My first BIG trip was leaving Hungary on December 2, 1956 at the behest of my parents to experience a better life. America was the final destination but that trip wasn’t to be for two years after that. For now I was in Austria, away from my family and enjoying myself experiencing all my new life had to show me.
It wasn’t until many years afterwards that I understood why they let me go by myself. First off, I wasn’t by myself. Discussions were held for many weeks before that actual date between my parents and my father’s best friend. I was not part of these but I can only imagine how many tears were shed. My father was 58 years old at the time, too old to start a new life and too young to be supported by his sisters in America. My brother, Peter, was only 11, too young for such a journey. My father’s friend had two children, both of whom were over 20, so it was decided that these two would accompany and watch over me during this trip. Earlier that summer I was busy working at my very first job and the money earned from that helped pay for my way to the northwest border of Austria and Hungary. Family friend, Irenke, arranged to have a truck transport the three of us to a prearranged meeting place, where we were to spend the night. During these difficult time, living under communism, one never knew whom to trust. People would literally turn their family members in for favors from the government. The people we stayed that night could have easily turned us in.
I was tired by the truck ride but thinking about the upcoming events kept me from falling asleep quickly. We were awakened in the middle of the night and, once assembled, I noticed that there were more than the three of us. Our hosts for the night were running an illegal people smuggling business, Words were spoken in hushed tones, terse instructions were passed from ear to ear. Then in almost total darkness we set out, hearts in our throats, trying to be as quiet as possible. Our leader was a local peasant, familiar with the terrain. Some time went by, when a little building came into view, There were lights inside and we were close enough to see a handful of soldiers inside, Then, without notice, outside lights came on and the inside lights were extinguished. We froze in our tracks and tried not to breathe. It seemed like eternity before the outside lights were turned off and the soldiers resumed their indoor activities. We resumed our trek in the dark and after a short time we came upon railroad tracks. Our guide told us to follow the tracks and we would eventually arrive at a railroad station in Austria. We heard stories of other refugees being in this position only to be turned over to soldiers. It was with great relief that I saw the name of the stop on a sign on the wall and it was written in German.
The rest of that day is lost in the neurons of my brain. Events were unfolding so fast that I couldn’t keep up. Suffice to say that before too long the Austrians transported us to Vienna, the capital of Austria, where shelter was provided for us in school buildings. One of my father’s friend’s daughter separated from us and ended up in Canada, while the other, Kalman, stayed with me. I can only imagine what might have happened to me without his influence.