Continuation from Izmeny-4
The
Expulsion
Protocol XIII of the Potsdam Declaration of
August 2, 1945 subtitled: “Orderly Transfer of German Populations” states:
“The three
governments (USA, Great Britain and the Soviet Union) having considered the
question in all its aspects recognize that the transfer to Germany of German
populations or elements thereof remaining in Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary
will have to be undertaken. They agree that any transfer that takes place should
be effected in an orderly and humane manner…”
The Hungarian
government had already written to the Allied Control Commission on May 26, 1945:
“It is urgent that these Germans who have betrayed Hungary in their support and in
the service of Hitlerism be removed from our land because it is the only way to
guarantee that in the future the German spirit and German oppression will never
rule over our land again.”
In this report the
number of Germans to be expelled was given as 200,000. On August 9, 1945 the
Allied Control Commission informed the Hungarian government that on the basis of
the Potsdam Declaration they should prepare themselves to expel a total of 450,000
Germans in Hungary. The actual total number of Germans in Hungary, that is “rump”
Hungary after the First World War, stood at 470,000 and therefore this spoke of
the expulsion of the total German population. The government continued to
adamantly refuse to accept this figure as late as August 13, 1945 but then
capitulated to the demands of the Allied Control Commission and agreed to the
expulsion of 500,000 because they were also faced with masses of Hungarians who
were being driven out Czechoslovakia and with no other alternative they signed the
agreement on December 13, 1945 that all of the Germans in Hungary were to be
expelled. I have translated that order:
“Regulation Number 12330/1945: With regard
to the expulsion and transfer of the German population in Hungary to Germany on
the basis of the Allied Powers’ Regulation XI: 1945 subsection 15:
I.
Those individuals holding Hungarian citizenship who
acknowledged their German nationality or German mother tongue in the last census
(1941), those who assumed their German family name after having had it Madjarized,
those who were members of the Volksbund or belonged or served in a German military
formation or the SS is under obligation to be resettled in Germany.
II.
1) The specifications associated with the above do
not apply to the spouse or minor children of the marriage, if the spouse is not of
German nationality (mother tongue) as well as those not affected by the above
regulation living in the same household who are their relatives (parents,
grandparents) if they were 65 years old before December 15, 1945.
2) The regulation as noted above has no effect on the individual
who was a member of a democratic political party or at least a member of a
recognized labour union.
3) The regulation noted above does not apply to anyone who
claimed German as their mother tongue but declared themselves to be of Hungarian
nationality, if they can prove through witnesses that they suffered persecution
for being loyal to the Hungarian nation.
4) Those identified in 2) and 3) are freed from the regulations
and the wife (widow) minor children (or underage orphans) along with those
relatives living with them in their household (parents, grandparents).
5) Exemptions from these regulations and exceptions 2) and 3) do
not apply to those individuals who changed their names back to its German form
after having Madjarized it or were members of the Volksbund or any other Fascist
organization as well as any military formation.
6) Questions with regard to exemption from any of these
regulations should be addressed directly to the Commission responsible to the
Ministry of the Interior.
III.
1) The moveable and non-moveable property of those
persons to be expelled- whether they are currently in Hungary or in a foreign
country, are declared confiscated as per the day that this law goes into force and
the resident owner is not allowed to take anything or damage the property in any
way. The resident owner can only take a reasonable amount of assets (food and
other provisions) to meet the immediate needs of the household and its economic
necessities.
2) The confiscated property will be inventoried. Qualified
personnel with the authority to carry out and list the inventory will be appointed
by the appropriate ministry and will also establish the value of the inventory.
3) The Ministry of the Interior will determine which movable
property the expellees may take with them.
4) Any offence committed in light of 1) in keeping, damaging or
destroying the confiscated property and goods will be considered a crime and will
be punished with ten years in prison.
IV.
1) The expellees identified in regulation I are to
register as households in every community and receive a certificate to that
effect. Those persons absent from their communities at the time of the
registration are required to provide identification papers.
2) Exempt from this registration and obtaining identification
papers are those who are not be expelled.
3) Every official in the district is obligated to properly carry
out the purpose of this regulation and provide the results to the local community
authorities.
V.
1) The list of the names of the expellees is to be
posted publicly on the community bulletin board.
2) Those persons whose names appear on the list can only leave
their place of residence with the permission of the local public officials. Such
permission can only be given if the person can meet certain qualifications or
conditions.
3) Individuals who leave their place of residence without
permission or attempt to escape from the expulsion will face internment under
police arrest until such time as they are expelled and all of their possession
will be confiscated.
4) In those communities where it appears there may be some
obstructions with regard to the expulsion the Minister of the Interior can call
upon the necessary force to carry it out…
VI.
1) The Interior Minister may send observers to
oversee the carrying out of the expulsion.
2) The orders of the Ministry along with the expulsion regulations
must be obeyed and carried out by the governing authorities and their
representatives. The delegates of the Ministry will call upon security forces if
required to carry out the operation.
VII.
The Minister of the Interior is responsible for
carrying out these regulations in co-operation with the other appropriate
ministries.
2) The decree and its regulations go into force on the day of its
publication and the Interior Minister will see to its execution.
Budapest, December 22, 1945
Tildy Zoltán, Prime Minister
The decree was in response to the decision
of the local representatives of the Allied Control Commission, which did not give
the number of persons to be expelled, but only the maximum number that could be
absorbed by Germany. The Allied Control Commission however, demanded that the
Hungarian government carry out the decree on its own initiative but on January 26,
1946 the Hungarian government declared it was not yet prepared to carry it out.
The expulsions of the Germans from Hungary got underway in January 1946 and
brought 195,931 of them from Hungary to Germany and among them were 44,104 persons
from the Tolna alone. The number of expellees from other effected counties:
|
Conty |
Number of Expellees |
|
Pest |
39642 |
|
Györ-Sopron |
26,110 |
|
Baranya |
25,139 |
|
Fejér |
16,300 |
|
Veszpém |
13,133 |
|
Bács-Kiskun |
10,383 |
|
Komárom-Esztergom |
6,025 |
|
Békés |
4,548 |
|
Budapest |
4,100 |
|
Somogy |
3,238 |
|
Vas |
2,778 |
|
Csongrád |
431 |
During the year 1946 approximately 135,000
of the Germans in Hungary came into the American and British Zones of occupation
in Germany and in the following year 55,000 people were sent to the Soviet
occupation Zone. Those who would follow in 1948 were also expelled to the Soviet
Zone of occupation. Great numbers of them, in fact the great majority were simply
victims of expediency, they were simply German by nationality, who had nothing to
do with the SS or the Volksbund, in fact many of their fiercest opponents were
among those who were expelled.
The expulsions were halted in 1948 because
there was simply no room for more of them in Germany.
This collective guilt and the punishment
of a whole people, every man, woman and child, has no political or humane basis.
