Autumn 1956, Hungary

It was the acid test for the newly established Austria: more than 180,000 Hungarians fled their counrty when, in autumn 1956, the Soviet Union violently suppressed the Hungarian government’s democratisation efforts. They escaped over the border into Austria, which had declared itself neutral only the previous year, and had to be very attentive of the delicate power balance of the Cold War. But both the Austrian government and the people of Austria showed considerable support for the refugees. Austria adopted a confident stance in a divided world.