Franz Lukas was the first teacher coming from the young village of Alexanderhausen. He was born on June 21 1856 in Alexanderhausen, and died on November 9 1934 in Temeswar, where he is buried.

Franz Lukas attended high school in Szegedin and the pedagogical institute in Ofen-Pest (today’s Budapest). He worked as a teacher first in Großjetscha for five years, then for 40 years (1881 to 1921) at the Elementary School of Temeswar-Elisabethstadt, and finally as principal of the Elementary School Temeswar-Josephstadt. He retired after 46 years of teaching.

From 1923 to 1925, already retired, he edited the paper “Banater Schulbote” (roughly translated as “Banat Schools Courier”) which was to become the official newspaper of the Association of German-Catholic Teachers (“Banater Deutsch-Katholischer Lehrerverband”).

Under Item 4 of his Last Will and Testament, he states the following: “My house located in the Elisabethstadt, Str. Dr. Gh. Dragomir, number 4, I deed to the Banatia Hausbau AG Deutsches Schülerheim (Banatia Construction Company – German Students’ Residence), with the obligation that they will contribute 3000 Lei to the Elisabethstadt German Kindergarten that remains to be built, provided that I have not complied with my obligation to contribute that sum during my lifetime. This cultural bequest is motivated by my love and true affection for the German people of the Banat, whose spiritual, moral, and material progress I hope to attain through support of their educational-instructional pedagogical institutions that will also have a beneficial effect extended to my other relatives. My final wish remains that the Banatia may maintain my burial place.”

Franz Lukas was properly honoured in an article in the “Schwäbischer Volkskalender 1936”, Temeswar 1935, page 14. In addition, recognition and gratitude as a benefactor to the teaching profession were expressed in volume 5, page 261, of the publication “Donauschwäbische Lehrer- und Forschungsarbeit – 25 Years of ADL 1947 – 1972” published in the series “Schriftenreihe der Arbeitsgemeinschaft Donauschwäbischer Lehrer (ADL)”.

Translator’s note: Franz Lukas is an example of a Danube Swabian, who was educated in the Hungarian school system, but eventually finds his way back to his native language and culture. It is safe to assume that his roots in the Danube Swabian village of Alexanderhausen contributed to his life choices. For full disclosure, he was also my great great uncle.  - N. Tullius