I was ten years old in 1956 and living in Bremerhaven, Germany, where my dad, a U.S. Army chief warrant officer and bandleader, was stationed, when hundreds-- perhaps thousands-- of Hungarians converged on our town carrying their entire possessions and holding onto their young children. The Hungarians were fleeing from an uprising, known as the Hungarian Revolution, protesting the policies of the Soviet government.
Besides their possessions, these refugees were carrying something else: a new strain of flu, which came to be known as the Hungarian flu. They had walked hundreds of miles to our town because it was a large port, and they could board ships to get to other continents, such as the U.S.
Because many of these refugees had the Hungarian flu, Bremerhaven -- which was occupied by the U.S. and its western European allies under an agreement with the Soviet government after WWII and still in effect -- immediately enforced a quarantine for three weeks. I don't remember whether we could go outside -- I used to bicycle everywhere on the cobblestoned streets and see if I could weave between Army tanks as conveys drove along the roads -- but I do remember that my parents were worried and had probably stockpiled food from the PX, or military post exchange. I don't remember where the refugees were housed ....it was cold by the North Sea and I do remember they all wore thick, heavy coats three weeks. After the quarantine lifted, we departed for the U.S.
In these times, I think of those Hungarians suffering from a strange flu and having no home or possessions, like the millions of migrants escaping their homelands today. At least most of us have homes. We still have a country, and we still have some reasonable, responsible people in government, perhaps not at the White House, but elsewhere. We are not under martial law...yet. We have possessions and food and most of us have the technology to stay connected. It could be much worse.
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