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
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