Wording An Engagement

Baragan THE DEPORTATION in Romanian Banat

THE Baragan DEPORTATION

After had been deported in January 1945, 45 000 German nationals from the Banat to Russia and, in March of that year occurred as a result of land reform, the expropriation of agricultural property, was in 1951 that with which no one had expected more: the deportation to the Baragansteppe. For a 25 km wide strip along the Yugoslav border, 40,000 German, Serbs, Hungarians, Romanians and resettled Bessarabia Macedonia Romanians forced to Baragan where 18 new villages of the deportees were created.

Historical Background After the First World War the Banat three parts, two thirds were from Romania, a third of Yugoslavia and a few villages around Szeghed remained in Hungary. This led to a continuing rivalry between Romania and Yugoslavia. Under the pretext of the threat of Romania by Tito, the Communists launched the forced relocation in the Baragan. They should be opponents of communism, so-called "class enemies" are removed from the border area. The
Baragan was after World War II target of abductions politically persecuted people. In June 1951, 12 791 families from a border zone between Romania and Yugoslavia - because of the rift between Tito and Stalin - to the Baragan steppe forcibly resettled. Of 40 320 persons were 9410 German, the others were 30 000 Romanians, Serbs, Bulgarians and Hungarians. The
Baragansteppe
The Baragansteppe east of Bucharest is a low level, which is separated by the Danube from the Dobrudja. The climate is characterized in Baragan continental. In the hot, low rainfall summers often encounter droughts. Notorious in the winter of Crivat, a cold continental winds blowing from the northeast, permafrost and snow storms brings. The will of
Baragan Panait Istrate in his novel "The Thistles the Baragan "described as follows:" No tree grows on his back. And by a fountain on the other it is so far that you can easily die of thirst or less. The inhabitants of the Baragan always hopes it would one day someone will come who taught him how it could be a better life on his Baragan, on that vast expanse, which holds only in their deepest womb grows on the water and nothing but thistles. In less than a week, they cover the entire country. That is all that endures of Baragan on his back, except the sheep, which are lusting after these thistles and graze them greedy. If the winter, leaving the shepherd God and this God-forsaken area returns home. The Baragan but pulls on his white coat and goes to sleep for six months. Nothing lives there anymore. This is the Baragan. The deportation

contrast to Russia where only delay the Germans were kidnapped in working age were now whole families, from babies to the elderly affected. The information collected on lists of names of people were just after midnight torn from sleep and asked for two hours at the station to be. On the main stations in the Banat, the deportees were waiting on getting paired up with a wagon. A total of 6211 freight cars were needed. Often two or three families had to share a car. The number of freight trains with the deportees were accompanied by and watched. To secure the border with Yugoslavia, 9877 military personnel were mobilized. 10 229 took part in the digging and as guards. 1964 soldiers formed a kind of intervention reserve.
arrived at the destination station in Baragan, the deportees were dumped on a stubble field on which to build each family had their house. 2500 square foot house and garden spaces were marked out in advance and measured with pegs. First mines were dug, covered with a tarpaulin, as domestic structures, until the houses were finished. Then began the beating of adobe bricks to build houses. The houses were covered with reeds. The deportees were allowed to remove
they live only in a radius of 15 km and carried the identity card of the photograph, the words "DO" (Domiciliu Obligatoriu), "assigned residence". Visits were prohibited from abroad. Only after Stalin's death, the deportees were allowed to return home in 1956. Here they found their houses occupied by Romanian immigrants before.
Most Banat Swabians was strengthened after all these humiliations the conviction only to be strangers in their homeland still. In many matured even then the decision as soon as possible to leave the stranger had become so insecure and home to the land of the ancestors zurückzusiedeln. This has been possible but for most of them only as a result of an agreement between the Federal Republic of Germany and Romania in 1978. From that time began a massive deportation process that in the 80 years intensified and unstoppable even after the political changes of 1989. The process of relocation had become irreversible. Today there are estimated to have about 30,000 people in the country Banat, Banat which the period of German settlement history belongs to a thing of the past. The Banat Swabians, however, have brought their economic and cultural achievements of the German name in southeastern Europe honor and reputation.
Late rehabilitation
1990, issued a decree by which the years of forced labor and deportation will be counted as years of service for calculating the pension, with each arrest and Internierungsjahr counts as one year and six months of service. These are times when a person after 6 March 1945 for political reasons, had to live in assigned residence, or after 23 August 1944 was deported to foreign countries.
On 1 May 1997, Romanian Foreign Minister Adrian Severin, the German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel in which the wrong that the German population has been inflicted during the communist dictatorship excused. In that statement, he condemned both the suffering caused to the Germans in the postwar period such as the deportation of Germans forced to work in Russian labor camps and the deportation of the Banat Swabians in the Baragan steppe, and the humiliating exchange trading in the 70s and 80s, called for the substantial financial benefits from wanting to leave Germans were the so-called "bounty ". He condemned this deeply traumatic practices and expressed his apology for what happened "as a gesture of moral restitution to those citizens of Germany, were formerly citizens of our country, the fate of such reprehensible acts is marked permanent." This
of the Secretary given and already long-overdue declaration of the Stakeholders noted with satisfaction, but can not undo what happened.

