Henry A. Fischer
Slavonia was part of the Triple Kingdom of Croatia:
Croatia-Dalmatia-Slavonia. The first king of Croatia was Tomislav (910-928) who
received his crown from the Pope in 924. When the dynasty lacked a male heir,
Hungary objected to the “elected” king, Petar Svačic and forcibly annexed Croatia to
the Hungarian crown following the defeat of Petar at the Battle of Karlovac.
Koloman I of Hungary established the personal union of the
crown of Hungary with Croatia. Croatia would maintain some autonomy ruled by a
“Banus” as a representative of the Hungarian king along with a national assembly,
the Sabor, which also guaranteed the privileges of the Croatian nobility.
After the disaster at the Battle of Mohács where the Turks both
defeated and killed Louis II of Hungary in 1526, the Kingdom passed into the hands
of the Habsburg Archduke Ferdinand, the brother-in-law of Louis who had no male heir
and therefore both Hungary and Croatia became part of his Austrian domains. But the
greater part of Hungary remained in Turkish hands for the next 150 years. Only
after the failure of the second siege of Vienna by the Turks in 1683, they were
defeated in battle after battle as they retreated to south. Following the
liberation of most of Hungary from the Turks the Habsburgs established a Military
Frontier District to protect the new southern borders of Hungary.
Following the Treaty of Karlowitz in 1699 and Passarwitz in
1718, the uninhabited regions that had turned into wilderness were repopulated with
colonists from the various principalities of southwest German lands, parts of the Holy
Roman Empire, the ancestors of the Danube Swabians. The settlers also included some
from French territories, Alsace and Lorraine. These settlers came in three massive
waves, first under Charles VI from 1720-1739, secondly Maria Theresia from 1740-1779
and thirdly Joseph II from 1780-1790.
During the first two migrations, (waves of settlers) only Roman
Catholics were allowed to participate. (Translator’s note: That was the
official policy but many Lutherans and Reformed settled in Swabian Turkey from the
very beginning of the migrations.) With the publication of the Edict of Toleration
by Joseph II, Protestants were allowed to settle in the Batschka and Banat as well
as Swabian Turkey. Slavonia and Syrmien were off limits to Protestants up until
1859.
There were also Orthodox Serbs living in Slavonia and Syrmien
who had come there as refugees from the Turks during the 15th and 16th
centuries and were used to defend the frontiers against the Turks.
(Translator’s note: All of this forms the basic
backdrop for the future settlement of Čačinci and the arrival of the Danube Swabians
in their midst in 1900. The intent of this summary is to now focus in on the
experience of the Danube Swabians in Slavonia beginning with the period following
the First World War.)
Following the First World War, Slavonia became part of the
Kingdom of the Serbs, Croatians and Slovenes, the nation known as Yugoslavia. This
new state was to be a constitutional parliamentary democracy with a Monarch and
royal dynasty. In this three nationalities state the Croatians, Serbs and Slovenes
were equal. As far as the other national minorities in the land were concerned
their rights were to be protected by the League of Nations after its establishment.
In the end of March 1931 the census of Yugoslavia indicated the
following minorities:
505,000 Albanians, 499,000 Germans, 468,000 Hungarians, 137,000
Romanians, 133,000 Turks, 76,000 Slovaks, 70,000 Gypsies, 53,000 Czechs, 36,000
Russians, 28,000 Ukrainians, 18,000 Jews and 41,000 listed as others.
The ethnic German minority was concentrated in enclaves in the
Vojvodina, Banat and Syrmien, while they were scattered throughout Croatia,
Slavonia, Bosnia, Slovenia and the Lower Baranya. The distribution of the Danube
Swabian population in 1931 was as follows: 120,000 in the Banat, 173,000 in the
Batschka, 49,000 in Syrmien, 80,000 in Slavonia-Croatia, 15,000 in Bosnia and 29,000
in Slovenia.
Like the former Austro-Hungarian Empire, the new state of
Yugoslavia consisted of various nationalities and cohesion and unity would elude
them in the years ahead. The Serbs dream of a Greater Serbia was seen as a put down
on Croatian aspirations. Agitation for an independent state of Croatia began to
simmer, first led by Stephen Radic who was assassinated in parliament in 1928. In
this volatile situation the king, Alexander declared himself dictator and abolished
the constitution on January 6, 1929 and dissolved parliament and all political
parties, including the German Party that had elected representatives in parliament.
