The Biggest Hole in the Iron Curtain

Batizy Levente

Description

The Batizy family was Eastern European nobility during the thirteenth to twentieth centuries and continued to lead comfortable lives even as the importance of aristocracy faded. Then, the unimaginable happened. These centuries of happy, committed citizenship would all seemingly fade away in an instant as communism took over. Driven from their home after the 1956 Hungarian revolution against communist rule failed, the Batizys found themselves starting over, seeking and creating a new dream: the American dream. "The Biggest Hole in the Iron Curtain: The Batizy Story" is Levente Batizy's sweeping yet intimate immigration story. Starting with the story of the Batizy patriarch, the architect of the family's great escape, and following the sacrifices that the Batizy's mother and stepmother made during the resettlement. "The Biggest Hole in the Iron Curtain" also includes recollections from Batizy and his thirteen siblings following the fiftieth anniversary of the revolt.

Sujets

• Histoire
• Austria
• Hungary
• History
• Europe

Informations

• Publié par: Outskirts Press
• Date de parution: 09 juillet 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781977215338
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 6 Mo

Extrait

The Biggest Hole in the Iron Curtain The Batizy Story All Rights Reserved. Copyright © 2019 Levente Batizy v5.0
The opinions expressed in this manuscript are solely the opinions of the author and do not represent the opinions or thoughts of the publisher. The author has represented and warranted full ownership and/or legal right to publish all the materials in this book.
This book may not be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in whole or in part by any means, including graphic, electronic, or mechanical without the express written consent of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Outskirts Press, Inc. http://www.outskirtspress.com
ISBN: 978-1-9772-1533-8
Library of Congress Control Number: 2019901399
Cover Photo © 2019 Levente Batizy. All rights reserved - used with permission.
Outskirts Press and the "OP" logo are trademarks belonging to Outskirts Press, Inc.
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Table of Contents
Preface
Introduction
The Batizy Story, offered by Levente Batizy
In the beginning: The Year 1241
A Celebration: Hungary’s Freedom!
Julia, an important name in my life
Mrs. Julia (Jutkanéni)
Julianna, my daughter
My Dream: Celebrate Hungary’s Freedom
Patsy Angel
The Dream Trip Begins
Hungary, October 1956
That Fateful Day: October 23, 1956
My Father’s Role
Escape Opportunity Closing Quickly
Austria
We are headed to the United States of America!
Fall 1961: The start of my high school career
Spring 1963
Family Moves
Medical school or U.S. Army?
The Reunion
My Medical Profession Begins
Family changes
Botond’s Eulogy to Apu (father)
The Story Continues
Tünde
Csaba (offered by Levente)
Gyöngyvér (Gwen)
Gábor (as told by Botond)
Csilla
Botond
Zsolt
Arpád
Hungary
America
Swimming
North Chicago, Illinois, 1965 (actually, Downey, Illinois: VA Psychiatric Hospital)
Nashville, Tennessee, Autumn 1965
San Antonio, Texas, February 1966
Akron, Ohio, July 1966
1969 - College years
Summer 1971
Budapest (aka Medical University), 1971
Strange world, strange people, strange language. Different culture.
The Dreams
Dream #1
Dream #2
Dream #3
The rest is history
Szabolcs
Csanád
Tass
Lehel
Hajna
The Challenge
Dedication
Preface
by Levente Batizy

