Via Sancti Martin

The first time the bridge received more attention was in 1947-1948, although understandably it is still not easy to face this in Hungarian history, because this was the time of the mass forced deportation of the German population in Hungary. Although a significant part of the German population of the time was transported to the West in an organised way, the atrocities and abuses that occurred in the process led to a significant number of people from the area fleeing the forced displacement across the bridge.

After a few years of quieter times for the bridge traffic, the events that have been followed with great international attention have led to the historical image of the bridge as it is today. The suppression of the 1956 revolution forced nearly 200 000 people to flee Hungary, or chose to do so in the hope of a better future. The already strong border police was weakened by the partial loss of the ÁVH forces or by the revolutionary events that diverted them from border guard duty. As a result, the road to the west was briefly opened, offering the population an escape route. According to some estimates, around 70 000 people crossed the Mosontarcsa bridge during this period. The Soviet leadership was of course informed of the event, and on 21 November 1956 Russian troops blew up the bridge. Although it was still possible to cross the remaining ruins of the bridge on foot, the remains of the bridge were destroyed after the establishment of strict border controls.

Source: Wikipédia