Hungarian Refugees in the United Kingdom in the Context of the Domestic Policy (1956–1957)

Abstract

After the suppression of the 1956 uprising in Hungary, a large group of political refugees, most of them young and often highly skilled professionals, left for the West. Most of the refugees fled to Austria. Austria immediately called on countries to help both financially and physically by resettling the refugees. Most of the refugees were very quickly resettled in other countries. These facts stand in stark contrast to contemporary resettlement practice, which is characterized by a shortage of resettlement sites and a small number of resettlement countries. The scarcity of jobs and the peculiarities of the migration policies of some countries (e.g., the United Kingdom) meant that some refugees could not find a long-term place in European countries and therefore sought refuge overseas. In 1956 and 1957, Canada took in more than 37,500 Hungarian refugees. The United States was also a more common c Hungarian Refugees in the United Kingdom in the Context hoice for refugees than the United Kingdom, for example.