Judith Salamon – Judit Esther Bat Menachem was born 12 August 1947 in Hungary. She was the only daughter of Tiborne and Lenke Salamon. Tiborne was born in 1912 in Beszterce, Romania and Lenke Salamon (nee Schwartz) was born in Szekesfehervar, Hungary in 1912.
Both Lenke and Tibor survived the Holocaust. Tibor was in a forced labour camp in Ukraine during the war. He was one of 6 siblings, having 5 brothers and a sister. Only Tibor, his father, one brother and his grandmother survived the war. Judith was the last surviving Salamon. During the war, Tibor was badly injured and his injuries stayed with him during his lifetime.
In 1956 the Salamon’s moved to Israel. Judith attended primary school for three years and then moved to Sydney. Judith arrived in Australia as a teenager and was initially very unhappy here. She attended Dover Heights High School and could not speak any English.
Judith’s mother Lenke passed away from breast cancer at the age of 51 when Judith was only 15 years old. This was an extremely painful time for Judith and she was left to care for her father.
After her mother’s passing, Judith and Tibor moved to Crows Nest and her father purchased a small semi detached home. She finished school at Willoughby Girls High and did her leaving certificate. Judith received a teacher’s scholarship to do primary teaching – but didn’t accept it. She mentioned that her father was heartbroken by this.
Judith chose to work in a library and ended up doing a librarianship course at Sydney Technical College. She loved books and continued to enjoy visits to the library in her adult years. Judith later completed a Bachelor of Arts degree.
After her mother passed away, Tibor became very ill and Judith took responsibility for caring for him and paying the mortgage.
In May 1974, Tibor passed away at the age of 62. Judith was devastated.
As much as Judith loved living in the lower Northshore, she could not afford to stay there after her father passed away. She sold the semi in Crows Nest and in 1979 purchased the home in Eastwood that Judith lived in for the rest of her life. Judith recalled that Eastwood was a beautiful suburb in the 1970s. Judith was very proud of her three bedroom home which she described as a Californian Bungalow. She enjoyed visiting the nearby shops and library. Judith felt that compared to the hardships her parents faced, she was very lucky to live in such a large, comfortable home.
In 2017 Judith retired as a librarian after 40 years in the profession.
Judith regretted not getting married and not having children. She mentioned that she wasn’t lucky enough to meet the right man. She always had pet dogs and cats and loved animals dearly. She was particularly fond of cats and was heartbroken when her last cat, Amy passed away a few years ago. She found a little spot in her garden to bury dear Amy. Judith enjoyed travelling and she visited Hungary 8 times and Israel 3 times during her lifetime.
Although a soft spoken and shy lady, Judith was proud of her Jewish heritage. She donated generously to numerous charities including the JNF. Judith was very concerned about anti semitism and was always interested in matters regarding Israel. She was delighted when Donald Trump moved the Israeli embassy from Tel Aviv to Jersualem. She often recalled how Jewish people today are so blessed to have Israel as a safehaven. Her words were “we, the Jewish people can live in reasonable security so long as there is Israel”.
Judith passed away in January 2024 – may her memory live on and be a blessing forever.
