Oops... I guess I'll correct myself this time. The correct term to identify these settlers is Schwove, not Schwaben (although some use it interchangeably). I found people with names such as: Flanjak, Juhasz, Balogh, Amerjan, Andresz, Martini, Antoni, Katics, Kovacs, Milosovic, Stanivits.... along with other "Germanic"sounding names such as Beck, Müller, Hübel, Mergel, Jerger. These people were all treated by Germany and Jugoslavia as Schwove, and by each other. If you would have asked any of them in 1944 what "nationality/ethnic group (I will used these together at this point in time) they belonged to..... they would have called themselves German, Schwove, Volksdeutsch. But their last names do not support it. Nor do the church records of 1766. So, hence my identity crisis. RitaColorado, Jabuka, Bistritz
Ya'll don't forget the Surname changes in Hungary 1800-1893 http://www.dvhh.org/research/surname_changes.htm I searched for many years for one line of my branches "Schick" only to find they changed their name from German to Hungarian = Czik, then I found their birth records right in the Mercydorf Church records, that I have a copy of. I laughed for all the years it was right under my nose! Although the Schick's did resume that spelling upon immigrating to the US, for many folks these Hungarian variants stuck. Rita, Balogh: During my 2005 trip to Banat I visited the village of Orzydorf. There I met a nice young man who spoke English/German/Romanian, Daniel Balan, who kindly showed us around town & was very helpful. His family has been long time residents of Orzidorf. Their original family name was Balong (German) and was changed to Balan. http://www.dvhh.org/orzydorf/photos.htm#TOWN Martini: The Martini family of the Trenton DS Club are among our favorite people and contributors. The father Adam Martini was born in Bukin (Batschka) and survived Tito's death camps and ended up in Austria, the same for his mother Eva who was born in Palanka. Read the interview with son Hans: http://www.dvhh.org/community/interviews/martini.htm Jody -----Original Message----- From: donauschwaben-villages-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:donauschwaben-villages-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Rita Schiwanowitsch Sent: Monday, May 05, 2014 7:10 PM To: donauschwaben-villages@rootsweb.com Subject: [DVHH] German-Hungarians - Nationality vs Citizenship Oops... I guess I'll correct myself this time. The correct term to identify these settlers is Schwove, not Schwaben (although some use it interchangeably). I found people with names such as: Flanjak, Juhasz, Balogh, Amerjan, Andresz, Martini, Antoni, Katics, Kovacs, Milosovic, Stanivits.... along with other "Germanic"sounding names such as Beck, Müller, Hübel, Mergel, Jerger. These people were all treated by Germany and Jugoslavia as Schwove, and by each other. If you would have asked any of them in 1944 what "nationality/ethnic group (I will used these together at this point in time) they belonged to..... they would have called themselves German, Schwove, Volksdeutsch. But their last names do not support it. Nor do the church records of 1766. So, hence my identity crisis. RitaColorado, Jabuka, Bistritz