I am very grateful to have the DVHH website.  Not only has it connected me with friends from "the old country," but it is helping me to connect with the rich heritage.  I love reading the stories and accounts, and I love reading the Schwowische dialect.  Even though I was born and raised in College Point, NY, I spoke Schwowisch at home.  It is music to my ears, and warms my heart.  The DVHH has also provided me with a wealth of knowledge about our heritage and history and links to videos, DVDs and books.  Marie introduced me to the book "Bread on my mother's table" and the DVHH also introduced me to "A Pebble in my Shoe."  Both books were excellent and gave me a deeper insight and appreciation for our family's experience. 

Thank you DVHH and everyone who has contributed their stories.  May the legacy of our Donauschwaben live on and never be forgotten. 

Best regards,
Annette O'Shea

I also have read all these wonderful postings and stories and Jody encouraged me to post a comment, too. Although I think my English is not too bad, it is difficult for me to find the right words for such a post in a foreign language. So please forgive me if my post will sound a bit strange.

My Donauschwaben ancestors are all gone, many of them in a "young" age, my father was 62 when he died.
So there is nobody left to ask about family history and I have missed that for a long time.  Then Mr. Herbert Hoffmann encouraged me to subscribe to this list years ago. I have learned that there are so many of you with the same background, the same thoughts and feelings....you really became like a big family for me and I am glad and proud to belong to this family.

I want to say "Thank you" to all of you, who are always there and are willing to help!

Andrea Ballreich, Hockenheim, BW / Germany
 

I was ‘introduced’ To DVHH by John Feldenzer, THANK YOU JOHN.’ He found my ancestors for me back to the 1700’s from the Saarland to Bukin. He even had my grandfather’s and his siblings names and birth dates.

DVHH has made me realize and value our DS heritage. The fragile memories are getting more faint as we survivors age. Most of our older generation, like our parents are dead. I was only six years old when we became homeless. After a very brief happy childhood, it was fear, hunger and and travel on a tarp-covered wagon in rainy October and November weather. We slept on straw in stranger’s barns if we were lucky, otherwise it was on the crowded, damp, cold wagon. My younger brother was one year old. There were five children on my grandfather’s wagon, the oldest was eight.

DVHH has made me realize how precious these memories are. After reading stories of the fate of other DS refugee, we were fortunate in spite of the hardship and deprivation we suffered.

While looking for ancestry information I got an email from Kathy S. who came from the came Lovas, the same village as my grandfather. From 1944 to 1950 we lived in Austria. It turned out Kathy lived there, too. We also had the same strict teacher, who used to beat us for for every questions we couldn’t answer. Since I knew all the refugee children in our school, I finally asked Kathy what her maiden name was. When she told me, I got goose bumps down my back. She was the little girl who had been in my classroom. She had just come from a concentration camp, frail skinny and scared. She was afraid to say anything and the teacher just whipped her with a stick. We reminisced about Austria and coming to Canada. Kathy grew up in a foster home because her mother had died shortly after arriving in Canada. She told me she had no relatives in Canada. I had good news for her. There were a lot of cousins and they only lived an hour’s drive from where I live. I gave her their addresses and phone numbers. Within a short time Kathy and her husband came from British Columbia to visit me in Ontario and we went to see her ‘long-lost relatives. It was a very tearful and emotional reunion. Kathy and I kept in touch, visited each other and even went to the Treffen in Kitchener on Labour Day weekend together.

Through a helpful ‘lister’ on DVHH, THANK YOU SUSAN , I was able to connect with a ‘cousin’ in the US whose grandfather and my Kolbrich grandfather’s grandfather were brothers. That family came to the US in 1906. I thank the executive and all the List members for keeping this DS clan together.
Merry Christmas to All and God Bless,

Anne Dreer, Guelph, Ontario, Canada

DVHH has meant a lot to me in searching for my wife's family in the Banat. We haven't found them yet, but we have had a wealth of experience in the search. As Administrators of the Guest Book, we are pleased to see how much our website, and organization, means to other researchers.

Bob and Marie Nelson

I am one of the quiet ones in the group.  I don't post often, but I never miss a daily digest of the great topics you all discuss.  I'm 41 and have two children in Elementary school, so I don't have too much time these days to get research done unless it's after 9 pm, stopping when my eyes start burning from the late hour.  I grew up in Southern California, away from my German side of the family, and I really wanted to find out more about them.  So, I started researching about 9 years ago and was off to a slow start.  No one in my Dad's family knew anything about where either my grandpa's or grandma's family came from, other than "Germany" or "Hungary".   

In December 2005, I was able to find the Ellis Island manifest for my grandma's family (Ruttinger).  It said they were from some place called Mitrowitz, a place I had never heard of a that time.  A few Google searches later, I found myself at dvhh.org.  I found Mitrowitz amongst the village listings a knew I was in the right place.  I quickly signed up for the email list and browsed the stories and links.  Over the next few months, I was absolutely floored by all of the information you all had collected.  All of the stories about our culture and the devastation and horrific treatment during the war were both wonderful and sad at the same time - I couldn't read them fast enough.  The recipe's you all discussed (especially the Christmas cookies) set off bells of recognition as things my grandma cooked on the rare times we were able to go back to Detroit for a visit.  After a few months, I was able to piece together a bunch of information about my  grandma's family and their life in what is now Serbia and present it to my her.  We had several conversations over the phone where she was reminiscing about her grandmother and the little things she used to do that were now evidently very Donauschwaben.  She passed away in July 2006, about a month after I first was able to tell her where her family came from.  She was so pleased to finally know her family heritage, and it made her last days a lot more enjoyable.  It meant the world to me to be able to do that for her, and I couldn't have done it without the DVHH. 

