Julius Jansco: Hungarian Bioengineer to American Restaurant Owner
Julius Jancso is a 90-year-old restaurant owner who was born and raised in Budapest, Hungary. Budapest is the capital of Hungary and was the epicenter of 1956 Hungarian Revolt. In 1956, after years of turmoil, the Soviet communists invaded the government of The People’s of Republic of Hungary from Oct. 23 to late November in 1956. This revolution was the cause for the imprisonment, death, and torture of thousands of Hungarians. This also caused thousands more to flee from their home country to countries such as Austria and the United States in order to find freedom. Jancso’s story is that of a Hungarian man protecting his family and escaping the communist takeover of Eastern Europe.
“The most important thing is freedom,” said Jansco.
Jancso was a well-educated and extremely successful bioengineer while he lived in Hungary. Jancso had attended four universities in Hungary, Austria and Germany and earned a separate degree from each university. He met his wife Susan in the 1930’s when she was a flight attendant for Malev Hungarian Airlines. The two married and had two daughters within the next ten years. When word came of the communist takeover in Hungary, Jancso came up with a plan to protect his family. In 1956, Jancso was at the peek of his career and he was interrogated by the communist government accusing him of talking poorly of their plans to take over Europe. His fear from the interrogation caused him to hurry his plan and he fled Budapest by foot to Austria. A month later, Susan and their two daughters met at a relative’s house just outside of the capital, Vienna. They then fled to America where they settled in Los Angeles and have stayed ever since.
Jancso is the owner of the Hungarian restaurant Duna Csarda located in East Hollywood, Los Angeles, Calif. Duna Csarda was started in the 1980’s with the purpose of keeping Hungarian culture alive through Hungarian folk music, Hungarian food, and mainly Hungarian speaking customers and employees. We asked Jancso why he opened up his restaurant and, as he looked at his empty dining room, he said, “Look and see, I don’t need to have this restaurant, I want to.” Jancso loves his restaurant including the customers, the food and the atmosphere.
Jancso’s wife Susan attended UCLA and studied English, Italian. She eventually graduated and became a translator and instructor for the university. She writes a monthly Hungarian magazine, with stories in both Hungarian and English, which is available for free at Duna Csarda. Susan writes these magazines for the same reason that Jancso keeps his restaurant: she loves what she does and wants to keep her Hungarian culture alive.
“The most important thing is freedom,” said Jansco.
Jancso was a well-educated and extremely successful bioengineer while he lived in Hungary. Jancso had attended four universities in Hungary, Austria and Germany and earned a separate degree from each university. He met his wife Susan in the 1930’s when she was a flight attendant for Malev Hungarian Airlines. The two married and had two daughters within the next ten years. When word came of the communist takeover in Hungary, Jancso came up with a plan to protect his family. In 1956, Jancso was at the peek of his career and he was interrogated by the communist government accusing him of talking poorly of their plans to take over Europe. His fear from the interrogation caused him to hurry his plan and he fled Budapest by foot to Austria. A month later, Susan and their two daughters met at a relative’s house just outside of the capital, Vienna. They then fled to America where they settled in Los Angeles and have stayed ever since.
Jancso is the owner of the Hungarian restaurant Duna Csarda located in East Hollywood, Los Angeles, Calif. Duna Csarda was started in the 1980’s with the purpose of keeping Hungarian culture alive through Hungarian folk music, Hungarian food, and mainly Hungarian speaking customers and employees. We asked Jancso why he opened up his restaurant and, as he looked at his empty dining room, he said, “Look and see, I don’t need to have this restaurant, I want to.” Jancso loves his restaurant including the customers, the food and the atmosphere.
Jancso’s wife Susan attended UCLA and studied English, Italian. She eventually graduated and became a translator and instructor for the university. She writes a monthly Hungarian magazine, with stories in both Hungarian and English, which is available for free at Duna Csarda. Susan writes these magazines for the same reason that Jancso keeps his restaurant: she loves what she does and wants to keep her Hungarian culture alive.