The book titled 'Breakthrough' commemorates the Pan-European Picnic
Matthew Longo's book titled Breakthrough was presented at the City Hall of Sopron on Friday.
The event was attended by Matthew Longo, the author of the volume, as well as László Nagy, secretary of the Pan-European Picnic ’89 Foundation, and Bence Bauer, director of the Hungarian-German Institute. The book was published by the Rubicon Institute.
At the book launch, a welcome speech was given by Dr. Ciprián Farkas, the mayor of Sopron. The city leader emphasized:
Sopron has a very rich historical legacy; its rich culture and historical past are also very colorful. If we only look at the 20th century, the people of Sopron had two great moments even then, one of which was when they wanted to tear us out of the body of the nation in 1921, and we did not let that happen. It was a miracle for the world; how successfully we fought for our own destiny. The other moment came on August 19, 1989, when we, as a captive nation, gave way to another captive nation into freedom. The break through picnic led to the unification of the European Union, to the reunification of Germany, and brought the sense of freedom back to Europe. In addition, the people of Sopron actively contributed to this. These moments, the book Breakthrough commemorates.
It has been 35 years since Hungary broke through the Iron Curtain. In August 1989, enthusiastic citizens of Debrecen and Sopron decided to organize a pan-European picnic on the border of Hungary and Austria.
It was not an everyday event, since it took place in a strictly guarded, forbidden zone. Thousands of East German "tourists" flooded the area, waiting for the moment to cross the border with fear and hope in their hearts. Finally, the free world opened up to them.
A state decision soon followed the civil initiative: from September 10, 1989, the gates at Hegyeshalom were officially opened for GDR refugees. We can learn about the events that fundamentally influenced world politics from Matthew Longo's book. The professor, who teaches in the Netherlands uncovered the small moments of the exciting sequence of events with enormous research work, and presents the significance of the demolishing and the opening of the border through East German and Hungarian destinies,
The publication won the British Orwell Prize in June 2024.
