Ester Shilo

* 1952

  • “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”.

  • “My father’s name was Schlussler. He was a police officer. When he started his service, he was guarding Ben-Gurion, the prime minister of Israel. Ben-Gurion used to say: ‘My guard cannot have a non-Hebrew name!’ So my father went to his dad and told him: ‘Listen, I am called to guard the prime minister of Israel, thus I need to change my name to a Hebrew name.’ And his dad answered: ‘Good luck on your way then and change your name.’ He changed it to Shilo. That’s why I am Shilo today, what in Hebrew means Ten Commandments.”

  • “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.”

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    Tel Aviv, 21.11.2017

    (audio)
    délka: 01:24:58
    nahrávka pořízena v rámci projektu Stories of 20th Century
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A man gets used to everything

Portrait
Portrait
zdroj: Pri natáčaní ED

Ester was born on July 31, 1952 in Ramle. Her parents came from Slovakia, where they survived the holocaust. They both were in concentration camps, her mother in Auschwitz and father in Theresienstadt. Ester visited Slovakia for the first time after the Velvet Revolution in 1989 with her mom and until the present days she likes to return especially for art expositions of paper cutting. She also feels her Slovak origin is attracting her to visit this country. Ester was attending the grammar school and after graduation in 1969 she enlisted in the military service, where she got trained to become a nurse. After the military service she got employed in a company focused on import of agricultural machines as an interpreter of Hebrew and English language. She worked there for 36 years. Nowadays, except her artistic life, she is engaged also in University of the Third Age in Kiryat Ata.