Marianne Balshone

Marianne Balshone

Marianne Balshone was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1925. Marianne grew up in a privileged lifestyle in Budapest. Her father was a commodities trader and her mother, a business woman, partnered in a travel agency and arranged and personally led international tours.

Marianne had wonderful child and teen years in vibrant, cultured Budapest. At age 17 however, her education and youth were cut short by World War 2 when the Germans marched into Hungary with a mandate to kill all the jews.

Unfortunately, many in her extended family were taken from their homes and killed. (Aprox 55 members of her 75 person extended family were murdered). Marianne became the key figure navigating the war torn city for her family at this young age. Her immediate family was saved by Raoul Wallenberg - a righteous Swedish gentile and true hero.  

At 18 in the throes of the war, Marianne married Istvan Reiss, a successful textile technician.  Finally in 1947, after Eichman's "final solution" for the Jews in Hungary fell apart, Marianne and her husband immigrated to New York and freedom. They had two children, Ronald (1947), and Vivian Joy (1952).

In New York without a college degree, Marianne enlisted her early dance training to create a career for herself and support her family: she became a 'personal trainer'- one of the very first in NYC- a job she invented before it was popular. She helped her clients leadhealthier, more confident lives.

Marianne, now living in Palm Beach, devotes herself to giving talks  about her incredible war experiences and her hero Raoul Wallenberg. Her message: One Person Can Make a Difference.