The 1956 Hungarian revolution and its aftermath presented the world with its first Cold War refugee crisis. It was also an event which firmly placed UNHCR at the centre of the then gradually emerging refugee protection regime and of the response of the international community to refugee crises. It was the first refugee crisis to appear on television. It was largely resolved by unprecedented local and international solidarity.

Hungarian refugees began crossing into Austria and Yugoslavia on 28 October 1956. 3,000 to 4,000 refugees had arrived by 3 November. As of 4 November a mass exodus set in and by end of November 113,000 refugees had arrived in Austria alone. By the time the borders were sealed nearly 200,000 Hungarians had fled their country, some 180,000 to Austria and nearly 20,000 to Yugoslavia.

Individual determination of refugee status was out of the question. Thus, the Hungarian refugee scenario became the first post war situation where a prima facie group recognition of refugee status was applied allowing for immediate assistance.

Within days of the exodus starting, an extraordinary operation sprang up in Austria, not only to care for the refugees, but also to help them to depart for other countries of asylum.

On 9 November the UN General Assembly entrusted UNHCR with the overall coordination of the response to the crisis. It was the first time in its history that UNHCR was specifically designated by the international community as the ‘lead agency’ to direct a large scale emergency operation.

In Vienna, a committee was immediately set up comprised of the Austrian Ministry of the Interior, UNHCR and the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration (ICEM) – the predecessor of today’s IOM, the League of Red Cross Societies (LRCS), as well as a number of local and international NGOs. The LRCS was to be the prime mover on the assistance front and would also help ICEM, whose prime task would be to assist with the registration, documentation and transport of refugees out of Austria. UNHCR would deal with the over-arching legal and protection issues as well as with the integration of those who remained in Austria.

While the Government of Austria had announced immediately that it would grant asylum to the refugees without reservation, it also appealed for assistance from other countries to help her to meet its international obligations. And, so did Yugoslavia, the other country of first refuge for the Hungarians.

Within a few days of the first refugees arriving, a massive effort was launched starting on 7 November, to resettle the Hungarians to third countries. Within two weeks 800 refugees were leaving Austria for third countries every day.

Over the following weeks and months, refugees were transferred by bus, train, boat and plane to a total of 37 different nations on five continents. Within eight weeks, 84,000 refugees had been able to find a final country of asylum. The resettlement from Yugoslavia moved more slowly. In a remarkable demonstration of solidarity, many governments had abandoned restrictions in their immigration policies and granted visas to entire families, including the ill and disabled, without regard to quotas.

In the end; the United States and Canada each took in around 40,000 refugees, while the United Kingdom accepted 20,000 and Germany, Switzerland and Australia some 15,000, France 13,000, Sweden 7,000, Belgium 6,000 etc.. Two African and 12 Latin American countries also took in Hungarians. 18,000 remained in Austria.

The resettlement of Hungarian refugees can serve us as an example of international solidarity and an effective humanitarian response until this day.

But, governments and non-governmental organizations from numerous countries also responded with contributions to the relief effort of the asylum countries. In response to a first UN appeal about US$ 10 million in cash and kind were pledged by 25 nations within a short period of time.

In countries of asylum, NGOs and above all the population at large contributed significantly to making the reception of the refugees possible, to making the refugees feel welcome and to helping them find their way into a new life in a foreign environment.

Over time systematic integration programmes were launched, many of them in cooperation with UNHCR. This included educational and vocational training and placement programmes, scholarships for students, but above all a housing programme. In Austria alone some 1,000 apartments were made available to Hungarian refugees in the years to come. In June 1957 UNHCR managed to get a US$ 3.5 million programme for Hungarian refugees in Austria and Yugoslavia adopted.

It took five years until High Commissioner Lindt could report the Hungarian refugee problem as solved. In contrast, the solution of the post WW II refugee problem took over 15 years.

Looking back, perhaps the most striking aspect was the sheer pragmatism and flexibility of the principal actors – especially the States. It was the first major refugee relief operation of its kind and fact was that the rule book for the handling of such crises was only partly written by then.

Moreover, it took place against the backdrop of a reality in 1956 which knew 70,000 WW II refugees still living in some 200 camps in Austria, Germany, Italy and Greece alone. The solution of these often difficult cases dragged on until the end of the 50s or even the early 60s.

The 1956 uprising and its aftermath helped shape the way humanitarian organizations – not least UNHCR – were to deal with refugee crises in the future. The episode also left an indelible mark on international refugee law and policy.

Inevitably, many of the Hungarians crossed the borders with the help of smugglers, and many arrived without ID papers – but it did not tarnish their image or impede their acceptance as refugees.

In some ways little has changed in the world of the refugees, except perhaps that 50 years later too often the world seems much less inclined to respond with such spontaneous hospitality.

Also in that context this exhibition is important. Not only does it commemorate the Hungarian revolution, the suffering of so many refugees, but also the unique spirit of 1956, which drove the humanitarian response to the predicament of so many individuals, of their families and their children.

It was this unique humanitarian spirit of solidarity that allowed the UN and UNHCR to assist immediately and effectively and to contribute together with the populations and governments of the receiving countries to give the refugees a fair chance for a new future within a reasonable time.

Thank you to the organizers for having made this exhibition possible und for reminding us of these unique events and of the achievements that were made in facing the sudden and unexpected humanitarian challenges.