Canada

Do you ever wonder how many people actually managed to escape from communist Czechoslovakia? Was it 10,000 people? Or 100, 000? Or a million???? The first immigration wave came after the unexpected communist coup in February 1948. The borders were partially opened for a couple of years and a lot of desperate (and also smart) people took advantage of it. There are no specific data about how many people actually escaped  but it is guessed that during the period of 1948 to 1968  approximately 60,000 Czechs and Slovaks left. Most of these fugitives targeted those Western countries closest to their former home – countries like Germany (Bavaria) or Austria. What most people don’t know however is that Austria wasn’t as safe as it seemed. It actually had a lot of Russian soldiers on duty who would end up capturing some of these pure souls and deporting them to Russia or back to Czechoslovakia (if they were lucky). Many Czechs also ended up in Western Berlin – the Berlin Wall wasn’t built yet (it was finished in 1961) and the entrance route to the city was quite easy. Of course, there was the last option – the option of the  “Never-ending vacation”. If you were “lucky” enough to to be out of the country during the communist coup, you just stayed where you were, nervously clutching your one toothbrush you had, and you were safe… but neither your wife nor your kids or your parents were.. [click to continue…]