Since then, I have received help from several people who provided lookups for me, and I now have almost the whole Ruttinger family laid-out in my family tree going back to the original settler in Gajdobra in the 1760s.  All I had to do was ask, and at least one person, if not more, responded quickly with the information I was looking for.  That help and kindness is a common trait amongst everyone in the DVHH, and I am eternally grateful for all of you.  I finally had a chance to help out another member in Jun 2011 while I  was in Sharon, PA, by getting some burial information, headstone pictures, and pictures of the now empty lot where their family home was located.  It was very rewarding to be able to start paying back the kindness shown to me by the group.  I will do it again, any chance I get. 

Again, thank you everyone, for all that you do! 

Brian Phail, Los Angeles, CA

A wonderful community with dedication and heart. There is hardly a day in the year in which you can feel the community. Of particular interest to me are the many reports of eyewitnesses of our past. They are a great source for future generations and preserve the past. Thanks to Jody, Eve, Nick, Hans and all the many many others.

Unfortunately, I have mastered the English language only slightly. Warm regards and all good wishes for 2013 for all.

Brigitte Wolf (Berlin/Germany) Ortsgeschichte und Familien von Sekitsch / Village history and families from Sekitsch

I am thankful for my 6+ years with DVHH. I have found ancestry from Werbass, and because of Roy's generous help, found a treasure cove of ancestors through a shirt-tail relative that married an Engle from Kischker. I bought the Kischker family book that Roy was using and this book Has opened literally thousands of family from that shirt-tail. Thanks again Roy.

Dan Walter, NE, OH

Where to start? This question might best be answered if I thought about what it would be like if the DVHH never existed. If that were the case I would not have befriended Robin Grube, who would not have introduced me to Zeljko Leksic, who not knowing me would not have been able to help me with so many family records. If the DVHH did not exist I would not have this feeling of belonging to a community who knows where I'm coming from and while I still have so many unanswered questions, I am one among many in the same boat asking similar questions. When I first came across the DVHH.org web site I felt that nobody knew what I was talking about and I didn't know enough to be able to explain the cryptic comments of my 90+ year old DS Oma to my family. I just knew that what she was telling me was important and I tried my best to listen. Through DVHH I quickly learned that I was not alone and there were members of the DVHH community who could help answer my questions or at least point me in the right direction. I have since become online friends with some of you and in 2010 I was able to visit Zeljko Leksic in Croatia who graciously welcomed my wife and I, taking us on a tour of Đakovo and Satnitz. These connections, friendships, and sense of community are precious to me and I am thankful to Jody and all the DVHH volunteers who bring us all together.

 Dan Larson, Walden, NY

Jody, where to start and what to say, as the DVHH is dear to my heart:

My first real introduction to the DVHH was when I met Jody in person at a Donauschwaben Treffen in 2007 after many email correspondences before that. The DVHH was in it's infancy. As an avid Donauschwaben researcher for years and as the VP/genealogist for the Trenton Donauschwaben, we hit it off from the start. Jody twisted my arm and convinced me to get involved with the DVHH, first as a contributor, then on the Publicity committee, then as Coordinator of the Batschka web page with Nancy Wyman and then as the Obituary section coordinator. In addition, the Trenton Donauschwaben is proud to have been the first club affiliate of the DVHH; myself, Hans Martini, Adam and Eva Martini, Ray Martini and Jim Lieblang gave support and also became DVHH associate members.

Jody can be proud of her great accomplishment in organizing and running this valued web resource for those doing Donauschwaben research. I do not know where she gets the time and energy to do all that she does. Not an easy task in deed. I have found many new friends through the DVHH web site and now a Facebook site!

When I am contacted by any Donauschwaben researcher from around the world, the first place I recommend they visit is >DVHH.org<. The DVHH.org can be found in the "References Cited" section of several recently published books about the Donauschwaben, their history, culture and genocide. A great honor in itself.

So, on this the 10th Anniversary of the DVHH, on behalf of the Trenton Donauschwaben and myself we want to thank Jody, all the volunteers, list members and associate members for their contributions and support. We are proud to be a member of this great organization. Happy Anniversary and many more!

Dennis J. Bauer, Levittown, PA

When Jody contacted me way back in 2003, the DVHH website was just in its infancy. Who could have guessed that that little spark of an idea of Jody's has now grown into this fully fledged, world famous mine of information on the Donauschwaben people and their history! I suppose the main impact it had on me, apart from re-learning German and translating various books and articles, was to travel to Romania with that first little group of ours in May 2004 (see http://www.uihei.com/DiaryTrip2004.html), a trip I hadn't made since 1970 when I visited my grandparents in Uihei with a friend and my family. I'd previously been there in 1967 with my family. It was the first time my Dad had been back to his home village since before the war (he'd been a PoW in England). Although my grandparents had both died by 1981, the trip with Jody and four other Donauschwaben Americans in 2004 spurred me on to delve more deeply into our own family's village history. I also looked into the history of three other neighbouring villages, which are included in the DVHH website, but eventually concentrated solely on Uihei and built a separate website for it at www.uihei.com. Through the DVHH, I've also managed to connect with several of my Dad's cousins in America (he'd lived there as a child for six years before returning to the Banat with his parents in 1928). I've been able to give them their ancestral lineage by using the Family Books available, and have also done the same for several other people on the DVHH List, which thrills me as much as it does the recipients! Well done, Jody, and all the other DVHH contributors on such a fantastic website. No doubt there will be more DVHH projects in the coming years - here's to another 10 years!

