Rotary Club Radio was honored to sit down with Peter Vodenka and hear his story. As you’ll hear in my interview with him, he risked everything for freedom. He and his wife and their 2 children gave up everything they knew to escape from Communism in Czechoslovakia. Listen to his amazing story!
Rotary Club Radio Episode 032
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Length: 54 min.
Featured Segment
In today’s featured segment, I sit down with Peter Vodenka. In June of 1983, Peter, his wife, their 4-year-old daughter, and two-year-old son defected from behind the Iron Curtain of Communist Czechoslovakia. In the middle of a cold, rainy night, they ran for our lives across the border from Communist Yugoslavia to western Austria while being chased by guards with automatic weapons.
They had spent ten years planning their escape. They could tell no-one, not even their families of their plan and they left them and everything they owned behind. This was the only way to protect them from the wrath of their government, which they knew would come if we were successful. If captured, Peter and his wife would have faced an automatic 10-year sentence in a hard-labor prison camp with the most dangerous criminals. Their children would have been taken and raised in government-run institutions. They would have been labeled as political criminals and would never have seen their children again.
- How did Peter and his family escape?
- What was it really like to live in a communist country?
- How did they get to America?
- Did they ever see their family again?
- Was freedom really worth the risk?
Listen to the interview to find out! Peter is an amazing storyteller, author, and speaker. He is available to speak at your next event and his book is available on his website.
Links
Thank you for listening to this podcast; please leave feedback!
Right Click Here To Download This Episode
Rotary Club Radio is a unique online community and we encourage you to become part of it. Looking for ways to get connected? Leave us a comment, become a fan on Facebook, or leave us feedback on the Rotary Club Radio Feedback Hotline at 715-942-7367 – again that is 715-942-7367.
Contact Rotary Club Radio
To contact the host of this program with questions, show ideas, or any other reason, email him at: kirk@rotaryclubradio.com. Rotary Club Radio is produced with the support of Rotary District 5960 and Rotary International.
Copyright 2012
Recent Comments