There was some disruption on the border

The Pan-European Picnic was a peace demonstration at the Austrian-Hungarian border near Sopron on 19 August 1989. This is an important antecedent was cutting through the iron curtain, Germany unification. This picnic was a big protest against the Socialist government, which was called the Pan-European Picnic. While this was happening more than 700 people who lived in East Germany (which was Socialist) escaped to the West. The international press conference that took place before the picnic was prolonged due to the huge public interest, therefore, László Nagy got to the border only by quarter to four instead of three o'clock. "I learnt about the breakthrough on arriving to the border by car. There were no mobile phones around back then, you know. It struck me as unusual that the closest I could get to the border gate was 100 metres. I just couldn't figure out what the reason was. There was such a big crowd! It was crazy! I got out of the car to see what was going on. And I still dont't get it to this very day, I only sort of have been starting to understand it recently. For the sole function of that gate was to let the Austrians from Margitbánya, Rust and Meggyes enter and head for the picnic through the field. Therefore, there weren't supposed to be any people there […] And then a dear acquintance of mine from Kismarton came towards me saying "some fantastic things are happenning here! Crowds of East Germans cross the border by the hundreds!" And then I said, East Germans! Oh, no!'. And then it sank in that they can prosecute us for whatever they please. I was also aware that for assisting illegal border crossing you can get sentenced to 2-5 years of imprisonment. […] We couldn't cross over. […] The mayor of Margitbánya received a phonecall that there was some disruption on the border. And he drove there in no time.and he arranged for the East Germans to be put up for the night. They should be allowed to take a shower, to make phonecalls back home and be given food and drink. He will foot the bill. They were paid reimbursement for seven hundred-and-sixty people. My guess is that they must have been over one thousand, as quite a few of the refugees didn't even go to Margitbánya. Moreover, being afraid of the soldiers, many of them didn't cross through the border gates but a kilometre further to the left or the right, through the Iron Curtain, that is. In my view, there may have been about one or one and a half thousand refugees.