The Hungarian politicians, as well as those
in Poland and Czechoslovakia were guilty of not having offered a critique or
provided any opposition to this initiative on the part of the victorious Allied
Powers. We can learn how the expropriation took place in the villages from the
remembrances of Anna Maria Lehr (born in 1936) of Izmény:
“At seven o’clock in the morning on April
13, 1945 the mayor’s assistant went about the village beating his drum and
announcing that all people, whether young or old, including the children as young
as nursing infants were to assemble at the right hand side of the entrance to the
village. Those who could not walk, the sick and the small children had to be
brought by wagon. The only ones who were allowed to stay at home were those who
were dieing. At least that is what was said. Armed police surrounded the whole
village. The people in the village were treated as if they were the greatest of
criminals. The way to where we were to assemble was guarded on both sides. When
and from where all of these policemen came to our village, no one knows to this
day. Slowly all of the people of the village arrived and by eight o’clock all of
them must have been there. The local elected leaders should have known about it,
but it had been kept a secret from the rest of us.
People were divided into groups according
to a list of names. There was an A and B group (to the right and to the left).
The person who stood on the A side had to go to Lengyel, and those who stood on
the B-side were allowed to go back to the village (Izmény was the first village in
the Tolna where this was done). The people were taken to Lengyel by horse and
wagon and those who could not find room on one had to walk. Heavily armed
policemen, to prevent anyone from escaping, escorted the people.
It was said that all of the members of the
Volksbund had to leave. But that was not true, because there were many among of
them who had not been members of the Volksbund. The people of the village were
all in a state of shock about the whole thing. There was great fear among all of
the villagers. The people were kept in the assembly area from eight to eleven
o’clock. A Commission went about the village to the houses of the people that had
been taken to Lengyel and they posted notices on them indicating no one was
allowed to enter them again.
The people who had to leave for Lengyel
were imprisoned in the swine stalls of the castle (actually the manor house) of
the Count. They were treated like animals. They lay on the floor next to one
another on straw (there were also numerous children among them) because it was
very cold that night. They warmed one another. The people from Izmény were kept
in the swine stalls for ten days, with no water to wash, and almost without food;
they were hungry and dirty. They were forbidden to have visitors. Armed
policemen as well as Hungarian civilians, who carried pitchforks, so that no one
could escape, guarded them night and day.
After these ten difficult days they were
sent into the Count’s castle. The castle had served as quarters for the Russian
military and looked quite terrible. In the meanwhile, other Germans from various
villages in the Tolna had been brought there as well. There were no windows in
the castle or indoor doors because the Russians had removed them all. Straws lay
on all of the floors on which the prisoners were to sleep and up to ten people
were housed in each room. There was no water and no toilets. In the garden of
the castle a hole was dug and that served as the toilet. For many of the people
that was very embarrassing because they had to be accompanied by an armed
policeman when they went to use it.
After a stay of about a week in the castle
the prisoners inside were allowed visitors. The first to come was Ernst Hoffmann,
our pastor, who came by horse and wagon to visit his parishioners. I came along
with the pastor to visit my mother. Policemen and civilian guards surrounded the
castle. The people were only allowed to stand close by the windows and looked out
and it was awful when we saw the people and all of them wept. Our pastor was able
to comfort them. He read a short passage of scripture and prayed for all of them,
that the Lord would give them strength to withstand the terrible things that were
happening to them. In conclusion he prayed the Lord’s Prayer with all of them
joining in.
It had all gone by so quickly. Now we had
to say our farewells. The policemen shot their rifles into the air. The people
were all happy that the pastor had come to visit them. We were not allowed to
bring them any food, it was forbidden. The policemen had searched the wagon. The
pastor was allowed to visit them once more and I went with him again. Our stay
was very short again. The people were not allowed out of the castle, they could
only look out of the windows. One man told us that some people were being beaten,
but only those from Izmény.
This was read at the 50th
anniversary festival and all of it is perfectly true. The people from Izmény, and
I believe all of the others, were allowed to leave the castle in May. They were
told: You are free now. You can go wherever you want, but never back to your own
houses. The people well knew that everything had been expropriated. This was a
terrible fate for the ethnic Germans. Since then of course, we have been told it
was an injustice, but that has come years too late. How happy our grandparents
would have been if they could have lived to see the day when amends were made,
even though the amends were only in words.”
Following
the expropriation, most of those involved sought shelter with friends or relatives
and in some cases with the new owners of their own property in an attempt to find
a way to survive.
The
expulsion of the villagers of Izmény was carried out in two separate operations.
The first group was transported by train in cattle cars to the Soviet Zone of
occupation in August of 1947 and the second group left in March of 1948. Except
for their regulation backpack (whose weight limits had been set) they could take
nothing else with them. The names of those who were expelled can be read in the
register of the individual families. Most of the families from Izmény arrived at
the transit camp in Pirna and from here they were dispersed to Bischofswerda,
Crimmitschau, Grosspostwitz, and Meissen. Many of them fled to the American and
British Zones of occupation before 1949 and the establishment of the DDR (German
Democratic Republic). They had to rebuild their lives and make their way in their
new and at the same time old homeland.
Those who
remained behind also faced severe difficulties of their own. From one day to the
next, they became more and more a minority in their own village. There were three
to five families (sometimes more) sheltered in a single house. Many years passed
by until we no longer looked upon ourselves as criminals and sinners, and could
trust one another enough to speak German among ourselves. Most of the former
residents of Izmény now living in Germany are located in the regions of Ahlen (Nordrhein-Westphalia),
Maxhütt-Haidhof (Bavaria), Grosspostwitz, Meissen, Crimmitschau and Bischofswerda
(Saxony). Others of our countrymen are scattered in the United States and Canada
or live in the suburbs of Buenos Aires, the capital city of Argentina.
Taking the
place of those who were expelled and assuming ownership of their properties were
Reformed Hungarians from Slovakia and Roman Catholic “Tschangos” from the Seklar
area (the borderland between present day Moldavia and Romania). This group
suffered a unique fate of its own. They had to leave their centuries old homeland
that they had been given by the Hungarian government who then resettled them in
the Batschka after it was annexed to Hungary during the Second World War and then
afterwards received a new home in the German villages in the Tal District of Tolna
County. The Hungarians for their part were exchanged on the basis of an agreement
concluded between Hungary and Czechoslovakia and were settled in the properties of
the ethnic German population in Hungary.
In the year
1941, there was a population of 800 ethnic Germans in Izmény. In 1949 there were
182 ethnic Germans, 600 Tschangos and 160 Hungarians in the village. The numbers
speak for themselves. The older people gradually died out, the young people
married spouses from other nationalities or went into the cities (Bonyhád,
Szekszárd, Pécs, Dombovár, Komló) or moved to larger villages (Nagymányok, Máza)
where it was easier to make a living. As a result today there are 550 inhabitants
with some 20 ethnic Germans now living in the village. The Lutheran Church that
used to be crowded with people who had held fast to their faith and whose
ancestors had made so many sacrifices for their sake, remains a witness of their
faith for all time, even though today, only around five to ten people participate
in the worship services.