Elisabeth Packi

Short Invite For Lohri

THE COMPULSORY ACQUISITION OF THE RUSSIA-1945

THE COMPULSORY ACQUISITION OF 1945

A renewed strike which again met only the Germans, followed by Decree Law No. 187 of 23 March 1945, which provided for the total and uncompensated expropriation of the entire German peasantry and the owner field. About this expropriation was generally reported many times that the German farmers field, livestock, agricultural equipment and the buildings were expropriated and that they include in their houses, the so-called Romanian colonists and they had to assign housing. As carried out in practice but the was under what was degrading and inhumane conditions such expropriation procedure for the German owner, can describe the most competent witnesses concerned. The report of such witnesses from Billed, who witnessed this as a teenager, is as follows: "The agrarian reform has made the German people to a third-class minority. Romanians, Serbs, Hungarians and Gypsies could lay claim to their land, their equipment and their livestock claims. The first step was made in agricultural Billed with the expropriation of all machines. 56 tractors, 126 Mähbinder, 14 Dreschgarnituren changed hands. were expropriated by the Commission more than 5 000 hectares of field, each 5 acres of the said settlers of us strangers who spread coming from other parts of the country, the German villages flooded, and the other local beneficiaries. Rabid colonists were aware of their rights during the expropriation, cursed, cursed, and did what they wanted. That it came at this change of ownership, even to unpleasant and violent incidents is, of course. So these shows give Horde at number 472 was palpable, when an elderly German farmer refused, more than the planned inventory. She was pushed to the ground and kicked by the stick men. After the drawing and quartering of the mostly Romanian Colonists in almost all of the 800 houses of the Germans, moved in with us a family with three children and began to spread, because now the nice big house belonged to them and we should obey all for now, had announced the new host. He was never home at night, for he and his cronies took nightly raids against the Germans and captured mainly chickens, ducks and geese, with a portion of the loot was traded for booze. And then came the day when we were at the row. Grandmother said at breakfast, we would still not go to school because this horde came and we children would have to keep everything in memory to enable our children's children to be able to tell after they had already father deported to Russia. Shortly before noon they came with a lot of noise to intimidate us into the courtyard. without greeting they went to work. The heart had to be earmarked inventory down to allow the Commissioner of the Commission examined all stick and handed a claimant in the court. The others, about 30 to 40 people and 5 to 6 Gypsy searched everything and even took what they liked. Mother and grandparents were together and could do nothing. As was then fed the cow from the stall, asked her mother, she too may keep it for us children, earning only a sneer and a curse. Then left our property back and we stayed frightened people in a hopeless situation. "
In Volume 3 of the documentation of the expulsion of Germans from East Central Europe", which deals with the fate of the Germans in Romania, stated that by this land reform not only the livelihood of the German peasants were destroyed, but blown up at the same time the unity of the German peasant villages by the addition of alien colonists leadership. As examples, among others, the following villages are mentioned: Lenauheim had in 1941, exactly 2421 German and 52 Romanian population, in 1948 only 1717 German, but already 1718 Romanian citizens. Hatzfeld counted 1941 7245 German and 859 Romanian citizens in 1948 but only 5489 German and 3422 inhabitants. Through this related solely to the German expropriation in county Timis Torontal 54 612 owners of land expropriated by 205 607 hectares of field possession, that is 357 205 yoke (9).
was followed by the expropriation of the peasants of traders, merchants and the 11 . June 1948, the expropriation of all industrial and all remaining privately held companies. These expropriations were not confined to the German owners of such companies, but everyone else. All school buildings, boarding schools, pharmacies, hospitals and apartment buildings have changed over state-owned. This actually started by the Communist Ideology promoted class struggle. In December 1948 the Politburo of the Romanian Workers' Party took a decision for the purpose of ideological reeducation of the German population. The newly founded German Anti-Fascist Committee should carry out this re-education. In 1949 part of the party, the pressure on the field-owning peasants to organize themselves into agricultural collective farms. The resistance of farmers to break with high and ever-increasing tax rates on grain and other agricultural products. Thus, the former German field owners had no problem this time because they had not a field anymore. They worked as day laborers or agricultural workers as salaried in the fields and in the stables of state farms or in agricultural machinery and tractor stations, as factory workers in cities or as masons and laborers on government sites.

