MAY 2019| The Australian Women’s Weekly 111
ShebegantheJustAddLoveprojectasa
tributetowomenwhohavebeenthrough
war,whohaveseentheveryworst,thelowest
mancango.“Theyinspiredme.”Shelearned
if youaregoingtotellthesestoriesyouhave
toreturnagainandagaintothepeoplewho
aretellingthem.“Yougetanoverviewand
talktothemuntiltheyareoverwroughtor
overwhelmedortired,thenyougoawayand
thinkaboutit andthenyoucomebacktwo
orthreetimes.ButI lovetalkingaboutthese
recipesandlearninghowto makethesefoods
becausethat’sthefoodI grewupwith.For
thesewomenfoodbecamelove.I really
wantedto honourthembecausewedon’ttell
thestoriesofolderwomen.Wedonot.And
nowthereis allthisrisinganti-Semitism,
Neo-Nazismandright-wingpartiesin Europe
it’svitalthatpeopleknowthesestories.”
Withallthewomenshespoketo,the
storiesofwhytheyhadsurvivedwhensix
milliondiedhadcomedownto a moment,a
fraction,anactof courage,orthekindnessof
a stranger,managingtohidewheneveryone
elsewastakenaway,someonelookingaway
at a criticalmoment,a whiskerbetweenliving
anddying.“Everysinglewomanat some
stagein herstorywouldpauseandsay‘that
wasanothermiracle’.Withoutthose
miraclesthey’dnotbehere.”
Therewasa stoicismthatrosethrough
thegriefoflosingeverythingthey’dknown
andeveryonethey’dloved.“Something
everybodysaidtomeaftersomeharrowing
talewas‘itwasn’tsobad,otherwomen
hadit worse’.Everyonetellsthestory,
‘OhmyGod,I foundoneperson,I found
a sister.’Anextraordinarysearchandthen
the joy of finding one relative alive.”It is hardlysurprisingtheychoseto
moveforwardandcelebrateliferather
thanletangerandhatreddestroythem.
“Whattheytaughtmewasthatyoucan
pickupandrebuild,whathappensin your
lifedoesn’thavetodestroyyou.I’mnot
sayingtheyweren’tbrokenat different
timesorthattheydidn’tbreakagainbut it
madethemstronger.”
IdenticaltwinsAnnettaAbleand
StephanieHellerwerekeptalivebecause
JosephMengelewantedtodomacabre
experimentsonthem,eventhoughthey
wereolderthantwinsheusuallychose.
He’dinjecttwinswithdeadlyvirusestosee
if theirreactionsdifferedandkeptthemin
a specialsectionofthecampwithdwarfs,
gypsiesandotherhumanguineapigs.But
becausetheywereCzechoslovakianand
cametothecamplatein thewar,hedidn’t
geta chancetotryouthistwistedtests.
Theybelievetheysurvivedbecausethey
hadeachother.Theywouldsaytoeach
other,“alwaysseethesunshinebehindthe
doorandhopebringsyoufurther”.The
twinsaregratefulforeveryday,andbelieve
whenpeople’sstomachsarefullthey’re
happy.That’swhytheycookforeveryone.
Forthesewomen,foodis thepastand
thefutureastheygathergrandchildrenin
thekitchenandhanddowntherecipes,
teachingthemhowtocookandwherethey
comefrom.It is aboutsharing,giving,
nourishing,culture,history,reminding.
“Theword‘grandmother’is verypowerful,”
saysIrris.“Inyourgrandmother’skitchen
yougetwisdom,moralcompass,patience,
security.Youlearngenerosity,warmth and
hospitality, you learn love.”AWWTop,left:Sarah
Saaroniasa child;
EvaGrinstonand
grandsonNicholas
Rice.JustAddLove:
HolocaustSurvivors
SharetheirStories
andRecipesbyIrris
Makler,BlackInc.
Books,$49.99,is
available now.PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRIS JANSEN. JUST ADD LOVE. LAUREN TROMPP.