She also carried a weapon in the mountains that her brother had forgotten
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Margita Duchová, born Čukanová, was born on October 16, 1926 in Kšinná near Uhrovec. Father Michal Čukan and mother Katarína, born Števková had six children. Margita was third. Her father was a major of Kšinná. The family subsisted on agriculture and children had to help from an early age. After graduating from school, she also went to work as a seasonal labourer near Vienna, where she experienced bombing. Her brother Ján Čukan was a member of the Jan Žižka Partisan Brigade. During the Slovak National Uprising, Jews hid in the house, but it was dangerous for both sides. Later, their father took them to the prepared bunkers behind the village. They cooked food and carried it to the partisans to the mountains. Margita also carried a weapon to the mountains that her brother had forgotten at home when he came to wash and sleep. A German staff also resided in their house for a while. They also experienced a raid by German soldiers and guards, who searched their house for food and money. The father gave all the money to the children so that they could hide it and have something to buy bread for if the Nazis accidentally dragged it away. The villagers supported the partisans until the end of the war in April 1945. After the war they had to hand over high contingents, later came collectivization. Margita and her family had to hand over horses, cows and land. She got married and had three children with her husband Adam Duch. She worked as a milkmaid on a cooperative, later in a furniture company. She has never been politically involved. Today, the almost 95-year-old pensioner lives in the Social Services Home in Kšinná.
