Chabad of Key Largo Hosts Holocaust Remembrance Jan. 27 With Survivor Selly

Chabad of Key Largo brought the community together Tuesday evening for an observance of Holocaust Remembrance Day that centered on the firsthand testimony of survivor Laszlo Selly. Selly shared his childhood experiences surviving the Holocaust, offering attendees a rare, personal account of the atrocities that resulted in the murder of six million Jews and reinforcing the local responsibility to remember and oppose hatred.

The program began at 7 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Key Largo, 99701 Overseas Highway. The event was free and open to the public, and organizers required RSVPs through ChabadKeyLargo.com/Survivor. Community members of all backgrounds attended to listen, reflect, and learn from a surviving witness to one of history’s darkest chapters.

Survivor testimony provided the core of the night, translating large historical totals into an individual narrative that made the statistics palpable for attendees. Hearing a survivor’s story gave families, educators, and civic leaders in Monroe County a direct opportunity to connect historical fact to personal experience, an educational link that can strengthen local school programming and community conversations about antisemitism and prejudice.

Hosting the event at a weekday evening required coordination with local businesses and institutions. The Holiday Inn Key Largo served as the venue, demonstrating how small cultural and memorial events can integrate with the local hospitality sector and community calendar. While large tourist draws dominate Monroe County’s economy, smaller civic events like this help sustain off-peak hotel and meeting activity and contribute to the county’s civic life.

The gathering also underscored broader civic responsibilities. Holocaust Remembrance Day exists to mourn victims and to reaffirm collective duty to stand against hatred and antisemitism. For Monroe County, which welcomes diverse residents and seasonal visitors, the event reinforced the value of interfaith and cross-community engagement in preserving democratic norms and human dignity.

Looking ahead, Laszlo Selly’s testimony serves as both an educational resource and a prompt for continued local action. For readers who could not attend, Chabad of Key Largo’s RSVP page remained the point of contact for future programming. The event’s immediate significance lies in preserving memory through direct testimony; its longer-term value will be measured in how Monroe County schools, civic groups, and policy discussions incorporate those lessons into ongoing efforts to counter intolerance and to keep historical truths alive for new generations.