Závod in the
Tolna
An informational
summary and
partial
translation of
sections of the
Heimatbuch:
Závod in der Tolna by
Anton Mayer.
Translated and
contributed by
Henry Fischer,
2008.
Published 14
July 2008, at DVHH.org by Jody McKim Pharr
Nestled in the
deep valleys of
Tolna County,
the village of
Závod is located
18 kilometres
north of Bonyhád
near Mucsfa.
Mucsi is
slightly
northwest of
Závod, while
Tevel is
northeast. The
name Tolna was
derived from
Tolonus, an
army commander
during the Avar
occupation of
Hungary.
A community
existed here as
early as 1330
but was
completely
destroyed during
the Turkish
occupation and
the Kuruz
Rebellion
(1703-1711).
Only twenty-one
of the five
hundred and
forty inhabited
places in the
Tolna survived
after the
Rebellion.
During the Roman
occupation the
area was known
as Lower
Pannonia.
Vineyards were
planted here in
the 6th
century AD.
Around 890 the
Magyars migrated
to this area.
From 1690 to
1709 the “Pest”,
or plague, hit
the area five
times, claiming
countless
lives. When the
Swabians
arrived, Závod
and Mucsi were
uninhabited
except for a few
Serbs and Croats
in the
surrounding
area. The last
of these left in
1720.
Until 1722,
Závod along with
Kisszékely,
Nagyszékely,
Mucsi, Apar,
Högyesz and
thirty open pusztas
(prairies)
belonged to
Count Wigand
Michael
Wenzelaus
Sinzendorf, who
along with
Prince Esterházy,
Döry, Johann
Monasterly, as
well as the
Magyari-Kossa
family, carried
out the first
attempts to
settle the
County. Their
initial efforts
were frustrated
by the nobility
of northern
Hungary who
prevented the
peasants from
leaving their
estates.
Between 1687
and 1700, after
the Turks were
driven out, the
vast majority of
the surviving
population in
Tolna were
Serbs. They and
the Magyars
engaged in
constant feuds,
robbing and
plundering each
other. The
Serbs left soon
after the
retreat of the
Turks. After
the Kuruz
Rebellion was
put down in 1711
there were only
a few Magyar
villages left.
Prince Esterházy,
whose Ozora
Domain
constituted half
of the County,
began to enlist
new settlers on
his lands, along
with other
nobles:
Döry-Jobahaza,
Count Styrum
Limburg and
Sinzendorf, the
Calvinist
Magyari-Kossa,
as well as Abbot
Mérey in
Szekszárd and
Franz Jany in
Bata (he was of
Swiss origin).
Mérey settled
Germans in
Szekszárd early
in 1703 because
he thought they
were more docile
than the Serbs
and the Reformed
Magyars in the
area. Döry and
his
brother-in-law
Monasterly
arranged to send
three groups of
immigrants from
Württemberg to
Tevel in May
1712. They were
to arrive from
Vienna by way of
the Danube. The
third group,
however, never
arrived, having
settled
elsewhere.
Within one year
Tevel was well
on the way to
prosperity.
The
large-scale
immigration into
Tolna County
occurred after
1718. This
settlement was
planned and
systematic.
Count Mercy, for
instance,
settled his
Magyars on the
basis of their
religious
persuasions: The
Roman Catholics
at Kis Vejke,
the Reformed at
Kölesd and the
Lutherans at
Szarszentlörinc.
In Diosbereny,
German and
Hungarian Roman
Catholics were
settled
together. When
the Germans
arrived in
Nagymányok, the
Hungarians moved
on to Váralja.
Döry expelled
the Reformed
Magyars living
in Zomba, as
well as the
Hessian
Lutherans, and
replaced them
with Roman
Catholics from
the Black Forest
region (Schwarzwald).
The Serbs
living in
Szekszárd
murdered the
Abbot of Báta in
1726 and were
later re-settled
in Alsó Nána by
Abbot Mérey, the
head of the
local Orthodox
monastery, in
the hope that
the monks would
civilize them.
Part of the
strategy of the
re-settlement
programme was to
bring Roman
Catholics into
the area
regardless of
their
nationality.
The concept of
the landowner
determining the
faith of his
subject tenants
was very
strong.