New administrative districts were established for the purpose of governing, each
named after the area’s major river.
This resulted in Serbian majorities in six of the nine
districts, which only added fuel to the Croatian fires of discontent. But within a
year the king was assassinated in France by a Macedonian terrorist and it is
reasonable to conclude that he carried out the act on behalf of Anton Pavelic the
exiled Croatian nationalist.
A Regency took over for Peter I, who was still a minor. The
regent was Prince Paul, the brother of the murdered king and the Ban of Zagreb and
Laibach (Croatia and Slovenia). In effect, Prince Paul was in control and in
power. He moderated Serbian aspirations and created a new outside enemy, Hungary,
to deflect political energy.
In the mid 1930s, Yugoslavia became more and more dependent on
trade with Germany as a result of the Depression. Even the annexation of Austria
was not seen as a threat to Yugoslavia, which now shared a common border with the
Third Reich. But the Croatian nationalists were busy behind the scenes, especially
Radics’ successor: Vlatko Maček, who sought to re-establish the Triple Kingdom of
Croatia. The Yugoslavian government was moving towards a non-aggression pact with
Hitler and a Tripartite Pact with Hungary and Romania. In March 1940 the pact was
signed at the Belvedere Palace in Vienna. Two days later a military Putsch
took place in Belgrade led by an air force general, Dušan Simovic. The 18-year-old
King Peter was declared to be of age and Simovic was named the new prime minister.
The delegates returning from Vienna were arrested at the train station on their
arrival.
The Third Reich saw this as a provocation and set April 6th
as the date to launch an invasion. Within eleven days, on April 17, 1941 the war
was over. Many Danube Swabian leaders were arrested and held hostage when
hostilities broke out. The quick capitulation of Yugoslavia prevented a bloodbath.
On April 10, 1941 the leader of the Ustaši, the Croatian
Fascists, Slavko Kvaternik Pavelic proclaimed the Independent State of Croatia. He
took over the government on behalf of the Ustaši as allies of the Third Reich and
Italy. Germany and Italy officially abolished the former “state” of Yugoslavia.
Croatia was given all of the territory of the former Triple Kingdom including
Bosnia, Herzegovina and all of Syrmien. Germany took over the southern Steiermark
and southern Carinthia. The Italians got Slovenia and a portion of Dalmatia, while
acting as “Protector” of Montenegro. In addition Italy was given Kosovo, western
Macedonia and Albania. Bulgaria got the larger portion of Macedonia. The Vojvodina
went to Hungary, while the Banat was placed under the German military and governed
by them from Belgrade in what remained of Serbia.
Following the takeover by the Ustaši, representatives of the
Danube Swabians sought to work out the rights of the ethnic German minority. A law was
decreed on June 21, 1941 consisting of eight articles outlining the place of the
Germans in Croatia and their rights and obligations to the state as well as the
leadership of the German Reich. The “Führer” of the Danube Swabians had a
voice and vote in the governing cabinet.
The issue now facing the ethnic German minority was military service.
On September 16, 1941 it was focussed on serving in the Croatian Army. In February
of 1942 German units within the Croatian forces were sent for training and service
with the German divisions in Bosnia and they were invited to join the Waffen SS.
This would be part of the rationale Tito would use for exterminating the Danube
Swabians down to every last man, woman and child as traitors to the nation. These
were the decisions acted upon at the assembly of AVNOJ (provisional partisan
revolutionary government) on November 21, 1944. It was to provide a legal cover for
the disenfranchisement, confiscation of property, internment and expulsion of the
Danube Swabian population.
Čačinci is located on the railway line from Agram (Zagreb) and
Esseg (Osijek). The closest district town was Našice with a population of 6,000.
