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Escapes from Behind the Iron Curtain

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Escapes from Behind the Iron Curtain

By: Zoltan Bartok
Narrated by: Troy Cunningham
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About this listen

The author was accused of sabotage on the 10th anniversary of the 1956 revolution. He was 17 years old. He tried to escape through the Hungarian-Yugoslav border with one of his classmates. Caught by border patrol, he was jailed and treated very badly. He barely survived the month-long ordeal. Stamped as an enemy of the state, he was taken to a labor camp at age 19. He had to do forced labor instead of regular military service. Against all odds, he was able to break free from the communist bloc at age 23. Of course, given the brainwashing his generation was subjected to, when he reached the Italian shore, swimming from Yugoslavia during a night in August of 1973, his quest for freedom was just beginning.

After spending six months in Italy, he was admitted to the US as a political refuge. In 1976, after the Communist governments signed the Human Rights Declaration at the 1975 Helsinki Conference, he believed that the amnesty the Hungarian government issued was credible and returned to his homeland. How he managed to free himself again, and survive the torture he had to endure when captured on the Yugoslav-Italian border in the fall of 1977, is also described in Escapes from Behind the Iron Curtain.

©2009 Zoltan Bartok (P)2016 Zoltan Bartok Adventurers, Explorers & Survival Politicians Politics & Activism Italy Government
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I found Zoltan’s tale interesting but it wasn’t quite what I was expecting. It’s more about Zoltan’s life and reasons for wanting to escape rather than the actual escapes I think.
It was read well, but felt a bit bullet-pointed; I can’t say is that was the writing style or the narrator.
This is my honest opinion of a free review copy.

Interesting biography

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The story was good, however the narrator's pronunciation of the Hungarian language was utterly appalling may I suggest that in future, a narrator who wants to read a story for others prepare thoroughly, study the script and find out how to pronounce Hungarian words, towns, counties and city names as otherwise looking at maps one can hardly find out what areas the characters come from the areas they were employed in and follow their adventures and journeys.

Escapes from Bhind the Iron Curtain

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