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Cooking for assimilation

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Ruth Balint's Hungarian grandmothers' recipe book
Ruth Balint's Hungarian grandmothers' recipe book
Evi and MichaelRuth Balint's Hungarian grandmothers' recipe book

Evi Balint was Hungarian and Jewish. She and her husband fled Europe with their baby son Michael in late 1938 as Hitler’s army marched into Vienna.

After her death in Sydney at age 83, her granddaughter Ruth found her treasured recipe book.

Evi’s cookbook opened up more than just a list of family favourites, Evi had kept in it some of her most precious memories.

The family's arrival in Australia marked a time when migrants were regarded with suspicion.

Evi and her boysA young Evi

Cooking for Assimilation weaves family interviews, recipes and the music of Evi’s 1950's kitchen radio with archival material drawn from Australia’s film heritage. It's an intimate portrait of one woman’s migration story against the backdrop of Australia’s rocky transition to becoming a multicultural nation.

Thanks to Dr Sian Supski, Professor Rachel Ankeny and family members Tony and Michael and Susan Balint.

With special thanks to John Balint for research.

The film No Strangers Here is featured in this radio program. It was made in 1950 by the Department of Information for the Department of Immigration.

Credits

Broadcast 
Wodonga, Melbourne, Hungary, 20th Century, Refugees, World War 2, Emigration
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