• History

How 1956 Can Be a Model for Dealing With Today’s Refugee Crisis

4 minute read
Hungarian refugees bording the plane for America
Hungarian refugees bording the plane for America at Schwechat Airport. Austria, 1956.Imagno / Getty Images
By William Lambers / History News Network
History News Network
History News Network

This post is in partnership with the History News Network, the website that puts the news into historical perspective. The article below was originally published at HNN.

We have seen the heartbreaking images of Syrians in desperate attempts to flee their war-torn homeland. All they want is to find safety in Europe, away from the conflict in the Middle East.

Thousands of Syrians each day are making this dangerous journey. They are tired, scared and hungry. What should the international community do? Start welcoming them.

That is exactly what the United States and other nations did for Hungarian refugees after their 1956 revolt against the Soviet Union. President Dwight Eisenhower launched Operation Safe Haven for refugees who were escaping the assault by the Soviet troops who were suppressing the rebellion. Other nations were welcoming to those Hungarians forced out of their country.

Eisenhower remarked in 1956, “It is heartening to witness the speed with which free nations have opened their doors to these most recent refugees from tyranny. In this humanitarian effort our own nation must play its part.”

Eisenhower did something else, which President Obama should do right away too. Ike ordered food and other assistance for the refugees. Welcome kits were provided. Eisenhower met Hungarian refugees at the White House.

Eisenhower was not the only U.S. president to get involved. Former President Herbert Hoover became involved as well. Hoover became a spokesperson for the charity First Aid for Hungary, which set up field kitchens, first aid stations and mobile pharmacies for those escaping the violence.

Food was also moved into Hungary. The Red Cross was able to feed those who remained behind in the aftermath. They provided food, including lunches for schoolchildren and milk for infants. Catholic Relief Services, a charity helping Syrians today, was one of the leaders in providing aid at the time of the Hungarian crisis. So too was CARE.

The United States, in 1956, quickly began bringing thousands of Hungarians to Camp Kilmer, N.J., to begin their settlement process.

Today, the international community needs a new Operation Safe Haven for Syrians. This would help those who are fleeing into Europe. But the crisis of course goes much deeper.

Millions of innocent civilians remain in Syria and other Middle Eastern countries. They are running out of food and hope. They are meeting despair, frustration and hunger. The UN World Food Programme does not have enough funds to feed them. The WFP has been forced to reduce rations.

The world powers have not been able to press for a peaceful solution to the conflict. So it goes on and on and on.

Bill O’Keefe of Catholic Relief Services, says, “Many Syrians have given up hope of returning home any time soon. Countries such as Jordan and Lebanon that have opened their doors to Syrian and Iraqi refugees are simply out of resources. And many countries in Southern Europe are not prepared to meet the growing needs of those moving onward.”

Every person, every country needs to do a better job. Such a desperate time, the worst since the World War II era, demands this of us.

A lot more needs to be done. The United States will have to lead on several fronts.

First is trying to find an end to the civil war in Syria. For ending the war in Syria is crucial to bringing peace to the Mideast and defeating the Islamic State.

The United States Food for Peace program has to be increased, even doubled in size, to meet these hunger emergencies. It’s not just Syria. Wars in Iraq, Yemen, Ukraine, South Sudan, and Central African Republic have pushed countries near famine. The Food for Peace program is the single-largest donor to WFP, which leads the hunger relief in all these countries.

We cannot let these people starve. Peace cannot be won on empty stomachs. No political solution in Syria or anywhere else will succeed if people are malnourished and desperate. Hunger and chaos play into the hands of extremist groups.

One thing we do know is that we can respond to this crisis. We can elevate our response like we did during WWII and the Cold War era. We can have great leaders today who will rise to meet the challenge.

William Lambers is the author of Ending World Hunger and The Road to Peace. His writings have been published by the New York Times, Chicago Sun-Times, Huffington Post, Des Moines Register and many other news outlets.

