The 25th anniversary of the dismantling of the Iron Curtain was celebrated near Sopron, where the barbed wire was cut in 1989. The commemoration was held at the place where Hungarian Foreign Minister Gyula Horn and his Austrian counterpart Alois Mock jointly cut through the barbed wire a quarter of a century ago to begin the demolition of the closed border. This symbolic gesture is remembered today by a memorial stone.
On Friday, Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz, his Slovak counterpart Miroslav Lajcák and Péter Szijjártó, Parliamentary State Secretary of Hungary’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, held speeches at the stone.
Mr Szijjártó emphasised in his speech that it was the people’s unrelenting fight for freedom that led to the fall of the communist dictatorships in the heart of Europe, opening the way to the reunification of the continent. “If the people of Central Europe had not struggled continuously against communism, Europe would not be unified today. Although the Iron Curtain divided these countries from the free world, we have been an inseparable part of Europe for over a thousand years now,” Mr Szijjártó said.
Mr Kurz stated that the younger generation could only imagine what life was like before the demolition of the Iron Curtain and the Berlin Wall, and for this reason it was important to remember the historic event which brought freedom for Europe and gave its countries the opportunity for closer cooperation.
Mr Lajcák said he believed that the events on the Austrian-Hungarian border 25 years ago were a message of hope for freedom and democracy, and only a short time was needed before the Berlin Wall would also crumble and Europe could be reunited once more. “Freedom means the liberty to travel and the liberty to learn, as well as the liberty to pursue economic relations founded on mutual benefits”, Mr Lajcák said.
At the end of the commemoration in Sopron, the foreign affairs representatives of the three countries signed a joint declaration pledging support for a united Europe, European values and the rights of freedom.
The celebration continued at the memorial site of the Pan-European Picnic near Sopronkőhida. Tamás Fodor, Sopron’s Fidesz Civic Alliance-Christian Democrat mayor, said that the events at the scene of the opening of the border on 19 August 1989 were symbols of the reunification of Europe.
When the border was temporarily opened at the time of the Pan-European Picnic held near Lake Fertő on 19 August 1989, nine hundred East German citizens fled to Austria.