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I had eight siblings. Between my oldest brother Beno and the littlest, Miksa, there was a difference of fifteen years. Beno, Hana, Sari [from Sarolta], Manci [from Maria] and Eszti [from Eszter] were born in Dombo. Sandor, Gizike[from Gizella] were born in Felsoszeli, and Miksa was born in Galanta. I only vaguely remember my youngest siblings, since I was with them a relatively short time. My mother took the littlest ones with her in the summer break to Grandma in Dombo, so I didn’t see them for three months.
Beno, my oldest brother was a very hard-working kid. He learned the tailoring trade in Szenc. When my father was conscripted into work service [forced labor][8], then he supported the family, by that time already working in Pest [Budapest] in a tailor shop. He passed away during the Second World War. Mother adored him.
I spent the most time with my little sister, Hana. In Felsoszeli, the Dudvag flowed behind our house. In the winter, we skated on the frozen water, and sledded. Father made the skates out of wood. In the summertime, we picked corn ears, because our mother raised chickens. We worked the whole summer vacation.
I was together with Hanna in the Allendorf labor camp [a sub-camp of Buchenwald]. When we were liberated, we went home together. Hana stayed a while in Galanta, but in spring of 1946, she went to Kassa, and left from there with her later husband for Palestine. They captured the boat, the passengers were forced to debark in Cyprus. I wrote letters to her, and she sent pictures from there. They went by boat from Cyprus on to Israel. There she was conscripted as a soldier.
Hana’s husband fell during some kind of construction very young, and died. He was a Kassa boy. They had three families[children – sic]. I can’t speak with them. If I go visit them, they say, ‘Dada neni, shalom’, give me a kiss, then leave again, when I go home, they say shalom again and another kiss and that’s all. One of Hana’s daughter’s is a teacher, her name is Malke. My daughter also has this Jewish name, we named them then after our mother. Malke’s husband’s parents come from Morocco. My other niece, Sara was a bank official, but since she married, she doesn’t work anymore. She lives with her two daughters in Tel Aviv. Hanna’s son is with Markus Eli wholesale hardware, and meanwhile is finishing his law studies. His wife’s parents went to Israel from Poland. Hana and her son’s family live today in Netanya. They keep Jewish traditions, and both keep a kosher household.
Beno, my oldest brother was a very hard-working kid. He learned the tailoring trade in Szenc. When my father was conscripted into work service [forced labor][8], then he supported the family, by that time already working in Pest [Budapest] in a tailor shop. He passed away during the Second World War. Mother adored him.
I spent the most time with my little sister, Hana. In Felsoszeli, the Dudvag flowed behind our house. In the winter, we skated on the frozen water, and sledded. Father made the skates out of wood. In the summertime, we picked corn ears, because our mother raised chickens. We worked the whole summer vacation.
I was together with Hanna in the Allendorf labor camp [a sub-camp of Buchenwald]. When we were liberated, we went home together. Hana stayed a while in Galanta, but in spring of 1946, she went to Kassa, and left from there with her later husband for Palestine. They captured the boat, the passengers were forced to debark in Cyprus. I wrote letters to her, and she sent pictures from there. They went by boat from Cyprus on to Israel. There she was conscripted as a soldier.
Hana’s husband fell during some kind of construction very young, and died. He was a Kassa boy. They had three families[children – sic]. I can’t speak with them. If I go visit them, they say, ‘Dada neni, shalom’, give me a kiss, then leave again, when I go home, they say shalom again and another kiss and that’s all. One of Hana’s daughter’s is a teacher, her name is Malke. My daughter also has this Jewish name, we named them then after our mother. Malke’s husband’s parents come from Morocco. My other niece, Sara was a bank official, but since she married, she doesn’t work anymore. She lives with her two daughters in Tel Aviv. Hanna’s son is with Markus Eli wholesale hardware, and meanwhile is finishing his law studies. His wife’s parents went to Israel from Poland. Hana and her son’s family live today in Netanya. They keep Jewish traditions, and both keep a kosher household.
Location
Slovakia
Interview
Ruzena Deutschova