ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that traditional argument; in some ways, Austrian statesmen indeed failed to keep their neutral policy unblemished. It covers in detail three ways in which the crisis “overflowed” onto Austrian territory in disagreeable ways. Positive aspects aside, however, the Hungarian crisis presented Austria with at least three tangible difficulties or negative forms of spillover. In the heat of the crisis, the Raab administration had to refrain from showing any kind of political support for the Hungarian refugees or for exiled Hungarian movements. The sharp deterioration in Austria’s relations with both Hungary and the Soviet Union constituted a third form of negative spillover from the crisis. Border incidents were a source of constant irritation, beginning in the summer months of 1956 and continuing well past the Hungarian Revolution. When Oskar Helmer had promised asylum for all Hungarian refugees, regardless of the reason why they left, he did not intend to invite in spies.
