During World War II, Banská Bystrica became the centre of anti-Nazi opposition in Slovakia when the Slovak National Uprising, one of the largest anti-Nazi resistance events in Europe, was launched from the city on 29 August 1944. The insurgents were defeated on 27 October 1944.
24 October 1944 was the last day the gas chambers and crematoria were operational in Auschwitz-Birkenau. Livi saw her mother and grandfather at the train line inside Birkenau. Not knowing what to do, she ran to find Cibi and tell her. The scene described is as it happened: Cibi confronting Kramer, then managing a brief exchange of words with her mother and grandfather as they entered the gas chamber.
Eva, the young Yugoslav girl the sisters cared for during the death marches and at the end of the war, told them that her father had been the personal physician to President Tito. This position did not save his Jewish wife and daughter from being taken to Auschwitz. Eva had been with her mother when she died on the death march. It is not known what happened to Eva after her return to Yugoslavia.
The candlesticks and photos Magda hid in the ceiling of their home in Vranov nad Topl’ou remain in her possession.
The Three Sisters glass sculpture featured in the epilogue was created by Pam and Oded Ravek. It is both a tribute and a memorial. It is a memorial to the 6,000,000 Jews murdered by the Nazis （expressed by fragmented scattered roses with thorns on the base） and to the memory of the 1,500,000 children under the age of thirteen （twelve nascent roses on the second tier without thorns）。 The intentionally rough-cast numbers on three facing sides are the actual numbers that were burned into the arms of the three sisters. The side with no number serves to illustrate that a number may be filled in by the viewer in his/her mind, and also honours those who perished in the Holocaust who were not inked.
Magda worked for President and First Lady Weizmann from 1950 until the birth of Chaya in May 1951.
Livi worked for President and First Lady Weizmann from March 1951 until June 1955.
President Chaim Weizmann and First Lady Vera Weizmann are buried in the grounds of their home in Rehovot, now a public garden. Livi visits them, taking her children and grandchildren, giving them a special tour that transcends time and brings the gardens and historic figures to life.
AFTERWORD FROM LIVIA RAVEK
F
rom the moment that Heather walked into my home, I instantly liked her. I was drawn to her beautiful smile, cheerfulness and her lovely accent. To me, it was miraculous that Heather would come to see me. I was astonished that she would make a change to her busy touring schedule and come to Israel to meet with me, from South Africa, before returning to her home and family in Australia.
We do have something in common. Heather wrote her first novel, The Tattooist of Auschwitz, about Lale and Gita, and I knew them from a young age – ‘before’ – back home in Slovakia. Heather has Lale and Gita in her heart, and great love and empathy for people.
The rest is history. It was unbelievable that Heather would write about the lives of my sisters and me. She has a gift of being able to quietly listen and understand. Three Sisters has been two years in the making. I have grown to know Heather, consider her a sister and part of my family, and I love her deeply. I am so proud and honoured to know her.
My family and I look forward to seeing Heather in Israel again soon.
AFTERWORD FROM ODED RAVEK
S
ometimes the stars align and, by a zillion-to-one chance, you discover that dreams, every now and then, do come true.
Ever since I can remember, I’ve longed for the life story of my mother, Livia, and her two older sisters, Cibi, z”l, and Magda, to be told. In the spring of 2019, my wife, Pam, and I were about to embark on a trip to visit our adult children and family in Israel, and to celebrate the wedding of our niece. While doing some last-minute shopping, the novel The Tattooist of Auschwitz caught my eye, and we purchased it to read on our trip. Little did I know that the purchase of The Tattooist would lay the foundation towards the fulfilment of my long-held dream.
We joyfully reunited with our children and my mother, my Ema, in Israel; at the same time Heather Morris was preparing for her South African book tour to promote her bestselling, powerful novel about Lale Sokolov, The Tattooist of Auschwitz. Giving Ema the book to read, she was delighted to realise that she knew Lale and, without reading ahead, knew that his beloved wife was Gita, her former schoolmate.
An email from Pam to Heather set the wheels in motion. Heather changed her plans to return to Australia from South Africa, and arrived in Israel a few days after our family celebration, to meet with Ema and our family. In Heather’s skilful hands, a compelling, inspirational story of the life of the three sisters began to form. My long-held wish was beginning to come true.