Andrew Laszlo - Early Life (1926-1941)

Early Life (1926-1941)

"I never believed I was anybody special. I still don't think so, nor did I ever believe that anyone would give a hoot hearing about who I was, where I came from, what I did at various stages of my life, and why. I am convinced the world would function equally well, or equally badly, with or without me. - Andrew Laszlo, Footnote to History, 2002"

So begins a section of Andrew Laszlo's recount of his early years and speaks modestly of the man who survived unimaginable atrocities during that time and accomplished much in his later life.

He was born László András in 1926 in the vicinity of Pápa, Hungary the town where his family finally settled about the time that Andrew was three years old. Until World War II began to affect life in Hungary, his life was relatively carefree and was spent in relative comfort although the family had to move several times into smaller or bigger quarters depending on the financial circumstances of his father. He was close to his older brother, Alex, with whom he often dreamed up exciting adventures sometimes leading to catastrophy.

Of his many early experiences, one that served as a prelude to later tragedies, was seeing the Graf Zeppelin fly over Papa. Inquiring about the symbol painted on the tail of the airship, Andrew's father said that it was a swastika. That is all he wanted to tell his young son at the time.

Andrew was an avid swimmer and skater during his early school years and became accomplished at fencing in High School. It was also during this time that his interest in photography began and led later to a small business printing photos for his classmates.

In the late 1930s, Andrew's father, Leslie (Hungarian: Laci), was called up to serve in the Hungarian Army. This effectively ruined his business, forcing Andrew to learn the fine art of lampshade manufacture to help support the family. This was a successful undertaking even though Andrew was still a full-time High School student. Then, as for everyone else, World War II turned everything up-side-down.