Diana Lambing, Horsham, England

I just joined the DVHH a week ago, but I've learned so much already! This is the first time I've explored this part of my family tree. I had been so focused on the "von Hausen" branch that I didn't pay much attention to the Settler/Schmidt branch, even though it's much closer to me in time. 

I can remember my grandma making food that her mother taught her how to make, including palatschinken, paprikash, and goulash. So glad to see the recipes on the DVHH website, and I'm going to try them myself. 

Zeljko Leksic in Djakovo has been an immense help, looking up records and sending pictures, especially since I cannot get my Family Search account to work. Thanks also to Robin Grube, another coordinator for the Slavonia region. I know so much of the story than I did just a few short weeks ago, and I'm looking forward to finding out more. 

Take care,
Eric Hausen

All I can say is Wow and Thank you! I have to echo the sentiments of so many others. 

Although I was very keenly aware of the history of the Donauschwaben in the greater sense, I was not at all aware of the most recent past of my own story. Although I knew my parents were born in the former Yugoslavia (In Schidski Banovci, Srem and Hetin, Banat) that was about it.   It's not something that was at all discussed that much.  When I started this journey about 2.5 years ago, I thought I would find perhaps 100 - 200 relatives and be finished ...  now  thanks to DVHH my family tree has over 10,000 people on it, and I connect to new cousins every week ....  Who knew that was possible! It gives great comfort to know that you are connected ... connected to so many  other  people,  connected  to  a  rich  history,  connected to a foundation.  There is no way I would have known this without DVHH.   The resources that "we" bring to the table are phenomenal. Family Books, Church Records, Online Links ...  and Personal History and Knowledge!  Again, Thanks to Jody and all of the others who started the site, and God

Bless all of us as Stewards of this information as we move forward! 
Eric Schwarz, Cincinnati, OH

Finding cousins I never dreamed I had and so much about my parents heritage that helped me understand so many things they tried to express for years. This for me has been a long journey for the most part more than words can say but for me the fellowship it has brought to me......knowing I'm actually not the only one with this "unusual"  heritage - what a Godsend.

Eve Brown, Durand, MI

The "What DVHH means to me" e-mails have been great. I am an old man but fortunately I was able to re-visit Steierdorf and Anina in the Banat region of Romania in 2005. That is where my grandparents and great grandparents came from in the 1901-03 time frame. There is a very active German Culture Organization that has an annual re-union in the May-June period of the German people who were forced to leave during the past many years.

PLEASE also do not lose any opportunities to have conversations with your parents, aunts, uncles, etc. on tape! Although my parents and grandparents are long gone, I cherish audio tapes and movie film that I "forced them" to participate in many years ago. Their common response was "No one wants to hear of our experiences!"

Frank Embon, Allentown, PA USA

Mara Henderson, who was also researching Deutsch Zerne ancestors and offered to create a Deutsch Zerne website, where we could publish information to share. It was around that time that Mara found out that Jody was building a website focusing on Donauschwaben village information.  It was so timely -- the perfect match. We contacted Jody.  She added our Deutsch Zerne website to the Village List and with Mara’s encouragement, I became the Deutsch Zerne administrator.  It was amazing how fast the DVHH village site grew.  Every time I logged onto DVHH the list of villages expanded and there was even more new Donauschwaben information.   

Today it blows my mind to see how much information and how many villages are presented on the DVHH site. Jody did a fantastic job of putting this all together in a most timely manner. I am very proud to have had a small part in this wonderful undertaking. 

Fran Matkovich

This DVHH community is a most pleasant way of keeping deep cultural memories alive despite the ever-present subliminal desire to forget the horrors of war and the unthinkable multiple tragedies of family and homeland losses. The true value of the many DVHH posts is the steady reinforcement of our heritage, our strengths, our work ethics and our basic values. DVHH posts are a constant reminder to me of that one great gift that all of us have..that all of us should be thankful for......our Donauschwaben DNA !

Franz Bohn, St. Louis, MO

Like Mary Regan said, the DVHH is like having a living descendant to talk. I have discovered many distant cousins,  in both the USA and Germany, through the DVHH. The DVHH is one great organization !

Many thanks to one and all, especially Jody for starting it.  

Harold Bratsko, Commerce City, CO

Growing up, I spent a lot of time with my Grandparents. I was the first grandchild, so I was my Gramma’s favorite. I was always told they were German. My favorite things were her cookies – especially Kipfels. When I started college, I took German so I could write to her and talk to her. She was very proud of me, but then she started telling me stories of growing up in Sigmundfeld, which was not in Germany. She told me how the “government in charge” kept changing, and how she had to learn a different language in school so that she didn’t learn to spell very well. Her village was German, but she was actually from Austria-Hungary, which became Yugoslavia before she left. She kept mentioning “Schwabischer” which didn’t mean anything to me at that time. 

Years later, when I became interested in family genealogy, my mother gave me my Baby Book which had a family tree of names she got from each side of my family. It proved to be a wonderful treasure trove. My father always told me we were the only “Rauch’s” from his father’s side because my Grampa was the only son of an only son, so it was hard to find anything. One day I did a “Search” for “schwabischer” and found DVHH. It opened up the world of my grandparents’ youth. I found David Dreyer’s list that showed when my Grampa’s sister & husband arrived. I found and purchased the Familienbuchs for their villages. I have received help from others, even though the connection wasn’t family. I have found my family’s heritage through the stories of others on the list. I haven’t found any “cousins” among the list members yet, but I have discovered new relationships with people in Wyandotte (our home). 