Several Croatian nobles owned the mostly uncultivated land in this area: Count
Gutmann, Draškovic and Pejacivic. The Danube Swabian settlers arrived at the turn
of the century from the Batschka and Syrmien where they were running out of
available land for expansion. Land here was simply cheaper. But, bad harvests, war
and other natural disasters and hard work took their toll. The number of Danube
Swabian settlers increased at the end of the First World War. They were farmers,
merchants and tradesmen.
There were two churches in the village, one was Reformed and
the other Roman Catholic. The Lutherans had a prayer house that also served as a
school. There was a total population of 3,300 in the village prior to the
evacuation of the 820 Danube Swabian inhabitants. In addition to them, there were
other minorities: Czechs, Slovaks, Poles, Jews and Hungarians. Most of the
inhabitants were Croatians, except in the “old village” where there were Serbs. The
Danube Swabians got along well with their neighbours, which, however, was not true
in terms of the relationship between the Croats and Serbs. As a result the Danube
Swabians were often called upon to be “the middle man” in terms of disputes and were
elected as mayors and councillors.
Both the district doctor and midwife were Danube Swabians and
lived in Čačinci: Dr. Ackermann and Elisabeth Hepp. The cemetery was shared by
four denominations: the Roman Catholics, Orthodox, Reformed and Lutherans.
The Lutheran congregation was the smallest of the four groups.
It was a filial of Podravska Slatina where the pastor resided. He held services in
Čačinci and provided religious instruction for the children every fourth Sunday.
The congregation had its own presbyterium elected for four-year terms. (Translator’s
note: the Church Council.) Children were confirmed at the age of 12 years.
Memorizing Luther’s Small Catechism was emphasized. Because the classes were small
the children were called upon often to give answers during the Public Examination
before the congregation. Most of them never forgot the experience.
In 1930 the congregation bought the house of Karl Sahm to
convert it into a prayer house. The costs were covered through offerings and gifts
from neighbouring congregations. Before the prayer house was dedicated the
congregation used the school and church of the Reformed congregation for worship. A
tower and bell were added to their prayer house in 1934. After the war the tower
was torn down and the prayer house was used as living quarters and the small bell
simply disappeared. There were usually 80 to 90 pupils attending the Lutheran
school until the evacuation.
The Reformed congregation was also without a resident pastor
and was a filial of Velimirovac. There were about 70 Reformed families in the
village. Their church building was dedicated in 1928. Prior to its erection
services were held in one of the classrooms of their school.
Most of the Roman Catholics in the village were Croatians while
Danube Swabians formed the largest minority among them.
After the invasion of Yugoslavia during the Second World War
and the establishment of the Independent State of Croatia, the ethnic German schools
developed much better than previously. New state laws were passed for this purpose
on September 25, 1941. The official Danube Swabian organization representing the
minority, known as the Bund, carried out negotiations with the Croatian government
to carry out their own objectives. As a result thousands of Danube Swabian children
received instruction in German. These schools, however, would become the special
target of Partisan attacks and many of them were closed, including in Čačinci on
October 3, 1943.
The former Kulturbund (Cultural Association) of the
Danube Swabians in Yugoslavia was gradually taken over by a new element calling
themselves “Renewers” or “Renovators”. They were mostly young men who had studied
in Austrian or German universities where they were influenced by National Socialism
and attempted to introduce the Nazi ideology into the Kulturbund and their programme
and objectives. The followers of the movement organized themselves in Esseg under
the leadership of Branimir Altgayer from Slavonia. Čačinci was placed under the
Esseg leadership.
1941-1944
Many young
men were recruited into the army while others went to work in Germany. Those who
remained at home were trained to protect and defend the village. Everything began
to take on a military character in every aspect of daily life.
In October 1943, after several days of unrelenting siege,
Partisan units occupied Čačinci. The attack began on a Saturday night. The men who
were still at home fought alongside of the Croatian troops stationed in the village
that was completely surrounded by the Partisans. Because the village could not hold
out against the attackers, the fighting men broke out of the encirclement and
retreated towards Esseg. In the forests through which they fled they were mistaken
as fellow Partisans by the attackers and were able to make their escape. The
Partisans terrorized the villagers, burning down houses as well as the local ethnic German
community centre: Deutsches Heim. They plundered and destroyed at will while the
population hid themselves as best as possible.
