Photographer Dojč: Slovakia is changing in a good direction
“On about the third project I took photos with the soldiers, I realized that I basically owe the Russians. Because without them, without them, the American, British, Australian soldiers, I would not have lived. If Hitler had won the war, I would be here But most people don’t even realize it,” says photographer YURI DOJČ from Humenné.
As a young man, he immigrated to Canada in 1968. President in 2023 Zuzana Čaputová granted by Rad Ľudovita Štúr II. class for extraordinary merits for the development of Slovakia in the field of culture, as well as for extraordinary spreading of the good name of Slovakia abroad.
“I didn’t have a camera, I didn’t have any photos, I was just curious about what the school looked like. And suddenly I get a letter that I’ve been accepted. I immediately panicked,” he recalls, who has performed all over the world during his career.
You will read in the interview
- How he perceived the invasion of Warsaw Pact troops
- Why did he want to leave Toronto?
- What ultimately forced him not to return to Slovakia
- How he gets the inspiration for the Last Folio
- What is the difference between Canada and Slovakia
FROMyou live in Canada, what are your memories of Slovakia?
Mom was a teacher at a gymnasium, she came from Nové Mesto. Father from Michaloviec, he was a director, we lived in Humenno, where they were assigned after the war. I have many memories of Humenné.
When Warsaw Pact troops invaded Slovakia in 1968, you were already in London. Was it easy to get to England then?
My friend’s sister was already in England before that. She advised me where and how I should go. I flew alone from Prague to London. I don’t know how I managed it. I didn’t know the language, only yes and no. I got to the area where there was already a group of Czechoslovaks.
What did you do there?
We picked gooseberries, then strawberries.
I remember at the first dinner everyone had something hidden under the table. I asked a Czech what it was. He said, “Mustard. For the food is so awful that only mustard will save it. But don’t ask it of me, for I have an awful lot of money. I must buy mustard with my first paycheck.” So I bought it.
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