While learning all this, we were contacted be a young German girl looking for her “cousins” in America that she had heard about from relatives. At first we were doubtful, then it became real when the daughter of my Gramma’s youngest sister, “Nanci”, arrived for a visit. She was born a few years before she & her mother were put in a camp in 1944. Her husband said she wouldn’t talk about it, but he shared what he knew about her experience. It matches much of what I have read about on the DVHH. 

I don’t post very often, but I read daily, and I continue to learn about my grandparent’s history. From my Gramma’s stories and what I have learned here, I have an amazing family history.

Helen (Rauch) Tyrybon, Wyandotte, MI

The DVHH is my window into the wider world of the Danube Swabians and their descendants throughout the world.  It provides all of us with a personal network to assist us in sharing information and resources; exploring related topics with regard to culture, language, heritage, faith and traditions.  We can call upon the expertise of others and offer our own special interests, abilities, areas of study and research to benefit others.  Most importantly it provides a forum for the like- minded.  Some of us do our research and study in isolation and to have the opportunity to interact with others who are on the same quest as we ourselves is both enlightening and affirming.  The DVHH is all of these as each of us makes our own contribution to preserving a culture and heritage that once thrived in the Danubian lands and has left its mark on each of us through those individuals in our families who helped shape and form who we are and who we are becoming regardless of where we live!

...now into the fourth generation of my family in Canada. 

Henry Fischer, Swabian Turkey Coordinator, Ontario, Canada

Donauschwaben Villages Helping Hands for me is a community in which I felt comfortable, from the beginning. All members of the community are helping everyone and they are respectful and friendly to each other. That feels good and it encourage me to do the same. Hearty thanks to Jody McKim, the founder of this community. Her inspiration still works and keeps the project alive.

In honor of all our ancestors 

Jakob Götz, D-88212 Ravensburg, Germany

Some one is always there to help answer my questions. Only this week one of my brick walls was knocked down. I met my distant cousin (Ann Dreer) and she has answered many questions for me. I love volunteering for the Parabutsch Village, here I have met many of the descendants of my Grandfathers neighbors. A big thank you to Jody Pharr. DVHH has also opened my eyes to my relatives life.

Jean Helbrecht, Alberta, Canada

Although I have only been a member of the DVHH for a few months, I am truly amazed and the friendship that has been extended to me by the members that I have been in contact with. I have been fortunate enough to discover a distant cousin who I never knew existed and discover information about my ancestors from the past two centuries. The friendship that has been extended to me has been truly heartwarming.

In my short time as a member I have received a history lesson on the heritage of my people and been taught valuable lessons that were never taught to me in school. It has brought new meaning to me on who my ancestors were, what they accomplished and the hardships that they endured.

Now that I am older, I look back with regret and wish that I had asked more questions of my grandparents and their siblings of what life was like for them before they emigrated to the United States. Although I no longer have that opportunity, it is good to know that I have so many DVHH friends and family who are willing to share their information and stories with me now.

Jeff Rau, Chesapeake, Virginia

I've been very blessed reading all the wonderful postings of what the DVHH means to so many. I hope you all remain steadfast as a part of this group; and I promise you -your brick walls will come down in time. Because this mail list is constantly drawing new subscribers, of which one of them can be the very one to answer your questions or be your distant cousin. 

To me, the DVHH is my extended family, a genealogical home base to tap into, and a source of reference of information for anything regarding the Donauschwaben. With every inquiry about a village, I researched it and attempted to find everything I could about that village to help develop the regional village lists. This certainly increased my knowledge of the various Donauschwaben regions, its geographies, and individual village personalities. With each inquiry about a family (to which I tried to assist with), I learned new avenues of research myself. My knowledge also increased with every new item added to the various sections of the DVHH, including the many wonderful stories about the Donauschwaben.   

For every inquiry I made about my family, I received a positive response. Our mail list has been blessed with insightful folks who are ready to give their own time to help others. I certainly love to read about the many cousin connections made on this mail list; not to mention I've some of my own. I must say that Alex Leeb has been instrumental in connecting me with cousins I would've probably never met otherwise. 

The DVHH certainly means more to me than I can express. The last 10 years has been an amazing adventure, which would not have been possible without each and every one of you being a part of it. Thank you all for your contributions to the DVHH: website content, lookups, village websites, recipes, stories, your inquiries, and mostly for your participation through the years. 

Jody McKim Pharr, DVHH Founder & Publisher, Woodstock, GA

Good day all associated with the DVHH,

Personally, I have invested more than 1/2 my present life in my genealogical ventures.  I am age 61 as I write this and I am now 32 years invested in this "Labor of Love" as some have referred to my endeavor.  My original intent was to find out more about our family ancestry and the genetic diseases of Ankylosing Spondylitis and the genetically related disease Crohn's Disease which has afflicted a number of my brothers and myself. This in part, I have done, but the real challenge came with my father's mother and her ancestry.  This is where the DVHH and all of its wonderful people and came into play.  For this I will be forever grateful to Jody McKim Pharr, Alex Leeb, Jane Moore, Mike Polsineli, Nick Tulius and all of you for your thoughts, writings, cultural insights, DVHH conversations, sharing your experiences.  My grandmother Maria Hockl of Keglewichhausen was not known to us of my/our generation for she passed at the age of 32 in 1920.  Begrudgingly, her history revealed itself to me over the years.  It was not until the experience of the DVHH that I would finally begin to add real progress to this quest.