One eye witness reports:
“On Saturday, October 2, 1943 the Partisans attacked the
village from three sides. The battle lasted for thirty hours. Because of being
outnumbered and with no possibility of re-enforcement the Croatian troops and the
Swabian Home Defence forces had to abandon the village after suffering heavy
casualties. From among the Danube Swabian population, four men and two women lost
their lives. Johann Saffenauer met a gruesome death at the hands of the Partisans.
Leaving in small groups, many of the defenders were able to escape.
Once the battle ended the Partisans plundered and burned the
homes of the Swabians. Many women and children were driven into the yard of one of
the homes and were made to listen to a Communist harangue them while their homes
were plundered and burned to the ground. To legalize their actions the Partisans
claimed that they were searching for concealed weapons and munitions.
Swabian men, who were unable to escape, hid themselves and
several were captured and then driven together into a yard. They were brutally
interrogated and tortured. They dragged off ten of the men. Three of them would
never be heard of again. One of those who were released was later picked up again
and disappeared forever. Several of the local police were murdered in one of the
yards of the village.
Those missing, wounded and dead were numerous on both sides.
For the Swabian population this was a time of great fear. Many of their homes were
burned down, all of the houses had been plundered and their cattle had been driven
away. They were now officially non-persons and had nothing but fear. Their
non-German neighbours had assisted many of the Swabians who had gone into hiding, in
doing so.
The desire to leave Čačinci grew stronger, but only a few
individuals had been successful in escaping through the Partisan lines that formed a
ring around the village. On Saturday, October 16, 1943 German military units
arrived accompanied by many of the men from Čačinci who had been successful in
making their escape and had returned to rescue the surrounded Danube Swabian
population. The order was simply, “Pack quickly! We must leave in two hours.”
Unfortunately, there were those who could not leave for various family reasons,
while there were others who felt that they had done nothing wrong and would not be
molested any further.
The column of wagons and trucks travelled to Esseg passing
through Josefsdorf. They remained in Esseg for a few days but for some it would be
a longer stay, waiting for family still on their way who had been forced to remain
behind. Uncertainty and fear had led to their flight. Some now went from Esseg to
live with family or friends in the area or were accommodated by the Bund in India
and Beschka.
About a year later, at the beginning of October 1944 the order
to flee and pack again was given. The reason was the onrushing front as the Red
Army moved into Yugoslavia. The German army could no longer hold back the Russian
advance. No one was prepared to fall into the hands of the Partisans again. The
wagon treks left and headed across Hungary to Austria and Germany and some went as
far as East Prussia.
Many attempted to return “home” to Yugoslavia when the war
ended. Some were turned back at the border, while others were welcomed and put into
extermination camps like Rudolfsgnad in the Banat were several perished.
A
School Teacher’s Story: Mathias Hohmann
In the
summer of 1943, I was at home in Čačinci on summer holidays from my school in
Bačivac. At the beginning of September I wanted to return to my job. Because the
Partisans had cut the railway lines I could not return. Shortly afterwards, Čačinci
was under attack by the Partisans.
On October 3rd at 4:00 a.m., the Partisans succeeded
in putting the Croatian military to flight, surrounded the village and began to
plunder the Swabian houses. Everything they found in the houses and yards was taken
and driven out to the forest, where it was left to rot. After the plundering there
were only empty houses or the shell of burned out houses.
Those of us men who had not been able to escape were driven
together by the Partisans in the yard of Adam Hock. We had no idea of what would
become of us.
Every now and then a female Partisan would scream at us,
shouting that we were “bandits” and should be thrown into the burning houses because
we deserved it. For one day and night we endured such threats and beatings as we
waited for the judgement of the Partisan leaders as to what would become of us. On
October 5, 1943, twenty of us men were dragged off to the mountains. After a
two-day march, during which we had nothing to eat, we reached Vočin. During the day
we were locked up in a bunker, where we were chained and bound hand and foot. At
night the interrogations took place and most of us were beaten and abused in the
process. There were also accidents that resulted from these nighttime activities
and men went to pieces from the experience. All of this and the fear we had lasted
until November 13, 1943. By this time, only seven of the twenty men from Čačinci
were still alive. We were sentenced to slave labour for three to four months or
three to six months. I was part of the second group and I had to serve six months
of labour in the forest.
