Ester Shilo

“We came to Cífer and we were looking for old women. We went by foot and suddenly, a woman walked by her bike and led one older lady along. She told me: ‘Excuse me, I see you are looking for something.’ We said we were. My father came from Cífer and my grandma with grandpa used to live there. They were the Schlusslers. The woman said: ‘I think that when I was a child, I heard that name at home. Just wait until I accompany my mother in law. I will come to pick you up and take you to my parents, to tell you what I used to be listening to.’ Few minutes later she was back and she rode her bike so fast that I barely kept up the pace with her driving my car. She went inside, I parked the car and when I entered the house, he mom said: ‘You aren’t Vali, you are Bubi’s daughter.’ My father’s name in Slovakia was Bubi. I look much alike my dad and he had a sister named Vali, whom this lady knew. So I replied to her: ‘You are right. I am Bubi’s daughter.’ Then my mom introduced herself as Bubi’s wife, we sat down and talked together. Then they invited us for lunch, to come and visit them again, and ever since then we have been friends until present.”

“The first exhibition abroad was in a Jewish Museum in Bratislava. It was intentional, since my poor mom was still alive. It was a great joy for her and she was really proud that even being a Jew, she survived the holocaust, emigrated to Israel and didn’t have to run away from there. However, she still felt she left part of her Jewish roots in Slovakia and yet, her daughter was able to bring the Jewish art back. She was very proud of that. For my speech at the opening I chose my “carousel” how my parents, born in Slovakia, survived the holocaust, emigrated to Israel and taught me Slovak language, as well as how I keep bringing the Jewish art back to Slovakia. Thus my speech was about this “carousel”.