Balint grew up in Hungary right next to the border with Austria. Part of his family escaped in 1956 and went to Australia. Balint’s grandfather survived 4 years in a Gulag camp.

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Back to today episode, Balint’s home village was a hot spot for escapes being so close to the border. The locals knew the area well and helped many people across for money. He tells that his Dad used to play right next to the fence with his friends often messing with the border guards. They could see tractors in the Austrian side working the fields. One quick note before we start, Balint now lives in Ireland, hence the Irish accent you will hear in the recording.

We welcome Balint to our Cold War conversation…

 We have further photos and information in our show notes which are at https://coldwarconversations.com/episode85 or will show as a link in some podcast apps. 

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