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In Dombo, as I mentioned, I went to a Czech school, in Felsoszeli I went to a Jewish school. I went to that school for six years, from first grade to sixth grade. The teacher lady, Helena Bergerova, I believe, was from Nagyszombat. She only taught me for a short time. Then came Zoltan Reisner, a teacher from Bazin. I was in the same class with Hasi Muller, for example. In September of 2004, they buried him in the Galanta Jewish cemetery. He was the last from Galanta, who was a Galanta yeshivah student, where they continued their studies under the direction of Rabbi Duschinski and later, Rabbi Buxbaum. My later husband also went there, Herman Deutsch.
My favorite subject was history. I love it to this day. There was a teacher in Galanta whom I particularly didn’t like, because she always made exceptions for the children with wealthier parents. She always called me ‘Eilander’. ‘Hold out your hand’, and she gave us the cane rod. Zoltan Reisner was my favorite teacher. He came back here after the war, to Galanta, and wanted to marry me. I would have married him for sure, if I hadn’t become the woman of Herman Deutsch in the meantime.
I never encountered anti-Semitism in school, nor with my teachers, even though I went to an exclusively Jewish school, and the teachers themselves were Jewish. I didn’t take any extra music classes or language classes, there wouldn’t have been money for it anyway. I made friends in school, with some exceptions, Jews lived in my direct surroundings.
We lived in a common courtyard with an old woman in Felsoszeli, Miss Paula and a Lutheran family, the Kozaks. Miss Paula had a small textile business. If she needed something, she would send one of us kids to run along after it. Mr. Kozak was a carpenter. He had three families, two girls and one boy. Despite that my parents were on good terms with them, they rarely visited each other. They mutually respected one another’s religion. The Kozaks, for example, when they slaughtered, they put flour, eggs and a live duck in the breadbasket. That’s what they brought from ‘the slaughter’. At Christmas and Easter, they always gave us fruits and walnuts. They never brought brioche, because they knew we couldn’t eat it, since it wasn’t kosher. I remember that they respected our religion. The courtyard was wide. We had a garden, which we worked. My mother raised poultry and ducks. Beyond the courtyard, the Dudvag [river] meandered.
My parents only went to the bet midrash, they never made time to visit friends, they simply had no time. They worked hard, Father sewed, Mother was occupied with the kids. Sometimes washing clothes, sometimes ironing, there wasn’t time for that kind of thing [visiting friends].
My favorite subject was history. I love it to this day. There was a teacher in Galanta whom I particularly didn’t like, because she always made exceptions for the children with wealthier parents. She always called me ‘Eilander’. ‘Hold out your hand’, and she gave us the cane rod. Zoltan Reisner was my favorite teacher. He came back here after the war, to Galanta, and wanted to marry me. I would have married him for sure, if I hadn’t become the woman of Herman Deutsch in the meantime.
I never encountered anti-Semitism in school, nor with my teachers, even though I went to an exclusively Jewish school, and the teachers themselves were Jewish. I didn’t take any extra music classes or language classes, there wouldn’t have been money for it anyway. I made friends in school, with some exceptions, Jews lived in my direct surroundings.
We lived in a common courtyard with an old woman in Felsoszeli, Miss Paula and a Lutheran family, the Kozaks. Miss Paula had a small textile business. If she needed something, she would send one of us kids to run along after it. Mr. Kozak was a carpenter. He had three families, two girls and one boy. Despite that my parents were on good terms with them, they rarely visited each other. They mutually respected one another’s religion. The Kozaks, for example, when they slaughtered, they put flour, eggs and a live duck in the breadbasket. That’s what they brought from ‘the slaughter’. At Christmas and Easter, they always gave us fruits and walnuts. They never brought brioche, because they knew we couldn’t eat it, since it wasn’t kosher. I remember that they respected our religion. The courtyard was wide. We had a garden, which we worked. My mother raised poultry and ducks. Beyond the courtyard, the Dudvag [river] meandered.
My parents only went to the bet midrash, they never made time to visit friends, they simply had no time. They worked hard, Father sewed, Mother was occupied with the kids. Sometimes washing clothes, sometimes ironing, there wasn’t time for that kind of thing [visiting friends].
Location
Slovakia
Interview
Ruzena Deutschova