John J. Kornfeind, Glendale, AZ

Thank you so, much to all the DVHH members that have helped in my HUTFLUS family tree. :) I would like to thank Gabriele Steger, Helga Kiely, Jane Gilbert, Alex Leeb, Hans Kopp, Katherine Flotz, Anne Dreer and also Michael Hutflus my distant relative.

I am now working on getting as many pictures of Kruschiwel as I can....I am also trying to get information on the Russian work camps where my Grandmother Sabina Hutflus was interred. I am also reading on the Extermination Camp where my Great Great Grandmother Magdalena Hutflus died . . .  

Joseph Hutflus, Ocean Gate, NJ

I am SO grateful for DVHH! I knew virtually nothing about my grandfather's (George Becker's) family, just a few names (his parents and siblings) and the name of the village he had lived in (Tscherwenka), before I began searching. Actually, the name I had been given of my great-grandmother was Elisabeth Knipple but the Familien book shows her last name as Klippel. He and my grandmother shared very little of the lives they had lived before coming to America and my father did not know much about the family either. It was puzzling to me as a child--and as an adult--why, if my grandfather was German, had he lived in Hungary? DVHH opened up a whole new understanding of the history of my grandfather's family and the way they lived since moving to Hungary in the late 1700s. I had no idea! Angela Hefer's "Tscherwenka Familien" provided me with several generations of family and was recommended by DVHH 'family'. From recipes and customs to the reality of post war history, I have been humbled and cried when reading the truth of what happened to DVHH members and their families. Was the Elizabeth Fritz who died in a camp my grandfather's sister, Elizabeth (who married Peter Fritz)? I don't know, but it is a possibility.

So much more to learn and absorb. It is all a part of who I am and again, I am grateful.

Judy Offen, Caledonia, NY

In 2003 I was approached by DVHH for permission to print my account of my grandfather's vineyard and the traditions of harvesting the grapes, etc.  I approved this request and became a member of DVHH thereafter.  A short version of my experiences as an orphan in my hometown of Gakowa during the concentration camp 1944-1947 called "Memories of Gakowa" is published on the DVHH.org.  Many emails came my way from people who read it and had the same experiences in Gakowa. 

My book "A Pebble in my Shoe" was published in 2004 and has been a successful mission of telling the world about our ethnic cleansing in Yugoslavia. 

During the Labor Day festivities in various cities, I met many other Donauschwaben and also helped at the DVHH table that displayed pictures and maps of our area.   

Each morning I turn on my computer and love to see the messages of people who are looking for help finding their old world relatives.  I try to help, if I can.  I recently had an email from a Serbian teacher living in Belgrade, who was born in Sombor.  He has been investigating and learning about our history and the terrible injustice that was done to the Donauschwaben in 1944.  He apologized for it and asked me to forgive those that had done the terrible deeds.  I can forgive but I cannot forget.   

Hope the DVHH will keep on working toward the reuniting the many young people who are looking for information about their relatives now long gone.  

Katherine Flotz, Crown Point, In

I would also like to take a moment to thank all those who have assisted me with my genealogy search:  Hans, Jody, Susan, Fran, Nick, etc. -- I'm sure that I'm missing other names - but a huge Thank You to all! 

Because of all of you, the journey has taken me into avenues well beyond just researching names and dates.  The historical facts that you informed me of and led me to have enhanced the story that I will leave with my family.  As I made the trip to Hatzfeld and Glogowatz a few months ago, I felt that I was literally walking in my ancestors' shoes - in those villages, in those churches, in the cemeteries, and on the paths. Because of the stories and experiences that you have all shared and the historical accounts, this knowledge added to the couple of journals that my father documented as a beginning.  Much of what he wrote had not made sense to me as he was only skimming the historical surface, but I bet knew as an educated man.  My immediate ancestors may have left their villages in the early years of the twentieth century to immigrate to the U.S., and were not subjected to the atrocities that followed in later years, but that does not diminish the importance of telling the "story" on behalf of all those who survived.  I had ancestors from extended families that did remain behind, and can only imagine what they experienced based upon your accountings.  My heart goes out to all of you. 

I am journaling all for my family so that the both current and future generations are well versed as to our family history, and continue the research as time permits (as I am not retired from working yet).  For this, I thank you all again! 

Warmest regards,
Kathy (Zollner) Meany, Ossining, NY (suburb north of NYC)

Many DVHH members have touched my heart with the wealth of their knowledge and willingness to help others understand their Donauschwaben ancestors. It has been the best gift that keeps on giving as more people share and learn from one another. A heartfelt thank you from a new member to all the helping hands who make the DVHH accessible, friendly and meaningful.

Linda Jaspersen, New York, New York

DVHH means the source of the heartfelt connections I feel toward my ancestors, the sense that I truly know them personally through all the help in not only discovering names and dates, but learning of their daily life.  Hearing the stories of traditions, trials and tribulations along with celebrations and joy brings meaning into my life; as I find myself definitely leaning toward their values in my own life.

Secondly, I found extended family through this list, cousins that I am in contact with often and who I loved at first meetings..

Thirdly, the 'family' I have found within the realm of being descended from DS.  The sharing, kindness, encouragement the members offer is phenomenal.  I am part of a bigger entity and enjoy doing my part. 

I wrote this poem in 1989 and I can answer the question with a resounding Yes.

Amalgamation

I am an amalgamation
of those who lived before me
because they lived. I live. 