Wilhelm Weber

Women Retirement Cartoons

DEPORTATION IN THE FLIGHT OF BANAT

THE RUSSIA-DEPORTATION

Historical and political background of the Russia-Deportation
The year 1945 not only the end of the 2nd World War II, but also the beginning of the ordeal of the Germans in Eastern and Central Europe. According to the "Documentation of the expulsion of Germans from Eastern-Central Europe were deported more than 350,000 German civilians for work in the Soviet Union. This affected all Germans in Romania, The Germans from Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and the Germans from the areas east of the Oder and Neisse. Of the 130 000 displaced persons were German from the region. 75 000 from Romania into the Soviet labor camps were deported. According to the statements of the Soviet foreign minister, JW Maisky, were for the deportation of "war criminal" and "active Nazis" to "compensation, punishment and reeducation of the German" category. In fact, were largely men and women who wore no direct responsibility for the war, were deported. The deportation was undertaken on a systematic campaign, designed by the top Soviet leadership and was handled in all German territories in the same way.
The Allies had agreed at the conference in Yalta (4 to 11 February 1945) the so-called "reparations" ("reparations in kind") to the Soviet Union. This term closed except for deliveries from current production of Germany and the dismantling of German industrial plants, the use of German labor one. It was a disguised agreement on deportation, the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt are partly responsible, since they have approved it. They legitimized later by the largely closed-over action in Romania, Hungary and Yugoslavia and the ongoing deportation to Poland, East Brandenburg, Silesia, Pomerania, East and West Prussia. Why the Soviets after the war did not continue the planned mass deportations in the occupied areas of Germany and Austria, is unclear. They have merely contented with 26,000 skilled workers.
Brief history of the deportation to Romania on 23
Ended August 1944, King Michael I, a Hohenzollern prince, his arms completely unexpected alliance with Nazi Germany. The royal palace guard arrested Marshal Antonescu, Hitler's most loyal allies. Romania fought alongside the Allies continue until the final surrender of Germany. The Soviets are flooding the country. As the deportation was set in motion, from the perspective of the Allies, Romania was an "occupied country". Sun Winston Churchill wrote on 19 January, the Foreign Office [the British Foreign Office]: "We must not forget that we have promised to leave the fate of Romania in the hands of the Russians." As a result of Winston Churchill and Soviet dictator Josef Stalin made and accepted by the Americans agreed Romania was in 1945 part of the Soviet empire. The Romanian government was thus practically alone, without any support from the Allies. It must also be considered that in January 1945 the war was still ongoing, and that Soviet troops were stationed throughout the territory of Romania. The Romanian government, the Soviet deportation order by surprise. Until 6 January told the government of General Nicolae Radescu - the last non-Communist government of Romania - officially the plans of the Soviets. On 16 January Prime Minister Radescu a note of protest to General Vinogradov, Deputy Chairman of the Allied Control Commission has sent. This protest had Nicolae Radescu to "the duty of the Romanian Government, the interests of all its subjects irrespective of their ethnic to protect descent "down. The protest, however, remained without success.
