Dina and Rozsi Gertzovits

This photo was taken before the war, it’s my sister on the right, Dina Gertzovits, next to her is her sister-in-law, Rozsi Gertzovits, the younger sister of Mendel Gertzovits, my sister’s husband.

We were seven siblings, there were four brothers and three sisters counting myself too.

Formerly it was a great sin not to give birth to a baby, they considered that you had killed that baby, if you didn't give birth to it.

It had to be born. That is why there were so many children. I tell you, 7 children were in our family, in one of my uncle's 5, in the other uncle's 8, my third uncle had 6, the fourth had 6 too.

There were many children in every Jewish family. It wasn't a fashion to have an abortion or to take these pills in order to not to have children or to miscarry it, it wasn't a fashion at all, but a great, a very grand sin. But children weren't as demanding as they are today.

They didn't need swank or I don't know what kind of clothes, they were modest.

First there was Dina Walter. She was born in 1920, when my mum, Berta Malek [nee Walter] didn't marry yet my dad, Izidor Malek.

Dina was called Walter as my mum was a Walter child. Her husband was Mano Gertzovits, Mendel, who came back after the war [World War II], and got married again.

My sister's husband had a younger sister, Rozsi. My sister left with her two years old daughter, she didn't return.

Then there was Nandi, Nandi Malek after my dad, Mojsi Malek, Jaszi Malek, David Malek - we called him Dodi, but his real name was David - and the youngest, my sister, she was called Rifki Malek.

We were all born in every second year after each other, Nandi in 1922, Mojsi in 1924, me in 1926, Jaszi in 1928, David in 1930 and Rifki in 1932.

Nachman inherited my grandfather's name, but he was called Nandor. None of my brothers and sisters returned [after WWII].