2022/2023
Collection 18

The Great Escape

1968; Budapest, Hungary

Back in 1968, eastern Europe was mostly full of Communist(1) countries, including Hungary, where twelve-year-old George lived with his family. Over the years, George had been living just like any other boy, attending school and socializing with friends.

But what nobody knew — not even his own parents — was that for months George and his two friends Laci (LOT-see) and Bela (BAY-luh) had been saving up money and planning their escape. Finally, after months of preparation, it was time for them to leave.

After gathering the money they had collected, George and his two friends bought food and two large rubber blow-up rafts. With only those things and their clothes, they set out on their journey.

They hiked miles through the dark, dirty, sticky woods to the main road. They then traveled more than a thousand miles by train and bus. Finally, they hitchhiked to the coast, inflatable boats in tow.

The only way to inflate the two huge rafts was to blow air into them manually. Winded and exhausted, they hauled the boats into the Adriatic Sea and climbed in.

With George and Bela in one boat and Laci and the luggage in the other, they set off with only a rope to keep the two boats together. The unsettled waters quickly turned violent. Through the waves, George and Bela couldn’t keep track of Laci. All three boys were worried that the rope wouldn’t be able to hold, and they were exactly right. The rope tore in half, and the two boats quickly drifted away from each other.

After a while, George and Bela washed up on the shore of Italy. Feeling tired, miserable, and unsure of where Laci could be — or if he was even alive — they instantly fell asleep on the sand.

A bit later, George woke up to Bela pacing back and forth. High above them was the main road, but to get up there, the two boys had to climb up and over the bluffs. Finally, after many failed attempts and bruises, they managed to make it up.

After finding a bank to exchange their foreign money for Italian currency, they hitched a ride to the police station for permission to stay in the refugee camp. The most incredible thing happened next. When George and Bela arrived at the refugee camp, their long-lost friend, Laci, was also there! They were all elated and in disbelief.

The following two days they spent in quarantine, in case they had any foreign diseases. Next they were interrogated for six whole weeks. Finally, after all of the protocols were complete, they stayed six months in the refugee camp before taking a plane all the way to New York, to Cleveland, then to St. Louis, where they all started a new life.

Isaiah Schiff, grandson of George; Missouri, USA

Afterword: When George reached the United States, he stayed with an uncle until he was able to become financially stable. He also contacted his parents after he arrived — he had needed to keep his plans secret before he left Hungary due to the restrictive Communist rule. After it was politically safe for George’s parents to travel, they visited him in the United States.

1. A Communist is someone who believes in Communism, in which farms and businesses — and many other things — are controlled by the government rather than by individuals.

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