This Is What Europe’s Last Major Refugee Crisis Looked Like

Springtime is laughter time for children, but there was no laughter for three-year-old Betti Malek when the Germans crashed through Belgium and took Antwerp in 1940. She was one of numerous child refugees brought from Belgium to England, and one of the million of children who suffered during the five-and-a-half years of war, May 17, 1945.
Betti Malek—pictured on May 17, 1945—was one of numerous child refugees brought from Belgium to England after the Germans seized Antwerp in 1940. AP Photo
GERMANY - JUNE 06: Post WWII German refugees and displaced persons crowding every square inch of a train leaving Berlin. 1945.
German refugees and displaced persons crowding every square inch of a train leaving Berlin after the war's end. 1945.Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images
Operation Overlord
On Aug. 10, 1944, a girl and her grandmother wait in a schoolyard in Saint-Pois, Normandy, France. Refugees fled to Saint-Pois to escape the fighting in Mortaine during the final battle for Normandy.Galerie Bilderwelt—Getty Images
A handful of survivors from the 150 refugees who left Lodz in Poland two months earlier headed for Berlin. They are following railway lines on the outskirts of Berlin in the hope of being picked up by a British train.
In 1945, a handful of survivors remain of the 150 refugees who left Lodz in Poland two months earlier, headed for Berlin. They follow railway lines in the hope of being picked up by a British train. Fred Ramage—Getty Images
Grim-faced refugees stand in a group on a street in La Gleize, Belgium on Jan. 2, 1945. They are waiting to be transported from the war-torn town after its recapture by American forces during the German thrust into the Belgium-Luxembourg salient.
Refugees in La Gleize, Belgium, on Jan. 2, 1945, wait to be transported from the war-torn town after its recapture by American forces during the German thrust into the Belgium-Luxembourg salient. Peter J. Carroll—AP Photo
20th March 1945: Refugees from across Central Europe queuing for food at an Allied Forces refugee camp in Germany after being displaced.
Refugees from across Central Europe queue for food at an Allied Forces refugee camp in Germany, on Mar. 20, 1945.Allan Jackson/Keystone—Getty Images
Stream of refugees and people who have been bombed out of their homes moving through destroyed streets - 1945after end of war; on the left two soviet soldiers patrolling).
A stream of refugees and people who have been bombed out of their homes moving through destroyed streets in Germany in 1945, after end of war. On the left, two Soviet soldiers can be seen patrolling.ullstein bild—Getty Images
Group of Dutch refugee children arriving at Coventry Station, Great Britain, 1945.
A group of Dutch refugee children arriving at Coventry Station in the U.K., in 1945.Ian Smith—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
25th October 1945: German refugees fleeing from the Russian zone in the first few weeks after the end of World War II in Europe. They are sleeping on straw in a makeshift transit camp at Uelzen in the British zone of Germany.
German refugees fleeing from the Russian zone in the first few weeks after the end of World War II in Europe, seen on Oct. 25, 1945. They are sleeping on straw in a makeshift transit camp at Uelzen in the British zone of Germany. Keystone—Getty Images
3rd March 1945: German refugees crowding the market square at Juchen, Germany, a town captured by the US Army at the end of the Second World War.
German refugees crowding the market square on Mar. 3, 1945, at Juchen, Germany, a town captured by the U.S. Army at the end of the Second World War. Fred Ramage/Keystone—Getty Images
Exhausted, homeless German refugees hudd
Exhausted, homeless German refugees huddled in a city municipal building seeking shelter. 1945.Leonard McCombe—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images
Dutch Child Refugees: Arrival In Britain At Tilbury, Essex, England, UK, 1945, A small Dutch boy smiles for the camera upon arrival at Tilbury in Essex. He is carrying a small paper parcel under his arm, which contains all his luggage. He, and the other children, (some of whom can be seen behind him) all have labels pinned to their coats which bear their names, home address and destination, 11 March 1945.
Dutch child refugees arrival In Britain at Tilbury, Essex, on Mar. 11, 1945. The small paper parcel under the boy's arm contains all his luggage. Ministry of Information Photo Division Photographer/IWM—Getty Images
Refugees from the East of the German Reich (German Empire) around 1944/1945.
Refugees from eastern Germany around 1944-1945. Berlin Verlag/Archiv/picture-alliance/dpa—AP Photo
German civilian refugees prepare to flee war-torn Aachen, Germany as the battle for the doomed city draws to a close, Oct. 24, 1944. The refugees have been living in air-raid shelters as the battle for the city rages on. The Americans have about 4,000 of these refugees on their hands, who are being taken to a camp in Belgium and temporarily housed in a large school.
German civilian refugees prepare to flee war-torn Aachen, Germany as the battle for the doomed city draws to a close, Oct. 24, 1944. Keystone—AP Photo
Women and children are standing at the roadside and are waiting for a transport possibility, in 1945.
Women and children standing at the roadside in 1945. dpa/picture-alliance/dpa—AP Photo
Swiss Jew Eva Bass, formerly a nightclub singer in Paris, entering refugee camp at Fort Ontario, with her children Yolanda and Joachim, whom she carried on a sixty-kilometer trek through the fighting lines to reach American transport ship Henry Gibbins. 1944.
Swiss Jew Eva Bass, formerly a nightclub singer in Paris, entering refugee camp at Fort Ontario, with her children Yolanda and Joachim, whom she carried on a 60-km trek through the fighting lines to reach the American transport ship Henry Gibbins. 1944.Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
German civilian refugees walking through the streets of Aachen, Germany, on their way to a safer area away from the combat zone, 15th October 1944.
German civilian refugees walking through the streets of Aachen, Germany, on their way to a safer area away from the combat zone, on Oct. 15, 1944.FPG/Hulton Archive—Getty Images
Civil Affairs Refugee Camp, France, 1944.
A Civil Affairs Refugee Camp in France, 1944.Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
War refugees walking through Berlin with their whole belongings on 15th December 1945.
War refugees walking through Berlin with their belongings on Dec. 15, 1945. dpa DANA/picture-alliance/dpa—AP Photo
Frenchwoman with two children and belongings loaded on a baby carriage seen in Haguenau, France on Feb. 20, 1945, before they started on their long trek to a safe rear area. They are some of the refugees leaving the town because of the planned withdrawal of the 7th U.S. Army. Many civilians prefer to leave their homes and seek safety in a rear area, rather than suffer another German occupation or risk being conscripted into the German Vollksturn.
A Frenchwoman with two children and belongings loaded on a baby carriage seen in Haguenau, France on Feb. 20, 1945, before they started on their long trek to a safe rear area. They are some of the refugees leaving the town because of the planned withdrawal of the 7th U.S. Army. AP Photo
An attendant with white brassard (front, r) accompanies newly arrived refugees, in January 1946, through the refugee camp in Bebra.
An attendant with white brassard (front, r) accompanies newly arrived refugees, in January 1946, through the refugee camp in Bebra, Germany.dpa/picture-alliance/dpa—AP Photo

More Must-Reads from TIME

Contact us at letters@time.com