We were still imprisoned in the earth bunker. It was November
5, 1943 when a sentry called two of us out to take us to the commander. There an
axe and spade were handed to us. We knew what this meant, and we stood rooted to
the spot, because we did not know if we were going to dig or own graves. We were
led to a spot where many innocent victims were already buried. Because of our fear
of impending death we were unable to dig, so that the sentry had to tell us that the
grave was not meant for us. When we finished digging the grave, two Partisans led
their victim forward. It was the Croat, Meso Busljeta, a twenty one year old man
from Čačinci who was condemned to death for the crimes of his father. His face was
covered with blood, so that it was difficult to recognize him, only his uniform gave
him away and we recognized it because we had been imprisoned with him all this time.
On November 13, 1943 the seven of us began our slave labour at
Zvučevo. This was at the time of the first snowfall. We had no shoes so we wrapped
rags around our feet in order to work out of doors. We had to cut down trees and
then saw them up every day.
I had no contact with my family. At Christmas 1943 three of
our comrades were released. A short time later one of them was apprehended again
and was never heard from again. Another one of them was murdered when he returned
to Čačinci.
After our six-month sentence was over the Partisans brought us
to Slatinski Dunavoc. In the meanwhile, German troops marched into Čačinci and so
we had to wait until April 5, 1944 to return home. We spent Easter in our home
village but without any of our families. There had been great joy in the village on
our return because we had been given up for dead. There were no longer any Danube
Swabians left in Čačinci and I wondered how to reach my family. On April 20, 1944 a
German unit reached the village and an officer who knew me said, “Your name is
Hohmann. I will take you to your family.” I was overcome and went with him to
Slatina where I was then transferred to Esseg. There I was questioned at Bund
headquarters for two days until I was sent to my family in India on April 27th.
In India I took up teaching once again on May 8, 1944. I lived
there with my family until October 10, 1944. On that day we boarded trains and fled
for Germany and arrived in Schärding in Austria.”
From the Diary of Eva Stiefel:
Friday, October 1, 1943
Today my brother-in-law returned home by train. He was on
business in Agram. We were happy to see him because there had been no connections
for eight days because the Partisans had torn up sections of the tracks. As a
result we could hope again, that we would get letters from our men.
Saturday, October 2, 1943
Heavy shooting began this morning
at 4:30 am. As daylight came the Partisans threw grenades and damaged several
houses. We realized our situation was dangerous. So we began to store clothes,
laundry, meat and flour and other necessities in a storeroom. We had no idea of how
bad things would get. Later we realized that we left too much behind for the
Partisans. The fighting raged all day. It became quiet in our area as evening
came. But in the village the Partisans had already infiltrated Peter Ries’ place
and there had already been some deaths.
Sunday, October 3, 1943
Today is a day that will always
remain in our memory. We want to be thankful to God that He helped us in this dark
hour. They were fearful hours that we lived through from 9 to 11 o’clock, but God
be praised, it is all over now. Today began with more shootings in the morning. On
our side, the Ustaši had four dead and nineteen wounded.
We carried out chores in the house, yard and stable. After
breakfast the fighting intensified and we all hid in the small room close to the
yard. Philip’s family was also with us. Rozič, the officer who is quartered in our
house came for his things and said, “We can’t hold out much longer, the Partisans
are already in all of the side streets.” He took his ammunition and left us. We
were terrified as we saw the military and the local Defence Forces begin to
retreat. They fled out of the village. In less than an hour the first Partisans
were here. At first screams broke out all along the street and at the same time
shots were heard as the Partisans fired at the windows of the houses. In our room
the bullets passed through the dressers and were embedded in the walls. And then
the gate to our yard was thrown open.