This is the
tragedy of a faith, a people, a nationality, a village community and its history,
which can never be changed again. That is the sad and sorrowful fact about the
once flourishing German Hungarian village of Izmény (Ismin) now forever without
its ethnic German people and character.
Pastors of the Congregation
Walther
As
mentioned previously, he served in the village presumably from 1723 until 1724 and
from here he went on to Kismányok and then in the year 1728 he went elsewhere. In
the book about the Church District written by George Bárány he is described as
“sinnensis ex Darmstadt” (formerly of Darmstadt). Because there were a number of
pastors with the name of Walther who served in the Church District, it is
difficult to distinguish among them and we are unable to determine with accuracy
the man’s later life experiences. It is unlikely that he was already in Izmény in
1722 and had arrived there with the first settlers because the number of settlers
at the time was very small so that would not have warranted a pastor of their
own. With Walther’s move to Kismányok, Izmény became a filial congregation for
the next decades.
Stephan
Bárány
We
already reported on his presence in the village. He was the second son of George
Bárány de Szenicze (1682-1757) and his wife Anna Varga. His father served as the
pastor in Nagyvázsony – Weissenburg County (Veszprém) (1713-1718), in Gyönk
(1718-1719), in Györköny (1719-1722), and in Sárszentlörinc (1722-1726,
1729-1757). He was the organizer of the Tolna Church District during the time
when numerous Lutherans from Germany and northern Hungary were arriving here. The
father of Stephan was one of the most important figures in the annals of
Lutheranism in Hungary. The second pastor of Izmény, Stephan Bárány was born to
this family in December of 1717 in Nagyvázsony. During the time of his ministry
in Izmény the church entries continued to be recorded in the Church Records in
Kismányok and from that we can assume that nothing had changed in terms of the
filial arrangements between Izmény and Kismányok, which remained the mother
church. Bárány was therefore an assistant to the pastor in Kismányok. He served
in the village from 1742 to 1743 as the pastor. In 1743 he was expelled from
office at the instigation of the Roman Catholic clergy, so that his ministry in
Izmény lasted only one year. After Izmény, he was the pastor in Kistormás between
1743 and 1749 and between 1749 and 1775 in Varsád. In 1746 he was elected co-Dean
of the Church District and in the year 1768 as Dean (he remained in this office
until the time of his death). He died in Varsád on March 17, 1775 at the age of
57 years 3 months and 23 days. He was married three times and had nine children.
His first wife Anna Domonkos died in Varsád in 1756 at the age of 38 years. His
son Gabriel (born 1737 in Sárszentlörinc) was the pastor in Kistormás between
1764-1769. The brother of Stephan Bárány, Johann Bárány (1716-1758) was the
pastor in Felpéc and between 1756-1758 he was the bishop of Trans Danubia.
David
Perlitzy
He was the
first pastor elected in Izmény following the Edict of Toleration. He was a member
of a noble family and was born in 1755 in Szák in Komorn County, the son of the
pastor Johann Perlitzy. He completed his primary studies at the schools in Sopron
(Ödenburg). With the permission of the Governing Council he was allowed to
continue his studies at the University of Wittenberg. The congregation in 1778 as
the successor of Daniel Klement who had been elected the pastor of Kismányok
elected him the Lizent. In May of 1784 he was elected pastor by the congregation
and ordained. The church was built under his leadership in 1784-1785. The
congregation, to replace him as teacher, called Friedrich Buss. Perlitzy was a
true guardian of the mother tongue and culture of his congregation. During his
entire ministry he never preached in Hungarian even once. In the year 1792 the
neighboring village of Györe became a filial congregation of Izmény and at the
beginning of the 19th century Máza became another and as a result his
work was greatly increased. He married Charlotta von Szegner, the daughter of
Johann Szegner and his wife Judith nee Wiedisch. He was the mayor of St. Georgen
by Pressburg. They married in the church in Izmény on January 4, 1791. A son was
born in this marriage. After many years of service in Izmény, Perlitzy’s eyesight
became weak after 1825 and eventually on doctor’s orders he resigned. He bid
farewell to his numerous brother pastors at an assembly of the Church District in
Varsád on May 13, 1830. In his farewell address he spoke of the necessity to
preserve the culture and the faith of their ancestors and of the importance of
battling against all of the forces that would attempt to destroy them. He spent
his remaining years in his wife’s family circle in St. Georgen where he died. The
seat of the leading bishop of the Lutheran Church in Slovakia was in St. Georgen
at that time.
Ludwig
Bergmann
After
Perlitzy gave up his ministry the congregation remained without a pastor from July
1830 until March 1832, almost two years. This was the situation they had to live
with, although the congregation wrote to the bishop twice in the year 1831
requesting that he ordain the vicar in Mekényes, Samuel Knar, the pastor’s son
there, in order to serve as the pastor in Izmény. The two requests were both
denied because the bishop felt the candidate was too young. In this situation in
which the congregation found itself it was served by the neighboring pastors of
whom Andreas Bertel of Muscfa and Joseph Ritter of Majós were the most important.
Additional pastors who provided pastoral services were: Stephan Hators, the pastor
of Ráckozár, Joseph Borbély the preacher in Bonyhád, Johann Fuhrmann, pastor in
Kismányok, Karl Kelchbrunner vicar in Ráckozár, as well as the Roman Catholic
priest Joseph Kelemen from Szászvár and Paul Endrödy from Apar (all of the
children baptized between November 1831 and March 1832 were performed by one of
the two).
There was a
great celebration in Izmény on March 25, 1832 as the Dean Emmrich Tatai. The
pastor of Tolnanémedi ordained young Ludwig Bergmann as pastor and with his
arrival the vacancy was filled. Gottlieb Ludwig Bergmann was born on April 4,
1807 in the ethnic German Lutheran village of Szárázd in the Tolna. His father,
Chrisitian Gottlieb Theophil Bergmann (born in Sopron on May 29, 1767, died in
Szárázd on October 25, 1847) was the pastor of both of the congregations in
Hidegkút and Szárázd between the years 1793-1807; from 1807 until his death he was
the elected pastor of Szárázd. His mother was Sussana Wohlmuth (born around 1776
in Ödenburg, died on June 29, 1834 in Szárázd). His parents married on September
12, 1796 in Ödenburg. There were nine children: Gottlieb Ludwig (born 1797 and
died 1800), Karl Joseph (born 1801), Susanna Charlotte (born 1803), Samuel Karl
(born 1805), Gottlieb Ludwig (born 1807), Katharina Theresia (born 1809 and died
in 1809), Elisabeth Amalia (born 1809 and died 1809), Maria Amalia (born 1811) and
Gottlieb Friedrich (born 1814). The youngest son Gottlieb Friedrich also became a
pastor. He matriculated from the University of Vienna on September 2, 1834 and
following his studies he was vicar in Györköny between 1836 and 1837 and between
1837 and 1842 he was vicar with his father in Szárázd and from 1843 until his
death in 1881 he was the pastor in Györköny.