THROUGH THE YEARS, I have repeated the story of my family’s great escape from communist Hungary to a number of audiences in schools, churches, and family get-togethers. After each occasion, l was encouraged to write a book to share this incredible story with others. With each passing decade, I am reminded by my wife and kids that the story will fade away if I don’t take time to put pen to paper.
With refugees fleeing their worn-torn countries, we are constantly reminded of the risk and benefits that refugees pose to the host nation. As our family escaped war-torn Hungary and the oppression of communism in 1956, the western nations were sympathetic to our plight. However, the members of the U.S. Congress and the American people feared that, with the influx of the Hungarian refugees, Communist infiltrators would threaten their homeland.
Of the two 200,000 Hungarian refugees who escaped during the aftermath of the 1956 Hungarian revolution against the occupying Russian forces, the U.S. accepted only 25,000. My family defied the odds and was given chance at achieving the American dream. This is their story the story that has been named "The Biggest Hole in the Iron Curtain."
Introduction
GUSZTÁV AND JULIANNA arrived in the U.S. without a penny, but with eleven children and a dream. Only a "Mad Hungarian" would go through with such an insane endeavor. This book chronicles the 1956 Hungarian revolt, our daring escape, our capture at the border, and our final escape to Austria. It follows the family from refugee camp to refugee camp and the beginning of a long road of assimilation to the American way of life.
The reader is given a glimpse into the Batizy family as they move from poverty to financial independence and from the East Coast to the Midwest, the Deep South and, finally, to northeast Ohio. Each member of the family reveals his or her struggles as they find their place in the blended family, their new country, and their new way of life.
As refugees, the Batizy family learned to assimilate. We became a classic story of the American dream. Lessons for the future generation of Batizys, and anyone else who enjoys reading this book, are simple: With hard work and a never-give-up attitude, anyone can overcome adversity and achieve the American dream.
The Batizy Story, offered by Levente Batizy
In the beginning: The Year 1241
Being named a family of nobility a true honor giving us an elite birthright meant wealth, education, and opportunity for the entire family for many lifetimes.
Or so it seemed.
IT WAS A decisive victory that spring day in 1241. The Mongols viewed Hungary as a rival, and caught the country in the midst of political turmoil. At the Battle of Mohi (now Muhi) on April 11, 1241, the Mongols defeated the Hungarians, leaving the area in ruins. The Mongols suffered heavy casualties; however, the Hungarians lost almost their entire force.
But one man among many the son of Márkus and Batizfalvi, named Batyz fought heroically during the battle. As a reward for his service, Hungarian King Béla IV gave a territory of land to him and to the entire Batyz family, thus establishing the village of Batiz in northeast Hungary. He gave to Batyz the title of Baron, a true title of nobility. The honor was not only for him, but also for all in the Batyz family. Later, in the 1700s, King Francis II Rákóczi strengthened the family’s title of nobility.
Through the decades, the Batizy family (formerly Batyz, Batiz, Batizi) has been recognized as a strong, creative, educated people. In fact, in the 1500s, András Batizi served as a preacher and composer of religious songs, as well as a teacher in northern Hungary. In 1540, he studied at the University of Wittenberg, later accepting a position as Lutheran minister in Tokaj. Fifteen of his songs, composed between 1530 and 1546, still survive and are sung in churches. András also authored biblical stories and is regarded as a pioneer among the psalm writers of the Hungarian Reformation.
Unfortunately, when communism came into power in Hungary after World War II, anyone with a Hungarian title of nobility, or who was wealthy, automatically was blacklisted by the Soviets. Thus, the events of 1241 had a huge impact on the Batizy family, as the story below will show.

THE FAMILY MATRIARCH, TÜNDE, SURROUNDED BY HER SON AND DAUGHTER-IN-LAW NICOLE, VISITING THE ORIGINAL BATIZFALVI CHURCH BUILT BY MARKUSFALVI MARK’S SON BATYZ 1265.
A Celebration: Hungary’s Freedom!
Let me introduce myself. I am Levente Batizy, one of eleven Batizy children who escaped Hungary with our parents during the Soviet occupation of our country in 1956. This is my family’s story, an accounting of a powerful and emotional time for me and for all of us.
I want to start by jumping ahead fifty years, to a beautiful, fall morning in 2006. The leaves already are turning and the colors are picturesque some yellow, some orange, and, yes, even some red. The crisp air and the changing colors remind me of a perfect, picture postcard. In this case, it is of Sagamore Hills, Ohio.

THE AUTHOR: DR.LEVENTE BATIZY, 5TH OLDEST OF THE BATIZY "CHILDREN"
It is hard to believe that another year has passed. It seems just yesterday that we had our last family reunion, an event that has been our effort to hold the family together since the death of Julianna (Jutkanéni), my stepmother.
Julia, an important name in my life
Julia. This is a name that has been part of my life forever. First, there was my mother Julianna Kristóf, a soft-spoken, petite woman with beautiful blue eyes; flawless, pure white skin, and a smile that befriended all who met her. She was born in Gödöll , Hungary, a small farming community near Budapest, Hungary. The younger of two children, she was married at age sixteen to a man much older than her in order to escape the family’s poverty. Their son died in infancy. She never talked of the marriage that produced that son, but she visited the infant’s grave in Gödöll until well into her eighties.
Soon after the infant’s death, that marriage ended in a divorce. It was then that she elected to return to school. Her family could not afford to pay for her tuition, but she had excelled in school through the mandatory first eight grades. Because of this, she was offered free tuition in exchange for tutoring other students. She continued to excel in school and was accepted to a prestigious medical school the school at which she met my father, Dr. Gusztáv Batizy. My mother Julianna was forced to drop out of medical school after marrying my father and becoming pregnant several times as a medical student.
What a contrast to her past life! My father was a member of the Marcus and Batizfalvi Batizy family, a family of wealth, aristocracy, and nobility. An only child, Gusztáv was worshiped and doted on by his mother, my grandmother Valeria (Valika) Batizy. His father, my grandfather, was chief counsel for the Budapest Police Department. Gusztáv was only fourteen years old when my grandfather died, yet he later paid dearly for his elite birthright.

DR GUSZTÁV BATIZY AND VALÉRIA GUBEC (VALIKA): OUR GRANDFATHER AND GRANDMOTHER (1889-1933) (1896-1965)
M RS . J ULIA (J UTKANÉNI )

JULIANNA POLGÁR
The second Julia in my life was Julianna Polgár, my father’s second wife. I called her Jutkanéni. Her life was a classic story of survival. She was born into a Hungarian family in a region that now is part of Slovakia. During the latter years of World War II, this young, single mother moved to Budapest to find work. It is there that she met my father, who, at the time, was the father of five. To my