Immediately after the capitulation of Romania on 23 August 1944 on occasion of an impending deportation of ethnic Germans of the question. There were everywhere instead of registrations of the Germans. Among other reparations demanded Stalin supposedly 100 000 Romanian citizens as volunteer workers for the reconstruction of his country. Towards the end of the year, the rumors intensified about a pending deportation. End of December of 1944, some transports with ethnic Germans from Yugoslavia to forced labor in the Soviet Union. The deportation of Germans in the Satu Mare area [in the north-west Romania] began on 2 and 3 January 1945. On 10 and 11 January is the action in Transylvania and Bucharest started.
The deportation was by a carefully prepared plan from the Romanian authorities in close cooperation with the Soviet occupiers. The entrances were sealed off by local military and police. The telephone, telegraph and railway traffic was paralyzed. It lists were created with the stakeholders. Joint Romanian-Soviet patrols went from house to house to dig those affected. Some tried to hide, but to arrest the threat of parents or relatives as hostages, forced so many to place themselves voluntarily. The political attitude of the individual played in the Levy no role. It was enough to be German. Thus, even active German or German communists who served in the Romanian army were dug. When completed the action after several weeks was, 75,000 German nationals were deported from Romania.
Deportations Billed Banat
On 14 January, it was a Sunday, moved the military with lists from house to house and ordered all men aged 17 to 45 and all women aged 18 to 33 years, to assemble in the school. Attacks above or below were not uncommon. Only women with infants under one year of staying home. The conscripts were told to bring food for 14 days and clothing. Where it to go, they are not learned. The next day we went
walk the 20 kilometers away Perjamosch. The baggage was nachgebracht with cars. Here the procrastinate again billeted for a few days in school until the transports were collected. The 30 people, men and women came in a cattle wagon, equipped with bunks and a stove. For other human needs, a hole was cut in the ground. When everything was loaded, the doors were locked from the outside and the train began to move in the direction of Timisoara, was held out for the first time. Then it went in the direction of Transylvania until after Iasi. On the way we stopped at regular intervals, to refill water. In Iasi, the shipment was held in Russian broad-gauge cars. Still, no one knew where it went. From that 50-60 people were in a car. Billeder our countrymen were mainly brought in a labor camp in the southern Ukraine, Stalino Jenakjewo, Dnipropetrovsk, and Slowjansk Tschasowjar. From our hometown 517 people were deported to the Soviet Union. Already died on the journey of our countrymen Franz Slavik, Joseph Lauth and Hans Bohn.

