The inscription at the quarters of the students from Sopron who fled to Canada
When, in the early morning of November 4, 1956, Prime Minister Imre Nagy’s radio address roused the Hungarian nation and announced the incursion of Soviet tanks, the world changed forever for the historic College of Forestry in the western Hungarian border town of Sopron (Western Hungary). What began in the chaotic hours of that autumn day as an improvised defense evolved into one of the most remarkable odysseys in the history of modern higher education: the collective exodus of a large portion of the faculty across the Atlantic to the Pacific coast of Canada.
In the morning hours of November 4, students in Sopron received orders to move out toward the road to Győr with the objective of “defending the city.” Upper-year forestry students were issued infantry weapons—hastily distributed from the stocks of border guard units—and stationed on the outskirts of the village of Kópháza.
When the vanguard of the Soviet armored forces arrived shortly before 4:00 p.m., a stroke of chance determined life or death: the artillery pieces that had been set up were missing their firing pins. No engagement took place; the “Battle of Kópháza” ended without bloodshed.
Exhibition poster concerning the days of the 1956 Revolution in Sopron. (Photo: Péter Rombai/University of Sopron)
However, the shock, the looming threat of reprisals, and the arrival of tanks in Sopron triggered a mass flight. Traveling on foot and by truck, the students made their way to the nearby Austrian border. Approximately 330 forestry students and around 50 professors—along with their families—made their way to the West.
This was not a planned operation, but rather driven by the hope that the great powers would liberate Hungary within weeks, allowing for an imminent return home.
The reality of a wintry Austria quickly brought a sobering realization. While students who had crossed the border armed were initially interned at the Siezenheim camp, the faculty members and the majority of the students were housed in the Salzkammergut region: the professors in Strobl, and the students at a holiday camp on the shores of Lake Wolfgang. There, they organized a youth group—which had been banned back home—and attempted to hold improvised lectures.
Photo: Péter Rombai/Sopron University
However, once the suppression of the revolution was definitively sealed, and with Austria—mindful of its neutrality—unable to offer a permanent exile, the head of the institution, Kálmán Roller, took the initiative. He sent appeals for help to governments in 20 countries, requesting that they accept the faculty as a complete unit until the students could earn their diplomas.
The boldest and most generous response came from Vancouver.
Spearheaded by Dr. Norman MacKenzie (President of the University of British Columbia, UBC), George Allen (Dean of the Faculty of Forestry), and various Canadian government ministers, Canada offered to take in the entire forestry education unit, cover travel expenses, and ensure that the students could complete their studies in Hungarian, leading to a recognized Canadian degree.
Following a reconnaissance trip, the majority of the students voted to take the risk of moving overseas.
The journey into the unknown became a true test of patience. While one group celebrated New Year’s Eve 1956 aboard the ocean liner *Empress of Britain*, the remaining contingent began their Atlantic crossing on the hopelessly outdated Greek freighter *Columbia*. Amidst raging January storms, waves crashed over the deck; the captain confessed to the seasick students that the ship had, in fact, already been sold to Canada as scrap.
Upon arrival on the East Coast, a railway strike blocked their onward journey, followed by a days-long trip aboard a special train across the North American continent in bone-chilling temperatures of minus 30 degrees. The windows were so heavily iced over that the students spent hours breathing on them to clear small peepholes, hoping to catch a glimpse of their new homeland. It was only after crossing the Rocky Mountains that the ice finally thawed—revealing the vast coniferous forests of British Columbia.
Students who fled from the University of Sopron, now in Canada (Photo: Péter Rombai/University of Sopron)
A stopover brought them to the industrial town of Powell River, on the coast of the Strait of Georgia. A residential complex belonging to the local paper mill offered the Hungarian refugees a real home for the first time in months. Here, they studied English intensively, faced off against local teams in soccer matches, and gained their first rigorous, hands-on experience in the Canadian forestry sector during the summer logging season.
In the autumn of 1957, the group established its base in Vancouver.
Operating as the “Faculty of Forestry, Sopron Division” at the University of British Columbia (UBC), the Hungarian group enjoyed a significant degree of academic autonomy.
The curriculum was adapted to the realities of the Canadian context—subjects such as Marxism-Leninism and Russian were replaced by practical disciplines like forest fire protection. Instruction and examinations followed the rigorous standards of the Hungarian academic tradition, right up to the very end of the graduating class in May 1961.
The graduation photo of the first cohort of forestry engineers from Sopron who completed their studies in Canada, 1958 (Photo: Péter Rombai/University of Sopron)
At the same time, the students preserved the customs of the historic Academy of Mining and Forestry in Schemnitz (Selmecbánya—today Banská Štiavnica, Slovakia). They held traditional professional social gatherings, organized silent marches along the university’s “Main Mall” to commemorate the events of 1956, and erected a carved wooden Szekler gate (*székelykapu*) as well as a memorial pillar (*kopjafa*) in front of the institute building.
Fact
Founded in 1735, the Royal Academy of Mining and Forestry in Schemnitz is considered one of the oldest technical universities in the world. Following the First World War and the collapse of the Habsburg Monarchy, the institution was forced to leave its historic home, which had become part of the newly established state of Czechoslovakia. In 1919, the professors and students relocated to Sopron, where the academy found a new home. To this day, the student spirit, songs, and long-standing traditions of Schemnitz continue to be upheld in this city in western Hungary.The outcome of the experiment dispelled all initial doubts:
The 141 engineers from Sopron who graduated in Vancouver integrated seamlessly and left a lasting mark on the Canadian forestry sector.
They rose to become chief foresters, vice presidents of major timber corporations, senior development engineers, and professors. They brought European precision to the vast forests of Western Canada, managing forest territories comparable in size to entire Central European nations.
An example of the traditional academic attire worn by students from Sopron—known as the “Walden”—adorned with a ribbon bearing the inscription “Sopron 1953 Vancouver 1959” (Photo: Péter Rombai/University of Sopron)
When, following the political transition in 1990, their Hungarian homeland officially welcomed its long-lost sons and daughters back into the fold of their *alma mater*—and recognized their Canadian degrees—a full circle was completed. To this day, a commemorative plaque at UBC aptly encapsulates this unique chapter of Hungarian-Canadian solidarity: it stands as a monument to an academic community that fled a dictatorship to preserve its profession—and went on to put down deep roots on the other side of the globe.
The fact that this legacy remains unforgotten, even seven decades later, is once again evident back in Hungary:
Letters, photographs, and personal belongings serve as reminders of the 1956 Revolution in Sopron, the sacrifices made for the sake of freedom, and the fate of the university students who were driven from their homeland.
Marking the 70th anniversary, a joint commemorative exhibition—organized by the University of Sopron, the city museum, and the municipal archives under the title “Sopron’s Bloodless Revolution: 1956–2026″—sheds light on the human dimension of this extraordinary chapter.
The cream of the European left is gathering in Budapest at Péter Magyar's invitation.Continue reading
A detailed historical account, titled “A Sopron Divízió Kanadában,” was authored by Prof. Dr. Antal Kozák, in the first volume of the commemorative publication “Az erdészeti felsőoktatás 200 éve” (200 Years of Higher Education in Forestry), published by the Faculty of Forestry at the University of Sopron in 2008.
Featured image: Péter Rombai/University of Sopron
The post How 1956 Activist Forestry Students from Sopron Put Down New Roots in Canada appeared first on Hungary Today.