VISITING AUTHOR-ARTICLE

OCTOBER 2010

Forwarded by United Donauschwaben Milwaukee

          A little more than a year ago, a group of boys from the UDoM Jugendgruppe, myself included, started a band. We all love German music, and as it happened, all played instruments. We called ourselves Die Lieblinger, but since then we’ve had many people, both German and not, ask us what the name meant. I wanted to take the opportunity to tell you why we are Die Lieblinger, as well as telling you a little bit about our band.

          In spring of 1944, the Russian army entered Romania as World War Two was drawing to an end. Tucked in the west of Romania, just south of TimiSoara (Temeschwar in German), laid the town of Liebling. Settled in 1786 by Germans during the great immigration under Emperor Josef II, Liebling became one of many peaceful German farming towns in what was known as the Romanian Banat. It was on September 22, 1944, that over two thousand Donauschwaben fled the advancing Soviet army to escape what would be certain death, imprisonment, or deportation to Russia. Of those who did not flee, one hundred innocent people were deported to Russian work camps, where about half of them died.

          When I was a little boy, my Opa told me a story about a group of kids, not much younger than I am now, from Liebling. This groups of kids, like us, were also musicians. Once the German people of Eastern Europe began fleeing from their homes for the west, the families in Liebling put their children on trains headed for Austria to save their lives. It was in Austria where my Opa met them. They had arrived as Flüchtling, as so many of our families did, and were immediately welcomed by the town that they would now call home. As almost every town in Austria had a Blaskapelle of its own, this town was no exception. It was a small farming village though, which meant that they didn’t have many musicians. The band had only five members; needless to say, the surrounding villages didn’t think much of them. When the children from Liebling arrived, the town band asked if they would play with them. That year at the Blasmusik Festival, thanks to the children from Liebling, the town won first place!

          To this day, no one knows if they were ever reunited with their families who had to stay behind in Romania. And although there may be happy memories, it is a sad story, but one that is all too common amongst us Donauschwaben. It is in remembrance and honor of that group of Donauschwaben children, who had suffered and survived, that we have named our band, Die Lieblinger.

          There are four of us in the band, and I would like to take a moment to introduce everyone. Joseph Fischer is our bassist, backup vocalist and one of the founding members of the band. He is 19 years old and attending the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh to become a history teacher. Nicole Fischer is our band’s manager, as well as Joseph’s older sister. She is 21 years old and currently attending Mt. Mary College in Milwaukee. Lyle Hendrickson is our drummer and the youngest member in our band at 13 years old. Don’t let his age fool you though; he is a very talented young man and a great musician. Ryan Hendrickson is not only our lead guitar player, but also our accordion player and second backup vocalist. He is 17 years old and Lyle’s older brother. And finally, my name is Michael Potnek and I am our lead vocalist, rhythm guitar player, and trumpet player. I’m 21 years old and the other founding member of the band. I’m currently in the Nursing Program at Waukesha County Technical College.

          As I had mentioned earlier, we are also all members of the UDoM Jugendgruppe. It has been very exciting for us to be able to bring our music to not only our Donauschwaben club, but the entire German community, as we started the band out of a love for music, and a tribute to our heritage which we are all so proud of. We have only been around for just over a year, but our name is already beginning to spread. We have played quite a bit in the Madison area, as well as for our Milwaukee Donauschwaben club at the Senior’s 35th Anniversary Party, and the Oktoberfest earlier this year.

          So, that’s the story of who Die Lieblinger are, as well as where our name came from. If you have any questions, or would like to contact us, please don’t hesitate to call or email. You can contact us through Nicole Fischer at (262) 719-6752 or by email at dielieblinger@yahoo.com . You can also find us on Facebook where you can see pictures, and get more information on the band.

Written and Submitted By: Michael Potnek