My aunt was smuggled to Tashkent by Stalin

Helen Vatsikopoulos' family never spoke about what happened to her aunt, Aspasia after the Greek Civil War. She uncovered a story of secret evacuation, exile and unknown family members.

Helen Vatsikopoulos was born in a little mountain village on the northern border of Greece.

She came to Adelaide as a young girl and grew up to become a TV journalist, covering big international stories for the ABC and SBS.

When she was in her 30s, Helen and her husband were visiting her parents when her father started telling stories she had never heard before.

He remembered what happened in their village during the Greek Civil War and how Helen’s aunt Aspasia, along with thousands of other Greeks, were smuggled by Stalin to a new life in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

The family didn't know what became of Aspasia, so Helen got to work to find out.

This episode touches on family history, communism, memoir, life stories, ancestry, modern history, mountains, origin stories, personal stories, epic storytelling, reflection, grief, loss, exploration and memory.