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Memoires
of Konrad Hassler
An
Orphan in Yugoslavia
By
Konrad Hassler
Forwarded
By Hans Kopp
hans_kopp@hotmail.com
September
1944, it was a very confusing time. The German troops were in retreat
and encouraged everyone to flee from the Russian Red Army as rumors
spread they were furious revenge seeking troops and certainly it would
effect the population in the Vojvodina of German ancestry although
they have lived in peace with their Serbian and Hungarian neighbors
for more than 250 years.
Several
years after WWI, during the world wide depression and shortly after,
my father Matthias found it necessary, in order to provide for his
family, to seek work in Munich, Germany. But when my younger brother
Matthias became ill, my father asked my mother Veronika to come to
Munich
as well for treatments. This left me in care of my grandmother Susanna
Spiegl and Great Grandmother Franziska Gottfried on my mother’s
side.
As
our people in Batsch-Brestowatz were encouraged to flee under the
protection of the German army, they also saw to draft our men left in
town into the army amongst them my grandfather, who lost his life only
months later by the oncoming Red Army.
The
turmoil in the village continued when the Red Army reached our town.
One cannot imagine the havoc they created, not to speak of when the
Tito Partisans arrived only weeks later. Our peaceful village never
would be the same. Although the war was over in the Vojvodina by
October of 1944, our demise would just begin.
It
was on March 16th of 1945 when a never ending convoy of
people came along Main Street of our village all afternoon going into
nightfall and came to rest on the street near the church. I learned
from my grandmother these people were expelled from their home in
Batschsentiwan.
The
next morning partisans also entered our house and asked us to leave;
since my grandmother was unable to walk we were loaded on a wagon and
driven behind the convoy to Filipowa. In Filipowa we stayed for two
weeks and had to leave the home we stayed and marched to the Hutweide
were we stayed overnight in the open and slept on the grass of the
meadow. The following day we were loaded into box cars amongst us my
Grandmother, Great Grandmother and my Uncle Gabriel Spiegl. We
arrived the following day together in Gakowa on April 1st
1945.
Our
lives took a turn for the worst, when only two weeks after our arrival
there my Great-grandmother died about May 15th 1945. A year
later in 1946 my Grandmother passed away and now I was with my Uncle
Gabriel Spiegl.
My Uncle made a
decision to escape from Gakowa across the border to Hungary with me
together with a group of people I did not know. As we approached the
border and were about to cross, we were spotted by Partisan border
guards. Suddenly everybody’s life was in the hands of the Partisans
with the exception of my uncle, who managed to run across the border
to Hungary, while I was amongst complete strangers now.
Was
my uncle searching for me afterwards? I really know do not know. We
were now taken to a camp. Unfortunately
I cannot tell where it was located, but think it must have been close
to Hungarian border, since it did not take us long to arrive in the
camp.
Once
here we were lined up against a wall while the guards went inside a
building next to the wall, most likely to get instructions as to what
to do with us. Scared and bewildered I decided to run away. In a
desperate effort to run away I was able to jump over the wall and,
although I became under rifle fire, was only slightly nicked by a
bullet. As quick as I could I allowed myself to fall on the ground and
stay still as if I was dead. The guard may have thought they killed me
and never bothered to check if this was the case. What happened to the
other people I do not know; were they executed or taken to Kruschiwl
or Gakowa?
I
stayed hidden for a couple of days, but became hungry and sneaked back
to the Partisans complex. I
looked for something to eat by going through their garbage cans. This
I did for several days and then moved on and while I was walking down
the road I heard a bus coming in the distance. When
it slowed down to cross a bridge I hopped on the ladder on the back of
the bus and hung on. When the bus stopped I left and wandered around
the countryside. My only concern was now to find food to stay alive.
Now, being separated and away from everyone as well as possible
dangers and dependent on myself, I wandered around aimlessly.
On
the way came a Partisan taking a woman and child somewhere; they asked
me to come with them and I did fear the worst again. But apparently
they must have taken me in. What transpired next is quite hazy; I
would have to say completely blank. How can I explain a period of my
life during which I do not have any recollection of was happening to
me.
Did
I contract an illness during the time I had to sleep under the sky
without adequate food or shelter? If you contract typhus you begin to
hallucinate and your mind may not recollect anything that transpired
during this time period. Was that what happen to me? Who
took care of me during this time?
What
I remember next: I found myself in an orphanage in Knjazevac near the
Bulgarian border during the middle of the year of 1946. While I was
there it seemed to be very nice, considering. Most
importantly now was that I was looked after, had good food, and a bunk
bed to sleep on. I had to
go to school using the Serbian language till 1949.
Once
while I taking a walk outside of the orphanage I was approached by a
couple (man and woman) and later I learned it was my parents who had
sent people to find me and to take me to Germany. However, I did not
know who they were, but was asked to go with them.
But people from the orphanage saw me and they stopped me from
going with them. I knew that I was not permitted to leave the grounds
of the orphanage. I gave them an excuse and continued to stay there
for another year.
The
World Church Conference in 1950, whose priority issues were refugees
whose family members were separated, took place in Salzburg, Austria.
Prof. A. K. Gauss presented a document entitled “Children in the
Shadow” at the conference. He addressed the problems of thousands of
children orphaned and left to suffer in
Yugoslavia
without parents, grandparents or caring relatives. It was the first
time the world took note of the problem and with the cooperation and
the help of the International Red Cross, thousands of children were
allowed to leave Yugoslavia to be reunited with their families in
Austria, Germany, USA and other countries.
During
early spring of 1950 the Red Cross visited orphanages in
Yugoslavia to look for children still alive whose parents were in
Germany or Austria so they could be reunited with their parents. I was
one of these children who were found through this effort. I
would be placed on the train headed to Germany with others. There
I was reunited with my parents in Munich.
After
separation from my family for more than 5 years, I still did recognize
my parents. Now I learned
that I had another brother. I had to tell them about my survival, the
death of my Great-grandmother, Grandmother and our attempted escape to
Hungary
with my Uncle. I could no longer be allowed to go to school in Munich,
since I was 15 years old now and had to go to work with my father as
upholsterer.
In
the meantime my parents had applied for emigration to Canada and only
six months after my arrival in Munich on September 22nd
1950 we boarded the Beaverbrae from Bremen
to Toronto, Canada. On this trip we encountered a storm which
made our trip someone unpleasant, but looked forward to begin a new
life in Toronto, Canada. After my arrival I was somewhat surprised
that I did have to go to High School. This
presented difficulties for me as I could not speak English and was
forced to drop out. In order for us to learn the language all of us
had to take night courses in English together. It was kind of fun to
compete against each other to see who would learn to speak quicker.
It did not take
long for us to speak enough to be able to secure work and an education
to establish a wonderful life in Canada, the free world.
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