Press Release: Germany: Germany and Hungary – friends and partners

In a statement made during a visit to the Hungarian Order of Malta Charity Service in Budapest, Chancellor Gerhard Schröder noted that a new and happier chapter of German history was opened up in the summer of 1989. It was then, fifteen years ago, that Hungary opened its border to allow East German refugees to escape to the West. Tch Chancellor met with Father Imre Kozma who opened up the grounds of his church to East German refugees in the summer of 1989. In a short speech Schröder recalled the active assistance the clergyman provided at the time, saying that he gave the people in question security and a place to stay in a critical and dangerous moment of their lives