A Czechoslovak family's escape to Austria (188)

Cold War Conversations - "vivid & compelling" The NY Times

Ian Sanders

History, Documentary, Society & Culture

4.8 • 865 Ratings

🗓️ 16 July 2021

⏱️ 62 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

We continue Drea Hahn’s story with her family’s escape to Austria and the realities of being a refugee. In 1986, under the pretext of a “ski trip” to Yugoslavia Drea’s family escaped to Austria. We hear about the sadness of being unable to tell anyone they were leaving and how her relatives were summoned to the police station to be detained for questioning. They didn’t communicate with anyone at “home” until 1989 or 1990 because it was too dangerous. Once, in Austria, there was no certainty that that Drea’s family wouldn’t be handed back to Czechoslovakia as Austria was neutral and the government was keen to stay on good terms with their neighbours. Drea’s family were in Austria for about 2 years living in a single room with a shared bathroom. We hear from her about the challenges of life as a child refugee in rural Austria. In 1988 permission was granted to emigrate to the US and we hear of their elation when they arrive. Extra info, photos and videos are here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode188 If you are enjoying the podcast please leave a written review in Apple podcasts or share us on social media. By telling your friends you can really help us grow the number of listeners. Now I need help to continue to track down these unknown stories of the Cold war and ensure they are preserved. If you can spare it I’m asking listeners to pledge a small monthly amount per month to help keep us on the air (larger amounts are welcome too) plus you can get a sought after CWC coaster as a monthly financial supporter of the podcast and you bask in the warm glow of knowing you helping preserve Cold War history. Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ I am delighted to welcome Drea Hahn back to our Cold War conversation… If you can’t wait for next week’s episode, visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations on Facebook. 0:00 Introduction to Drea Hahn's family's escape from Czechoslovakia 1:27 Listener support and testimonials 8:08 Comparison of individual and family escapes from the Eastern Bloc 12:04 Access to STB files and the decision to escape 19:20 Planning and executing the escape to Austria 27:36 The tense border crossing and seeking asylum in Austria 33:07 Adjusting to life as refugees in Austria 41:28 Visit from grandparents and the Czechoslovakian government's persuasion program 45:48 Journey to America and initial days in the new country 51:03 The fall of the Berlin Wall and the Velvet Revolution: Impact and decisions 57:50 The role of Cold War Conversations podcast in uncovering personal histories Table of contents powered by PodcastAI✨ Support the project! https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/ColdWarPod Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/coldwarpod/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/coldwarconversations/ Youtube https://youtube.com/@ColdWarConversations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Cold War Conversations, the home of real stories of the Cold War.
0:05.9	Because even if you went to Austria and you presented yourself as a refugee, they could still send you back.
0:14.3	This is Cold War Conversations.
0:19.6	If you're new here, you've come to the right place to listen to first-hand
0:23.6	Cold War history accounts. Do make sure you follow us in your podcast app so that you don't miss out on
0:29.1	future episodes. We continue Drea Hahn's story with her families' escape to Austria and the
0:37.2	realities of being a refugee.
0:40.0	In 1986, under the pretext of a ski trip to Yugoslavia, Drea's family escaped to Austria.
0:47.5	We hear about the sadness of being unable to tell anyone they were leaving and how her relatives
0:52.5	were summoned to the police station to be detained for questioning.
0:56.0	Once in Austria there was no certainty that Drea's family wouldn't be handed back to Czechoslovak authorities
1:03.0	as Austria was neutral and their government was keen to stay on good terms with their neighbours.
1:09.0	Drea's family were in Austria for about two years, living in a single room with a shared bathroom.
1:15.6	We hear from her about the challenges of life as a child refugee in rural Austria.
1:21.6	However, in 1988, permission was granted to emigrate to the US, and we hear of their elation at this news.
1:32.8	Now I could really do with your help to continue to track down these unknown stories of the Cold War and ensure that they are preserved.
1:42.2	If you can spare it, I'm asking listeners to pledge a small
1:45.4	monthly amount per month to help keep us on the air, although larger amounts are welcome to.
1:51.4	Plus, you get the sought after Cold War Conversations drinks coaster as a monthly financial
1:56.5	supporter, and you bask in the warm glow of knowing that you are helping to preserve Cold War
2:02.3	history. But don't take my word for it.
2:05.3	This is Mary O'Grady of Albuquerque, New Mexico.
	...

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