Donauschwaben Villages Helping Hands   Destination: The Americas Canada

Montreal, Quebec (QC) Archivist: Nick Tullius Knees, Banat to Montreal By Emma & Rudy Jobba, Montreal, 1 July 2005 Recollections of a six year old boy who immigrated from Knees (now Satchinez) in Romania to Montreal, Quebec, Canada in the year 1929 Most vivid in my memory is a parting conversation between my mother, her mother, and my great grandmother. It took place on the day of our departure by train from Knees to Temeswar.  I remember my great grandmother saying to me: "Yes, yes, Rudi, if you leave now for the far, great world, we will never see you again”. My answer was something like: "Great grandmother, you will keep seeing me, because we will send you many pictures”. With tears in her eyes she said "Yes, my child, but I will not be able to embrace you at all.”  Even now, remembering that conversation touches me deeply. No doubt, many of our compatriots experienced similar emotional situations.   My older folks were very concerned about preparing enough food to last for the entire trip. I recall they prepared a traditional food package containing some dried meats and fruits of various kinds, but by far the largest portion of the contents was that of hard dried salami. Also included were my favorite Salzkipfel (salty crescents) and Semelbrötchen (crusty buns). My uncle drove us all, my mother, sister and I, by horse and wagon, to the town’s railway station, for the trip to Temeswar. I do not remember much of our trip from Temeswar to Hamburg, Germany. What I do remember is our stay in the “Übersee Heim” in Hamburg, where we were billeted for what seemed a very long time. Eventually we boarded a steamboat for the trip across the English Channel, to the port of Liverpool. The steamboat ride across the channel was a terrifying experience for me, and my sister took seriously ill with sea sickness, which lasted well beyond the duration of that passage. After a short stay in Liverpool, we finally boarded the ocean liner “Arabic” for the trip across the Atlantic Ocean, to Halifax, in Nova Scotia, Canada. Most immigrants traveled in steerage. It seemed that even those who could afford better cabins, took steerage in order to save their money for the unknown country awaiting them.  The ship personnel paid little attention to their immigrant passengers. Both the accommodation and the food were bad. There was a very obnoxious odor coming from the engine room located close to the steerage sections. It made breathing difficult and imparted a foul taste to the food. The only good aspect that I can recall from what seemed like a never ending journey, was the prevailing good weather and the calm seas. The only delicacy we received on board was bananas, the like of which we had not eaten before. Although in most instances these were over ripe, we nevertheless craved the sweet taste of this new fruit.   From my own observation, I believe that there was a difference between immigrants going to the USA and immigrants going to Canada. Persons immigrating to the USA were often received by compatriots already settled in that country, who had already organized and established their churches, social clubs, and other organizations. In this way, the new immigrants did not feel isolated and could concentrate on their most important task: to learn English. Those of us coming to Canada in the late 1920s and early 1930s had one main destination: Montreal, at the time the financial and manufacturing centre of Canada. Here we expected to find jobs and improve our life and that of our children. But that was not easy, as we did not speak either of the two languages, English or French. In addition, the depression of the 1930s affected all of the population and especially the new immigrants. It was an extreme disappointment for our parents, who were in the 25 to 35 year old range and had looked forward to improving their life in a new country. I recall overhearing conversations among them, where the sole topic was about who had found work and where openings could be found. These conversations went on for days, weeks, and months, until many suffered from hopelessness and extreme depression. I know of some cases that ended up in suicides. In those days, with the men out of work, it was the women who carried most of the burden. Some of them were cleaning houses for the established gentry. Others worked as sewing machine operators, at low pay, in the sweat shops or dress making factories. By their hard and exhausting work, they kept their families fed and thereby kept them together. The general conditions described above prevailed during the 1930s and well into the early 1940s. The Second World War brought employment opportunities for men and women, even for those who were not fluent in either French or English. Gradually the conditions improved for most of the citizens, and the traditional virtues of the Swabians, such as industriousness, reliability and thriftiness, asserted themselves. The immigrants finally realized their dreams of a better life for themselves and for their children.    DVHH < Destination: The Americas < Canada < Montreal, Quebec (QC) < Knees, Banat to Montreal