The physical and mental qualities
of my forebearers trickle down
and some find expression again
in my talents, temperament, appearance. 

Who were these people?
What were they like?
What did they do? feel? hope? dream?
Did destiny decide who's me? 

Am I not an entity unto myself?
Can I only proceed into the future
based on living in a present
already determined by the past? 

Because they lived before
Do they rule who's me? 

Am I an amalgamation? 

Happy DVHH subscriber,
Linda Bautz McKenna, Kowatschi Village Coordinator, Mansfield, OH
Villages of interest: Kowatschi, Jahrmarkt, Grossjetscha, Eichental, Saderlach
Names: Bautz, Pautz, Kirschner, Rausch, Reck, Horvath, Franzwa: Kowatschi and Jahrmarkt, Eichental: Mayer,  Reiter 

Because of the DVHH, I have found missing family members and the last name and family of my great grandmother that my mom and family never knew. I feel like I have made many friends besides finding distant family members. I dream of going to the Apatin area after having Beth send me maps of where my grandfather lived. The addresses may be gone, but just walking the streets and being on the shore of the Danube where he fished, would be a grand experience. Someday???

Thank you to all the members,
Margaret Buza

I grew up with grandparents from the Batcshka region.  Loved them.  Learned from them ( to knit, crochet, make noodles, identify many plants, etc.) but knew very little about them.  Through DVHH emails I learned what their life was like before they came to America.  I saw pictures of the towns they left.  I even discovered cousins 3-4 times removed living all over the world.

Marlene Norton (Toth and Jurik)

I was three when we were forced out of Kernei by Tito's decrees to wander Europe as refugees.   We were finally re-united as a family in Vienna and came to Canada in 1948.  Over the years from time to time I would accompany my parents to Kerneier gatherings in Kitchener, Toronto, Montreal & Chicago.  Although I had few memories of my own, it was interesting to hear people reminiscing about their lives of long ago, and talk of neighboring places called Tshonopl, Sivaz and Apatin.  It seemed to me that even though surviving Kerneiers were scattered around the world, they still retained a strong sense of community. 

Coming back home for visits over the years I discovered copies of the Donau-Schwaben Kalender that my parents had subscribed to and found it fascinating reading.  However as time went by and my parents passed away it seemed as if all my links to my Donau-Schwaben heritage were gone. 

As I think happens to many of us, I only became deeply interested in genealogy when I reached retirement age and regretted not having spoken more to my parents about Kernei and the Batschka.  Then by luck I found out about the Familienbuch Kernei in der Batschka by Johann Schmidt and got my own copy.  This led me to a wonderful start on my family tree. 

When trying to find connections to the family tree from links before or outside of Kernei I found my way by chance to the Donauschwaben-Villages site.  Suddenly I was 'back home', though that home was much larger than I had thought!  I have discovered that the whole Donauschwaben community including Batschka, Banat and beyond share that indefinable extra that I had thought was unique to Kernei. It is wonderful to see the willingness to help one another where-ever possible in the daily threads, and to keep on learning about my ancestral home. 

A final thought concerning some of the recent exchanges about people now living in our former houses who would like to express their feelings for what had happened to those forced out of their homes in the 1940's. I believe by far the majority of  the people  in  the world do not endorse the atrocities committed for political or religious reasons, regardless of which side of a border they live on. I would like to hope that with technology now making possible communications across the world, that the feeling of community exemplified by the Donauschwaben can gradually expand to a whole earth view. 

Wishing all a happy New Year, 
Mike Abt, Ottawa, Ontario

I appreciate everyone here at the DVHH for your help, support and kindness.

The one thing that stands out for me is: The DVHH community helping me get*past a major road block *with the Schirmang family.

DVHH has helped me to trace my Schirmang roots back to the Germann family. I would have NEVER guessed this!

Peggy Miller, Spooner, WI

The DVHH provides me with a great place to show my research results of Torschau, my mother's birth town. I met quite a lot of people through the contact form. It is really exciting how many people are still interested in their family history. I think it is our generation who must collect all the data about our Donauschwaben ancestors. My sons grew up here in Austria and aren't that much interested. I'm still working on a family book of Torschau and have gathered almost 10,000 people now. But it is still much work to do! If you are interested you can look at a current version here: www.dvhh.org/torschau/index.html#familybook.

I hope the DVHH will be present for a long time to tell all the stories of our Donauschwaben ancestors. The first ten years have been a good time but the next ten year could even be better.

Peter Haas, Carabelligasse 5/184, A-1210 Wien, Austria  http://members.chello.at/familie.haas/       

For me it's still unbelievable that almost every day I get a much better view of my DS-ancestors - via a community founded in North-America. Living in Germany, close to the place where the Danube is formed by its two source rivers, the internet had to take me over the Atlantic-Ocean to "meet" so many people who share the same interest: "Finding out more, were we come from". Thanks to Jody McKim Pharr for the wonderful idea to start DVHH and Peter Haas in Vienna and all of you, whom I had the honor to "meet" on the web. 

Let me explain my personal experiences which made me join this community:

When after WWII many of my relatives ended up in Austria and Germany our lives were not very funny. The "natives" did not really like the refugees with whom they had to share what this horrible war had left them. Most of us "lived" in refugee camps or lived in homes nobody had invited us to. But all the time they told us children about at home ("drham") and how wonderful it was there and how happy and wealthy they were. 