We were huddled sitting on the floor of the room and each of us
tried to crawl and hide in a corner. We were all pale as death. Then the Partisans
broke into our house and called out: “Zdravo Druze!” They asked if there were any
bandits (soldiers) or ammunition in the house. They looked in every corner but took
nothing with them. Some time later a horde of them stormed into our house and each
of them took whatever he wanted. So some rushed in, others rushed out, until soon
everything was gone. We had to watch as they dragged our things away. Later my
sister and I planned to go to Philip’s house and open the locks. Then a woman
Partisan appeared and said, “Wait a moment,” and took out her machine pistol and
shot at the lock. The doors and windows of the house were wrecked. A team of
horses hitched to a wagon stood in front of the house crammed full with Partisans.
They dragged out whatever was available and loaded the wagon. At the end, only
broken pottery, dishes and books were left behind. It was awful. All day long the
plundering continued. We had to feed the Partisans and then they were friendlier
towards us. I always held little Erhardt in my arms; it was the only way I could
deal with my fears because women with little children were not taken away.
In the afternoon it continued. One wagon after another
followed each other out of the village. There were hundreds of wagons full of
Swabians possessions.
At 3:00 pm the railroad station was set on fire and fires raged
in every part of the village. Late tonight Partisans appeared and ordered my father
to hitch up our horses and drive for them. He pretended that he was too sick to do
it. They called for someone else to drive the team and wagon and we never saw them
again. At night now there is finally some peace. The sky was bright and red from
the great fires in the village as more and more houses of the Swabians went up in
flames.
Monday, October 4, 1943
Today we heard of what had been
burned down. All night long the columns of wagons filled with the Swabians
possessions left the village. All of the stores and shops were totally stripped,
even those of the Croatians. Many Swabian families had everything taken from them
or were burned out. Hepps, on the street behind us had everything taken from them.
In the afternoon we learned that three men and one old woman were dead along with
Johann Saffenaur who had literally been butchered by the Partisans using their
knives. Among the buildings that were burned were the train station, homes of the
Banzhofs, Mayers, Kruscherics, Stampfers, Lotschperichs, the town hall, the
government office, the Schilling’s store and the houses of the Hemmeles, Leitheims,
Mattls, Kopfers, Pathays, the school and the Deutsches Heim as well as the factory
across from the mill.
Many of the Swabian men had fled with the Ustaši troops. One
hundred and four men were led off by the Partisans, among them was the carpenter Som,
Annasenz, Gregor, Banzhof, Adam Mullerlei. None have returned.
Tuesday, October 5, 1943
During the night many of our
people left as a pause set in and there was a no Partisan activity. We could hear
our stallion and the colt neighing in the stable. All day long we were afraid they
would set Philip’s house on fire. They had already tried to do it by setting the
curtains ablaze but the fire went out. Then people from Skretnica arrived.
Philip’s family was with us. The Partisans appeared again and were still searching
for things to carry off. They opened every small drawer. Shortly thereafter they
found our Fritz’s military medal. One of them screamed, “Now we see we’ve found
what we’ve been searching for!” Another Partisan, a good man said, “You idiot,
don’t you recognize a Yugoslavian medal when you see one!”
Wednesday, October 6, 1943
The streets were cleared and then
cleaned and fences were repaired. We had no desire to do anything and we asked one
another how long this could possibly go on.
Thursday, October 7, 1943
During the night the Partisans
set off all of the landmines the Ustaši had laid around the village.
Friday, October 8, 1943
Up until noon today they set off
mines and booby traps. In the afternoon I was at my Bechtel’s Godmother. I
remarked that it was still burning and smouldering all over the village. There were
simply no firemen around. It’s bad. I hear that many people are leaving by wagon
for Miholjac and going on to Esseg.
Saturday, October 9, 1943
I went in search of our horses
and I needed a pass for that purpose. I could only get that at headquarters and it
was located in Mikleuška. In the evening we are supposed to go to a meeting.
Sunday, October 10, 1943
No entry.
Monday, October 11, 1943
Today Lydia left. I gave her a
letter for my dear husband. This evening we heard the Lamps are leaving too.
Tuesday, October 12, 1943
Today our horses drove past our house and that was very
difficult for us. Lydia has not returned. Her flight to Esseg must have been
successful. Our uncle Jakob was in Miholjac.
Wednesday, October 13, 1943
Today our Ustaši military
returned in the morning. Many people left with them. The Partisans also come here
daily to “visit” us.
