History/Political Science paper by Leech, Patrick
Üdvözöljük az Egyesült Államokban: A Hungarian Diaspora Response to the Hungarian Refugee Crisis, 1956-1957 (Accepted)
Type of Abstract (select): Paper presentationAbstract (max. 250 words):
This paper investigates the response of the Hungarian diaspora to efforts by the US government to transport, process, and resettle over 38,000 Hungarian refugees and parolees in the months immediately following the failed uprising by drawing upon a collection of Hungarian-language diaspora newspapers. The diaspora community would serve two critical functions during this process: translation and integration. These publications provide insights into the recruitment of Hungarian speakers, and the broader Hungarian diaspora, to participate in the processing, resettlement, and integration of newly arrived Hungarian refugees and parolees. As such, this paper reveals how local communities participated in national policy initiatives while also showing how US foreign policies affected domestic communities.
Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Patrick is a History PhD Candidate at Baylor University studying the global Cold War and its effects, particularly in Hungary and Eastern Europe. His dissertation focuses on the formation of political identities among Hungarian refugees in the United States following the 1956 Uprising. These individuals experienced life on both sides of the Iron Curtain and developed a variety of relationships within the Hungarian diaspora, with US policymakers, and with Hungary.