A Remembrance of the Past; Building for the Future." ~ Eve Eckert Koehler
Remembering Our Danube Swabian Ancestors
Church Associations
by Dr. Viktor Pratscher
Translated by Brad Schwebler
Church Clubs "Where one sings, there you settle Glee Clubs peacefully." Because "angry people have no songs." Schiller
Old people still
recollect what a very good singer the teacher Karl Burg was as this was
one of the main qualifications of teachers educating at the time.Certainly a choir also existed.However records of it don't exist.
The men's glee club
was established by the teacher Wilhelm Pratscher and he led it as the
choir leader in the winter months for a decade.Other choir leaders of the men's glee club were the teacher Friedrich
Stðtzer, Julius Pratscher, Jakob Kellermann, and Jakob Dietrich.The glee club can look back on 60 years of activity without
interruption.
The History of the Evangelical Men's Choir in the Last 25 Years written by Friedrich Weber
In 1909 choirmaster
teacher Stðtzer established a men's choir from the work of the already
deceased musician Jakob Gutwein in the framework of the Evangelical
congregation.It began with
completely beautiful work and progressed because there was rather good
material and the choirmaster Friedrich Stðtzer was very musical and led
the choir with complete devotion.In 1913 the congregation purchased a harmonium organ for 160 Kronen.In the following year the choir purchased from its own means a second
harmonium organ.The spiritual as well as the secular songs were well-cared for.Then the World War came and everything at the time was torn and
most of the men of the choir were inducted.A few weeks before the outbreak of the war choirmaster Stðtzer moved
away from Feketitsch.After
the tremendous fight it was difficult in the entire world to bring
together men with ideal feelings because the gruesome picture of the war
was still vivid in their minds so that all the softness in them was
destroyed.Nevertheless
choirmaster Jakob Kellermann came to Feketitsch in 1921 at the time of
the old dispersed group gathered again and eagerly began to work.The new choirmaster was also an extremely gifted musical man and
had a great preference for songs.And so for a few years they worked eagerly and beautifully until the
choirmaster was sick and they could no longer completely devote
themselves to the work.After some time the state teacher Jakob Dietrich came to
Feketitsch in 1928 to fill in as leader of the choir in the meantime to
finish incomplete work and worked with very great enthusiasm and love
until 1931 and then he moved to Neusatz in the capacity of state teacher
in January.Up to now the main field of work of the choir was the church
hymn,nevertheless the secular songs were also not forgotten, so the versatile
choirmaster Jakob Dietrich very rightly began to propagate the German folk songs
for only the German folk song is suitable to create a camaraderie that comes
from people talking to people.
The
Evangelical Men's Choir of 1936
The
choir was now without a musical leader again, so the administrative leader had
to give advise.Someone had the
idea to not have a teacher anymore but to elect a future leader from their own
midst.The election fell on that of
teacher Kellermann to train alto Christian Schwindt who was just the teacher
named who had enjoyed only a very sparse education in music.But luckily they were hardly aware of the extent of his task since he went to
the German men's choral society with great love, an unending perseverance and
patience at the work.Yet it should
be mentioned here that later, in 1933, Christian Schwindt could bring the men's
choir to the highest development of his abilities under the influence of artist
Peter Freund, originally from Neusatz, living in Sekitsch, from whom he
officially took over after the fifth year at which time, in the framework of a
large scale song recital a rally for the popular German songs took place -
report filed.In the time of
choirmaster Christian Schwindt the spiritual as well as the secular songs were
dedicated at the same observance, there with the words spoken by our highly
esteemed bishop, Dr. Philipp Popp, too much of the same thing make the souls
apathetic,but from
all of both kinds of music the same group of people always sound fresh and
happy.
Row 1: Johann Scheer,
Filipp Freund, Heinrich Freund, Adam Liebersperger, Nikolaus Roth,
Heinrich Hartmann, Filipp Seibert, Filipp Schwahner, Daniel
Schnauthiel, Georg Krebs, Jakob Schwaner.
Row 2: Peter Wagner, Friedrich Fetzer, Friedrich Peter, Jakob Peter,
Georg Schwebler, Johann Schwindt, Friedrich Weber, Karl Gutwein,
Leonhard Roth, Adam Roth, Johann Mayer.
Row 3: Heinrich Scholl, Johann Roth, Stefan Ritter, Filipp Wagner,
Senior Peter Scherer, Christian Schwindt, Filipp Bensinger, Ludwig
Gutwein. - Row 4: Theobald Baschawerk, Johann Schwindt, Daniel
Dautermann, Friedrich Weber, Filipp Stroh.
It was necessary at the conclusion to direct an appeal to the men of our people
at this place that each one who feels he has the ability to serve the German
cause, connected to the different cultural associations and sacrificing
themselves completely to the work devoted to the national customs and traditions
so that we can remain protected in the national setting.
The Youth
Choir which took part in the third song festival
Row 1: Christine Morell,
Liese Müller, Roschen Berleth, Bärbchen Baron, Dorothea Baschawerk,
Katharina Berleth, Lieschen Grumbach, Katchen Gutwein. Row 2: Käthe Brückner, Gretchen Ludmann, Heinrich Freund, Karl
Spengler, Josef Schmidt, Christian Schwindt, Adam Krebs, Friedrich
Bender, Michael Gutwein, Christine Wolf. Row 3: (sitting): Katharina Ludmann, Suschen Ziegler, the pastor's
family, Suschen Scheer, Gretchen Ortag, Luisa Freund.
During the war there was a girl's choir, which was characteristic of the time,
under the leadership of Jakob Kellermann.This girl's choir worked diligently and it's ability has been recorded in
numerous minutes by secretary Elisabetha Schmidt (wife of Karl Seibert).This girl's choir introduced electric light to the school in 1918.
In 1925 the pastor's family established a youth choir which under the leadership
of the agile pastor's wife achieved remarkable success and worked miracles.Through the events of community evenings it was possible for the youth
club to buy itself a camera with which the photograph evening could be
introduced; now and then themes from the Bible, the church history, and also
different areas of science were taken.The expenses were covered by voluntary sacrifices.The great success achieved by the youth choir up until now through its
participation on the occasion of the 400 year celebration of the Augsburg
Denomination in Kraljevicevo-Franzfeld, where they held their third Evangelical
song festival performance on the second Whitsunday.
The German Evangelical Youth Choir of 1936,
on its tenth year in
existence, at which time Christian Schwind took over as leader of the choir.
Row 1: Jak. Peter, Jak. Märtz, Kath.
Egner, Friedrich Weber, Johanna Bechtler, Anton Weber, Ther.
Schübler, Heinrich Hartmann.
Row 2: Maria Bender, Ther. Gegner, Kath. Anschütz, Kath. Scheer,
Eliz. Krebs, Luise Freunp, Angelia Schwebler, Marg. Häußer, Eliz.
Dietrich, Elsa Müller, Marg. Liebersperger, Marg. Anschütz.
Row 3: Eliz. Scheer, Susanna Scheer, Heinrich Freund, pastor's wife,
pastor, Christian Schwind, Christine Scheer, Kath. Gutwein. - Row 4:
Joh. Scheer, Nik. Roth, Philipp Seibert.
In memory of this festival they received, as did all other choirs, a bust of
Luther.Twenty-six choirs took part
at this festival with around 1000 singers.This double celebration formed what was so far the most impressive
Evangelical expression in Yugoslavia.On the trip they could go sightseeing in the capital city of Belgrade and
the city of Pancevo.
The congregation has no other clubs.
For the Gustav-Adolf Association an offertory was collected once a year and in
the last years 5% of the yield in the church offertory boxes was intended for
this association.
A few years ago a Gustav-Adolf box was installed in the church, just as it was
also customary in the old prayer house.