From his
origins we can see that Pastor Ludwig Bergmann grew up in our regions and through
his father’s ministry he was well familiar with the German Lutherans in Swabian
Turkey during his childhood and youth. After completing his education and
studying theology it was his desire to return as a pastor in this area and among
its people. He matriculated from the Department of Theology of the University of
Vienna on October 31, 1826. With the conclusion of his studies, he was a vicar
with his father in Szárázd and then in 1831-1832 in Kéty, until March 1832 when he
was ordained and became the pastor of Izmény. In 1833 he married Caroline Stotz.
There were seven children born to their family. The daughter Caroline became the
wife of the engineer Rudolph Ihrig, the daughter Ludovika married the resident
teacher George Buss. There is no further information with regard to the three
sons: Karl Joseph Friedrich (born in 1835), Gustav Adolph (born 1837) and Emil
(born in 1841). Following the death of his wife in 1859, Bergmann married a
second time, Johanna Knar of Mekényes the daughter of the resident pastor, Johann
Knar and his wife Lidia Sebestyén. Bergmann also had to bury his second wife in
1884. In the year 1889, on the death of the Crown Prince Rudolph, he preached a
powerful funeral sermon for which he was awarded the Gold Cross in the same year,
by the Emperor, Francis Joseph. In his later years he received assistance from
the following vicars:
Julius
Ermel between
1872 and 1876 (late vicar in Apáti and the pastor there between 1876 and 1885).
Wilhelm
Schleining
between 1877 and 1881 (born in Kötcse in 1845 and between 1868 and 1876 vicar with
his father in Majós, and then from the end of 1881 until 1883 he was the
Adminstrator in Magyarbóly, between 1883 and 1884 the vicar in Kötcse, between
1884 and 1911 the pastor in Kötcse, and from 1911 until his death he was in
retirement and died in 1930.
Otto
Kottler from
January 1, 1883 for a few months (from November 15, 1883 to 1889 the pastor in
Magyarbóly and after 18898 the pastor Bulkes (northern Batschka).
Gustav
Petz from April
of 1883 until autumn of 1883 (previously he had been vicar in Harta).
Ladislaus Novomesztsky
from December 1883 until November 27, 1884 (later he became the
pastor of Nagylak then in the County of Békés).
Béla
König from
December 1884 until December 1888 (previously he had been vicar in Mekényes).
Julius
Takács from
December 1888 until the death of Pastor Bergmann (previously the vicar in Répcelak).
In his
later years, the state of his health did not allow him to do much in terms of his
ministry and he died on May 3, 1893. He served the congregation as their pastor
for 61 years! His grave, those of his two wives and daughter Caroline can still
be seen in the Izmény cemetery. Following Bergmann’s death the vicar Julius
Takács acted as the Administrator of the parish and provided pastoral care.
Johann
Szabó
In
September of 1893, the recently elected Pastor Johann Szabó began his ministry.
He was born in Lajoskomárom (Fejér County) on October 30, 1867, the son of the
farmer Johann Szabó and his wife Elisabeth Mosberger. He was ordained in Ödenburg
on September 18, 1892. Between September 1892 and September 1893 he was the vicar
in his place of birth in Lajoskomárom. While he was there, he was elected pastor
of Izmény. Right at the beginning of his ministry, Miksa Hildebrand came to the
village as the teacher. On April 30, 1894 he married Ida Rüll in Bonyhád, the
daughter of Karl Rüll and his wife Emilia Bernhardt, while he was the teacher in
Kaposszekcsö. They had five children: Ida (born in 1895), Johann (born in 1897
and died in 1897), Emmerich (born in 1897 and died in 1899), Ilona (born in 1899
and died in 1922) and Johann (born in 1901). The youngest daughter married
Captain Dezsö Fükö and died in Baja, and was buried in the Izmény cemetery. The
brother of the pastor, Christian Szabó also married in Izmény and settled here as
a farmer (and later emigrated to America). Pastor Szabó sought to win the
pastorate in Ráckozár in 1901, but without success after the death of Pastor
Guggenberger, which had caused the vacancy. The congregation elected to call
Johann Wagner who had been born there. In March of 1934 Pastor Szabó retired and
his last service was in June of 1934 and then he and his wife moved away to
Székesfehérvár where he lived during his retirement and died on April 20, 1955.
His leaving played a major role in the election of a teacher after Hildebrand (who
had come as the cantor and teacher to Izmény a few months after his arrival)
retired in December of 1933. For the short period between March and September in
1934 the parish was without a pastor.
Ernst
Hoffmann
After
Johann Szabó retired, the Presbyterium (the elders of the congregation) and the
congregation were called to a meeting at which Adam Weigel, the pastor from Muscfa
presented candidates to fill the pastorate in Izmény: Adam Petermann, the pastor
from Páti, Heinrich Falk, the teacher in Töfü having completed his theological
education, Ferenc Kiss, pastor in the prison at Sopronköhida, Dezsö Aizepreiss
interim pastor in Tengelic and Ernst Hoffmann, the pastor in Pusztavám. The
congregation invited three of the candidates to hear a trial sermon: Ernst
Hoffmann, Dezsö Aizenpreiss and Ferenc Kiss. On July 1st the
congregation indicated by a great majority their preference for Pastor Hoffmann as
their first choice and Dezsö Aizepreiss in second place (he received 11 votes).
On August 5th the congregation elected its new pastor: 158 votes for
Ernst Hoffmann and 3 votes for Dezsö Aizepriess. Accordingly, Ernst Hoffmann was
declared the new pastor of Izmény. He had been born in the German Hungarian
village of Zsibrik (Baranya County) on June 7, 1900. His parents were Samuel
Hoffmann and Katharina Wagner and he was the teacher in Zsibrik and then in
Kaposszeckcsö. He completed his high school studies in Bonyhád. He enlisted in
the 19th Battalion in 1918. He graduated from Officer’s Training
School and was released from war service with the rank of Corporal. He studied
theology in Sopron between 1918 and 1922. He was ordained to the pastorate on
September 16, 1922. From October 1922 to March 1927 he was a vicar in Dombovár,
from March 1927 to November 1927 he was a teacher of religion in Györ, from
November 1927 to September 1934 he was the pastor in Pusztavám and from there he
was elected pastor in Izmény in September 1934 and remained the pastor of the
congregation until October 1957. He was the leader in numerous organizations in
Izmény. During the time of his ministry, several hundreds of his parishioners,
around 70% of the membership of the congregation were expelled from the village in
1947 and 1948. The pastor did not abandon his small flock and served them under
difficult circumstances with his unconditional loyalty to his calling and his
people. His path then took him back to Pusztavám in October of 1957 where he
continued to serve as pastor until he died in 1970.
