The Duschnitz family’s gravestone in Ruzomberok
This is a photo of the Duschnitz family’s gravestone in Ruzomberok, taken in the 1940s. After being exhumed, the family of my mother’s sister, Aunt Leona Porges, née Duschnitz, was also buried in the same grave.
Aunt Leona and Uncle Max were caught in 1944. They were murdered and buried in a mass grave by Turcianske Teplice. Those graves were later opened. One lady managed to survive in the following manner: my aunt, Leona Porges, was second last in the lineup for execution, and the lady that survived was to have been last. When they were leading them there, they knew that they were going to be shot. The lady said to her: ‘Let’s hide behind a tree; they can’t do anything worse than shoot us.’ My aunt didn’t hide, but that lady did. She then told us about it.
Grandfather Benedikt Duschnitz lived to a relatively advanced age. He died on 16th August 1933 at the age of 77. He had a heart attack. My grandmother died relatively young, on 2nd November 1936 at the age of 71.
