The fall of the Berlin wall and the reunification of Germany would not have happened without the courage and the political wisdom of Hungary – said former State Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany Jürgen Sudhoff at a podium discussion in Budapest on Monday.

The forum, organized on the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Hungary and the Federal Republic of Germany at the Andrássy Gyula German-Speaking University, was attended by three former Hungarian foreign ministers. Looking back on the history of bilateral relations, Géza Jeszenszky, László Kovács and Péter Balázs emphasized that German-Hungarian ties were already of outstanding importance before the political transformation in 1989-90.

Speaking about the events of 1989-90 in Central Europe, Jürgen Sudhoff said: “Back then we would not have thought that all this was going to happen, we thought that communist regimes and the division of Europe were cemented. We would not have thought that we would experience what we did, that we would have influence over the events”. In addition to Hungary, the former State Secretary also highlighted the role of Poland and of the Solidarity leader - later Polish President - Lech Walesa, as well as former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. He emphasized that after 1956 Germany always looked with great warmth upon Hungary.

At the discussion moderated by Gergely Prőhle, the Deputy State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, former Hungarian Foreign Minister Géza Jeszenszky also pointed out: “In 1989 we would not have thought that we would live to see the end of communism”. He alluded to the fact that Germany played a significant role in facilitating the changes in Hungary.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs)