VISITING AUTHOR/EDITOR ARTICLE

SEPTEMBER  2008

Hans Kopp Receives

"Kulturpreis der Stiftung

Submitted By

Die Stiftung der Donauschwaben-USA

Hans Kopp receives the “Kulturpreis der Stiftung der Donauschwaben-USA“.

The Kulturpreis der Stiftung der Donauschwaben-USA is awarded to persons who made themselves valuable as promoter of our culture in word or deed. As part of the criteria is writing articles, historic book, literature or Art, as well as, working with our youth, teach them our culture and social mores and raise them as valuable citizens of our societies. 

The well known personality in the Greater Cleveland area, Sepp Holzer, nominated Hans Kopp for the “Kulturpreis der Kulturstiftung der Donauschwaben-USA” about 6 months ago.

Sepp based his nomination on Hans’ long time involvement as a Jugendleiter for the SC Donauschwaben among others. During his administration of the youth program director the program had its largest expansion. He also became the sportswriter of the “Sportsecke des SC Donauschwaben” for the Wächter und Anzeiger, a weekly publication. Hans also was the author and editor of the 10^th anniversary book of the soccer club.

From 1965 till 1984, Hans was pressed into the administration of youth soccer development as officer of the local soccer league and as first president of the Ohio Youth Soccer Association-North. He served on the United States Coaches Committee from 1975 to 1977 during which time the committee formulated the State Soccer Coaches Schools, an extension of the international “A”,”B” and “C” licensing program.

He served as the director of the Midwest Olympic Soccer Development Program, as well as, the national committee of the ODP from 1977 through 1983 during which time he held the highest office of any Donauschwabe in the United States and the Ohio youth soccer movement. Why? He wanted to introduce all of our children, boys and girls to the soccer sport, promoting activities, discipline, integrity, as well as. moral values.

Today many of the boys are grown up into young family men and hold responsible positions as leaders in our Donauschwaben community in Cleveland. Today, many of them are soccer coaches around the country to carry on the traditions they have learned from Hans.

During the same time period he was also involved in the Edelweiss Ski Club of the Donauschwaben, the only Donauschwaben ski club in the USA and perhaps the world. He became the author and editor of the 10^th and the 25^th anniversary books of the ski club and contributed on a regularly bases to other anniversary books of the Society of the Donauschwaben. Hans represents the Edelweiss Ski Club as club delegate to the Cleveland Metro Ski Council, head organization for the many ski clubs in northern Ohio and Pennsylvania, for more than 30 years, helping the organization bring the ski sport to many of our children and adults.

In 1994 during the 50^th anniversary of the expulsion of the Donauschwaben his children became interested in the memoirs of their father who was incarcerated in the death camp of Gakowa as a nine year old. He is a victim of the Tito partisan’s revengeful rage against the Germans in his home country.

Hans first began to write his memoires in the German language and was first published in the ”Der Donauschwabe” in Aalen, Germany in 27 biweekly continuation. Franz Awender, then vice president of the Donauschwaben-USA, approached Hans after reading his memoires, asking him if he could write his memoires and a history of the Donauschwaben in English in the interest of the Donauschwaben-USA for the benefit of all Donauschwaben including many pictures. 

Hans as an engineering consultant, had no difficulty to outline the book’s structure, but to get it done the way he had it outlined was a total different story. He needed historic facts, documents and pictures. He did not want to write it only in one language, but in two, so that Oma and Opa can read it in German, as well as, the grandchildren in English.

Since all of our pictures prior to the time of our expulsion were in black and white and we could not see and get the feeling of the many colors of our Trachten, he was determined to include pictures from the time after 1944. From this idea developed the need to include as many Donauschwaben groups from the United States and Canada as possible. But why stop there? Why not include all possible groups from around the world who foster our custom, social mores and who are proud to wear our colorful Trachten. Furthermore it should be a book where you can find “all information’s you need in one book” so you would not have to go to any other books to search for information.

The dual language book was also intended to interest our young people to learn German, their inherited language which they may no longer have command off. He felt that his book “The Last Generation Forgotten and Left to Die, the History of the Donauschwaben in word and picture” should become the “Bible of the Donauschwaben” in the English speaking world and worked toward that goal.

You realize it took hundreds of letters, phone calls to contact people and to collect the pictures. It took three trips to Europe to meet with people between Alsace-Lorrain, the Palatinate, Baden-Würthemberg, Sindelfingen, Blaubeuren, Ulm, and from there down the Danube to Donauwörth, Regensburg, Passau, Linz, Traun and Vienna and back to Braunau and Salzburg. He interviewed many of our historians, collected pictures, documents, books and papers. That this was time taking and financially straining should be to no ones surprise.

While in Donauwörth, Hans found a plaque on the side of a portal. As he read it he learned that the house was a recruiting office for the Prinz Eugen’s Deutschmeister regiment and found the location on the Wörth River from where the Barges departed to float down the Danube to Vienna. While in Vienna Hans was seeking out important sites from the time of the battle at Vienna in 1683, like the Leopolds- and Kahlen- Berg, The Prinz Eugen Monument at the “Heldenplatz”, the Belvedere the residence of Prinz Eugen, the most successful commander of armed forces and the richest man of his time. Hans also wanted to visit the grave site of the Prinz Eugen, but no one seemed to know where he could find it. He almost accidentally tripped over the sign locating the gravesite in the right wing of the Cathedral when he visited St. Stephan Cathedral to attend a premier of the first Hayden Mess.

