The removal ofHungary's border fence withAustria occurred in 1989 during theend of communism in Hungary, which was part of a broad wave ofrevolutions in variouscommunist countries ofCentral and Eastern Europe. The border was still closely guarded and the Hungarian security forces tried to hold back refugees. The dismantling of theelectric fence alongHungary's 240 kilometres (149 mi) long border withAustria was the first fissure in the "Iron Curtain" that had divided Europe for more than 40 years, since the end ofWorld War II. Then thePan-European Picnic caused a chain reaction inEast Germany that ultimately resulted in thedemise of the Berlin Wall.[1]
In April 1989, the Hungarian government ordered the electricity in the barbed-wire border fence along the Hungary–Austria border to be turned off. On 2 May, theBorder Guard of Hungary began removing sections of the barrier, filmed by Western TV crews summoned for the occasion.[2] On 27 June Hungary'sMinister of Foreign Affairs,Gyula Horn, and hisAustrian counterpart,Alois Mock, held a symbolic fence-cutting ceremony at theSopron (Hungary) border crossing.[3]
The open border meant that it was easier for Hungarians to cross into Austria for goods and services; many Hungarians availed themselves of this to purchase consumer goods which had been unavailable or scarce in their own country; a visible sign of this in the first few weeks was that many cars could be seen in Austrian towns such asGraz with washing machines strapped to them.
The most famous crossing came on 19 August, when, during thePan-European Picnic between Austrians and Hungarians, over 900 East Germans on holiday in Hungary rushed the border and escaped into Austria and then travelled safely toWest Germany.[4]
The open border infuriated East German officials, who feared a return to the days before the Berlin Wall, when thousands of East Germans fled daily toWest Berlin. Although worried, theSoviet Union took no overt actions against Hungary, taking ahands-off approach.
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