From Refugee to Consul

"Pre-Publication Reviews for From Refugee to Consul: An American Adventure

“At this time in history when there’s acrimonious public debate regarding our nation’s immigration and refugee policies, this book is a godsend. It is a compelling, heartwarming story of one family sacrificing everything to escape Communist rule. It is highly personal. As you read, you gain an understanding of what it was like to leave one’s home and family to go to a foreign nation in search of freedom. Helen Szablya is one of those remarkable immigrants who arrived with nothing, but through hard work and determination, she became a remarkably successful businesswoman, Honorary Consul for Hungary and President of Washington state’s consular corps. This is a must reading for everybody who cares about these issues.”  

Sam Reed, Secretary of State, Washington 2001-2013

Helen Szablya doesn’t just tell us how a refugee became the first woman honorary consul general to the U.S. from Hungary—she lets us feel her giddy exuberance arriving in a new land as a young wife and mother, and her intensity facing its challenges. Szablya has a gift for whirling us through fascinating details without letting us get sidetracked from her “pursuit of freedom.”

Sheilah Kast, journalist, broadcaster, author Host, On the Record – WYPR 88.1 FM – Baltimore’s NPR Station

"Just how do you become a Consul of the same country from which you escaped? Curious? Read Helen M. Szablya's book ""Refugee to Consul: an American adventure."" It is a wonderful book that takes us on an incredible life journey. If you want to get something done, call on Helen. The little Central European country of Hungary learned that early on. As Secretary of State I was on Bruce Chapman's ""Friends of the Hungarian Consulate"" Committee he established to accomplish Helen's goal: she was appointed as Honorary Consul General of Hungary for WA, OR and ID, and she made things happen! Her list of accomplishments makes me proud because we worked together on so many issues. With Helen's leadership, Hungary’s voice was loudly heard on the American West Coast. I shall forever be indebted to her for her leadership. "

Ralph Munro, Secretary of State, Washington 1981 – 2001

Since Joseph Pulitzer, through Theodore von Kármán to George Széll and others, Hungarian expatriates in America have contributed mightily to the economy, culture, and safety of their adopted country. Less well known, but also significant were the contributions of John and Helen Mary Szablya, refugees from Communist Hungary of 1956, after the brutal suppression of the popular uprising that year. Helen Szablya’s new memoir, From Refugee to Consul: an American Adventure, while a sequel to her colorful description of life under Nazi and Communist tyranny (My Only Choice) presents us with ample evidence that this highly talented couple belongs to the ranks of most influential Hungarian émigrés in America.

First of all this is a love song from Helen to her late husband John. John is present everywhere, including the pages on which he is not mentioned, as a teacher, a professional, a family man, a lover, a supporter.  

Next, Helen’s pride in her widespread and diverse family. Hers was a family that embraced diversity long before it became popular in our society.  

The expression of the author’s deep and abiding faith is on par with the two themes already mentioned. John and Helen retained their allegiance to the Roman Catholic Church; they firmly believed that their good fortune was the product of divine grace.

Over the last twenty years, Helen’s professional life and considerable part of John’s life revolved around assisting the reawakened Hungarian Republic. They fostered cultural exchanges and through Helen’s career as Honorary Consul General they became major supporters of American-Hungarian relations.  

It gave me great pleasure to read this book of recollections by one of our prominent compatriots.   

Derick P. Pasternak, MD, MBA. Colonel, retired, US Army

International health.care consultant

Chair, Peacebuilding Committee, Rotary Club of Ballard (Seattle)

Hungarian refugee of 1956.

In October, 1956, the people of Hungary rose up against the Soviet empire. By the invasion of the Soviet Army on November 4, 1956, the majority of us students from the Sopron University eagerly joined the revolution, but the inevitable subsequent defeat left almost all of us with a dilemma. Should we stay at home and await the reprisals, or set out into the wide world? 

This was the time when Canada opened its doors to one of the largest refugee migrations in its history and where we eventually established the Sopron Division at UBC in Vancouver, British Columbia.

You’re about to read a classic book about János Szablya, a graduate of the Technical University of Budapest who joined the Sopron Group, and became an associate professor of the Sopron Division at UBC.

His wife Helen wrote this magnificent documentation about their life and family in their adopted country of Canada.

Reading this book opened up stories in me about us Soproners that I’ve never heard before and for this I am forever grateful.

Kocsis Tibor, BSF ‘61 

University of British Columbia

Sopron Forestry Division 

Sopron Alumni Association Coordinator

Holder of the Silver Cross of Merit of Hungary

Can you imagine losing everything you own, having to leave your home and loved ones behind with just the shirt on your back and your young children in your arms? Having to start a new life in a strange land thousands of miles away? For many people who are fortunate enough that their country or generation have never experienced occupation, oppression or war first-hand, World War II, Communism, Fascism, revolutions and emigration are merely abstract concepts and they have no idea how those events affected people who lived through them. We are grateful to masterful storytellers like Helen Szablya who put a human face on these historic events and make them relatable through their personal stories, losses and lessons, trials and triumphs. Against many odds the Szablyas thrived and managed to raise a wonderful family, build a successful business and meaningful career in their new home, while still staying devoted to their original homeland. To top it off, Helen is one of the most optimistic, cheerful and positive people I know….a great role model for anyone facing hardships. 

Katalin Pearman, Honorary Consul of Hungary for WA and ID, in Seattle.

Helen Szablya did not get a consulate for Hungary established in Seattle all by herself, but she unquestionably was the inspiring and guiding force that made it happen. I had the honor of serving on the staff of the Blue Ribbon Commission that helped Hungary make the transition from the East back to the West in the 1990’s. That experience opened my eyes to the great potential of Hungary when it once again was free. So I was delighted when I returned to Seattle to find Helen Szablya and her fine family of immigrants and their descendants working to assist Hungary by opening a consulate in the Pacific Northwest. The work they undertook fully justifies their long effort and shows how dramatic and even perilous human stories can sometimes have unexpected and happy futures. That is true for people like Helen and her family and for countries like Hungary and the US. Thank you, Helen, for telling those stories!

Bruce Chapman, Secretary of State, Washington, 1976-81

USA Ambassador to the UN in Vienna 1985-88

President and CEO of Discovery Institute in Seattle

After reading My Only Choice, the saga of agonizing injustice and devastation perpetrated by both fascists and communists on the loving family of Helen Szablya in Hungary, it is faith affirming to read her autobiographical sequel: From Refugee to Consul: an American adventure

Through tragedies and triumphs, Helen Szablya keeps her eyes on the stars and her heart anchored in the conviction that God has a plan for her family...a plan that will ultimately bring happiness and fulfillment.

This is a love story. It delves into the depth and breadth of a romance between a great man and equally great woman. It reveals their dedication to the dynamic family they created. It documents their determination to contribute mightily to the nations that welcomed them as refugees; and it explores their unshakeable devotion to their native land, Hungary. 

In this book we witness the power of dedication, determination, devotion, hope and hard work to span continents and oceans and to build a lasting legacy of love.

Annette Lantos TIllemann-Dick, daughter of the late, only Holocaust and Communism survivor Congressman Tom Lantos, Head of the Foreign Affairs Committee at the time of his death.