Tragedy at The State Border

Abstract

People returning home from prison camps or after fleeing or being deported from their country was a common phenomenon for several years after World War II ended. Hundreds of thousands were wandering about all over Europe, seeking to find a new life or to reunite their families. The circumstances were made even more complex by redefined borders and the forced relocation of ethnic minorities that had started by then. Many people became personae non gratae in their homeland and the opportunity to get home legally was closed for them. The paper elaborates on similar, tragic stories that took place along the state borders of Hungary and presents the related activities of the Border Guard.