The Picnic: A Dream of Freedom and the Collapse of the Iron Curtain

Political scientist Longo (The Politics of Borders) delivers a stunning recap of the “greatest breach of the border in Cold War history.” The Pan-European Picnic took place on Aug. 19, 1989, in Sopron, Hungary, on the border with St. Margarethen, Austria. High-ups in the Hungary Communist Party—sensing the Soviet Union under the leadership of Mikhail Gorbachev was loosening its grip on its satellite countries in Eastern Europe—had given permission to the picnic organizers to open a “small, gated crossing” in a muddy field on the border, allowing Austrians and Hungarians to freely mingle and celebrate “European togetherness and freedom.” But the event quickly turned into “utter chaos” when some 600–1,000 East Germans saw the picnic as their chance to escape East Germany’s repressive regime. Longo traces the heart-wrenching stories of these freedom-seekers and interviews the Hungarian commanding officer who was under orders to shoot them but refused. His impressive research reveals “a shadow archive of secret decisions,” showing not only how closely the secret police were watching the picnic organizers, but also how reformists within the Party paved the way for it to happen, even as they received death threats from the hard-line opposition. This captivating narrative brings an underreported Cold War turning point into focus. (Nov.)