Extracted text

OCR Page 1 of 8
REFUGEES S.TRUMAN ARCHIVES "NATIONAL SERVICE** RECORDS AND The flow of Hungarian refugees into Austria which began in early November 1956 was reduced to a trickle by late January 1957 when the controls on the Austro-Hungarian border were con- siderably tightened. By November 1, 1957, 178,897 Hungarian refugees had entered Austria. The League of Red Cross Sovieties continued to administer to the care of the refugees in the camps until September 30, 1957, when responsibility for their care was turned over to the Austrian Red Cross. The emigration and resettlement of the refugees out of Austria which was gaining momentum at the beginning of the year proceeded at an encouraging rate under the direction of the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration assisted by the United States Escapee Program and the voluntary agencies. By October 31, 1957 a total of 152,605 refugees had been assisted to leave Austria, 76,163 to countries of permanent resettlement overseas and 76,442 to temporary or permanent asylum in other European countries. On that date some 20,139 remained in Austria awaiting resettlement. Approximately 6,000 refugees returned to Hungary during the course of the year. The movement out of Austria slowed down appreciably by mid August to no more than 1,000 monthly and it was anticipated that more than 18,000 Hungarian refugees would remain in Austria by the end of the year.

Relations