Reformed Magyars
were not
tolerated and
wherever they
managed to
settle they were
allowed only a
prayer house;
their children
could only be
baptized and
married by Roman
Catholic
priests. Only
after 1780 and
the Edict of
Toleration were
they allowed to
add bell towers
to their prayer
houses and have
pastors of their
own. The
intolerance of
the Bishop of
Pécs, Franz
Nesselrode II,
is best
exemplified by
his arrest and
imprisonment in
1718 of Jeremias
Schwarzwalder, a
Lutheran
pastor. Having
just returned to
Varsád following
his ordination
in Kremnitz,
Slovakia, he was
severely beaten
and forced to
sign a document
promising never
to return to
Hungary. Later,
with the help of
Count Mercy, a
man of great
toleration, the
Varsád Lutherans
got a new
pastor, Johann
Karl Reichard, a
fugitive from
Langenfeld in
the Banat, who
came with
numerous
Lutheran
families seeking
sanctuary.
In 1710 there
were no Germans
living in the
Tolna, but by
1720 they made
up 12% of the
population. In
1718 the first
immigrants from
Stift Fulda, the
so-called
Stiffoler, came
to Závod. A
great tide of
immigration
followed.
The first
requirement for
all emigrants
leaving for
Hungary was a
manumission
certificate
indicating
they had been
emancipated
from serfdom by
their noble. A
10% tax on the
value of their
property and
possessions had
to be paid at
that time as
their emigration
fee. Married
couples had to
present a valid
marriage
certificate.
All of this was
required before
signing up with
a recruiting
agent.
In the spring of
1718 the first
settlers,
accompanied by
armed escorts,
left the area
north of Fulda
and headed for
ports on the
Danube with
wagons loaded
with basic
household
goods. Whether
they received
money towards
travel expenses
from the Emperor
is still an open
question. In
Vienna they
received their
passes to enter
Hungary and
boarded ships to
take them to
their
destinations.
At the time of
the arrival of
the settlers,
Závod was part
of the Apar
Domains of Count
Sinzendorf. The
Patent to
approve the
re-settlement of
Hungary was only
passed in 1723,
although the
nobles had
instituted it
prior to that.
Between 1718 and
1770 some 1,300
persons
emigrated from
Fulda to Závod
and Mucsi from
fifty different
communities in
the Bishopric.
Those who left
illegally are
not included in
these figures.
The ruins of
Serbian churches
and huts still
existed in the
area at the
time. The whole
area was densely
forested. At
Vejk there were
some twenty-two
Magyar families
who had survived
the Turkish
occupation and
the Kuruz
Rebellion due to
their isolation
in the forested
wilderness.
Johannes Jahn
was one of the
three Germans
living in Mucsi
along with eight
Magyar
families. The
settlers dug out
earth huts or
took shelter in
huts abandoned
by the Serbs. A
former Orthodox
monastery and
its wine cellars
were still
there, although
abandoned by the
monks. The task
of clearing the
forest and
cultivating the
land became the
first priority
of the
settlers.
There were
about one
hundred
individuals in
the first group
of settlers in
Závod, some
twenty-two
families in
all. The heads
of the
households
were:
Thomas Jordan,
Nicolaus
Schneyder, Adam
Minker, Johann
Firster, Paulus
Jáger, Perigius
Krep, Johann
Kresmit,
Sebastian Papert,
Antonius Angeli,
Johann Maul,
Johann Korneli,
Johann Maul,
Conradus Staab,
Thomas Miller,
Nicolaus Merck,
Nicolaus Till,
Henricus Fink,
Johann Huck,
Valentinus Ress
(Resch), Johann
Seybert,
Cornadus Ser,
Stephan Miller,
Johann Reith,
Thomas Papert
and Henricus
Simon.
Twenty-five
new families
joined them in
1722 and sixty
families went on
to Mucsi,
accompanied by
their priest
from Fulda.
Later settlers
arrived from the
Würzburg area,
Hanau and
Mainz. Most of
them came by
ship from
Regensburg.
Many married
along the way to
be eligible for
settlement and
land. These
later settlers
included:
Bernhardus
Korneli, Georg
Kress, Johann
Georg Titzl,
Conradus Schön,
Andreas Klih,
Cornadus Kremer,
Andreas Hahner,
Antonius Ponert,
Henricus Fink,
Nikolaus Reder,
Johann Michael
Kress, Johann
Georg Kremer,
Johann Miller,
Johann Altmüller,
Johann Georg
Kornfect,
Nikolaus Merz,
Henricus Hartung,
Johann
Breitenbach,
Franciscus
Papert, Nicolaus
Schrimpf,
Martinus Weigand,
Mattheus Perger,
Adamus Weber,
Baltasar Titz,
Johann Ponner,
Stephan Staab,
Paulus Pitner,
Nicolaus
Meierhof,
Leopold Till,
Sebastianus
Klüber, Gasparus
Michel, Martini
Cornelli, Thomas
Sipl, Johann
Georg Faust,
Sebastianus Merz,
Valentinus Enk,
Johann Adam
Lochhaus, Johann
Orff, Gasparus
Vingefeld,
Johann Rieger
and Johann Georg
Reith.
