A Handbook on Post-1956 Hungarian Refugee Relief: From Local Crisis to Global Impact

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A Handbook on Post-1956 Hungarian Refugee Relief

From Local Crisis to Global Impact

Edited by: and

Language: English

Published/Copyright: 2026

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About this book

This volume focuses on the 1956 Hungarian refugee crisis, when 200,000 Hungarians fled to Western Europe and beyond after the Soviet invasion. Although the number of refugees was not outstanding by global standards, the book shows that the event had a thorough impact on international refugee rescue policies worldwide and influenced the development of the Cold War. It provides, first, an up-to-date synthesis of research on Hungarian refugees, the responses to the challenges set by the migration crisis in the host countries, and the activities of international organizations in refugee aid; second, it offers new insights based on previously unknown archival sources; and third, it opens new pathways for exploring historical trends in the study of migration during the Cold War. By providing an overall picture of this central event in Hungarian history, the book furthers our understanding of the historical roots of the currently existing international system of institutions and contemporary migration policies. The volume makes one of the most impactful refugee crises of the twentieth century comparable to other twentieth-century and contemporary migration processes and contributes to current research on historical population movements.

Author / Editor information

Gustáv D. Kecskés, ELTE Research Centre for the Humanities, Institute of History, Budapest, Hungary; Tamás Scheibner, Eötvös Loránd University of Budapest, Faculty of Humanities and ELTE Research Centre for the Humanities, Institute of History, Hungary.

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Frontmatter
I

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Contents
V

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Local Crisis and Global Solutions
1
Gusztáv D. Kecskés and Tamás Scheibner

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I The Context
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Tree in the Forest? The Hungarian Refugee Crisis in a Global Context
45
Jussi M. Hanhimäki

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Migration from Eastern and Central Europe during the Cold War
57
Sławomir Łukasiewicz

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The Hungarian Revolution of 1956: An Overview
67
János M. Rainer

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II International Organizations
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The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
77
Marjoleine Zieck

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The United Nations General Assembly
91
Georg Kastner

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The UN General Assembly’s Special Committee on Hungary
101
András Nagy

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The Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration (ICEM)
111
Tamás Scheibner

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The League of Red Cross Societies
125
Gusztáv D. Kecskés

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The Roles of Religious Communities and NGOs in Refugee Relief
135
James P. Niessen

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Philanthropic Organizations: The Ford and the Rockefeller Foundations
145
Tamás Scheibner

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The Assembly of Captive European Nations (ACEN)
157
Anna Mazurkiewicz

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III Aspects and Dimensions
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Social Composition and Motivation: A Statistical Approach
171
Ibolya Murber

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The Refugee Policy of the Kádár Regime
183
Magdolna Baráth

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Repatriating Refugees
193
András Lénárt and and Tiphaine Robert

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The Hungarian State Security Forces and the Refugee Crisis in 1956/57
211
Mária Palasik

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The Soviet Union and the Hungarian Refugees in Austria
225
Peter Ruggenthaler and Maximilian Graf

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Refugee Experiences: Witness Accounts
235
Katalin Somlai

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IV Country Studies: Europe
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Austria
253
Ibolya Murber

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Yugoslavia
269
Katarina Kovačević and Ibolya Murber

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German Federal Republic
281
Ferenc Cseresnyés and Andreas Schmidt-Schweizer

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Switzerland
291
Gusztáv D. Kecskés

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The Principality of Liechtenstein
307
Ibolya Murber

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The United Kingdom
315
Gyula Hegedüs

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Ireland
327
Balázs Apor

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France
339
Gusztáv D. Kecskés

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Belgium
353
Frank Caestecker and Vera Hajtó

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The Netherlands
365
Marjoleine Zieck

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Norway
377
Hallvard Tjelmeland

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Denmark
387
Anders Wigerfelt-Svensson

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Sweden
399
Anders Wigerfelt-Svensson

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Finland
411
Iván Miklós Szegő

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Italy
421
Andrea Carteny and Elena Tosti Di Stefano

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Spain
431
András T. Lénárt

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Portugal
441
István Szilágyi

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V Country and Regional Studies: Outside Europe
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United States
451
Nóra Deák

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Canada
463
Christopher Adam

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Latin America
475
Zsuzsanna Csikós

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Brazil
483
Ágnes Judit Szilágyi

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Argentina
495
Márk Zsonda

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Dominican Republic
505
Domingo Lilón

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Peru
513
Katalin Jancsó

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Mexico
521
Mónika Szente-Varga and Agustín Sánchez Andrés

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Turkey
529
Emre Saral

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Israel
541
András Lénárt

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Australia
557
Dawn Bolger

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Union of South Africa
569
Gábor Búr

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Appendix
577

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Abbreviations

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Index of Persons
603

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Index of Places
615

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Publishing information

Pages and Images/Illustrations in book

eBook published on:

December 31, 2025

eBook ISBN:

9783111316178

Hardcover published on:

December 31, 2025

Hardcover ISBN:

9783111314495

Pages and Images/Illustrations in book

Front matter:

9

Main content:

621

Illustrations:

7

Tables:

13

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111316178

eBook ISBN: 9783111316178

Hardcover ISBN: 9783111314495

Keywords for this book

Cold War; Humanitarianism; Hungary

Audience(s) for this book

Scholars and students of migration studies, international relations, area studies, Cold War history and historical sociology

Safety & product resources

Manufacturer information:
Walter de Gruyter GmbH
Genthiner Straße 13
10785 Berlin
productsafety@degruyterbrill.com

A Handbook on Post-1956 Hungarian Refugee Relief

Overview

About this book

Author / Editor information

Topics

Table of contents

Frontmatter

Contents

Local Crisis and Global Solutions

Tree in the Forest? The Hungarian Refugee Crisis in a Global Context

Migration from Eastern and Central Europe during the Cold War

The Hungarian Revolution of 1956: An Overview

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

The United Nations General Assembly

The UN General Assembly’s Special Committee on Hungary

The Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration (ICEM)

The League of Red Cross Societies

The Roles of Religious Communities and NGOs in Refugee Relief

Philanthropic Organizations: The Ford and the Rockefeller Foundations

The Assembly of Captive European Nations (ACEN)

Social Composition and Motivation: A Statistical Approach

The Refugee Policy of the Kádár Regime

Repatriating Refugees

The Hungarian State Security Forces and the Refugee Crisis in 1956/57

The Soviet Union and the Hungarian Refugees in Austria

Refugee Experiences: Witness Accounts

Austria

Yugoslavia

German Federal Republic

Switzerland

The Principality of Liechtenstein

The United Kingdom

Ireland

France

Belgium

The Netherlands

Norway

Denmark

Sweden

Finland

Italy

Spain

Portugal

United States

Canada

Latin America

Brazil

Argentina

Dominican Republic

Peru

Mexico

Turkey

Israel

Australia

Union of South Africa

Appendix

Abbreviations

Index of Persons

Index of Places

Bibliographic data