Donauschwaben in den USA


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VISITING AUTHOR/EDITOR ARTICLE

JULY 2007

A Tribute to the Donauschwaben in North America

By Hans Kopp  

hans_kopp@hotmail.com

As shown in Michael Bresser’s comments, Donauschwaben have been immigrating to North America, in particular the United States as early as prior the two World Wars. As further stated it is very difficult to identify them or trace them to their place of origin. A classical example is my great-great-uncle Josef Ergh who came from Batschsentiwan to the United States in 1905 and his family that followed him here in 1907, as well as his sisters who came here in 1909. They are listed in the ships manifest that took them across the ocean, archived in the records of Ellis Island, as coming from a town in Hungary which is spelled differently three times. If we did not know that they were relatives coming from the same town and did not know the various different spellings of the town’s name which existed, we could not have been able to determine that they were indeed members of the same family. Once here in Cleveland, my great-great-uncle opened a barbershop in a Hungarian neighborhood on Buckeye Road. He spoke perfect Hungarian and therefore, one would not know that he was a Donauschwabe except for us, our family. While he remained in Cleveland with his family his sisters returned to Batschsentiwan. One interesting note is and all of us Donauschwaben should be proud of the fact, that his barbershop was dismantled the day he retired and reassembled in the Cleveland Auto and Aviation Museum where it can be seen today.

We also learned that the German-Hungarian emigrants arriving from Hungary organized themselves into various interest groups and clubs with names like “Die Deutsch-Ungarn” and “The Banater”. There they were active fostering their culture and traditions, as well as language, mostly in songs. Very little is known however, about their businesses and daily lives although we know of many businesses whose founders were of German extraction, and several of them indeed were Donauschwaben, like in Cleveland the Blasius brothers from Obrowatz, Stefan Fischler from Futok and Johann Gerber of Batschsentiwan.

What brought them together after WWII were their strong inherited characters, the desire and need of the Donauschwaben to socialize with other fellow Donauschwaben, who experienced the horrors of the Second World War and the expulsion from their homes by the communist governments in their home countries, homes their ancestors had built during the previous 250 years. The Donauschwaben now uprooted by the hundreds of thousands, their homes destroyed, the survivors left homeless and penniless. But not only that, they were also deeply scarred by their mistreatments starvation and deceases, the suffering from the loss of family members and some of them were often now left all alone in a strange new world they have come to, to seek new opportunities, new homes, new life’s and live in peace.

Shortly after their arrival in the United States and Canada, and after they had made new friends and acquaintances, the urge to form new club communities where they could speak their language did grow ever stronger. They organized themselves in many interest groups, however their primary goal was to maintain and foster their inherited culture and customs they brought from their homeland. In most cases, it was the only thing they had left from their home country to hold onto besides their families and friends.

First, many of them were organizations to aid other Donauschwaben with social problems, like housing, employment and give them support to build new life’s and new homes. One of their foremost concerns was their children. Bringing them together was accomplished by organizing dance groups, choruses, as well as with a variety of sports clubs, mainly soccer (football). These soccer clubs attracted young men who in turn attracted the young women; they became very popular and enjoyed a large following.

For the Donauschwaben the Sunday afternoons became a place to socialize and unwind among friends. German language interest groups were organized followed by German language schools to teach the children German and German history. The result of the programs required many hours of work, dedication and patience by many volunteers. Their efforts brought rewards, although, the programs originally intended were for our children, it attracted also their parents and grandparents. It was the parents and grandparents attracted by the activities, who became a viable support group for other functions of the Donauschwaben Societies. It was a win, win situation from the start from which everyone involved benefited and thus, became the springboards and the cornerstones for the Donauschwaben Societies of today in North America.

The need to establish contacts with groups from other cities and to establish a national Organization developed soon after their arrival. From this need the head organization “The Society of Donauschwaben of North America” was founded in 1957. The sport of soccer was among one of the first inter city contacts bringing young people together for that purpose, and establishing friendships across the states. Society meetings hammered out other types of functions, such dancing, and singing, as well as social and political interest groups giving them directions and goals to follow.