Thursday, October 14, 1943
Friday, October 15, 1943
Nothing much has happened.
Saturday, October 16, 1943
Today was an alarming day. In
the afternoon the German police and the district Defence Forces arrived. They are
the ones who had fled with the military. They said, “Pack everything quickly! In
two hours we have to get going!” We have no horse or wagon so we have to stay
here. Our father went down to the corner to observe them leaving. There were many
people there with their little bundles, because there were some horses and wagons
there after all. All of them left out of fear. Almost all of our Swabians have
gone.
Sunday, October 17, 1943
For two weeks now we have been in
the hands of the Partisans. Many people left again yesterday. I wanted to leave
too and go to my parents in Neu Pasua but I couldn’t leave my in-laws here all
alone. Today is four weeks since my husband returned to his military unit after his
leave.
There are many Partisans in the village again. Last night 70
wagonloads of goods were taken away. All of the houses have been stripped empty.
Even the doors and window frames have been removed so that no one can live in them
again. So much for our “inheritance.”
Monday, October 18, 1943
Today those of us who are still
here packed and in the evening we listened to the radio. We sold our camera to
Muzar.
Tuesday, October 19, 1943
Today we butchered a piglet. In
the afternoon, Urban came with two Partisans. They told us to send word for our men
to return. Nothing would happen to them or us.
Wednesday, October 20, 1943
Thursday, October 21, 1943
Friday, October 22, 1943
No entries.
Saturday, October 23, 1943
The Wilgings’ Godmother returned
home from Josipovac.
Sunday, October 24, 1943
Today I wrote letters to my
beloved husband and parents. In the evening Urban came again to invite us to the
meeting.
Monday, October 25, 1943
I went to Slatina with Jusup and
then on foot to Sopjanka to my sister Ada.
Tuesday, October 26, 1943
Today I came back home.
Wednesday, October 27, 1943
Adam travelled to Esseg today and
took three radios to sell.
Thursday, October 28, 1943
We heard that everything was
taken away from Adam.
Friday, October 29, 1943
A letter arrived from Adam with a
picture of Susan. They were in Siwatz in the Batschka.
Saturday, October 30, 1943
No entry.
Sunday, October 31, 1943
Today my dear husband celebrates
his birthday. My thoughts are with him and it lies heavy on my heart. When are we
going to get out of this? Away from the Partisans?
At the beginning of November I left Čačinci for Miholjac by
wagon along with my in-laws, Aunt Margaret and Elfrieda. We stayed there
overnight. In that night a fierce battle raged in Čačinci between the Partisans,
the Ustaši and German police. There were many deaths. The next morning the
Partisans withdrew and all of the Swabians who were still left in the village left
with the German police.
When we arrived in Našice we heard about all of this. In the
afternoon they arrived under military escort. In Našice we were all loaded on a
train that took us to India and Beschka.
In October 1944 we were loaded on the cattle cars of a train as
part of the evacuation and arrived in Vienna before we were sent on to East
Prussia. In December 1944 we had to flee before the advancing Russian Army and that
is another story.
Recollections of Susanne Brauchler
“…it was time for us to leave.
We were nine persons on one wagon. We had some clothes along with food for us and
oats for our horses. From Čačinci we headed for Miholjac and then Esseg and on to
India. We remained in India for an extended period in which our supplies were soon
used up. But we found work and were able to buy bread. I had no children of my own
but my sister Theresia Ries had six. The oldest was a boy of seventeen who was
working in Vienna; the youngest was only several months old. That meant that five
of the children were with their mother. Their father was serving in the military
and I took the whole family under my care and we worked together.
The order came for us to leave in six days. My sister had to
leave on a transport by rail and I myself was to become part of a wagon column. My
mother-in-law was also with me on the wagon because she could not go by train. I
was pleased that we would stay together because we loved one another as mother and
daughter.
So we left India and headed for Esseg. There we left Croatia
behind when we crossed the bridge over the Drava River. Our way took us across
southern Hungary to Graz in Austria and then on to Grieskirchen and Neumarkt. We
remained there for some time.
