Footnote to History, by Andrew Laszlo

The incredible memoir Footnote to History documents the early life of renowned American-Hungarian cinematographer Andrew Laszlo. Before he became known for his work on The Warriors, The Man Without a Country, and Shōgun, Laszlo was the only member of his once-prosperous Jewish family to survive the Holocaust. He endured forced labor, brutal attacks, and concentration camps before arriving alone in New York shortly after his 21st birthday, with just two dollars and sixty-three cents in his pocket.

Like so many Holocaust memoirs, this book was not originally intended for international publication; it was written for Laszlo’s wife and children as a way to fill in the gaps of a past he had never shared with them. Until this memoir, Laszlo's wife, son, and daughter knew almost nothing about his life before coming to America.

A long time ago I made a conscious decision to keep some aspects of my past tucked away in a strong box, out of sight, out of mind. The reason, or rationale, behind this decision was, I suppose, that I don’t like to talk about things unpleasant, nor do I want aspects of my life that were painful to me to hurt you.

Laszlo explains with extreme modesty that he never thought anyone would “give a hoot” about his biography, believing there was nothing particularly special about his life. Every reader of this masterfully written story will beg to differ. Everything from his colorful childhood before the war to his horrendous experiences during it, is rendered with such depth of detail and emotion that it is nearly impossible not to care deeply about Laszlo.

The autobiography begins with Laszlo's earliest memories of the Hungarian countryside in the late 1920s. He recounts the special moments many people recall fondly throughout their lives — hazy impressions filled with strong emotions. He writes of his first memory: “Strangely, every time I think of it, the image appears to have a yellowish, faded appearance, not unlike an old photograph, and the motion within the image is slowed down.” Laszlo recalls watching his family’s coachman wash their carriage in the Danube while his mother sat on a nearby blanket, and of playing pilot with his brother in the legs of an overturned table. These memories are presented to the reader with the vividness and intimacy of a father describing his cherished childhood to his kids, which is exactly what we have been invited to share.

While Laszlo is still a young boy, his family moves into a castle-like house in the historic town of Pápa; this becomes the setting for much of his early life. Any references to the brewing conflict in Europe are largely masked by the aspects of Laszlo's life that concerned him at the time, giving the impression that one is actually living through this period alongside him. News of conflict and his parents' concerns are tucked in between math lessons with tyrannical private tutors, days of ice skating with his father and older brother, and descriptions of long bike rides with his best friend.

As Laszlo enters his teenage years, his recollections expand to accommodate a myriad of new interests such as sports, photography, and pretty girls. At the same time, Laszlo's awareness of the larger world gradually increases. While in secondary school, his class is taught the words to the Italian national fascist anthem, and he experiences antisemitism for the first time. After a teacher harshly criticizes his work and denies him entry into the Boy Scouts, Laszlo realizes that there are people who harbor prejudices against him for his Jewish heritage:

I never considered myself a Jew, nor could I consciously recall any incident till then of a similar nature. As the next guy, I thought of myself as simply being a Hungarian. By this time I was aware of different religions…but I never thought of identifying myself in a religious term. To me, religion was something secondary to being Hungarian. All religions – Catholic, Protestant – simply meant being a Hungarian practicing a certain faith. I never mentioned this incident at home, but by then I sensed that certain things were not right in the world.

Laszlo's father and many of his uncles were decorated veterans who fought for Hungary in WWI. As a strongly nationalist household which prized itself on its military background, the Lazslo family was slow to believe that their beloved country would turn against them. They could not have fathomed the cruelty that would befall their family at the hands of their neighbors.

Hungary was late in its persecution of Jews compared to the other countries in Europe. As the war escalated, Laszlo’s father was called back to military service, stripped of his former rank, and forced to do hard labor under the supervision of much younger men. The family was also made to wear the Star of David on their clothes, but Jews in Pápa were not forced into a ghetto until May 1944.

Shortly after the Laszlo family were forced into the ghetto, Laszlo and his older brother were conscripted into the labor service. After that, Laszlo’s life descended into a living hell. He and his friend were subjected to bombings while repairing railroad tracks, and subsequently wandered the countryside with next to no supplies or direction. After reaching a safe area in Budapest, Laszlo and other Jews were rounded up and taken to Bergen-Belsen, a Nazi concentration camp in northern Germany responsible for the deaths of over 70,000 prisoners of war, Jews, and other persecuted groups. The conditions in this camp were unspeakable. Laszlo prefaces his descriptions:

Nothing could have prepared us for the horror that greeted us in whatever direction we looked. If someone wanted to forewarn us, this sight could not have been adequately described, nor would any of us have believed it.

Nothing indeed can prepare a reader for Laszlo’s description of this camp or Theresienstadt; a way station for Jews being sent to extermination camps in German-occupied Czechoslovakia, and the last place Laszlo was taken before his liberation. Theresienstadt is also where he realizes many of his family members had been murdered.

Just when one might think the worst is over, Laszlo introduces an entirely new form of heartbreak as we learn of the indifference and hostility with which survivors of the camps were subjected to upon release. He describes officials who stole aid money from Jews trying to get home, and the lack of empathy he received from neighbors and family members when he returned to Pápa. Laszlo’s story is one that you must read to believe.

Laszlo’s memoir ends on an optimistic note with his immigration to New York. In the United States, he built a very successful career in cinematography, and created a beautiful family of his own. While we can take solace in the fact that Laszlo’s life was not destroyed by what he endured, his story remains a testament to the devastation humans are capable of inflicting on one another. We must never forget what happened to Laszlo and so many others if we hope to protect future generations from enduring the same.

Though these pages were never intended to be more than a simple account of my early life, I hope that in some way they might help prevent anything such as the events I talked about from happening again.

Footnote to History. From Hungary to America. The?Memoir?of?a Holocaust Survivor, by Andrew Laszlo, is available worldwide. https://mybook.to/dM5aVOI