In December 1989, German Chancellor Helmut Kohl declared, “Hungary knocked out the first brick of the Berlin Wall.” His remarks reveal the increasingly forgotten role Hungarian decision-makers and society played in the summer of 1989. It was Hungary that finally fulfilled what Ronald Reagan called for two years before when he proclaimed, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall”. Yet, as the memory of that momentous year fades, its message remains relevant. The Berlin Wall may have fallen, but the divisions it once symbolised still run deep across Europe.
Hungary’s role in the fall of the Berlin Wall was no isolated incident. By 1989, around 2.5 million Germans visited Hungary annually, coming in equal numbers from East and West Germany. For decades Hungary was the meeting point of East and West. At the shores of Lake Balaton, families, friends, and relatives coming from a divided Germany could enjoy the climate as well as the culinary and cultural benefits of the country. Here, even Western music and products were available—unthinkable in the GDR. Hungary was a well-known and popular destination because of its openness, its relaxed lifestyle, and its laissez-faire attitude towards communism. Hungarians applied the rules of their dictatorship with a human touch, stripping it of its most severe consequences. Although it was still a dictatorship, it was softer, with indulgent rules and a leadership that did not itself fully believe in communist principles.
These unique circumstances made 1989 a year of wonders, which would culminate in the final unification of Germany. Since 1988, restrictions on travel had been loosened for Hungarians, eliminating the need for barbed wire on Hungary’s western borders. Furthermore, rigorous border infrastructure required necessary and costly materials to be imported from the West. In practice, the fence only hindered East Germans seeking to escape the East. The GDR still viewed the Eastern Bloc as a prison and urged Hungary to capture those trying to escape. A 1969 agreement made it compulsory for Hungarian border guards to capture GDR refugees and prevent them from attaining freedom.
Thus, it should come as no surprise that the first crack in the Berlin Wall occurred not in Berlin, but at the Austro-Hungarian border near Sopron on the 19th of August 1989, at the Pan-European Picnic. Hungary’s nascent civil society, including future political parties like MDF and Fidesz, organised a gathering for Austrian and Hungarian locals. The picnic advocated for a Europe without borders and cross-bloc friendships. A provisional border crossing was established, making the journey smoother and easier. To the surprise of the organisers, many GDR citizens appeared, spurred on by the news of a provisional border opening. They dismantled the old wooden border gate in the biggest mass exodus since the Berlin Wall was constructed in 1961. Hungarian border guards decided to let them pass peacefully, and more than 600 GDR citizens reached Austria.
This was only the trickle of a larger refugee wave, as more and more Eastern Germans saw Hungary as an escape. The Hungarian government acquiesced and suspended its 1969 agreement with the GDR, making it possible for East Germans to escape through their borders. Hungary became a de facto refugee camp, with thousands of East Germans awaiting their passage to the West. From the 11th of September 1989, further restrictions were lifted, and they could transfer unconditionally to the free world.
Hungary’s actions broke the first hole in the Iron Curtain and made itself a magnet for thousands wishing to move West. The dissatisfied who remained in the GDR quickly began the mass protests which brought down both the GDR and the Berlin Wall on the 9th of November 1989.
The remaining 329 days until German reunification on the 3rd of October 1990 were packed with diplomatic and political manoeuvres by Helmut Kohl to convince the victors of World War II to support German unification. Yet, the Chancellor faced domestic opposition, too, with many Social Democrats and Greens arguing against reunification. Hungary, on the other hand, supported Germany in its endeavour for national unity, more so than many Germans. Hungarians were naturally sympathetic to their fellow Germans. The division of Germany was all too similar to the division Hungary faced since the 1920 Treaty of Trianon.
Although Germany has been unified for 35 years, it continues to face a division of attitudes, mentalities, and political affiliations. In many ways, the Wall remains, and Germany is still a country divided. West Germans do not fully comprehend how their Eastern compatriots feel, think, and argue. This breach in mutual understanding still goes across the geographic lines drawn in 1945, keeping Germany a divided country, despite its willingness to be unified.
