book.chapter Early life and escape

Born on September 2, 1936, in Budapest, Hungary, Andras Istvan Grof, later known as Andy Grove, was raised in a middle-class Jewish family. His father, George, was a dairy business partner, and his mother, Maria, had abandoned her concert pianist dreams to start a family. The Grof family, like many others across Europe, was dramatically impacted by the outbreak of World War II in 1939. In 1942, George was conscripted into the Hungarian Army and assigned to a labor-intensive battalion due to his Jewish heritage. He "disappeared" in 1943, leaving Maria and Andy alone in a war-torn landscape. When Germany annexed Hungary in 1944, they evaded deportation to Auschwitz through luck, connections, and street smarts, often leaving Budapest for the countryside during sweeps for Jews. Despite the war's impact on his early education, Andy maintained good grades and overcame a bout of scarlet fever that permanently affected his hearing. In 1945, George Grof returned from a Russian prison camp, reuniting with his family after enduring years of hardship. Post-war Hungary, however, was under firm Soviet control, making life difficult for the Grof family. George was initially appointed as a director of a state-owned livestock breeding company but was later fired and informed he would never earn more than a quarter of his previous salary. Amidst political unrest, Andy completed his high school education and enrolled at the University of Budapest. However, the political climate worsened, and in 1956, Andy decided to escape to Austria after an anti-Soviet demonstration ended in violence. After a risky journey, he reached Austria and eventually persuaded the International Rescue Committee to provide him passage to the United States. He arrived in Brooklyn, New York, on January 7, 1957, as one of 1,715 Hungarian refugees.