Shlomoh Chaim Murawtchick was Bessie Kutnik's grandfather who during WWI was beaten by the Balekovitz (White Russian soldiers) so badly that he died three weeks later. She and her younger brother Philip witnessed this.
Her father, a neighbor, her older brother Sam, her grandfather and a friend of Sam's were made to lie down on a floor and beaten on the body and head with 2" by 4" wooden clubs. Her brother and the friend were never right mentally again. Sam eventually committed suicide in Canada and the friend committed suicide in Israel. Bessie and her younger brother were sitting at the table, and Bessie said, "We're next if we don't do something." So they sneaked out of a window and hid in a barn until their mother got them. Bessie thought her mother was also raped.
A photo of the grave and a postcard informing relatives in America of the death were sent after the funeral, and Bessie eventually immigrated to America and inherited them. In Hebrew, the text on the grave reads "Here is buried a respectful man, Mr. Shlomoh Chayim, the son of Mr. Zvi, who died on 10 (of the month) First Adar*, year 681 to the short period [i.e., without the 5000]. May his soul be bound up in the bond of life."
The text on the postcard reads: "My eyes are pouring tears because of the death of my father, my teacher, Mr. Shlomoh-Chayim, the son of Mr. Zvi, who died on the 10th day of First Adar. For that I am weeping. Ha! The saddest day of all. I'll remember a year. It is a mitzvah [i.e., compulsory] to torture oneself [i.e., fast] on the day of my father's death."
The grave was destroyed during WWII.
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