Operation Safe Haven: The Hungarian Refugee Crisis of 1956-1958 (Lunch & Learn)

Abilene, Kan. - The public is invited to the next Waging Peace Lunch & Learn program on Thursday, February 22, at 12 p.m. noon central time at the Eisenhower Presidential Library. The hybrid program will be held in the Library building indoor courtyard and online via YouTube Livestream. Guests are encouraged to arrive by 11:45 a.m. A light box-lunch will be provided on a first come, first served basis.

Guest speaker, Dr. Kate Hallgren, will join us virtually for this discussion titled "Operation Safe Haven." In November 1956, a failed revolt in Hungary against Communism spurred the greatest refugee crisis in Europe since the end of World War II. President Dwight D. Eisenhower and his administration, including the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), responded swiftly. Through the hard work of the INS and the State Department, over 30,000 refugees resettled in the United States over an eight-month period. The success of “Operation Safe Haven” set a precedent the U.S. could follow in future efforts to evacuate and resettle refugees in the United States.

Dr. Hallgren is a historian in the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services History Office and Library. Before joining the agency in 2019, she earned her Ph.D. in U.S. History from the City University of New York and worked as a consultant on history projects for clients including the National Institutes of Health, University of Delaware, and the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs. 

The 2024 Waging Peace program series is made possible courtesy of the Eisenhower Foundation with generous support from the Jeffcoat Memorial Foundation.