arrival at destination, it walked into the camp. The luggage was transported. After that the rooms were allocated. There were about 40 people in a room equipped with bunk beds, iron and a brick oven. In Jenakjewo 2 women ever slept in a bed in Stalino there was no straw sacks and was sleeping on the wooden frame. The platform was bunk and seat in one. She also served as a table. The platform was the only thing that could be called his own. The lower bunk beds were most comfortable. To reach the upper berths, one had to climb up. But they were warmer in the winter. After the allocation of rooms we went to the delousing. Everyone had to give his career and was assigned a job. The camp was fenced with barbed wire and guard towers on the four permanently guarded.
to work, it went in columns under military guard. The work took place under difficult conditions in -40 ° C, in construction, in factories or in the coal mine instead. On 9 May 1945 came the Natchalnik [guard] in the morning and proclaimed: "Broken Dewotschki, wojna! Skoro pajedete domoj. "[Girl, the war is over! Soon it goes home.] But it should still pass four and a half years before it came true. In December 1946, the first ambulance went home. Only then were told the folks back home, where her relatives had been abducted and how they went.
The food was of an appalling monotony: morning tea with the bread ration for the day, at noon cabbage soup with kasha [porridge] and again in the evening cabbage soup. Day in, day in cabbage. If you found a piece of potato in the soup, so this was a special message. The only cutlery was the spoon. For the food monthly food stamps were issued. Trade with the food stamps became a real stock market. With the proceeds they bought on the market other foods to make their diets more varied. A much sought-after items was sugar. In most cases, they gave it bread or food stamps. The bread ration was different and depended on the severity of the work. The normal ration was 700 g, heavy workers received 1,000 g for Kolchosarbeit there were 500 g. The bread was bad, tough and never really baked.
Hygiene conditions were catastrophic. It was full of vermin: insects, bugs, fleas. Soap and water were scarce. Once a week it went into the steam room for delousing. Swarmed all over by bugs. The wall was covered with these disgusting beasts. On the day they were in hiding, but once it was dark, she crept out by the hundreds out of hiding. To defend her, was virtually useless. They tortured one until dawn.
The mental anguish was the worst. The uncertainty made the pain almost unbearable. If we had known how long they had to stay, we could have adjusted mentally prepared. But you did not even know whether we would ever again come home. Now and then a letter arrived from home. So a letter was then days and weeks the talk in the camp. At last we knew how it was going back home. How much uncertainty and doubt, these letters disperse as much light and hope to plant it in countless hearts!
Death was a constant companion in the camp. It often happened that a guy died. The death rate increased steadily. Most of them died due to malnutrition of dropsy and fever. About 15% of Russlanddeportierten died during the deportation. Billed by 76 people who lost their lives in the Soviet labor camps. They were built before the honor Billeder church a plaque where the names of all in Russia Deceased are engraved.
Late rehabilitation
On 16 October 1990, the Romanian government took the decision to submit to Parliament a draft law to compensate those persons who were persecuted under the communist dictatorship, or deported. The citation read: "After 23 August was deported a large number of Romanian citizens of German nationality for forced labor in the USSR. The deportation was arbitrary, solely on the basis of belonging to the German minority [...]. This discriminatory, wrongful action based on ethnic criteria only triggered the process of emigration of Germans from [...]. "
Because this bill was adopted Decree No. 118 in 1990, by which the years of forced labor and deportation will be counted as years of service in calculating the pension, with each arrest and Internierungsjahr as a year and six months' service time counts.
On 1 May 1997, the then Romanian Foreign Minister Adrian Severin at the German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel for the wrong that the German population has been inflicted during the communist dictatorship excused. In that statement, he condemned both the suffering caused to the Germans in the postwar period as the deportation of Germans for forced labor in Soviet labor camps and the deportation of the Banat Swabians in the Baragan steppe, as well as the degrading Barter called for in the 70s and 80s, when significant financial benefits for the family reunion of people willing to leave Germany, the so-called "bounty". He condemned this deeply traumatic practices and expressed his apology for what happened "as a gesture of moral restitution to those citizens of Germany, were formerly citizens of our country, the fate of such reprehensible acts is marked permanent." These votes of the foreign minister and long overdue declaration of the persons concerned with satisfaction included, but can not undo what happened.

Elisabeth Packi

Aztce Triable Arm Bands Tattoos

The fate of the Germans in Banat after the overthrow of 23. August 1944

The fate of the Germans in Banat after the coup of 23 August 1944

were as a national minority in the Banat Swabians always in a difficult position. True, this state was described by one journalist Banat: "It is in the southeast of Europe is hardly a tribe that had been affected by the war and its aftermath worse than the Banat Swabians. As a minority in a different nation states, the Swabians in troubled times were repeatedly exposed to the political and chauvinistic arbitrary the harassment in the cultural and education policy, limiting development in public life, politically promoted Entnationalisierungstendenzen to the disenfranchisement and threat to their existence, or spread enough. In its unenviable position as loyal citizens on the one hand, and their affection for the German mother country on the other, the Banat Swabians were in the fateful hours of their story constantly faced with difficult decisions. "(1)