In 1722 the
son of Count
Sinzendorf sold
the Apar Domains
to Count and
General Claudius
Florimundus von
Mercy for 15,000
Gulden. Mercy
later purchased
Varsád for 4,500
Gulden and
signed his first
contracts with
his subjects.
The settlers
were not obliged
to pay taxes for
the first three
years. Mucsi
and Závod were
the only Fulda
settlements in
Tolna County.
There were
others who moved
to the south and
to Temesvar and
the Banat.
Although all of
the German
settlers were
called
Swabians, only
those who
settled in Tevel,
Apar,
Hegyhatmarocz,
Kisdorog,
Kolbeny and
Nagyarpad
actually were.
In the rest of
the Tolna, the
German dialects
spoken were
mainly those of
Hessia and the
Pfalz
(Palatinate).
The Count
named his
adopted nephew,
Count Anton
Ignac Karl
August Mercy
d’Argenteau, as
his heir and
successor. His
son, who was to
succeed him,
chose a
diplomatic
career and sold
the Domains to
Count Georg
Apponyi in 1773
for 700,000
Gulden. The
Apponyi’s built
their castle in
Lengyel.
Because the
nobles demanded
more and more
Robot (free
labour) of their
subjects, who
were not
permitted to
work on the 48
religious
holidays and
Sundays, peasant
uprisings took
place throughout
Hungary and
broke out in
Tolna County in
1765. From
Diosbereny to
Kakasd the
Magyar peasants
called for a
work stoppage,
threatening to
burn down the
homes of the
German settlers
if they did not
follow suit.
Only through the
intercession of
one of the
priests, named
Winkler, was
Bishop Klimó
persuaded to
prevent the
massacre of the
local
population.
However, some
two hundred
peasants lost
their lives and
hundreds of
others suffered
corporal
punishment.
Maria Theresia
set her urbarial
regulations into
effect in 1767
to address these
injustices and
brought about an
end to the
unrest. But the
nobles soon
found ways
around these
regulations to
take advantage
of their
subjects.
The census of
1787 reported a
population of
133,000 persons
in Tolna
County. By now
the immigration
had ended and
only small
groups joined
the existing
communities.
Many of these
came to join
relatives who
had settled here
earlier.
Upon his
succession to
the throne in
1780, Joseph II
declined to be
crowned King of
Hungary.
Instead he had
the crown of St.
Stephen brought
to Vienna and
treated it like
an artefact,
causing
irritation among
the Hungarian
nobility. In
1783 he also
declared German
as the official
language of
government and
administration,
at the time the
Hungarians were
attempting to
elevate their
own language to
that status. By
1790 there was a
groundswell of
anti-German
feeling among
the Magyars and
by 1798 the
first official
Magyarization
tactics were put
into effect,
striving to
assimilate into
the “family”
the other
nationalities
which
outnumbered them
in their own
kingdom. The
Magyars sought
to assimilate
the Swabians by
teaching the
Hungarian
language in
their schools
and promoting the
Hungarian way of
dressing.
On May 1, 1832
the courts
ordered the
enforcement of a
new law
forbidding all
Swabian males
below the age of
30 years to wear
knee-length
trousers, belts
and long knitted
stockings; the
stockings had to
be shortened to
ankle length. This law proved
ineffective due
to the passive
resistance of
the Swabians.
In 1836 the law
was reissued on
the basis that
the long
stockings
created a health
hazard. These
were merely the
preliminaries
introduced, with
the
encouragement of
the Roman
Catholic Church,
leading to the
systematic
Magyarization of
the minorities
in Hungary. By
1844 Hungarian
was the official
language of
government, even
though only
4,800,000
Magyars lived
among the
13,000,000
inhabitants of
the Kingdom of
Hungary. Only
teachers who
spoke perfect
Hungarian were
allowed to
teach. The
Roman Catholic
bishops did not
allow
German-speaking
priests to serve
in the Swabian
communities.
