‘Never forget.’ Holocaust Survivor will share his story in virtual remembrance ceremony
As a professional photographer, Laszlo Selly spent his life telling stories through his camera lens.
But it’s his own narrative — and the stories of other Holocaust survivors — that he feels obligated to tell.
“It is important because there are less and less Holocaust survivors and there are more and more people denying that it happened,” said the 83-year-old, who now lives in Aventura.
Selly, who was born in Hungary and was liberated in 1945, will share his survival story Thursday as part of the Holocaust Memorial Miami Beach’s virtual Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) program.
Every year for Yom Hashoa — which begins at sundown Wednesday — the Miami Beach memorial, comprised of a committee of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, holds a community ceremony to remember the 6 million Jews killed in the Holocaust.
Last year, the ceremony was replaced with free screenings of Holocaust films because it was in the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. This year, organizers said they wanted to come up with a meaningful, virtual ceremony that kept many of the same things from past ceremonies — including using the memorial as a backdrop, a candle-lighting ceremony, a testimonial given by a survivor and music and prayers.
Yom HaShoah Event Chair Jessica Katz said organizers have spent the last year trying to figure out “the most effective way to reach our community.”
“There are so many lessons from the Holocaust that are relevant today,” she said, including “how people treat one another.”
In addition to the ceremony, two films examining the Holocaust, “Numbered” and “The Lost Brothers,” will be available to screen for free beginning 4 p.m. Wednesday through 4 p.m. Thursday.
Selly, who was born on Dec. 31, 1937 in Budapest, said he was able to live a “semi-normal” life until 1945. That’s when he and his twin brother and his parents were moved into Jewish housing. They were liberated by the Soviets several months later.
To “give his sons a better chance,” because there was still a lot anti-Semitism, Selly’s father changed their last name from Schwartz to “not advertising our Jewishness.”
As a kid, Selly said he loved photography. He found his dad’s old camera and taught himself how to use it.
They stayed in Budapest until after the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. In 1957, Selly and his twin brother Rudolph immigrated to New York.
When they arrived, Selly said he struggled because he didn’t speak English. He took a job as a messenger and began learning English. He started working in a dark room and then became a photographer’s assistant.
He eventually opened his own commercial photography business, which he ran for more than 30 years. He retired in 1998, but never stopped taking photos.
In 2019, he had the idea of photographing survivors as a way to document the strength and resilience of survivors.
“I wanted people to see under the makeup and the make believe,” he said. “[The photos] are honest. They show the character and they show the suffering and the rough times they have lived through.”
The project turned into an exhibit called Visages of Memory: Photographs by Laszlo Selly through Florida International University’s Miami Beach Urban Studios.
In sharing his story Thursday, Selly said: “The message is very simple, never forget the Holocaust because if you do so, it will surely be repeated.”
To participate
The ceremony will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday. Those interested in participating in the ceremony or viewing the films “Numbered” and “The Lost Brothers,” which will be available from 4 p.m. Wednesday through 4 p.m. Thursday, must pre-register at www.JewishMiami.org/yh2021. For more information, email info@holocaustmemorialmiamibeach.org.
This story was originally published April 7, 2021 at 9:00 AM.