mid-forties and the early fifties of last century, they could not take such decisions arbitrarily. Following the events of 23 August 1944, it had to submit to the decisions of others and were no longer able to decide their own fate to determine. This date began for the Romanian Germans suffering, the persecution, disenfranchisement, dispossession and deportation started the beginning of their final home loss. The final decision to be taken arbitrarily as whether they flee from the advancing Soviet army, and thus give up the home, or was whether they should remain. Plans for an organized evacuation was not available.

From now appeared in large numbers local monographs, based on the published experience reports and other sources we learn the number of escapees that in long columns of refugees Convoys of Hungarian and Yugoslav borders strive. It also tells us that not all crossed the Tisza and the Danube, many turned back or fall of Tito's partisans and were robbed. Some fared even worse. As noted in the local Gertjanoscher monograph, such a motorcade in the Czech Terek was attacked by partisans, separated the women and children from the men. The latter, 250 in number, including the veterinarian, Dr. Weber, Dr. Ortinau lawyer and notary Vice Linzer from Billed men Gertjanosch, Kleinjetscha, Sackelhausen and other towns were, although they were Romanian citizens and not soldiers in Großbetschkerek shot.

They were right where they live and who remained defenseless against the arbitrary actions of Romanian government institutions and delivered by private sources. In the very first days of the revolution, the Germans had to hand over any existing weapons, radios, automobiles, bicycles, cameras and other property. They had to register with the police leave and sign a commitment, in which their German ethnicity was noted, required by the was that they should register on the orders within two hours at the police. (2) later became the basis of this registration the name lists for the deportation of Russian made. At the same time established a A wave of arrests, the first official Walter covered all of the German minority and the German mayor. As a result of an arrangement that had to be arrested in every town with a German population, three leading German personalities, including elementary school teachers and other respected villagers were arrested. They were followed by the editors of German newspapers, prominent entrepreneurs, businessmen, doctors and priests. Through various prisons they arrived in the concentration camp of Targu-Jiu, Slobozia in the prison camp or after-Turnu Magurele.

Even before the arrival of Russian troops in the Banat tried all his movable goods and chattels to hide and protect it from predators. There have been hiding in the fireplace, identified in the attic and elsewhere, many things and valuables were walled or buried. Besides the state-imposed measures against the Germans came into the cities, but especially in the villages inhabited by Germans to riots. Marauding gangs raided the villages and stole what they found. In such robbery German came to death, as it was, for example in small St. Peter the case where stood against George Engelmann predatory gypsies and was slain by them. (3) Although the Russian commanders order and discipline wanted to maintain its troops , was not always such that robbery to passers, looting homes, rapes of girls and women were on the agenda. In many villages there were also shootings. The well-known and respected attorney and deputy mayor of Timisoara, Dr. Francis Schmitz, was of Russian soldiers who had begotten many young Serbs Ketfel, dressed in Russian uniforms, killed in a corn field at the Ketfeler pasture by two neck shots. They knew the perpetrators, but they were never held accountable. They were the same who had murdered the teacher Neidenbach from Kleinsiedel and the guest host. (4) victims of attacks were in Billed Michael Hahn and Anton Mayer. The bodies of the old field guards couple Anton and Elisabeth gods were found in the Bill Eder vineyards, where they resided in the field guard-house. (5) On similar shootings reported numerous village monographs. In Lowrin home directory is on the assassination of the Director of Pesak brickyard, Dr. Michael Reitter reported, was shot dead with his wife of a Russian advance party, who moved into the brick quarters. (6) Very violent, it was also in St. Martin bei Arad. In the home directory of this village is related to the following description: "The front-line troops moved on quickly, but the next morning, on 14 September 1944 was, all hell breaks loose. Since the supply troops invaded. There was no horse in the stable, Horses and wagons were simply taken away. Pigs, geese, ducks and chickens had to believe in it, above all, they did empty the wine cellar. It started a terrible plunder, in so many homes remained spared no dresser. Evening began hunting for girls and women, why they did not trust everything on the road and at home, usually dressed as old women and were hiding with protruding black headscarf. After the departure of the Russians were the villagers unprotected at the mercy of the mob, who plundered unimpeded and looted, as long as something else in the house, yard and house was to be found. "(7) Warjasch again the Russians were the first victims of the village judge Franz Müller shoot for no reason and cause. (8) Only rarely succeeded in remaining in the villages of older men who were all younger soldiers to form a kind of civil defense and unarmed, to chase away the looters. Another action that went back only the Germans affected was the onset in January 1945 deportation of the 16 to 45 year old boys and men and the 17 to 32 years old girls and women for forced labor in the Soviet Union. She left in the Banat Swabian villages and towns despair, sorrow and deep despair. Many children were now back even without mothers and had with her grandparents, relatives and neighbors growing up, returned to a parent or deportation from the Russian prisoner of war. How about the over 35 000 deportees from the Banat was issued, how many returned home and no longer lie buried in Russian soil, in the Banat village monographs and home directories read. Many who came home with the patient transport or landed in the Russian occupation zone of Germany, died soon after, or were afflicted with various ailments.

