MAY 2019| The Australian Women’s Weekly 109
Survival
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
CHRIS JANSEN.
JUST ADD LOIVE.T
hecomfortingsmellofbakingina grandmother’skitchen,a batteredold
bookwithhandwrittenrecipes,coveredwiththestainsofconstantuse.
WhenwarcorrespondentIrrisMakleraskedaboutthestoryofthe
cookbookthatwasalwaysonthebenchofherclosefriend’smother,it
wouldbegina journeywherememoriesresonatedownthegenerations
throughthesmellandtasteoffood,wherehistory,wisdomandlovecome
togetherin thekitchen.
Thoserecipeswrittendownbyherowngrandmotherweretheonlything
EvaGrinstonhadleftfroma “beautiful”lifewithherfamilybeforethehorror
oftheHolocaust.
InSlovakia,Eva’sgrannyhadheldformalteapartieswithstarchedlinenand
polishedsilver.ButwiththeriseofFascismin the1930sherfather,a political
activist,wasforcedtofleetoPalestine.In 1941 Eva,hersisterandmotherwere
herdedintoBratislava’sJewishghetto.WhentheGermantroopsinvadedthey
triedtohidebutwerediscoveredandtransportedona cattletrainforfourdays
withoutfoodorwatertotheAuschwitzdeathcamp.Waitingontheplatformwas
thenotoriousSSofficerDrJosefMengele,whodecidedwhowastobekilled
immediatelyandwhocoulddoforcedlabourandbekilledlater.Vera,13,was
takentobekilled;Eva,15,wastakentobea slave.Herheadwasshaved,herskin
wastattooed.Shewatchedthousandsofpeopledie– includingherownfamily–
andwasmovedfromcamptocamp.Evawasnearlydeadfromtyphoidfever
whentheRussiantroopsarrivedin 1945.Whensherecoveredshereturnedto
herfamily’sapartmentbuttherewasnothingleft,excepta boxhiddenin the
basementbyhermother.Init weretherecipesofhergrandmother,andher
granny’sfriends.Whenshetookit outsideandlookedupat theskyshecould
seeallthefacesfromthathappyearlylife,allofwhomhadbeenmurdered.
Shewouldfallin lovewithsafe,sunnySydneytheinstantshearrivedin 1950.
Nowshecooksforhergrandchildrenfromrecipesthatareloadedwithmeaning,
writtenbyhandnearly 100 yearsago.
“Everytimeshecookedshewasrecreatingthoselives,”saysIrris.“Iaskedher
toteachmesomeofthoserecipesandit grew.”
Sittingin theirkitchenswhilepotatolatkessizzled,herbstrewnchickens
roasted,aromaticViennesecakesrose,experthandskneadeddough,Irrisbegan
listeningtothestoriesofthewomenwhohavesurvivedandbearwitnesstothe
greatestbrutalityandmassmurderhumanityhasknown:theHolocaust.Allof
therecipeshada story.Irrisbecamethekeeperofmemories.Listeningtothem
was,shesays,“amasterclassin resilience”.Theresultis thebook,JustAddLove:
HolocaustSurvivorsShareTheirStoriesandRecipes. It preservesthememoriesof
thelastsurvivinggenerationofWWIIandrecipesfroma worldthathasvanished.
“Manyofthesepeopledidn’tevenhavea photographoftheirfamilies,cooking
thetastesfromhomewashowtheyrememberedtheiridentity,”Irrissays.“There
wassomuchlostandwhenyouarea migrantandyouhavebeenstarving,food
is veryimportant.Forpeoplewhohavebeenhungry,oneoftheirgreatestjoysis
sitting with their families at tables covered with food they have prepared.→WarcorrespondentIrrisMaklertellsSusan
Cheneryhowa projecttopreservetherecipes
of Holocaustsurvivorshelpedherendure
the brutality of modern warfare.
Forwomen
whosurvived
theHolocaust,
cookinghas
becomea way
torememebr
familyand
tradition.