I applaud you Gary, that was very well said! Eve On Mon, May 5, 2014 at 4:35 PM, Ludwig Keck <ludwig.keck@hotmail.com> wrote: > Thank you Gerhard! > > Ludwig > > -----Original Message----- > From: donauschwaben-villages-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto: > donauschwaben-villages-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Gary Banzhaf > Sent: Monday, May 05, 2014 4:26 PM > To: donauschwaben-villages@rootsweb.com > Subject: Re: [DVHH] Why our parents didn't say they were Shwovish > > > Schwovish, Schwaebisch, Donauschwaben, Volksdeutsche, Reichsdeutsche - > even the word "Nazis" is used !!! > Waking up this morning I said to myself: Gary keep out, this discusion is > getting to hot. It is where everyone wants to present their knowledge what > we are and who we are: the one said he is glad not to be German - well, let > him be Ukrainian or Armenian, he still participates in a forum of > Donauschwaben who basically and by majority are Germans, whether they > intermarried or not. > They are in the eyes of Germany "Auslandsdeutsche" - Germans living on > foreign soil. > This word is fearfully used by group members of the first or second > generation immigrants of North America. > Only one gutsy post I have read on Friday 5/2. The list member - no > functional Director - uses ethnicity; the term for ethnic German-s: "lit. > Germans living outside Germany": for instance in South America, Australia > or even Cape town, South Africa etc. > The DS memory is traumatic, they hated us for being on their land - and > they wanted to exterminate us with hate and when I later asked a former > associate: why ? he answered: "may be you didn't belong down there anyhow." > No wrong doing we did, just trying to save us from approaching evil. No, I > wasn't in Gakowa, Jarek or Valpovo. But lets not "Jammer" (live in misery) > for ever. The many memorials permittet now by the State of Serbia are for > our ancestors dear to us, whom we left 'down there' and they should never > be forgotten ! > I do not have any other expression or explanation of who we are !! > > Gary > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Fran Matkovich" <mjm1021@comcast.net> > To: "Eve" <evebrown@gmail.com>; "Joseph Psotka" <psotka@msn.com> > Cc: "dvhh" <donauschwaben-villages@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Monday, May 05, 2014 11:53 AM > Subject: Re: [DVHH] Why our parents didn't say they were Shwovish > > > >I agree. Only another Schwobish person would even understand what it > >meant. > > If you told any other American you were Schwobish, they would say HUHHH? > > > > Fran Matkovich > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: Eve > > Sent: Saturday, May 3, 2014 3:23 PM > > To: Joseph Psotka > > Cc: dvhh > > Subject: Re: [DVHH] Why our parents didn't say they were Shwovish > > > > I always felt that my parents didn't talk about it because it was too > > complicated to understand and explain. Most people here had preconceived > > notions as to what was going on and with the lack of language skills by > my > > parents, it was easier for them to just go with whatever was being told > > them had happened to them. This probably sounds confusing, but I know > many > > of the people from the church I grew up in told "me" stories about what > > had > > gone on with my folks before coming here and I remember questioning my > > parents about things that were said and they would just make this > > gesture - > > like - ach, forget about it, almost in disgust. I don't think my mom in > > particular ever felt any shame about being German - my dad possibly since > > he was more aware of what was going on outside their little village, but > > mom, nah, she has been proud of who she is always. > > > > Eve > > > > > > On Sat, May 3, 2014 at 11:19 AM, Joseph Psotka <psotka@msn.com> wrote: > > > >> > >> My parents also never spoke about being Shwovish to anyone outside the > >> family; > >> > >> but a large part of that was being ashamed of being imprisoned in Gakowa > >> (my mother and I) > >> > >> or being sent to slave labor in the Donetsk(my father). For those of us > >> interned, it was a very painful and shameful part of our life and we > >> never > >> wanted to talk about it, and hid it whenever we could, in whatever way > we > >> could. > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> The second generation seems to think that this experience is something > we > >> wanted to discuss, but I assure we did not and it is even harder to get > >> started with strangers. > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> Best regards, > >> Joe > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> From: Diane Halas > >> Sent: ‎Wednesday‎, ‎April‎ ‎30‎, ‎2014 ‎9‎:‎53‎ ‎AM > >> To: 'John Schambre', 'Eileen Simcox' > >> Cc: dvhh > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> I once asked my grandma why she had said the family was German. She > >> said. > >> "My dear, we were all 'Germans' then." I asked her what she considered > >> herself and she said, "Austro-Hungarian". I told my fifth grade teacher > >> who > >> in turn told me there was no such place as Austria-Hungary. Everyone in > >> Grandma's nuclear family spoke more than one language. She identified > >> their > >> primary language as "low German" and her family was from Alsace-Lorraine > >> and > >> her grandmother was pure French. The family had emigrated to the Banat > >> before there was a "Germany". There you have it. I never even learned > >> about Schwabish until I subscribed to this site. > >> > >> Diane > >> > >> Diane Halas > >> 239-592-9969 > >> > >> 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 > > > > > > ------------------------------- > > 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 > > > > ------------------------------- > 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