Today I believe to know which traumatic experiences they had undergone, and that they still could not accept that their wonderful world had fallen apart. Nevertheless they desperately tried to keep the hope alive for us. But they were not too good in explaining, so we children did not understand and only saw our poverty and that the others where so much happier. They spoke a dialect different to ours, which alone made us feel to be intruders. The result were fights with these other children - like in generations before and like in generations ahead of us, the "new kids on the block" have to fight for their new place of living. But the years went by, our parents rolled up their sleeves and all worked together to rebuild our destroyed world and slowly we all got integrated - at least more or less. The differences between the old and the new inhabitants disappeared and so did our childish attitude of feeling to be different. We forgot about our DS-past, because it was no longer important, the more it became clear, that there would be no way of "returning home". 

Now, as I am approaching the 70's, since 10 years I am still trying to find out more of where I come from. The first phase was to take a closer look at the old photos and documents - whatever had not been lost on the big escape. The deeper I got into the details the more questions arose and for the answers the contact to the elder relatives was intensified - sometimes to their big surprise. Not only that they had to answer questions over questions, there was this new thing, called the world-wide-web, which offered so much information, nobody really could think of before. Founding DVHH was a giant step for the awareness of our DS heritage, but the other big step was the enthusiastic cooperation which really is unbelievable. Thanks to everyone for every contribution, because their results increase the identification with our ancestors and help us to understand them better than ever before. 

What I have learned, is that our families had a pioneer spirit which never disappeared. They never gave up and may the circumstances have been worse and more hopeless than ever before. As far as I found out, my family started their journey from Switzerland (Zwingli reformation, about 1500+) to the Palatinate and from there 1784 down the Danube to the Batschka, to help restoring the land there after the Turk-wars. From there 1945 they fled to Germany and again they shouldered their part in rebuilding a country after another stupid war. Others went on further westwards and contributed their share in the rise of their new home-countries. 

A lot of the information I found on the website of DVHH or the website was the starting point for many more enquiries. Without all of you and your information my life would be a lot poorer. Thanks to all of the active people who are helping to make the world (and the knowledge about our ancestors) a little brighter.

Rainer Herrmann, Germany

What the DVHH means to me: As a young girl growing up in Los Angeles, I was exposed to many Donauschwaben people, traditions, culture, and language.  At the time, I did not have the appreciation of the importance of our heritage.  My grandmother would tell me stories of the "old country" and of close family I will never know.  I did not understand the gravity of my mother's and grandmother's experiences in the time after WWII.   My journey to enlightenment began about three-and-a-half years ago after a brief trip to my mothers hometown: Jabuka, Banat.  In trying to put together photographs to record our experience there, I started on a family tree.  This lead to more research and, eventually, to the DVHH.  I read in horror the experiences of our people after WWII.  Thrilled in the stories of life before the wars.  Smiled at the recipes and traditional costumes.  The chronicles of Donauschwaben life in the online library are priceless.  A reference for future generations to discover a people and a way of life that no longer exists, but is the essence of who we are.  When I visit Jabuka, I feel at home . . . as if memories could be passed down thru DNA.  My mother says that when the older generation is no longer with us, there will be no more Donauschwaben.  I disagree.  We may no longer live in Banat, Batschka, Syrmia and other original settlements, but Donauschwaben still exist.  The DVHH is proof of that . . . that Donauschwaben people and culture is still alive.

Rita Schiwanowitsch

I grew up on my mother's stories of Banat, and on my grandmothers' wonderful baking.  Twice a year I was even dressed up in traditional Donauschwaben Tracht.  But at the time I took all that for granted. 

It's been my observation that many (not all) children born in America to DS immigrants within the decade following the 1945 expulsion tended to reject their heritage, found it "un-cool."  Maybe they were too close, their parents sill too distraught.  I was born a little later, in 1958, and I didn't have that reaction, but I didn't really pay attention, either.  I didn't understand the importance of heritage until I had my own children.  Then I started to write down my mother's stories. 

So I am delighted now to have found the DVHH-- a whole group of people who are actually eager to share, learn about, and preserve the history, language, recipes---the culture of our ancestors.  Let's keep doing it.  Happy New Year. 

Rita Tomkins
 

I became a member of the Donauschwaben list on Sept 25, 2003.  My first message to the DVHH was on Oct 13, 2003.  It was the annual list of names we were tracing.  Within days, I received messages from people who were also interested in the same names.  From that moment, learning more about my mother's family became a wonderful obsession.  My most vivid recall was when Diana Lambing told me I should look for my grandparent's emigration record under Pettendorf instead of Bettendorf.  How was I to know that Germans often exchanged B for P!  There they were entering Ellis Island in 1911.  The rest, as the say, is history.  Now after 9 years, I have traced almost 20,000 ancestors and relatives from the Banat.  I can visualize my grandmother saying "why do you want to know all this?" "Have another kalachki!" 

Thanks to the many who made this possible.
Robert Evensen, Cambridge, MA

Just wanted to also tell my story about DVHH help. I didn't grow up near my grandmother who called herself  "Austrian". I was so surprised when I found out  that she not only spoke German but Croatian as well. When I learned this, her area was "Jugoslavia". She never spoke about growing up in Djakovo, not because it was bad, but just because no one else she knew talked about their past. I've been researching for about 4 or 5 years, and I cannot think of a better group than DVHH to be affiliated with. I love the stories, recipes, and finding out what resources others know about.

I've made several trips back now, and have made friends with a cousin there. My new info is only slowly being found, but I get just as much excitement from helping someone else find a new ancestor, as I do when I find someone from my own family. So, if anyone needs parish records or other info from the area around Djakovo, Croatia, please contact me. I'm also interested in Jarmina, and little Josephdorf/Kravitz/Retfala near Osijek ( Esseg). Thanks to all you great folk who write more often than I do!