Heinrich
Weiler
He was the
last resident pastor of the congregation. Heinrich Weiler was ordained by Bishop
Louis Ordass (Wolf) in November of 1957 after Pastor Hoffmann went to Pusztavam
that October to serve as the pastor in Izmény. Heinrich Weiler was born to a
farming family in Nagy-Ág (Baranya County) on January 22, 1917. His parents were
Elias Weiler and Anna Rasch. He attended and graduated from the Junior College in
Bonyhád and between 1936 and 1940 he studied theology in Sopron. On June 26, 1940
he was ordained as a pastor by Bishop Béla Kapi. Between August and September in
1940 he was vicar in Varsád and then until 1942 he was vicar in Majós. Between
1942 and 1946 he was the Administrator in Ivándarda (Baranya County) and between
1946 and 1951 he was the director of the mission school in Nagytarcsa (Pest
County) and then he was elected the pastor of the congregation in Szepetnek (Zala
County) where he served until November 1957. He was pastor of Izmény from
November 1957 to November 1963. Between 1963 and 1966 he was the pastor in
Knittelfeld in the Steiermark (Austria); between 1966 and 1972 he served in
Vienna-Herndlgasse and between 1972 and 1979 in Schwechat. Until the time of his
death he provided pastoral assistance to the congregation and its filials. He was
visiting his daughter in Pécs when he died unexpectedly. According to his
personal wishes he was buried at his last parish that he served in Hungary and he
is buried in Izmény.
Since 1963
the pastorate of Izmény has been vacant. After Pastor Weiler, the pastor in
Mucsfa, Franz Szentgyörgyi (originally Amminger) was appointed Administrator for
the next few years while he was there and had the responsibility for pastoral care
in Izmény. Izmény was a filial again. After Szentgyögyi, the pastors who served
Izmény: Béla Karl (died in Nagymányok, György Lupták (now pastor in Kiskörös),
Erzsébet Csepregni (now pastor in Sárszentlörinc), János Brebovszky (later pastor
in Paks for a few years but died early), Zoltán Ócsai (today pastor in Györ),
Bernadett Schaller a vicar, János Brebovszky served in Máza, Zoltán Ócsai and the
current vicars reside in Váralja and serve the congregations in Nagymányok and
Máza as well as Izmény.
The Teachers in the Community and Congregation
Arndt
Schriba
He was
possibly the first teacher in the community. The first mention of him with this
title is in the Kismányok Church Records dated 21.09.1729 at the baptism of the
daughter of Johannes Schenk (Arndt Schriber, the school teacher from Issmy
godfather of his daughter Anna Dorothea). In the year 1734 he taught German in
the school with 60 pupils. The last mention of him in the Church Records is as
Godfather at a baptism on 25.07.1738. His name cannot be found in the list of
taxpayers. In the year 1742 at the marriage of his son, we find him in Kalaznó
and he is identified as the teacher there. His daughter, Dorothea married Johann
Wilhelm Rück while he was still in Izmény, and his son Johann George Schriba
married Barbara Elisabeth Wolf the daughter of the brother-in-law of Johannes Zinn
who was his successor. He probably left for Kalaznó from Izmény somewhere between
1738 and 1739 (certainly between 1738 and 1741). The family name died out in
Izmény, but his son, Johann Adam established a family in Kalaznó and his
descendants did the same in Varsád. Outside of the little bit we discover about
him in the Church Records we know very little. He was certainly born around 1685
to 1690 and his wife was Maria Salome who he married before 1715.
Peter
Schiller
I have not
been able to locate any sources with regard to his stay in Izmény as the teacher.
But he is mentioned in Szita’s publication, as a teacher. (He writes that a Peter
Schüller was present in the village and served as the teacher from 1735 to 1740
and that he arrived with the first settlers). At the marriage of his son Kaspar
Schüller in 1734 he was still living but he is not identified as the teacher.
Between 1729 and 1738 he was certainly not the schoolmaster or he was simply an
assistant of Arndt Schriba. It is possible that in 1722-1723 before Arndt Schriba
arrived in the village he took on the role of the teacher. It is less likely that
he was the schoolmaster after 1738.
Johannes
Gring
His name
cannot be found in the Kismányok Church Records. He was possibly the teacher
between 1739-1741 as the successor of Arndt Schriba. There is nothing further
known about him.
Johannes
Zinn
He was the
teacher in the community from 1741 until 1750. Johannes Zinn was supposedly born
in Elmenrod in Hesse around 1690. He married the daughter of the pastor of
Glauberg, Johanetta Elisabeth Wolf in Glauberg. He was schoolmaster here from
1714-1741 until he was apparently persuaded by the invitation of a family from
Glauberg who was living in Izmény (Schenk, Franz) to emigrate to Izmény along with
the family of his brother-in-law Ludwig Christian Wolf and immediately became the
teacher upon his arrival. Following the death of his first wife, he married for a
second time before 1734 and his wife was Klara Dietz. In his first marriage he
had five children and four in his second (three of them in Izmény). He died in
Izmény on February 23, 1750 (the entry in the Church Records does not indicate his
age at death). His widow married the widower Johann Heinrich, 19 years later in
Izmény.
George
Laurenti
He was born
in 1722 and was the teacher in Izmény from 1750 until 1764 when he died. Nothing
further is known about his origins. He married the daughter of his predecessor
Johannes Zinn in 1751 in Izmény. He died September 13, 1764 after having been bed
ridden for several days. His widow entered into a second marriage with Johann
Adolph Vallant, the teacher in Majós in June 8, 1765 and through this marriage she
brought along their daughter to Majós.
Samuel
Zunft
He held the
office of teacher between 1764 until 1767. He was born in 1746 and came as a
young teacher to his first and last assignment. He married the daughter of Pastor
Michael Weiss of Kismányok, Anna Katharina Weiss. His marriage and career were
both very short in that he died on January 10, 1767 at the age of 20 years. His
wife followed him two months later.
Johannes
Wölfing
He came to
Izmény at the beginning of 1767 and served as the teacher in the community until
1768. There is nothing known about either his former or later life.
Daniel Klement
He came to
the village in the year 1768 and was the teacher until 1773 and from 1773 until
1778 the Lizent of the congregation. He was born on November 2, 1743 in
Besztercebánya in Slovakia, the son of Samuel Klement and Elisabeth Graf.
