Talk Brno - Otto Eisler - August 2025

The ambitious annual city-wide festival of Jewish life in Brno, Czech Republic known as ŠTETL Fest featured approximately 120 events this year. It included my tours of my grandparents' 1937 apartment building in Brno, and my presentation on the Czech Jewish modernist architect and World War II survivor associated with their building, Otto Eisler.

ŠTETL Fest program on fence of house at Lipová 33 in Brno, the site of my presentation on Otto Eisler (photo: Nicole Cyrus)

Day 1 - August 28, 2025

After arriving in Brno from Vienna with my friends Joan Zegree and her cousin, Patricia Helletzgruber, I attended a discussion in Czech and English with descendants of the family of Felix Engelsmann, a wool merchant in the early 20th century. The discussion took place in his 1932 villa on Hlinky Street. The family members, who came from Australia and the U.S., were honored guests of the festival.

Day 2 - August 29, 2025

The next day I gave two tours of my grandparents' 1937 apartment house on Křenová Street, including one for the Engelsmann family. This building is believed to have been designed by Otto Eisler.

Joan Zegree from Santa Fe, New Mexico, me, and her cousin Patricia Helletzgruber from Vienna. We're standing in the garden of my grandparents' apartment building on Křenová Street (photo: Nicole Cyrus)

My friend and fellow writer Nicole Cyrus on the balcony at Lipová 33. She flew from Rome to attend the tour and the talk (photo: author)

Poster panel in the passageway of Křenová 14, which tells the story of the building and its creators—my grandparents and the Eisler brothers. The poster panel was produced with my text and photos in collaboration with the architectural firm Hrdina Pavlík (photo: Nicole Cyrus)

Discussing the history of Křenová Street and recommending Jaroslav Klenovský's 2016 book, Jewish Brno, during Křenová 14 tour (photo: Nicole Cyrus)

Day 3 - August 30, 2025

On the third and final day, I presented the results of my exploration of Otto Eisler's life and his and his family's connection to my grandparents' apartment building. The presentation took place in the garden of the house Eisler designed at No. 33 Lipová Street.

Display starring Otto Eisler at Lipová 33 (photo: David Konečný)

Original chairs belonging to Otto Eisler and his brother Mořic, and lent to the garden of Lipová 33 for the event (photo: David Konečný)

Before the audience arrived... Our hosts: Eva Šamánková, interior designer, and her mother, also Eva Šamánková, architect and master gardener. Eva Sr.'s parents bought the house at Lipová 33 before the war, and she and her daughter still live there with her daughter's family (photo: author)

Joan Zegree, waiting for the presentation to get underway. Such calm! She was the perfect person to help with the photo posters as she accompanied me to Brno in 2013 and 14 as my photographer and videographer, and has been instrumental in my research (photo: Nicole Cyrus)

Testing the mic with sound and lighting engineer Ondřej Kocar (photo: Nicole Cyrus)

Introduction by Eva Yildizová, Director of ŠTETL Fest, with the first two photographs of the presentation: an architectural drawing rendered by Hrdina Pavlík of my grandparents' 1937 apartment building on Křenová Street, and Otto Eisler from the1998 monograph of Eisler's life and work (photo: David Konečný)

Underway with Eva S's rock garden as backdrop (photo: David Konečný)

During the talk, assisted by perfect weather, setting, audience, tent, podium, easels, sound, and Joan Zegree! In the back of the garden you can also see the Czech-English translator Katka Báňová interpreting in real time for the Czech speakers wearing headphones (photo: David Konečný)

The Brno architect Petr Pelčák and I embracing our hero, Otto Eisler. The photo comes from the book Petr co-authored in 1998, titled Otto Eisler 1893 - 1968, which was published in its second edition in time for this festival. Petr also gave a lecture on Eisler's work that day in the garden of Lipová 33, as well as a tour of interwar architecture in that part of the city (photo: David Konečný 

Eva Šamánková's son Viki, a medical student, waiting to present the history of Lipová 33, his family's home where he grew up. His talk, after mine and before Petr's, was the perfect accompaniment to the historical exhibits that Eva organized and displayed in the house (photo: David Konečný)

Street-side view of Lipová 33, Otto Eisler's 1936 building (photo: Eva Šamánková)

Rear view of Lipová 33 including Eva Šamánková Sr's rose garden (photo: Nicole Cyrus)

After the talk, my friends and I had the honor of meeting Brno Mayor Markéta Vaňková at the ŠTETL Fest reception in the Villa Engelsmann. This elegant room is also where I heard the discussion with the Engelsmann family two days earlier (photo: Joan Zegree)

Since giving the lecture on Otto Eisler, I've received requests for the text. I am happy to report that it will be published in English and Czech by the Brno City Museum's Forum Brunense in early 2026.

Altogether a very memorable and extraordinary time in Brno in August 2025!