In 1999 he applied for the copyrights of two books, but decided to place his memoires and the History of the Donauschwaben in both languages under one cover, simply because of his reasoning to find everything in one book.

Unfortunately when the book was ready to be printed, the Donauschwaben-USA had no longer interest in the book and instead printed “Genocide”. This decision did cost the Donauschwaben-USA several thousand dollars of surplus revenues the book created, since Donauschwaben-USA would only have to pay for the printing book but not for Hans’ expenses he had incurred. Fortunately, the Donauschwaben in Cleveland led by Robert Filippi and Sepp Holzer realized the importance of the book and agreed to publish it with the funds received through pre-sales and additional funds donated to pay for all bills, but Hans was still expected to handle the printing and sales. Today the Donauschwaben in Cleveland realized excess funds, since Hans bore all expanses for the book.

Hans has been involved in the German-American Community on and off since 1972 as a member of the “Federation of German-American of Greater Cleveland”. Presently he is the chairman of the advisory group of the German Cultural Garden within the Garden System of Nations as only such Gardens in the Nation. He is also the chairman of the German exhibit, promoting the German culture and social mores at the “Cleveland Home and Garden Show”, the German Festival at the German Central, the Oktoberfest in Cleveland and the German Day Banquet at Lenau Park.

He has spoken at schools, colleges and genealogy societies in Greater Cleveland and nearby Pennsylvania presenting our German culture and history, but also about the atrocities committed on the Donauschwaben and the Germans from the Eastern Europe.

In 2003 he received an E-mail from the office of the Cleveland Donauschwaben to contact a certain, Jody McKim, President of the “Donauschwaben Village Helping Hands, Inc.” which he did and established a relationship with DVHH group, organization. He learned that this organization predominantly comprised of Donauschwaben whose ancestors immigrated to the USA and Canada prior to the Second World War, many who regret no longer speaking German, but want to learn who they are, seeking their roots and identity. Today you may read Hans’ contributions under “An Illustrated History of the Donauschwaben” on their WebPages. Hans also received a special recognition from the DVHH Group during the Landestrachtenfest for his contribution to their WebPages.

In 200, Ed Grünwald approached Hans to help with the translation of “Ein Volk an der Donau” by Nenad Stefanovic. Hans translated the book which he accomplished in 4 months. What made the translation difficult was, that it was translated into German by one of the most prolific writer Oskar Feldtänzer, as historian of the Donauschwaben. He also translated material from Karl Beel on “The Germans from the East” and Helmut Neuner “The SS Prinz Eugen Division” among several others.

During his involvement as a historian of the Donauschwaben-USA, he has seen many miss statements by authors who have not taken the time to thoroughly research our history. The errors made may not have been made intentionally but prior to printing the statements you make, one must verify their correctness, time and place of events as they took place. For this reason Hans has written a chronicle and has posted it on the Donauschwaben-USA WebPages and presently serves on the website committee.

During the last 10 years Hans has written numerous articles about the Donauschwaben Cleveland, about their youth and their history. One of which is about “Our Lives on foreign Soil”.

What is even more important to Hans is that he feels it is our responsibility and solemn duty to commit ourselves to help our young people to learn about their history. He supplies students in colleges and universities with information’s about the Donauschwaben history throughout the USA, Canada, Europe and other countries. He is or was in contact by E-mail with students in Hungary, Austria and Germany, even, as far as, South Africa and Argentina. His books may be found in public libraries and in personal possessions in South Africa, Argentina, Brazil, Iraq, Austria, Germany, Hungary, Serbia, as well as, in many university libraries in Canada and the USA.

If one reads Iraq, one may question; how did a book get there? A soldier of Donauschwaben parents, who serves in the US Armed Forces who was on furlough at home, acquired the book and took it to Iraq, which he did not know at the time. Hans was very surprised to get an E-mail letter from him from Iraq in which he wrote that the book is an inspiration to him while serving for our country and helps him overcome the hardships in the field. He also wrote that he now realizes the true meaning of freedom which the United States brought to Iraq. He also wrote that other soldiers he gave the book too, who red it, also expressed similar views.

Over the years Hans has been dedicated to the cause of the Donauschwaben and German nationality groups. He is recognized and respected as a youth educator, as author and historian of German and Donauschwaben history.

It was the ultimate thrill for Hans to receive this award, the highest award of the Donauschwaben the; “Kulturpreis der Stiftung der Donauschwaben-USA” this day at the end of the Youth Dance Competitions on  August 30^th 2008 in front of more than 1,000 Donauschwaben in Cleveland, Ohio.

Congratulations,

Your wife Annemarie, son Robert and Christa, daughter Birgitt, husband Ted and Grandchildren Kris, Katie, Klayton and friends.

You may find Hans’ work not only in his book but also on these WebPages:

Our Life on Foreign Soil

http://donauschwaben-usa.org/2008%20August%20Kopp%20%20Life%20on%20Foreign%20Soil.htm

Historic Timeline; Culture of the Germanic presence in Europe

http://donauschwaben-usa.org/historic_timeline.htm

The History of the Donauschwaben

http://donauschwaben-usa.org/history-chapter_1.htm

http://donauschwaben-usa.org/history-chapter_2.htm

http://donauschwaben-usa.org/history-chapter_3.htm

http://donauschwaben-usa.org/history-chapter_4.htm

http://donauschwaben-usa.org/history-epilog.htm

An Illustrated History of the Donauschwaben

http://www.dvhh.org/batschka/arts_&_literature/kopp/index.htm