Following his theological studies he came to Izmény. In 1768 he married Maria
Elisabeth Klar. Five children were born to the couple in Izmény. When the
possibility of establishing a Lizent ministry in Izmény arose, he was elected to
be the first Lizent by the congregation. As previously mentioned, the Lizent was
an assistant of the pastor and he was allowed to baptize, marry and bury and in
addition he carried out all of the duties of the teacher. He recorded the first
entries in the Church Records beginning in 1773. Klement was the first teacher in
community who had studied theology. On April 10, 1778 he was ordained in
Nemesdömölk as the pastor of Kismányok, which had been the mother church he had
served in Izmény. He served the congregation in Izmény indirectly as the pastor
of Kismányok until the autumn of 1783. In 1783 he accepted the pastorate in
Ókörtvélyes (then in the County of Vas but now Slovenia) where he died on July 20,
1804.
David
Perlitzy
David
Perlitzy was called as Lizent as the successor of David Klement. He was in office
until May of 1784 when he was ordained as pastor of Izmény and more about him
appears earlier as a pastor of the congregation.
Samuel
Szeliczky
We know
very little about his time in Izmény. On the basis of the analysis of the
handwriting in the Church Records between May 1778 and October 1779 we can detect
another hand that was certainly not Perlitzy’s handwriting. Perhaps this was the
period that he served here while Perlitzy finished his studies in Wittenberg.
Friedrich Busz
With the
election of Perlitzy as pastor, he took over the office of teacher in the year
1784 (he was still in Varsád in February of 1784) until his death in 1814 in
Izmény. He was born on August 6, 1762 in Kismányok, the son of the resident
teacher Heinrich Busz and his wife Christina Fey. His father was the teacher in
Varsád between 1750 and 1760 and again between 1764 and 1777 and in Kismányok in
the time between. His father was the founder of the extended Busz family of
teachers. His brother Johannes Busz was the teacher in Varsád until 1799. On
February 25, 1783 he married Christina Weitert in Varsád, she was the daughter of
the man in charge of wine cellars at Högyész, Johannes Weitert. The marriage was
blessed with ten children. He died on February 24, 1814 in his 30th
year as teacher in Izmény at the age of 52 years.
Johannes
Döring
He was born
around 1785 and was the teacher in Izmény between 1814 and 1818. His place of
origin is unknown. His wife was Anna Maria Schmiermund. Two children were born
to the couple in Izmény. Döring died young on December 9, 1818 at the age of 33
years, 8 months and 5 days.
Johannes
Busz
Döring’s
successor was Johannes Busz who held the office of teacher between 1818 and 1833.
He was born in Izmény, the son of the teacher Friedrich Busz and his wife Anna
Christina Weithard on Febraury 8, 1787. In the year 1807 he took over the role of
assistant teacher with his father in Izmény. He married Sabine Stolzenbach on
January 30, 1810 and she was the daughter of the miller in Kismányok, Johannes
Stolzenbach and his wife Theresia Sommer. From the time of his marriage he is
mentioned as the notary of the community. In 1811 he was called to Felsönána to
serve as the teacher where he served until the death of his predecessor Johannes
Döring and he moved here. One daughter was born to the couple in Felsönána. In
1818 he was called to be the teacher in Izmény. He committed suicide on December
4, 1833 in Izmény.
George
Grosch
The newly
elected teacher George Grosch was born on December 30, 1812 in Mucsfa, the son of
the resident teacher there, George Grosch and his wife Anna Margareta Ruppert.
His father came from the German Reich as a single young man and teacher and is the
founder of the widespread Grosch family of teachers. The son, George Grosch came
to Izmény as a single 20-year-old teacher and his teaching career was cut short to
a few months, because of his death on May 31, 1834.
Heinrich
Busz
He was born
in Varsád on March 4, 1795 the son of the resident teacher Johannes Busz (born
1766) and his wife Elisabeth Grimm. He and his predecessor Johann Busz were
cousins. Heinrich was the teacher in Apáti between 1817 and 1833 and came here
following Grosch’s death. On May 6, 1817 he married Elisabeth Lämle in Kéty, the
daughter of the notary in Kéty, Heinrich Lämle and his wife Elisabeth Bischof. In
the year 1838 his daughter married his assistant teacher Johann Hütter, the son of
George Hütter and his wife Elisabeth Busz of Bonyhád. After the community has
been served by his uncle Friedrich Busz for a long term, he too served the
congregation on a long term basis and died of dropsy shortly after his 25th
year of teaching in Izmény on April 19, 1861.
George
Busz
He was born
in Kalaznó on June 22, 1840 the eldest son Johann George Busz and Elisabeth Muser.
His father and his predecessor Heinrich Busz were cousins. He came as a young man
to teach in Izmény and was married here on May 18, 1863 to Ludovica Bergmann, the
daughter of the Pastor Ludwig Bergmann and his wife Christina Stotz. After 30
years of fulfilling his teaching ministry he died of typhus on December 16, 1874.
His widow married a second time, the widower Rudolph Ihrig who was her
brother-in-law. Busz’s monument stands to this day in the back of the old
cemetery in Izmény.
Karl
Grosch
He was born
on December 1, 1846 in Apáti the son of the resident teacher Heinrich Grosch and
his wife Elisabeth Wentzel. In terms of his earlier teaching career we only know
that he served in Szabadi from the summer of 1873 to the end of 1874. From there
he came to Izmény at the beginning of 1875. On June 17, 1875 he married Elisabeth
Höhnel, the widow of the teacher in Magyarbóly, Heinrich Wenczel. A son was born
to them, Karl Grosch, who became a doctor after first working in a hospital in
Budapest and later became a member of the health ministry. Grosch left the
community by mutual agreement with the congregation on January 1, 1893.
Karl
Amminger
Three
candidates were proposed for the election of a new teacher: the current assistant
teacher Karl Amminger, the assistant teacher in Bonyhád, Johann Waller, and
Michael Gesell the assistant teacher in Ráckozár. The congregation voted
overwhelmingly for the first mentioned as the new head teacher. A year later he
was elected the teacher in Szentgyörgy and took his leave of the community on
Febaruary 23, 1894 with the grateful thanks of the congregation for his past
services.
Maximillian Hildebrand
The young
Maximillian Hildebrand was the elected successor of Karl Amminger as cantor and
teacher. In May 1874 he was appointed secretary of the meetings of the
congregation. He was born in 1874 in Kapospula, the son of a railway official,
Jakob Hildebrand and his wife Katharina Büchner. On December 18, 1894 he married
Anna Kraft the daughter of Just Kraft of Bonyhád. The couple had five children.
On September 16, 1906 he was elected as the head teacher in Mucsfa at a salary of
1,500 Crowns per year, a garden, a residence and the regular educational fees,
accepted the call and prepared to go there. A special congregational meeting was
immediately held in Izmény, where the congregation raised the salary of the head
teacher to 1,500 Crowns and in addition a piece of land (234 Quadraklafter) as
well as a smaller parcel of land in the vicinity of the cemetery for his use.