A renewed strike which again met only the Germans, followed by Decree Law No. 187 of 23 March 1945, which provided for the total and uncompensated expropriation of the entire German peasantry and the owner field. followed

on the expropriation of the peasants of the traders, dealers, with 11 June 1948, the expropriation of all industrial and all remaining privately held companies.

1949 began from the party, the pressure on the field-owning peasants to organize themselves into agricultural collective farms. The resistance of farmers to break with high and ever-increasing tax rates on grain and other agricultural products. Thus, the former German field owners had no problem this time because they had not a field anymore. They worked as laborers or as hired agricultural workers in the fields and in the stables of state farms or in agricultural machinery and tractor stations, as factory workers in cities or as masons and laborers on government sites.

The 13th since March 1949 as an organ of the German Anti-Fascist Committee of the Romanian People's Republic in German published daily "New Way" had the task of the policy of the Government and the Romanian Workers' Party to represent and explain to the German population to the goals of socialism and communism . win On the other hand, it developed into an important mediator of culture, art and literature. So they made a contribution to the preservation of the identity of Germans in Romania. The 7th September 1950 was the six-year political rights and to end with the granting of the franchise, the Germans regained their political rights. They also had schools back in their native language, a German state theater in Timisoara, it reappeared German language books and it was very open to talk German. The looming seemingly peaceful period in 1950 suffered a setback due to the increasing persecution of the clergy of the Catholic Church primarily. Arrested and sentenced to prison for many years, Dr. Bishop Augustin Pacha, as well as many canons, deans, priests and nuns. When, after the return of the Russlandverschleppten and most of the prisoners of war in spring 1951 the so-suffering Banat Swabians a gradually improving their impending situation recorded thought was that with which no one expected more in the summer of 1951, namely a recent deportation, but this time not to Russia but in the Baragan steppe Romania. This again began a period of suffering for thousands of Banat Swabians. But now it affected not only them, such as 1945, when German just deported to forced labor. From 297 villages in the border zone and the southwestern Banat Oltenia 12 791 families with 40 320 people: deported Romanian, German, Serbs, Hungarians, Bulgarians and others in the Baragan steppe. They had 18 villages built by hand and forced residents for years under moderate Living conditions.

How those fared, got into the Baragan steppe, which they worked, who campaigned for them and how they came home again, is in the relevant documentation is in every village monographs of the affected villages and noted in the previously published experience reports .