On March 15,
1848 the new
Hungarian
government under
Louis Kossuth
emancipated the
serfs, ending
the Robot and
urbarial
contracts. The
peasants could
buy the land
they had been
working for
generations,
while the nobles
received
compensation
from the state.
In Kasask the
Swabians bought
the land
collectively.
With the
outbreak of the
War of
Independence,
the County
administration,
at the order of
the Minister of
the Interior,
called for
setting up a
National Guard
unit of 2,000
men on June 16,
1848. They were
to break through
the Drava River
line and drive
off the
Croatians who
had allied
themselves with
the Habsburgs.
Quotas in the
larger villages
amounted to
about thirty men
from the ages of
14 to 40 years.
Later the age
was raised to 50
years and 1,200
more men were
recruited.
On July 5,
1848 these
volunteers,
dressed in their
own civilian
clothes and
bearing
primitive
weapons -
pitchforks and
scythes -
marched from
Bonyhád to face
the Croatian
forces. Their
courage led to
the utter defeat
of the
Croatians. The
Swabians were
welcomed in
their villages
as heroes. They
would be
marching off
again, but this
time the
rebellion was
crushed when
Russian troops
came to
Austria’s aid
and the leaders
of the
independence
movement fled
for their
lives. The
repercussions
were severe and
the populace
paid a terrible
price. Finally
the Compromise
of 1867 brought
about stability
in the relations
between Austria
and Hungary in
the Dual
Monarchy.
The First
World War
resulted in the
dismemberment of
the
Austro-Hungarian
Empire.
Závod in the
Tolna was rocked
by the Red
Revolution of
Bela Kun in 1919
and then faced
the “counter
revolution” of
Admiral Horthy.
His fierce
anti-Semitism
was experienced
throughout
Swabian Turkey
with the death
of countless
Jewish
inhabitants: In
Siofók 74, Pápa
23, Gyönk 24,
Orgovany 200,
Marcali 17,
Szekszárd 36,
Szolcok 19, to
name just a few
of the centres
of the
extermination
programme.
Anti-Semitism in
Hungary was
rampant long
before the rise
of Nazism.
With the fall
of the Dual
Monarchy and the
division of the
Empire among the
successor
states, the
unity of the
German-speaking
populations was
also destroyed.
After the
Burgenland was
ceded to
Austria, the
Germans, in what
was left of
Hungary,
numbered
551,211. The
census
indicated:
Western Hungary
(Heideboden)
64,064; Szatmar
3,753; the
Highlands and
Bakony Forest
244,146;
Southern Hungary
44,771; Swabian
Turkey 183,754
and a Diaspora
of 10,732.
Dr. Jakob
Bleyer, who had
been born in the
Batschka, was
elected to the
Hungarian
parliament in
1919 as a
spokesman for
the German
population. He
became the
Minister of
Nationalities,
but was forced
to resign later
in 1920 due to
the chauvinistic
backlash of the
Magyar
nationalists.
In 1921 he
published a
weekly German
newspaper, “Sonntagsblatt,”
and continued to
serve in
parliament,
offering his
support to the
needs and
aspirations of
the German
population.
Along with some
others he
founded an
organization on
August 3, 1924
known as the Ungarnländischer Deutscher Volksbildungsverein,
which was later
simply called
the UDV. Dr.
Gustav Gratz was
its first
president and
Bleyer was his
executive
officer and
deputy. The
motto of the UDV
was: Faithful
(loyal) to the
Fatherland,
Faithful to our
national
identity.
The
organization
sought to create
local groups in
German
communities in
order to
establish
libraries,
publish song
books and
organize
cultural
activities such
as Trachtenfeste
and musical
events, all in
an effort to
create a sense
of unity among
the
German-speaking
people. The UDV
had more than
15,000 members
who were charged
with “Pan
Germanism” by
their enemies.
They were called
traitors against
Hungary. Any
recognition of
their activities
by the Churches
was frowned
upon, and any
priests who
showed support
were
disciplined.
Issues became
more strident
during the
1930's. Bleyer
died in 1933.
On July 27,
1933 the
Magyarization of
family names was
set in motion
across Hungary.
Teachers and
those in public
office had to
change their
names if they
wanted to remain
in their
positions. Men
who had served
in the army
during the First
World War would
lose their
pensions if they
did not change
their names.
Contemporary
novels and
popular movies
always featured
a character who
represented the
“stinking
Swabians” who
were portrayed
as carpetbaggers
and land
grabbers. The
public campaign
in 1934 resulted
in 100,000
family name
changes.
