Kirchweih
Deutschbentschek, 1956

 

Zita Johann in The Mummy
 

 
 Did you know?

"Bentschekers believe they have the nicest pub," and "the most beautiful Kirchweih hats are worn by those living in Bentschek."  So it was written in the 1924 Donauschwäbischer Volkskalender. 

The annual Kirchweih festival was held to commemorate the dedication of the village church.  The Kirchweih hats were decorated with flowers by the young women of the village and worn by the young men on the festival day.

The first homesteaders from the Banat to settle in southwest North Dakota—those arriving between 1889 and 1892—came from Deutschbentschek (Dreyer and Hatter).

Zita Johann, film and stage actor, perhaps best known for her starring role with Boris Karloff in The Mummy (1932), was born Elisabeth Johann on July 14, 1904, in Deutschbentschek.  Her parents were Stefan Johann & Magdalena Zimmermann.  The family moved to the United States in 1910.

In 1934, it was a Chicago barber from Deutschbentschek who gave John Dillinger his last shave and haircut.

My grandmother was born in Deutschbentschek in 1886 and, nineteen years later, left her village for America. 

I hope this village page will bring together people with Deutschbentschek roots.  Please, if you have questions or have information to contribute—photos, stories, sites, historical data, family information—let me know.

                                          
         
     Jane Ehardt Moore
     Village Coordinator