In nearby Pahring I found a place for us to live with a
farmer. My mother-in-law was happy to come with me…the farmer told me, “We have
enough work and you won’t have to worry about getting enough to eat, but we can’t
pay any money.” So I worked there and we had food and a warm room and were
comfortable there.
On February 9, 1945 a young boy showed up at the farm with a
note. He told me that three of my sister’s children were at the train station in
town. I asked the farmer’s wife if I could go and fetch the children. She
answered, “Go and get them!” I walked as fast as I could to the train station. It
was very cold on that February 9th day. When I saw the half frozen
children my heart was touched so deeply. The three of them had been journeying
since January 24th and had only reached the camp at Neumarkt that day.
For these three little children these had been terrible days. They could not go
on. So I had to get a wagon and drive them to Pahring that was now my home.
Soon some neighbour’s children passed by, they wanted to see
the Banater Dirndl (as refugees from Yugoslavia were called in Austria). “God,
they look just like us,” they said. The farmer’s wife had set some bath water on
the stove. I couldn’t bathe the little ones because they were half frozen. I tried
to give some food to the youngest one but she could not swallow. I gave all of them
some hot tea and put them to bed. The farmer’s wife and her neighbours were of the
opinion that if the children fell asleep they would never waken. All afternoon I
sat at their bedside and awakened them so that they could not fall into a deep
sleep. At night I gave them warm milk to drink. Around 8:00 pm I put them back to
bed and they slept through the night.
In the morning the farmer’s wife asked if the children were
still alive. When I was able to assure her they were, she gave me more milk for the
children. After they got up, washed themselves, dressed and ate their fill of milk
they began to tell me of their long ordeal. The oldest girl was thirteen, the
little boy was six and the little one sixteen months old. The family had to flee
from East Prussia in the winter of early 1945 and that is where their long journey
had begun. The thirteen year old always had to carry the baby. She herself was
handicapped and had sight in only one eye.
Because the Weichel River was frozen, the children crossed the
river on a sled. Adults had to walk and as a result the three youngest children
were separated from their mother and she and the older children were to be placed in
the camp where the younger children were being taken. Their mother and the other
children never reached the camp. All of the tears of the desolate children could
not change things. The three children were placed on a transport heading for
Austria to the camp at Neumarkt. The thirteen year old knew that they had an aunt
there and gave this information to the director of the transport. As a result that
is why they had gotten off of the train at the local station.
That is how I got the message and brought the children to me.
It was a difficult time both for the children and for me. We lived together for
almost a year and made the best of it. We would often sing the song, “A bird came
flying,” to the little one and she would soon fall asleep.
One night something mysterious happened. The little one sat up
in bed and began to sing, “A bird came flying and sat down on my foot, had a little
letter in her beak, a greeting from my mother.” She then lay down again and
continued sleeping. My mother-in-law asked, “Did you hear that? The little one
must feel the love of her mother that she experiences in the night. You’ll see.
Something will come of this.”
And it did too. The very next day the children’s grandmother
came and told them, “Your mother is alive and she is coming soon.” What a fantastic
joy we all experienced. We wept tears of happiness and were even joined by the
farmer’s wife. The children’s Ries grandmother had received the news from
relatives who lived near Passau.
At first we were in doubt. Could this really be possible? We
would only believe if we could see my sister. The relative of Grandmother Ries had
met a woman on the street in Passau, who had just come across the border from the
East Zone. She had a letter and wanted to drop it off at the parsonage to be sent
onward. The letter stated that a woman had lost her three children and she believed
that they were with her sister. The man realized that the address was that of his
cousin, Grandmother Ries. So he sent it directly to her. So now we knew that my
sister was still alive.
This relative now also took on the responsibility to write to
my sister. From Passau the letter got across the border to the East Zone. A pastor
in the East Zone passed it on informing my sister that the children were alive and
in good health and with her sister. Soon my sister came across the border near
Passau and we had a reunion with many tears of joy. My sister came with one son.
The daughter who had been with her had also been lost during the flight from East
Prussia. She was left all on her own. Fortunately some Čačinci people, the family
of Adam Mayer took her into their family and were able to contact us. Now the whole
Ries family were re-united in Pahring, but without the husband of my sister, who has
been missing since the end of the war.”