These Cold War ruptures are not just dividing lines for Germany but for Europe as well, dividing ‘Old Europe’ from ‘New Europe.’ These imaginary borderlines reveal themselves through the political approaches of Central and Eastern European countries to important questions such as national sovereignty, self-assertion, strategic autonomy, and connectivity. They are not content to be the edge of civilisation, borderlands, or a battleground, but want to be the centre of economic, cultural, and political action. In domestic policies, these nations protect their Judaeo-Christian values, cultural heritage and national identity. They reject mass migration, want to be responsible for their own life, live in peace and freedom, achieve the European Dream and share the European Way of Life. Having experienced communism, they do not wish others to tell them how to think, live, or vote and fiercely guard their political liberty.
Despite being a part of ‘Western’ Europe, East Germans have a similar understanding as Hungarians, Czechs, Slovaks, or Poles. Those who experienced communist dictatorship can easily detect threats to their everyday life, freedom, nations, and local environment. They mistrust an almighty and ubiquitous central power, whether it is Berlin, Brussels, or elsewhere. They revolt easier and stringently defend their values, lives, and country.
What might look like an anti-European, anti-democratic, or autocratic attitude is the opposite. The citizens of Central and Eastern Europe—including East Germans—are direct and outspoken, and while they may be occasionally politically incorrect, they fiercely and honestly defend the principles they fought so hard to attain. For them, their national flag or anthem still bears great significance, and they take pride in their country and Europe’s community of nations. Time and time again, their voice of reason—influenced by experience, rather than transient ideological trends—has proven to be worth listening to if Europeans wish to tackle the multitude of problems and challenges facing the continent.
What Was and Is: The Fall of the Berlin Wall
West Berliners crowd in front of the Berlin Wall early 11 November 1989 as they watch East German border guards demolishing a section of the wall in order to open a new crossing point between East and West Berlin, near the Potsdamer Square. Two days before, Gunter Schabowski, the East Berlin Communist party boss, declared that starting from midnight, East Germans would be free to leave the country, without permission, at any point along the border, including the crossing-points through the Wall in Berlin. The Berlin concrete wall was built by the East German government in August 1961 to seal off East Berlin from the part of the city occupied by the three main Western powers to prevent mass illegal immigration to the West. According to the “August 13 Association” which specialises in the history of the Berlin Wall, at least 938 people – 255 in Berlin alone – died, shot by East German border guards, attempting to flee to West Berlin or West Germany.
GERARD MALIE / AFP
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In December 1989, German Chancellor Helmut Kohl declared, “Hungary knocked out the first brick of the Berlin Wall.” His remarks reveal the increasingly forgotten role Hungarian decision-makers and society played in the summer of 1989. It was Hungary that finally fulfilled what Ronald Reagan called for two years before when he proclaimed, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall”. Yet, as the memory of that momentous year fades, its message remains relevant. The Berlin Wall may have fallen, but the divisions it once symbolised still run deep across Europe.
Hungary’s role in the fall of the Berlin Wall was no isolated incident. By 1989, around 2.5 million Germans visited Hungary annually, coming in equal numbers from East and West Germany. For decades Hungary was the meeting point of East and West. At the shores of Lake Balaton, families, friends, and relatives coming from a divided Germany could enjoy the climate as well as the culinary and cultural benefits of the country. Here, even Western music and products were available—unthinkable in the GDR. Hungary was a well-known and popular destination because of its openness, its relaxed lifestyle, and its laissez-faire attitude towards communism. Hungarians applied the rules of their dictatorship with a human touch, stripping it of its most severe consequences. Although it was still a dictatorship, it was softer, with indulgent rules and a leadership that did not itself fully believe in communist principles.
These unique circumstances made 1989 a year of wonders, which would culminate in the final unification of Germany. Since 1988, restrictions on travel had been loosened for Hungarians, eliminating the need for barbed wire on Hungary’s western borders. Furthermore, rigorous border infrastructure required necessary and costly materials to be imported from the West. In practice, the fence only hindered East Germans seeking to escape the East. The GDR still viewed the Eastern Bloc as a prison and urged Hungary to capture those trying to escape. A 1969 agreement made it compulsory for Hungarian border guards to capture GDR refugees and prevent them from attaining freedom.