Many of the Donauschwaben had the desire to meet with relatives in other cities and the need to visit them grew ever stronger. It did not take long before arrangements, in the sixties, were made to hold an annual “Donauschwaben Day”. During such times memorial services were held for the victims of death camps, chorus performances, youth dance performances, as well as inter city youth dance competitions, among other functions. But most important, meeting with long lost relatives and friends from their old home towns and the socializing of young adults, who would eventually be asked to carry on the tradition of our culture.

More than 60 years have passed since our expulsion that brought the end of the Donauschwaben in their home country, as we knew it then. As we look today at the accomplishment of the “Last Generation of Donauschwaben” born in their home country. In the free world they live in today, one can only admire them for their never fading believe in themselves and the persistence to leave the fruits of their labor for the generations to come.

How could they achieve the wealth they have achieved in such a short span of time one has to question? The answer lies in the strong inherited character they acquired as survivors. By being used living all their lives on foreign soil, and being exposed to the many political changes and the pressures existing there and from their work ethics handed down from generation to generation. The schools systems they created back home, where young women were taught to knit, sew, cook, and bake, as well as good housekeeping and childcare from early on in life. While the same time, their oncoming men were taught not only how to hold a hammer and nail, but also the necessities the young men needed to know, how to raise farm animals and farm products and process them. This valuable education continued in the environment of a good home under the supervision of their parents and grandparents.

The post WW I changes they were exposed to, like the closing of their schools forcing them to go to Austria and Germany to study. The post WW II changes they were exposed to, like the deportation of many to Russia, the expulsion from their homes in Hungary, the expulsion from their homes in Romania and deportation to the Baragan Steppe, the expulsion from their homes in Yugoslavia and incarceration into death camps, as well as forced labor camps. All of these factors helped them to become determined, useful, productive and prosperous citizens in the New World the live in today.

Is it understandable that the survivors of the Donauschwaben, who were dealt the lowest hand in the stack of cards of politics, who landed at the shores of equal opportunity in North America, would rebound under this environment of their new gained freedom!

We are the last generation, expelled from our homes our forefathers had built and have survived the insurmountable odds placed in our lives. We, whose forefathers had amassed a wealth in riches and culture, and who inherited this wealth and riches, came to the United States with only a suitcase, which held all of what was left of our possessions. We came to the United States and Canada, strange lands we did not know. We came here with new hopes to establish new roots. Some of us came here deeply depressed for we had lost our homes but also a mother, a father or both. Some had lost a brothers or sisters some came alone after losing every one of their family members.

We, the last Generation came here to work again with our bare hands and with the sweat of our brows to establish a new life and a new home, as our forefathers did in the land of the Donauschwaben. This however, was by no means an easy task as one might want to believe; it was a difficult uphill struggle for all of us. We had to find housing mostly in poor neighborhoods because of the lack of money. More often then not we were exploited at the work place, because of the language barrier or the lack of education which had suffered greatly, especially by those of us born in the thirties, who lost anywhere from two to six valuable school years. We had now to go to evening schools not only to learn to speak English but also take academic classes to further our education. However, it took perhaps not more than five years after our arrival and we were proud owners of a car and even had a house to our name.

We may not have made a giant industrial impact in this country, but have never the less made a distinct economical impact in the local communities where we live today. Today, we the Donauschwaben not only take working places in this country but also are in a position to give thousands of jobs to the American people in our factories, our construction businesses, our tool shops and farms. Most of our children have obtained higher education and are professionals, doctors, lawyers, engineers, scientists, and entertainers and as such have much to offer. Thus they have contributed to the common good and welfare of this country, even though our descendants may no longer speak German, the language of their forefathers. They still recognize themselves as Donauschwaben, members of the youngest of the “German Volksgroups”, to foster and maintain the heritage and culture of their ancestors in their community centers, we the “Last generation” have built for them.

Despite the successful lives, many of the Donauschwaben enjoy today, none of them have forgotten who they are. They have not only been able to establish themselves financially but also as great supporters of the Donauschwaben heritage and the culture in North America. It would take pages and pages to write about their unselfish contributions of their many hours of dedication and labors of love. There are thousands of names connected with the many achievements. We need to thank them all what they have accomplished to uphold the traditions and memory of our ancestors by erecting monuments in their names. Pause at their monuments they have erected at their Donauschwaben Centers and Homes and spend a minute in silent prayer in remembrance of their suffering, survival and resurgence; they have earned it.

Submitted by:

Hans Kopp

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