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.
Read more about this topic: Andrew Laszlo
Famous quotes containing the words early and/or life:
“If there is a price to pay for the privilege of spending the early years of child rearing in the driver’s seat, it is our reluctance, our inability, to tolerate being demoted to the backseat. Spurred by our success in programming our children during the preschool years, we may find it difficult to forgo in later states the level of control that once afforded us so much satisfaction.”
—Melinda M. Marshall (20th century)
“In our world of big names, curiously, our true heroes tend to be anonymous. In this life of illusion and quasi-illusion, the person of solid virtues who can be admired for something more substantial than his well-knownness often proves to be the unsung hero: the teacher, the nurse, the mother, the honest cop, the hard worker at lonely, underpaid, unglamorous, unpublicized jobs.”
—Daniel J. Boorstin (b. 1914)