The Pan-European Picnic occurred on August 19, 1989, at the border crossing between Austria and Hungary, near Sopron in Hungary and St. Margarethen in Austria. This event became a crucial prelude to the revolutions of 1989, sparking a chain reaction that eventually led to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the lifting of the Iron Curtain. During the picnic, over 600 East German citizens broke through the border gate and fled to the West.
The Purpose of the Picnic
The picnic was proposed by Ferenc Mészáros of the Hungarian Democratic Forum (MDF) and Otto von Habsburg, former Crown Prince of Austria-Hungary and then the President of the International Pan-European Union. It was advertised as a celebration of the bonds between Austria and Hungary. Unofficially, however, the organizers hoped to gauge Soviet reaction to an opening in the Iron Curtain.
What was Supposed to Happen
The organizers of the Pan-European Picnic had received government permission to open the border gate for three hours. During this time, an open-air bacon roasting party was planned in a meadow along the Austro-Hungarian border. By noon, approximately 8,000 to 10,000 people had gathered, creating a joyful, friendly, and somewhat chaotic atmosphere. The official program, including speeches by dignitaries from both countries and Germany, was scheduled to begin later in the afternoon.
What Actually Happened at the Pan-European Picnic
To this day, it remains unclear who spread the news and how it was spread. It appears that many people were involved behind the scenes. However, minutes before the official program was set to start, 40–50 East Germans, who had been hiding in a nearby forest, rushed up the hill, broke through the dilapidated wooden border gate, and fled into Austria. The armed border guards had no prior warning or instructions on how to handle the situation, especially since the defectors lacked valid passports. In the ensuing chaos, the guards refrained from taking actions that might have prevented the East Germans from crossing the border. Following the initial wave, two more groups of East Germans crossed into the West that afternoon, totaling more than 600 people.
The exodus was captured on film by the news media, who had been invited to cover the official picnic program. August 19, 1989, marked the beginning of the mass flight of East Germans via Hungary, a Warsaw Pact country, to Austria, a NATO member, and on to Czechoslovakia, ultimately reaching West Germany unhindered.
The Pan-European picnic of 19 August 1989 made it possible for more than 600 East German citizens to flee into the West. https://www.walled-in-berlin.com
For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on my home page and feel free to follow my blog about anything German: Historical or current events, people, places or food.
Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall, and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.
