
Telling our stories – lest we forget
I don’t know if this is the place for such a deeply personal post, but I feel compelled to say it here. On Holocaust Memorial Day, I’m so proud that my parents, both in their 80s, have been sharing their testimony about how they survived the holocaust as young Hungarian Jews in Budapest. My mother spoke in a service at Belsize Square Synagogue last week, showing the schutzpass provided by Raoul Wallenberg that ultimately saved her family’s lives, while my father spoke at the Senedd in Cardiff a few days ago, gave an interview to Channel 5 for broadcast later today, and gave the address yesterday in a service at Southend Civic Centre, which I was so proud to witness.
We need to tell our stories. Lest we forget.
From my family, remembering: Böske Kelemen; Karcsi Kelemen; József and Olga (nee Bernstein) Kelemen and their adult children Pál (Palkó) Kelemen and Magda Kelemen; Imre and Lori (nee Singer) Kis; Vilmos and Rózsi (nee Kohn) Bogdány; Adolf and Gizi (nee Kohn) Sajó and their adult children Kornél Sajó and Péter Sajó; young siblings aged 12, 11 and 9: József, László and Nelly Kardos, their maternal grandparents (Ábrahamovics), aunt, uncle and cousins;
and many, many more.
Richard Sved, January 2025