The Hungarian Refugee Crisis of 1956 and New Jersey

200,000 Hungarians fled their homeland after the Soviet Intervention of November 4, 1956 brought the country's quest for freedom to an end. Many identified the United States as their preferred new home due to plentiful job opportunities and Hungarian relatives already here. Central New Jersey played a key role in resettlement. The US government centered their reception at Camp Kilmer in Piscataway, and put New Brunswick-born Tracy Vorhees in charge. This presentation will examine the legacy of Voorhees and other New Jerseyans in the crisis: Hungarian volunteers at Camp Kilmer, a Rutgers student who interviewed a refugee and became a journalist, and a former freedom fighter who settled in New Brunswick and made his career at Rutgers. 

Jim Niessen is a librarian and historian at Rutgers. He initiated the project to digitize the records of the Hungarian Committee for Hungarian Refugee Relief that came to Rutgers with the papers of Tracy Voorhees, and has published many articles on the refugee crisis.