Robin Grube, Redlands, CA - researching Zimmer, Spiegel, Bering,  Wagner, and Schmidt

Before I started surfing the Internet in the spring of 2006, I never dwelt much on my ancestors, nor did I know much about them, except that they hailed from Alsace Lorraine and the Black Forest Region.  I treasured my childhood memories of my grandparents in the Batschka, and while my parents and aunts and uncles were still alive, I would listen to random family stories from the past, but it never entered my mind to ask them about what they knew of our ancestors, for surely they must have been told stories of them by their parents and grandparents.

When I unwittingly stumbled upon the DVHH website, I decided to subscribe to the Mailing List.  From then on my life took on a new meaning.  I've explored many Donauschwaben and genealogy websites (English and German) and have yet to find one that can top the DVHH, not just for the wealth of information on its website, but more importantly, for its people--the members and mailing list subscribers.  The warm welcome and the generous and enthusiastic help I was given in researching my ancestors encouraged me to want to become involved and contribute what I can.  Through your help I have found ancestors I never knew I had and learnt much about their lives.  I have found living cousins in America, Brazil, Hungary and Germany; two of these cousins I visited last year in Germany and one of them plans to visit us next year. 

You are indeed "Donauschwaben Helping Hands".  Someone once said, "When you search for ancestors, you find great friends!"  So true, for although I haven't met most of you in person, I have been blessed to make so many good friends.

Thank you,
Rose Vetter, British Columbia, Canada

The message that Eve has already posted contains the main things that are also most important to me about the DVHH.  This is not surprising, since Eve and I are cousins that connected via the internet only 5 years ago.  Through the DVHH, I have discovered at least 5 other distant cousins.  As wonderful as this has been for me, it is of no lesser value the numerous new friends that I have made since joining the DVHH.  This includes those of you that I have had the good fortune and pleasure of meeting, as well as those of you that I have connected with only through this forum or by telephone.  We truly are one large Donauschwaben family.

Additionally, I have learned so much about our history that I never knew before joining the DVHH.  I have all of you to thank for that, especially some of the more senior members of this group, some of whom were born and lived in the lands that we hold in such high esteem.  This has allowed me to place the cherished memories of my grandparents and great-grandmother in a much more complete perspective.

Many people believe that it is not important to know one's ancestry, that living for the present and the future is all that matters.  I beg to differ with this viewpoint.  Although the present and future certainly do matter and we cannot change the past, I think it is important to know oneself, and having some knowledge of one's ancestry is a part of this.

If nothing else, this sure is a fun hobby.
Roy Engel, Ontario, Canada

What the DVHH means to means to me....   Many of us here have been disconnected from our families, our culture, traditions and more . . . not for a lack of effort or desire to have these things or more than likely we would not be here. 
For many there was not much choice of being scattered and disconnected. Much loss and sorrow. 
Here these things to a degree are restored.  Here I have learned not only our history but the character and joyous spirit of our Donauschwaben people, I have gained wonderful relationships with lovely good hearted friends and family that I am now aware of and have come to love and feel a part of and look forward to a future of memories and joy.. Here I have found understanding I am thankful to everyone who puts their time, effort, and postings that share with and reunite us. This site I see as a beautiful restoration......... beauty for ashes.

Love and Peace to all.
Sophie Souza

DVHH has been great. The willingness of all to offer their own research and info is what impressed me. There is always someone, and often many, who freely give of their time to offer data, hints and even just advise.
Like others have said I have discovered many "cousins" to add to my database.

Searching Schultz, Schulz, Wüst, Weist, Stadtfeld, Bauhof and Hergatt. in the Banat villages of Zichydorf, Georgehausen, Gros Gaj, Hatzfeld and Deutsch Zerne.

A big thank you to all !
Stephen Schultz, Sask. Canada 
 

DVHH provided answers to childhood questions (still researching the Czechoslovakian side of the family)  - that were answered by my Grandmother Barbara Schwab Duft that her and my Grandfather Paul Francis Duft were from areas that were near the German - Hungarian boarders. My Grandmother only said that my Grandfather was from Germany and she was from Bácsalmás Hungary. DVHH had a list with the Surname Duft as a GOOGLE search finally had revealed a start.  I did a risk posting to DVHH and Eve Brown responded!  Eve started with providing family information & then connected me with Cousin Ewald Schneider.  Ewald provided the Duft, Nyari/Sommer and Schwab genealogy information. 

The Hungary side of Ferencz Paré aka Frank Pare and Rózália Juránovics Paré - never ever thought would figure out the emigration village, plus Great Grandma Rose’s maiden name.  (Thanks to DVHH -Rose Mary Keller Hughes for the (LDS) Hungary Catholic Church Records, 1636-1895, Csór, Fejér, Hungary.  Grandmother's maiden name, Rózália Juránovics - the bonus was the Hungarian information and was able to share with American cousins.

The Nyari/Sommer leads to the Fleckenstein’s in Alsace, France.  The reading and learning does not end with finding out about Europe, Geography, Culture, Origins which leads back to America and what this country meant to those that first stepped ashore!  One way that the honor can be expressed is through knowing and sharing the names and stories.  Thank You to the DVHH list member’s that shared their personal knowledge and experiences, and the continuation of DVHH!

Thank You For DVHH! Viele liebe Grüße. Kind Regards,
Tamara Duft Chapin, Gambrills, MD