After Bleyer’s
death his
successors in
the UDV
quarrelled over
its future
orientation,
resulting in a
split in 1936
between Dr.
Gratz and the
“younger” group
led by Franz
Basch. The new
group sought
government
sanction to
organize under
the name, Volksdeutsche Kameradschaft.
As a result, on
November 26,
1938 the Volksbund der Deutschen in Ungarn
was
founded. The
group would
become known as
the Bund
in the local
village
parlance.
Within a few
years it had
50,000 members.
A loyalist
group was
established in
Bonyhád, opposed
to the
directions and
objectives of
the Bund which were
highly
influenced by
National
Socialism
(Nazism). This
resulted in
conflict in the
Swabian villages
between the two
rival groups,
continuing until
1944, when all
Swabian men from
17 to 50 years
of age who had
not been called
up to serve in
the Honvéd (the
Hungarian
National Army)
in 1942, were
conscripted into
the German
Waffen-SS,
including the
men of the
loyalist
movement. After
the war it was
learned that
during the
Hungarian Second
Army’s
participation in
the war in
Russia from 1941
to 1942, the
number of ethnic
German men
drafted into the
army and serving
on the
battlefields,
where countless
men lost their
lives, was nine
times greater
than that of the
Magyars.
When Hungary
attempted to
withdraw from
the war in 1944,
the German Army
occupied the
country on March
19th.
The Regent,
Admiral Nicolas
Horthy, was
deposed by the
Germans in
October of
1944. After
Romania
surrendered and
joined forces
with the
Russians, the
Germans. along
with some
Hungarian units,
faced the task
of defending
Hungary from the
oncoming Russian
Red Army. The
morale of the
German troops
left a lot to be
desired, as
their major
concern was food
and wine
supplies which
the Swabians
were expected to
provide at no
cost. At the
beginning of
August, the time
the harvest had
to be brought
in, all German
men not serving
in the Hungarian
Army were
conscripted and
ordered into the
Waffen-SS,
including all
men born between
1922 and 1928.
Late in the
summer of 1944
the first
evacuation treks
of Transylvania
Saxons and
Szatmar Swabians
passed through
the area on
their way to
Germany. The
discouraging
reports coming
from the front
and the warnings
of the
retreating
German troops
alarmed the
people who
wanted to remain
at home, in
spite of their
fears about the
possible revenge
of the Red
Army. There
were still those
who spoke of
victory and a
counter
offensive about
to be mounted in
which “wonder
weapons” would
be used, but
most of the
local population
had no idea of
what they might
expect.
Hungary
capitulated to
the Russians on
January 21, 1945
but the destiny
and fate of the
Swabians in
Swabian Turkey
was already in
the hands of the
Russians. In
Závod it all
began on
December 30th
with the beating
of the
Kleinrichter's
drum and the
announcement
that all women
born between
1914-1926 and
all remaining
men born between
1900-1927 were
to report to the
school to do two
weeks of
labour. Each
person was
ordered to bring
20 kilograms of
food and
clothing with
them. Some saw
this as a ruse,
sneaked away and
hid in
neighbouring
Hungarian
villages. In
all, at least
35,000 Swabians
from Swabian
Turkey were
involved and
were taken to
the Soviet Union
where 15% of
them perished.
The vast
majority of the
slave labourers
were women.
Seventy-one
persons were
taken from
Závod, fifty of
whom were
women.
After
Christmas 1944
the Russians in
the vicinity
operated out of
the castle in
Lengyel and
terrorized the
people. The
raping of women,
young and old,
was a daily
occurrence and
they sought
safety at night
in the cellars,
haylofts and
wine cellars in
the vineyards.
The drunken
marauders
entered Závod on
a drinking spree
one night and
raped an 80-
year old woman
and her
daughter-in-law.
In their fear
and terror, the
people blamed
the Bund
members for the
punishment they
were receiving.
The Bund
had become a
front for the
Nazis and many
villagers
denounced them
in their
bitterness and
outrage. They
hoped to gain
favours from the
Hungarian
officials by
showing that
they were loyal
citizens of
Hungary.
Unfortunately it
did not work.
On May 6th,1945
at 4:00 in the
morning, the
Kleinrichter
beat his drum in
the village
streets and
announced that
all Bund
members were to
assemble in the
village centre
at 8:00 in the
morning.
Whoever did not
report would be
severely
punished. They
were ordered to
leave a bundle
of food on their
kitchen tables.
At the request
of police
officials, the
village
loyalists came
to the assembly
area to observe
what would
happen,
however, they
too were
expelled from
the village.
