom fighters. These teenagers had been born during World War II (1939-45) and grown up in its aftermath. Some had terrible experiences during the War with the loss of fathers orother family members during the fighting accompanied the Soviet invasion (1944). Then there wa the misery and privation after the War as aresult of war damage and and imposed Communist economic policies. Some of the children were adopted wth varying experences. Others were brought up in spartan state orphanages. Those who joined the revolt had varying backgrounds. There were industrial apprentices as well as peasant children from the poorest families. This of course was suppressed by the Soviet authories because thse were the kind of young people that Marxist theory insisted would suport Communism and the class struggle. Others were those the Soviets believed might opposed Communist rule, Budapest grammar school pupils with an intellectual bent who before 1945 had come from middle or upper class families. All of these young people from varied backgrunds proved to be Hungarian patriots. And this despite attending schools totally controlled by the Communists and from the 1st grade fed a steady stream of Communist propaganda. As the events during the summer and fall progressed, these teenagers had enthusiastically participatd in protests and demonstrations and then the street fights with first the AVH secret police and then Soviet tanks. While they had similar experiences during the revolt, their futures once they had escaped to the West proved be quite different. Some made out well. Others failed for a variery of reasons. Perhas the most unfortunate of these young pople are those through home sickness or other reasons decided to return to Hungary. [Nóvé]

Sources

Nóvé, Béla. "The Orphans of '56: Hungarian Child Refugees and their Stories" Eurozine (2013).

Cardia, Isabelle Vonèche. L'octobre hongrois entre croix rouge et drapeau rouge.

Created: 11:14 AM 10/18/2014
Last updated: 9:28 AM 3/26/2018