Thus, it should come as no surprise that the first crack in the Berlin Wall occurred not in Berlin, but at the Austro-Hungarian border near Sopron on the 19th of August 1989, at the Pan-European Picnic. Hungary’s nascent civil society, including future political parties like MDF and Fidesz, organised a gathering for Austrian and Hungarian locals. The picnic advocated for a Europe without borders and cross-bloc friendships. A provisional border crossing was established, making the journey smoother and easier. To the surprise of the organisers, many GDR citizens appeared, spurred on by the news of a provisional border opening. They dismantled the old wooden border gate in the biggest mass exodus since the Berlin Wall was constructed in 1961. Hungarian border guards decided to let them pass peacefully, and more than 600 GDR citizens reached Austria.
This was only the trickle of a larger refugee wave, as more and more Eastern Germans saw Hungary as an escape. The Hungarian government acquiesced and suspended its 1969 agreement with the GDR, making it possible for East Germans to escape through their borders. Hungary became a de facto refugee camp, with thousands of East Germans awaiting their passage to the West. From the 11th of September 1989, further restrictions were lifted, and they could transfer unconditionally to the free world.
Hungary’s actions broke the first hole in the Iron Curtain and made itself a magnet for thousands wishing to move West. The dissatisfied who remained in the GDR quickly began the mass protests which brought down both the GDR and the Berlin Wall on the 9th of November 1989.
The remaining 329 days until German reunification on the 3rd of October 1990 were packed with diplomatic and political manoeuvres by Helmut Kohl to convince the victors of World War II to support German unification. Yet, the Chancellor faced domestic opposition, too, with many Social Democrats and Greens arguing against reunification. Hungary, on the other hand, supported Germany in its endeavour for national unity, more so than many Germans. Hungarians were naturally sympathetic to their fellow Germans. The division of Germany was all too similar to the division Hungary faced since the 1920 Treaty of Trianon.
Although Germany has been unified for 35 years, it continues to face a division of attitudes, mentalities, and political affiliations. In many ways, the Wall remains, and Germany is still a country divided. West Germans do not fully comprehend how their Eastern compatriots feel, think, and argue. This breach in mutual understanding still goes across the geographic lines drawn in 1945, keeping Germany a divided country, despite its willingness to be unified.
These Cold War ruptures are not just dividing lines for Germany but for Europe as well, dividing ‘Old Europe’ from ‘New Europe.’ These imaginary borderlines reveal themselves through the political approaches of Central and Eastern European countries to important questions such as national sovereignty, self-assertion, strategic autonomy, and connectivity. They are not content to be the edge of civilisation, borderlands, or a battleground, but want to be the centre of economic, cultural, and political action. In domestic policies, these nations protect their Judaeo-Christian values, cultural heritage and national identity. They reject mass migration, want to be responsible for their own life, live in peace and freedom, achieve the European Dream and share the European Way of Life. Having experienced communism, they do not wish others to tell them how to think, live, or vote and fiercely guard their political liberty.
Despite being a part of ‘Western’ Europe, East Germans have a similar understanding as Hungarians, Czechs, Slovaks, or Poles. Those who experienced communist dictatorship can easily detect threats to their everyday life, freedom, nations, and local environment. They mistrust an almighty and ubiquitous central power, whether it is Berlin, Brussels, or elsewhere. They revolt easier and stringently defend their values, lives, and country.
What might look like an anti-European, anti-democratic, or autocratic attitude is the opposite. The citizens of Central and Eastern Europe—including East Germans—are direct and outspoken, and while they may be occasionally politically incorrect, they fiercely and honestly defend the principles they fought so hard to attain. For them, their national flag or anthem still bears great significance, and they take pride in their country and Europe’s community of nations. Time and time again, their voice of reason—influenced by experience, rather than transient ideological trends—has proven to be worth listening to if Europeans wish to tackle the multitude of problems and challenges facing the continent.
Bence Bauer is Director of Mathias Corvinus Collegium’s German-Hungarian Institute for European Cooperation.
Péter Dobrowiecki is Head of Research at the MCC Hungarian-German Institute
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