Their claims of
loyalty to
Hungary had not
helped them and
they were forced
to join the
hated Bund
members in the
long and
difficult march
to the castle at
Lengyel where
they were
interned. Old
people and
invalids were
also dragged
from their homes
and taken to
Lengyel.
They were
brutalized by
the police
during the march
and then driven
into the empty
rooms of the
castle complex
where they had
to camp out on
the
straw-littered
floors.
Thousands of
others from the
vicinity were
interned with
them, later
estimates spoke
of 20,000
persons in all.
A terrible smell
hung in the air
due to lack of
sanitation
facilities.
Those who had
not been
expelled
attempted to
bring food to
the camp for
their families
and friends.
Because there
were not enough
Hungarian
guards, local
men had to take
on the jobs. As
these men were
easily bribed or
helpful in
letting people
escape, new
orders were
issued regarding
any unsuccessful
escape
attempts. A
"Nazi room” was
set up to
torture and
punish escapees
who would be put
on display to
discourage
others who might
attempt to
flee.
While the
population of
Závod was
interned, the
Csangos, who had
arrived in Mucsi
from eastern
Hungary, moved
into their
homes. Any
loyalists still
remaining in
their homes also
had to take them
in. These
expulsions were
part of the Land
Reform Act of
March 15, 1945
and were headed
by György Bodor,
a Chango. In
his daily report
on April 29th
he wrote that
two thirds of
the Swabians in
the district had
been interned at
Lengyel castle
because they had
been members of
the Bund, a statement that
was blatantly
false. He also
reported that by
that time he had
settled about
1,500 Szekler
families,
numbering 6,000
persons, in the
properties and
homes of the
Swabians. On
May 27th
Bodor was
recalled to
Budapest, after
having settled
his own
countrymen in
the Swabian
villages of the
Tolna. They had
originally been
moved to the
Batschka from
their homes in
Bukovina in 1941
and now sought
to escape the
Serbs. Among
these new
settlers were
several German
families from
the Bukovina who
had recently
been Magyarized
and sent to
Yugoslavia with
the Szeklers.
It was only
months later
that they would
acknowledge
being Germans.
The camp at
Lengyel castle
simply got too
big to handle
and a way had to
be found to
disperse the
population. As
the authorities
were afraid that
the Swabians
would attempt to
go back home and
demand the
return of their
properties, a
programme had to
be devised to
scatter the
internees. The
Závod group were
taken out of
Lengyel a week
later and were
forced to march
to the train
depot at Kurd,
from where they
were to be taken
to Pincehely on
open flat cars.
However, when
they could go no
further because
the tracks
beyond had been
destroyed, they
were unloaded
and kept
overnight in the
meadow next to
the station.
The next day the
guards marched
them off to
Simontornya
where they spent
the night in the
courtyard of the
fortress. On
the third day
they were taken
to Jurczek
Puszta near
Simontornya,
from where
everyone
attempted to
return home on
their own. A
large number had
already escaped
along the way
and the guards
had no interest
in keeping an
eye on the few
people still in
their custody.
Upon their
arrival in
Závod, the
people had no
homes to go to.
They stayed with
friends or
neighbours or in
wine cellars.
Many of them
hired out as
labourers to the
Hungarians at
Kurd and other
nearby places.
Once the war was
officially over
in 1945, the
spies in the
village reported
the men who had
returned home
from the
prisoner of war
camps. They
were arrested
and sent to do
slave labour in
the coal mines
at Szasvar or
interned in
camps elsewhere
in Tolna
County. The new
settlers feared
that the
returning men
would one day
try to reclaim
their homes and
properties by
force. Some
Swabians had in
fact gone into
their old homes,
beaten the
interlopers and
sent them
packing.
In the summer
of 1946 the
Swabians in
Kurd, Mucsi and
Zsibrik were
deported to the
American Zone of
Germany. They
were part of the
initial
expulsion of the
Danube Swabians
of Hungary which
had been ordered
at Potsdam. The
people of Závod
who lived in
nearby villages
were the first
to be rounded up
during the last
deportations in
1948. 50,000
more Swabians,
including 150
families from
Závod, were
expelled and
sent to the
Russian Zone in
Germany. About
20 families were
allowed to
remain, but
moved away
gradually,
seeking a better
future somewhere
else, as did
their ancestors
almost 250 years
before them.
note:
Urbarial
means concerning
Urbarium; the
Urbarium was the
book of land
tax.