Since he was invited by a delegation from the congregation to participate in a
congregational meeting he did so and afterwards received a written contract from
the congregation and he indicated he was prepared to continue as the head
teacher. In the year 1926, because of illness he took a three-month leave of
absence, and his substitute was Eugene Spannagel. He served the congregation
until October 1, 1933 when he went into retirement. The congregation took a
rather emotional farewell from its teacher who had served them for 40 years. None
of his predecessors had ever matched his length of service.
Rezsö
Balassa
After a
very long process, finally on December 31, 1933 he was elected the cantor teacher
and could assume his office. Rezsö Balassa was born into a very poor Roman
Catholic family in Pusztavám in 1899. His earlier family name was “Babli”. The
local Roman Catholic priest early recognized his talents. He attended the
Pedagogical College through a government grant. That is why he allowed his name
to be Madjarized. In 1916 he volunteered to serve in the Hungarian Army.
Following his disillusionment with the Roman Catholic Church he converted to
Lutheranism. In 1922 he married Theresia Jakobi born in 1903, the daughter of a
well situated merchant from Kecskéd. At first the couple lived in Kecskéd and
then he got a teaching position in Pusztavám and in 1933 he came from there to
Izmény. At the time of their arrival in Izmény the couple had three daughters:
Christina born in 1923, Magdalena born 1924 and Katharina born in 1925. In Izmény
a son was born to them. Balassa’s served as head teacher until 1940. At that
time the family fled to the Batschka to Neusatz (Novi Sad) and at the end of the
war they had to flee from there. Following the war the family came back to
Izmény, but he was unable to take up his teaching profession. In the end, the
family moved to Germany where Balassa died in 1967. His widow died in 1997 at the
age of 94 years. Today their children live in Germany and Canada.
Joseph
Bévárdi
He was the
cantor and teacher in the community from 1941 to 1948. Joseph Bévárdi was born on
August 23, 1921 in Kisvaszar the son of Joseph Bévárdi and Katharina Buchert. He
attended the Lutheran junior college in Bonyhád, between 1931-1935 and from 1935
he continued his studies at the Lutheran Teacher’s College in Miskolc (Northern
Hungary) where he received his teaching diploma in 1940. He did his practicum in
Tarrós and was elected cantor and teacher in Izmény in 1941. In the fall of 1942
he had to report for military service at Szekszárd and following graduation from
Officer’s Training School he was ordered to the Eastern Front. He participated in
the battles in the Carpathians and was wounded in 1944, was hospitalized, and was
discharged on March 5, 1945. He resumed his teaching post in Izmény. In the
meanwhile, he attended the Pedagogical High School in Pécs where he received a
degree in education in 1954. In 1962, along with his family he moved to
Dombovár. Here he taught mathematics and physics until he retired in 1981. At
the time of his retirement the Minister of Education and Religion honoured him.
He died in Dombovár on January 26, 1986. Today, his descendants live in Dombovár.
The
Known Assistant Teachers Who Taught in the Community
At the
beginning of the 20th century the second or assistant teacher taught
the three lowest grades in the school, while the senior or head teacher taught the
three older grades, and also acted as the church cantor and organist. Finding
this assistant was not always a simple matter, as we shall see later.
Johannes
Busz
He served
the congregation as assistant teacher during the year 1810.
Johannes
Hütter
He was the
assistant teacher and served between 1838 and 1842 in Izmény.
Heinrich
Busz
He was the
assistant teacher and served between 1843 and 1844 in Izmény.
Michael
Schall
He was the
assistant teacher between 1852 and 1858 in Izmény and later served as the teacher
in Váralja (between 1869 and 1904).
Michael
Turczár
Between
1879 and 1800 he was the assistant teacher in the community.
Samuel
Busz
We find him
as the assistant teacher in Izmény in 1885.
Karl
Amminger
He was the
assistant teacher in Izmény in 1891. More about him can be discovered under the
teachers of the congregation.
Joseph
Brader
The
congregation on May 27, 1894 elected him assistant teacher.
Samuel
Hatz
Between
1898 and 1903 he was the assistant teacher in the community. In 1902 he was the
teacher in Györe.
Rezsö
Breuer
He was
chosen by the congregation from among five applicants and elected on August 24,
1902. The congregational Minutes do not indicate when he resigned from the
position.
Ludwig
Kirchner
He was
probably the assistant teacher in the community in 1906. There is no report of
his election in the Minutes of the congregation. On September 17, 1906 he was
appointed to take the minutes at the meetings, which indicates he was already in
Izmény at the time. He resigned on July 28, 1907.
Adam
Schwarcz
The
following persons applied for the position: Piroska Kender, J. Schneider, Hermann
Hujber and Adam Schwarcz. The congregation chose Adam Schwarcz and Hermann Hujber
as candidates. Shortly after, on August 4, 1907, the congregation elected
Schwarcz to the position. He remained in Izmény until 1909.
Juliua
Töpfer
On April 4,
1909 the pastor shared the suggestions of the bishop for the position of assistant
teacher (Matthias Karner from Pinkafö and Adam Schiller from Fertömeggyes) but the
congregation was not prepared to elect either of them and left the position open
until September 1st. On August 1, 1909 the congregation voted from
among three candidates and elected Töpfer to the position of assistant teacher.
(Other candidates were Rezsö Ulbrich from Pécs and Heinrich Löbl from Tófü). On
January 22, 1911 he requested that the congregation increase his income, which the
congregation declined to do. Obviously this was the reason for his resignation.
Andreas
Hutflesz
On
September 3, 1911 from among four candidates presented the congregation elected
Andreas Hutflesz from Györköny as the assistant teacher (other candidates included
Vince Dömötöri from Köveskál, István Tóth from Lajzon and János Petö from Hidas).
But since he was also elected the head teacher in Tiszakálmánfalva, he declined
the call to Izmény on November 1, 1911.
Julius
Schmaldienst
According
to the Minutes of June 23, 1912 the congregation approached the former teacher in
Izmény who was now a teacher at the Lutheran Teacher’s College in Felsö-Lövö and
requested that he recommend someone from among the candidates who were
graduating. This happened following the failure of their advertising for a
candidate. Brader recommended Julius Schmaldienst who had his diploma. The
congregation proceeded to elect him as the assistant teacher without resorting to
any further advertising of the position. But he resigned a short time after on
December 13, 1942 and left the community.
Johann
Wagner
Following
the resignation of Schmaldienst, Dezsö Gönyi the assistant teacher in Mucsfa
offered himself as a candidate for the position with the condition that he would
get enough money to pay the rent for two rooms in the village. The congregation
replied that they would gladly have him take the position, but they could not pay
more for this position then that what was set forth. On January 12, 1913 Jakob
Kellermann inquired about the position and was elected as the assistant teacher.
But just a few days later he was called to the position of teacher in Szeghegy and
was unable to accept their offer. Pastor Szabó wrote to several teachers, until
finally Johann Wagner the teacher in Bize accepted the offer and the congregation
validated it on February 23, 1913 by a special vote. On December 21, 1913 the
congregation was informed that Johann Wagner had been elected teacher in
Keszöhidegkút and had resigned from his position.
