It is true that our DS folks in the Banat villages with mostly German population just referred to themselves as "Schwowe", understanding that they were a German tribe, or ethnic Germans, because that was their inherited culture, language, and tradition, as always practiced in church and school (perhaps temporarily suppressed at the height of magyarization efforts). The term "Donauschwaben" may have been present in (academic) literature, but had not simmered down into everyday use. The Romanians were likely to call us either "germani" or "nemţi", while Hungarians, Serbs, Croats used similar words. Some of the DS refugees reaching Austria or Germany in the fall of 1944 had unpleasant experiences with the locals. Many local farmers did not believe that the refugees had left behind properties more rich and beautiful than those owned by the locals. And when the refugees had to steal some fruits or vegetables to keep their children from starving, those locals who lacked understanding lowered their opinion of them even further. There was an even greater shortage of food in the cities, so that the competition for it could be fierce. These conditions were largely responsible for the wish of many refugees to emigrate to places like Canada, the USA, even Australia, Argentina and Brazil Today, those who stayed in Germany are well integrated and their traditions are valued. Those who have been to a reunion in Ulm had a chance to see that. Nick Tullius -----Original Message----- From: donauschwaben-villages-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:donauschwaben-villages-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Rose Vetter Sent: 21-Apr-14 15:52 To: DVHH-L Subject: [DVHH] Donauschwaben and Schwowe Those of us who have early memories of life in the Donauschwaben settlements will agree that our people never called themselves Donauschwaben. I for one don't remember ever hearing that word back home, or even in the post-war years in Germany, for that matter. We simply called ourselves Schwowe back home; the Serbians called us Švabe. When we arrived in Germany we called ourselves Volksdeutsche, or ethnic Germans. The coining of the term Donauschwaben is attributed to Robert Sieger of Graz, Austria around 1922. But the fact that it is widely used today is mainly due to the efforts of geographer Hermann Rüdiger. It's a sad fact that even today many people in Germany have not heard about the Donauschwaben. Rose ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to DONAUSCHWABEN-VILLAGES-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Very true Nick - at least from my parents perspective. My mom couldn't wait to get out of Austria - she never felt she belonged and did not feel she was treated right...my father adapted easier. Her family remained behind, but she visited and enjoyed the visits - but I think she returned like a "big shot" American - I don't mean this in terms of disrespect toward her, but out of her pride how she felt she had to deal with it. Eve On Mon, Apr 21, 2014 at 7:54 PM, Nick Tullius <ntullius@rogers.com> wrote: > It is true that our DS folks in the Banat villages with mostly German > population just referred to themselves as "Schwowe", understanding that > they were a German tribe, or ethnic Germans, because that was their > inherited culture, language, and tradition, as always practiced in church > and school (perhaps temporarily suppressed at the height of magyarization > efforts). The term "Donauschwaben" may have been present in (academic) > literature, but had not simmered down into everyday use. > The Romanians were likely to call us either "germani" or "nemţi", > while Hungarians, Serbs, Croats used similar words. > Some of the DS refugees reaching Austria or Germany in the fall of > 1944 had unpleasant experiences with the locals. Many local farmers did not > believe that the refugees had left behind properties more rich and > beautiful than those owned by the locals. And when the refugees had to > steal some fruits or vegetables to keep their children from starving, those > locals who lacked understanding lowered their opinion of them even further. > There was an even greater shortage of food in the cities, so that > the competition for it could be fierce. These conditions were largely > responsible for the wish of many refugees to emigrate to places like > Canada, the USA, even Australia, Argentina and Brazil > Today, those who stayed in Germany are well integrated and their > traditions are valued. Those who have been to a reunion in Ulm had a chance > to see that. > > Nick Tullius > > -----Original Message----- > From: donauschwaben-villages-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto: > donauschwaben-villages-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Rose Vetter > Sent: 21-Apr-14 15:52 > To: DVHH-L > Subject: [DVHH] Donauschwaben and Schwowe > > Those of us who have early memories of life in the Donauschwaben > settlements will agree that our people never called themselves > Donauschwaben. I for one don't remember ever hearing that word back home, > or even in the post-war years in Germany, for that matter. We simply > called ourselves Schwowe back home; the Serbians called us Švabe. When we > arrived in Germany we called ourselves Volksdeutsche, or ethnic Germans. > The coining of the term Donauschwaben is attributed to Robert Sieger of > Graz, Austria around 1922. But the fact that it is widely used today is > mainly due to the efforts of geographer Hermann Rüdiger. > > It's a sad fact that even today many people in Germany have not heard > about the Donauschwaben. > > Rose > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > DONAUSCHWABEN-VILLAGES-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' > without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > DONAUSCHWABEN-VILLAGES-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' > without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > -- Syrmia Regional Coordinator http://www.dvhh.org/syrmia