The Beginning of the End-Hungary cuts its border fences

[Gordon Craig]

2009 is the 20th anniversary of the beginning of the end of Communist rule in a lot of the eastern satellite countries. On May the 2nd 1989, Hungarain Border Guards started removing the fences defining their borders with Austria. The Hungarian government assured the East German government that they would not provide a gate way for a flood of East German's to escape into Austria. It was a promise they were unable to keep. Hungaries Lake Balaton had long been a popular summer holiday destination and following the removal of the fences in May many East Germans entered Hungary, ostensibly on holiday, and went immediately to Austria. This caused a major problem for the Austrians trying to house this flood of what became refugees. Here is a BBC picture showing Hungarian soldiers cutting the fencing between Hungary and Austria.

Regards,

Gordon

Attached image(s)

[ETN]

Thanks for info
Don't you mean 1989?

[Gordon Craig]

ETN,

Thanks for spotting my typo. It has been corrected.

Regards,

Gordon

[B. Jones]

Hello Everyone,

What was Hungary's official reason for dismantling their border fence with Austria in 1989?

[Ian Morrison]

Hi

Spiegel Online article:
http://www.spiegel.de/international/...-a-627632.html

Kind Regards, Ian

[Gordon Craig]

Ian,

Thanks for adding this article to the thread. I has been some time since I have read it. I'd like to add some personal comments to one section of it.

On Aug. 14, men and women from East Germany, the workers and peasants republic of atheist leader Honecker, were lying, shoulder-to-shoulder, on the floor of the Holy Family Roman Catholic Church in Budapest's Zugliget district. The words on the altar read: "All that is not God is nothing." Father Imre Kozma attended to their needs.

On Aug. 13, the anniversary of the Berlin Wall's construction, the German consul in Budapest approached Kozma to ask whether some of the East German citizens packed into the overcrowded grounds of the West German embassy could be moved to the church. The priest agreed.

Kozma got volunteers to erect tents and distribute food to the refugees. He even tolerated being checked by members of the BND, West Germany's foreign intelligence agency, at the entrance to the grounds of his own church. He also allowed officials from the West German embassy, who had quickly set up a "consular office" inside the church, to hand out green West German passports to the East German citizens.

Meanwhile, members of the East German secret police, the Stasi, stood on the roofs of nearby buildings and looked on helplessly, watching as Kozma, who had since February been president of the newly established Hungarian Malteser Caritas, the Order of Malta charity service in Hungary, took on the role of an essentially neutral middleman in the struggle between the two Germanys over the future of tens of thousands of East German citizens. Prime Minister Németh was already suspected of having closer ties to Bonn, the West German capital at the time, than to East Berlin. German Chancellor Kohl and his adviser Horst Teltschik held Németh, a 41-year-old economic expert, in high regard. Kohl was in touch with Németh by telephone, and Németh communicated with Father Kozma.

The church mentioned above was a short walk from the old Canadian Embassy building. Not only were the people crammed into the church they were housed in an open field beside the church. On a daily basis, staff of the Embassy, both Canadians and Hungarians, would bring what food and clothing they could to the East Germans staying there.
In that field, close to the church, is a monument from the German government to recognize the assistance given to East Germans who had fled there. The monument consists of a section of the Berlin Wall and an old car plus some plaques concerning what happened there. On the wall of the church, beside the front door, is a metal plaque from the German Order of Malta Charity thanking them for the aid they gave to the East German refugees. The church was a short walk from my home in the three years that I lived in Budapest and I used to walk by there often when I was out for my daily walk.

Regards,

Gordon

[B. Jones]

Thanks!

Thanks Ian for the link.

Thanks Gordon for the follow up info!

[Gordon Craig]

B. Jones,

Your welcome.

Regards,

Gordon

[vacollector]

Hello Everyone,

What was Hungary's official reason for dismantling their border fence with Austria in 1989?

A lot of it had to due with the changing politics of the Cold War. Many of the countries on the socialist frontier started to introduce more liberties to their people. In places like Poland, Hungry and Czechoslovakia. The governments of those nations could see that the system was collapsing, political reform movements where unstoppable and the Soviets stating that they would not intervene into anymore political upheavals in Eastern Europe to save them from their people.

[J. Csernus]

I remember clearly of the events even if I was really young as I live near the border. The forests were full of abandoned east German cars (Wartburgs, Trabants etc.), Germans came by car here, and tried to cross the border by feet. The cars stood here for years with less and less pieces, finally only empty hulls were remaining. As Hungary was full of east German cars and as services and supplies weren't at the top that time,these were gold mines for the owners.

[Ralph P]

J. Csernus - Very interesting post and I want to thank you for that information.

I remember clearly of the events even if I was really young as I live near the border. The forests were full of abandoned east German cars (Wartburgs, Trabants etc.), Germans came by car here, and tried to cross the border by feet. The cars stood here for years with less and less pieces, finally only empty hulls were remaining. As Hungary was full of east German cars and as services and supplies weren't at the top that time,these were gold mines for the owners.