The Serbian-German Cultural
Association
by Peter Lang
Translation by Brad Schwebler
The Swabian-German Cultural Association was established in Yugoslavia
shortly after World War I. It was
an umbrella association for clubs of all kinds.
It was in local groups, under which the local group in Beschka belonged.
Its task consisted of the promotion of all cultural and social interests
of the Germans in Yugoslavia. Although
to a considerable extent it brought about the re-Germanization of the
Hungarianized Germans, the Yugoslavian government saw a danger in it whereas the
cultural association was forbidden a few years after its establishment.
This ban, to my understanding, was not justified, because the Germans in
their majority were against the Yugoslavian government infringing on it.
The cultural association was permitted again about 1930.
All Germans belonged to it as members.
Its seat and with it the central point of cultural life of the Germans
was in Neusatz. There the housing
construction company built the so-called HABAG house.
It contained a very large festival hall, office rooms of the cultural
association as well as the German cooperatives and the central loan treasury.
In 1930 the cultural association
established the German school foundation. Although
Beschka still did not have members in the cultural association at the time, the
community donated several thousand Dinar to the school foundation.
The school foundation established several German citizen schools, several
grammar schools, and a German teaching institute.
Shortly before World War II the good Cotek in Futag bought an
agricultural school to furnish.
In Beschka a youth group of the cultural
association was established. The
group was especially concerned with sports and music, especially the singing.
The men of this group wore black uniforms at formal marches (Aufmärschen?).
The women organized many lectures of the general education sort,
especially about infant care.
After the Yugoslavian campaign, Croatia
became an independent state, and the Germans in Yugoslavia were divided in three
groups. The Croatian Germans (schufen?) a new association for themselves as a substitute for the cultural
association, which pursued the same goals as the cultural association.
The association called itself “The German Folk Group in Yugoslavia”. Again it also established a school foundation which opened
citizen schools in India and Neupasua, a grammar school in Ruma, and a teaching
institute in Essegg. Also central
agricultural cooperatives, banks, and a central administration were established
in Essegg. The German folk group
was very tightly organized. Their
orders followed government measures. In
each village there was a local leader. He
sheltered all office administrators in the economy, administration, and defense.
Appeals for donation were, for example, fulfilled by state tax
contributions for social purposes. Over
the local groups stood the area leadership and over this was the folk group
leadership. The area leadership for
Beschka was in India. The seat of
the folk group leadership was in Essegg.
[Published at
DVHH.org 2005 by Jody McKim Pharr]