Wilhelm Weber

Meralgia Paresthetica Soccer

1944 BANAT

THE FLIGHT OF THE BANAT 1944 on

After the change of front 23rd Romania August 1944 was created for the German Banat an entirely new situation of far-reaching, fateful importance. Preparations were made to evacuate the German population from large parts of the Banat and northern Transylvania. Located on the retreating German troops be called the population to flee. Already on 15, 16 and 17 September sat down the first convoys of refugees to march. BY A Santander of commands, the unclear division of powers and not least the Failure of the local organizers, but made a systematic evacuation impossible in many villages. Still broke some municipalities from the districts of Greater St. Nicholas and Perjamosch on treks in closed (as in Marienfeld, New St. Peter or Albrechtsflor).

The total number of late August to early October of the current Romanian territory evacuated Germans is difficult to determine. In the "Documentation of the expulsion of Germans from Eastern and Central Europe, Volume III" The fate of Germans in Romania ", published by the Federal Ministry for Displaced Persons, Refugees and War Victims says in summary:" Overall have therefore found to be at war's end nearly 100,000 ethnic German refugees from Romania on the floor of the then German Reich. The greater part of Saxony and Swabia remained back in Romania. "From the above figures were estimated about half of those affected Banat Swabians.

On the western border of Romania, from Oradea to the Iron Gate, it was in the first days after 23 August no military fronts. Only in the days between 17 and 21 September, instead of the invasion of Russian troops in Timisoara and Arad.

Billed for the reversal of fortune began on 21 September 1944, when suddenly a patrol of about 20 Red Army soldiers showed up in the village. Reported by Hottar returning home that the hallways were full of Russians. And indeed, the same day attacked the occupiers, the community center, put the last freely elected mayor - Josef Reiter - from, looted the municipal treasury and devastated the entire building. On 22 September came from a German battle group in the direction Billed. Almost three weeks for a fierce battle raged in the streets of Billed, which were many soldiers from both sides to sacrifice. On 8 Billed in October was finally occupied by the Russians. This was followed by violence and looting, which lasted until the winter.

When the German army command, the futility the situation was recognized, it gave the German population of Billed to escape. About 70 families followed this call, packed their belongings and left the house and yard. The Bill Eder refugees formed but no common trek. They are broken up into small neighborhood groups.

• A first trek of 10 families trying to flee to Yugoslavia. This was taken from Kikinda by Serbian partisans caught. The men were executed, sent back the women and children.

• A second trek fled to Hungary. This crossed the border at Keglowitsch. came after a few weeks most of them in their destination the Eastern March (now Austria).

• A third group fled by train. These were mostly women and children whose husbands and fathers were at the front. They were loaded into wagons in Hatzfeld, before it went to the west.

Most of the refugees spent the winter of 1944/1945 in Lower Austria, where they were placed with farmers. Often this was done, however, in the form of involuntary commitment, because there was a general anti-refugee sentiment. In the spring of 1945 moved the bulk of them further west, some went back but also in their homes. Many are to Linz and further into the room Ried / I. come. Banat, the have settled in the area were later Russians, zwangsrückgesiedelt.

During the fighting around the town Billed total of 12 civilians were killed. Billeder seven were executed during the run by Yugoslav partisans. Franz Klein, documented in the last part of its local-monograph "The death of the large population of Billed in World War II and the postwar years," the loss in the ranks of the civilian population completely. Those persons whose name is provided below with a * have been executed on the run by Yugoslav partisans. The others came during the fighting around Billed killed.

Elisabeth Bohn [144], Johann Bohn * [349], John Brown * [299] Philip Brown [747], Anton Götz [858], Elisabeth Götz [858], Michael Hahn [415], Susan Kraus [269], Johann Linzer * [298], Anton Mayer [637], Adam Neumann [602], Michael Ortinau * [229], Heinrich Schaljo [224], Attila Schmidt * [233] Peter Black * [462], Hedwig Steiner [429] , Jakob Thöreß [180], Hans Weber * [295] and Catherine Reiter [376].

For the remaining in Romania began years of disenfranchisement, deportation and discrimination, which their will to persevere in the old urban areas, has significantly weakened, and in the following decades of mass emigration ended. Billed still live in about 98 German.


Elisabeth Packi