Johann
Zsizsák
He was
elected the assistant teacher on January 11, 1914.
Ernst
Steller
The
congregation, on February 1, 1914, elected him to the position of assistant
teacher. He came from Szepesváralja in Slovakia. He had to enlist in the army in
1915 and after 5 years in prisoner of war camps he was able to take up his
position again on September 1, 1920. On October 1, 1920 he resigned because after
all of the years in the war he had lost the desire to teach.
Eugene
Spannagel
Following
Steller’s resignation, the following persons applied for the position: Gizella
Bellák, János Krutzler, Károly Neubauer and Eugene Spannagel. The only one of
them that was accepted as a candidate was Eugene Spannagel and he was elected to
the position of assistant teacher on December 5, 1920. Eugene Spannagel was born
in Tscherwenka (in the Batschka) in southern Hungary on October 21, 1894 (today
the village is Crvenka and belongs to Yugoslavia). His father Karl Spannangel was
the teacher in Tscherwenka and his mother was Ida Rumpf. He graduated from the
Teacher’s College in Sopron in 1916. But in 1916 he participated in the First
World War and fought on the Russian and Italian Fronts and served in the National
Guard. He was honoured on several occasions and was a Reserve Lieutenant on his
discharge from the army. His teaching career began in Izmény. In 1932 he married
Ilona Antal the daughter of George Antal the teacher in Mucsfa and his wife
Elisabeth Haffner. He had two children, Edith and Zoltán. He became the
president of the community co-operative the “Hangya” and head instructor of the
youth in the “Levente” (local para-military unit). He was the teacher in Izmény
to the time of his death in 1959.
Johann
May
When Eugene
Spannagel had to enlist in 1942, Johann May came as a young man to serve as the
assistant teacher in Izmény in May 1942 and stayed for one year until 1943 to help
the village out during that time.
The
Richters (Mayors) of the Community
The
inhabitants of the village elected the Richter to his position but he could only
carry out his duties with the permission and assent of the Domain. In the 18th
century these elections were highly influenced by the landlord. The Richter was
the number one man in the village and had the unpopular task of collecting those
portions of the crop designated for the landlord from the inhabitants. He acted
as judge over disputes and quarrels between inhabitants and when it was urgent he
represented the community in dealings with the landlord. If the officials of the
Domain came to the village, he was responsible to wine and dine them. The salary
that the Richter received for his carrying out his responsibilities was a
guarantee from the landlord that he would not have to pay any taxes. If someone
in the village was elected Richter he could not refuse the position and had to
stay in the position for at least a year. These factors make it clear that the
office of Richter was not all positive. In most cases, respected and prosperous
heads of families were elected Richter. Later, after the War of Liberation in
1848/49 and the government reforms that followed, the so-called “political
communities” were established and this position and office could be compared to
that of the contemporary mayor. If we would compare this position in the 18th
century with Germany at that time, the Schultheisz or the Schultze (village mayor)
played a similar role. The following list has been developed using the Church
Records, the Tax Lists and the Church Protocols (Minutes). There are times when
the Richters are not known, but there are no major gaps:
(Translator’s
note: the names of the Richters and their dates in office are listed
beginning on the bottom of page 145 and for all of page 146.)
Notaries
of the Community
Although
the Richter was perceived to be the number one man in the village from a judicial
and theoretical sense, in actual practice the Notary, who was often the most
educated man, often played an even greater role in the leadership of the village.
Their influence was especially great after 1848/49. In the 19th
century a law was put into effect that there could only be a Notary in those
communities with a population of 1,000 persons. The villagers in the presence of
the Superior Court Judge elected the Notary. The Superior Court Judge often had a
great deal of influence on the election of a Notary in a village. Those Notaries
of the village known to me were the following (you can see more about them in the
Family Register):
(Translator’s
note: Their names are listed on page 147 and their years in office.)
The Village in the Light of Statistics
The first
Hungarian census took place between 1784 and 1787 at the order of Emperor Joseph
II. In the year 1828 an economic survey was done in which the population was also
included. In 1857 and 1869 censuses were taken involving only the number of
inhabitants. In the census of 1881, 1891, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930 and 1941 the
religion and nationality of the population was also recorded. In the census of
1949 these were again asked, but only a few thousand people in Hungary declared
themselves to be of ethnic German nationality, and the results of the religious
data were only made public in 1998. In the census of 1960, 1970, 1980 a person’s
religion or nationality was not included. In the census of 1990 the question of
nationality was asked. In the last census in January of 2001, after 52 years the
two questions were asked once again and the results were certainly realistic. Up
until now, only the results of this census were made public. In Izmény, the
village was entirely ethnic German and Lutheran before the expulsion. The
inhabitants who were of another religion or nationality were an insignificant
minority. What follows in the next Table is a summary of the data regarding
Izmény in the various censuses that were undertaken:
(Translator’s
note: that Table appears on page 148. The overall heading is: Statistics
for the Community. The columns reading from left to right: 1) Year of the Census
2) The Number of Inhabitants 3) German 4) Hungarian 5) Serb 6) Lutheran 7) Roman
Catholic 8) Reformed 9) Jewish 10) Number of Houses 11) Can Read and Write 12)
Speak Hungarian 13) Fields in Kastral Jochs.)
In the
first census 1784-1787 there were 8 non-Germans who lived in the village; 196 men
were married, 271 were single, and 489 women lived in the village. There was one
pastor and two tradesmen (men who earned their living by their profession) 88
peasant farmers, 82 properties that could be inherited, 107 cottagers, 135
children between 1-12 and 27 children between 13-17.
In the year
1900, there were 21 inhabitants from Izmény who were living in foreign lands and
in 1910 there were 28 persons. In 1900 there were 27 homes with thatched roofs,
by 1910 this had sunk to 7. The rest of the houses had tile roofs. In 1900 and
in 1910 all of the houses had pounded clay walls with brick and stone
foundations. In 1910, there were 7 persons who lived in Annamajor and 8 lived in
Pörkölödcsárda that belonged to the village. The information on nationality in
the census of 1949 is inaccurate. The fear of our people, who had identified
their nationality as ethnic German in 1941 and for which reason they had been
expropriated, still lurked deep within them. The religious statistics that were
part of the census made public for the first time at the end of the 1990s with
regard to the census of 1949 reported 182 Lutherans in the village. We can assume
all of them were ethnic Germans. In 1960 there were 106 inhabitants who responded
that their mother tongue was German (even though only 26 identified their
nationality as ethnic German). By 1970 the number had sunk to 40. In 1980
according to the community council 54 inhabitants belonged to the ethnic German
nationality.
Izmeny-1
Izmeny-2
Izmeny-3
Izmeny-4
