Marianne
Balshone
Holocaust Survivor
~ Lecturer ~
Marianne Balshone (left) as a young girl in
Hungary
| Examine carefully the eyes of the
child in the photograph left. She is Marianne Balshone. Can you
visualize this child as a young bride, disdaining the obligatory
yellow star, carrying a basket of food bought with gold, under
strafing and artillery fire, making her way through the streets of
Budapest? On her person are two sets of papers, Jewish papers that
should send her to an extermination camp, and forged ones which
unquestionably could have her shot on the spot.
Born Budapest Hungary, Marianne Balshone survived the holocaust in Budapest on account of the efforts of Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish diplomat who came to Budapest with the sole purpose of saving Hungarian Jews. Three generations of her family survived on account of his heroic efforts, which in itself is a miracle. |
| The book "Determined" by Benjamin Balshone tells the true story of her and her families survival in war-ravaged Hungary. Since publication of the book, she has become a speaker about the Hungarian experience and it is her mission to talk to schools, universities, colleges, Kiwanis and Rotary clubs, churches, synagogues or any organization interested in the story of Jewish life in Hungary. She lectured has extensively in the United States including Florida Atlantic University, Texas Lutheran University, Upper Canada College, Brooklyn College, throughout the southern Florida school system, and was interviewed on hundreds of radio and television talk shows. |
Raoul Wallenberg, Swedish diplomat who saved the lives of thousands of Hungarian Jews, including Marianne Balshone
| In her lectures, Marianne Balshone recounts her stirring story: a privileged youth in Hungary, survival during the holocaust, and her emigration to the United States. She also talks about her hero Raoul Wallenberg and educates about hatred, prejudice, tolerance and the necessity of hope. |
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