Reflection:
The grape harvest, Filipowa
A reproduction of the painting featured at the top of this website hangs in my parent’s home. It commemorates the journey and settlement of Donauschwaben to their new homes in southeastern Europe in the 17th and 18th century. It had belonged to my grandmother, Magdalena Unterreiner Schäffer and on the back in her handwriting is “We left home on October 12, 1944. Happy are the people who can forget.” Through much of my life, though aware of elements of my family’s history, I never gave it all that much thought. It appears my grandmother spent her life time wishing she could forget the events surrounding World War II. I knew that my father’s passport said he was born in Yugoslavia but we were German Americans. I remember he was required to identify his birthplace location further after Yugoslavia ceased to exist. I knew from overhearing conversations that his family had been forced to leave their home but I did not appreciate what that meant. I remember my grandmother’s emotions as she would reread a letter notifying her of her son, Anton’s death in Budapest. I remember my Uncle Josef’s anger and desire to get their home back. I graduated college, became an adult, got married, became a parent and watched my own children grow to teenagers, and I became increasingly respectful and interested in my family’s history. About 5 years ago, my parents gave me a book to read, Barefoot in the Rubble by Elizabeth B. Walter, which chronicles the experiences of the author as a Donauschwaben child in Yugoslavia. I was shocked at the full scope of what had happened to the Donauschwaben of Eastern Europe and immediately needed to ask my Dad questions. The story I heard was heartbreaking.
A different perspective.
The apple harvest, Filipowa.
In comparison to Elizabeth Walter, my father and his siblings were very fortunate. My grandmother left Filipowa with her children. Mrs. Walter and her family stayed behind in their town of Karlsdorf and were rounded up by the Serbian Partisans and put into internment camps. After reading Barefoot in the Rubble, I was consumed with the need to read and learn more about the Donauschwabens and began to view my grandmother in a totally new light. She was no longer just my grandmother, an old woman in Germany who I only began to connect with right before her death in 1988, but a hero. How strong she was to survive these atrocities. Without her actions, I would almost certainly not exist today. My father, his siblings and parents could very well have perished along with my great grandparents and extended family in the extermination camp of Gakowa. Could I have walked away from the only home I had ever known with my children and leave my parents? I’m not sure if I am that strong. Thankfully, I have never encountered any life challenge this great. I have been fortunate to grow up in the United States safe from the horrors of war. Generations of Americans have never experienced war in our towns and cities. We are very isolated and naïve to the suffering of those that live their daily lives in conflict and war.
My burning question remains, why does no one know this happened? Is it because the Donauschwaben were German? Did the world think that the actions taken against the Doanuschwaben were justified by the actions of the Nazis? Is that fair? Are some lives considered less worthy than others? Growing up in New York, I had many opportunities to be extensively educated on the plight of European Jews during World War II. When I would add that my family died in a concentration camp, but were ethnic Germans, I was met with blank stares or disbelief. This did happen and the people who died need to be remembered as much as any other group.
My burning question remains, why does no one know this happened? Is it because the Donauschwaben were German? Did the world think that the actions taken against the Doanuschwaben were justified by the actions of the Nazis? Is that fair? Are some lives considered less worthy than others? Growing up in New York, I had many opportunities to be extensively educated on the plight of European Jews during World War II. When I would add that my family died in a concentration camp, but were ethnic Germans, I was met with blank stares or disbelief. This did happen and the people who died need to be remembered as much as any other group.
The Schäffer children. 1938
The Donauschwaben who were fortunate enough to escape to Germany and Austria were met with scorn by native Germans. They didn’t consider these new comers as fellow countrymen. My mother remembers in her town near Mannheim and Heidelberg that the refugees had skirts that went all the way to the ground. When it would rain, the women would flip one of their skirt layers over their heads for protection. They were just odd. She was just a child, imagine the conversations of adults. Desperate for work to feed and shelter their families, the Donauschwaben were integral in the rebuilding of Germany following the war. Anger still remained and returned in full when the Donauschwaben received reparations from the German government in the 1950s for the loss of their homes in Yugoslavia and elsewhere. German native citizens received no reparations for their homes that had been leveled by the war.
In conclusion, the lesson here remains that our dislike for difference cannot be resolved through ethnic cleansing. Throughout history man has sought to gain the upper hand by murdering or oppressing those who’s looks, religion, or beliefs differ from their own. Armenians, Jews, Gypsies, Bosnian Muslims, Cambodians, Palestinians, Tutsi, Darfur, Christians are just a few examples that come to mind. To that list needs to be added the Donauschwaben. To the list of concentration camps that carried out unthinkable crimes needs to be added the death place of my family, Gakowa.
Gakowa memorial :
http://www.dvhh.org/community/memorials/Gakowa.htm
This social studies website assignment presented for me an opportunity to spotlight the events surrounding the end of World War II and the Donauschwabens of Eastern Europe. It served also as an opportunity to delve a little deeper into my family’s experience. From my research, I've gained a much deeper understanding of the events, politics, treaties and players of World War II. For example, I have grown up to view Tito in only one perspective, that of a very evil man. I was so surprised to learn how he was loved by the Yugoslavian people. A very compelling moment during my research was when I encountered a "death" book for the Donauschwaben and the first name to pop up when I entered the Schäffer name was that of my Uncle Anton, followed by my great grandmother Schäffer. I had to stop, save my work and leave in order to process the sudden closeness of the material.
For application to a classroom, this website is appropriate for the World History curriculum of sixth graders. I feel that this study connects with many North Carolina Standard Course of Study sixth grade objectives, from the study of Europe, World War II, to the migrations of people. Some specific objectives are: 4 .01 Describe the patterns of and motives for the migrations of people, and evaluate their impact on the political, economic, and social development of selected societies and regions. 7 01 Identify historical events such as invasions, conquests, and migrations and evaluate their relationship to current issues. 8.01 Describe the role of key historical figures and evaluate their impact on past and present societies in South America and Europe.
I would like to see this website used as a supplement to the study of World War II and the Holocaust. Students must be educated on the disastrous consequences of intolerance and hate so that we can have hope for a more peaceful future. Additionally, the greatest lesson that may be learned from this website I learned long ago from my father, a man targeted for ethnic cleansing. He taught me that no other criteria than a person’s character should ever be used to make judgment on an individual. This lesson is important not only for students but for teachers in this ever increasingly diverse world.
In conclusion, the lesson here remains that our dislike for difference cannot be resolved through ethnic cleansing. Throughout history man has sought to gain the upper hand by murdering or oppressing those who’s looks, religion, or beliefs differ from their own. Armenians, Jews, Gypsies, Bosnian Muslims, Cambodians, Palestinians, Tutsi, Darfur, Christians are just a few examples that come to mind. To that list needs to be added the Donauschwaben. To the list of concentration camps that carried out unthinkable crimes needs to be added the death place of my family, Gakowa.
Gakowa memorial :
http://www.dvhh.org/community/memorials/Gakowa.htm
This social studies website assignment presented for me an opportunity to spotlight the events surrounding the end of World War II and the Donauschwabens of Eastern Europe. It served also as an opportunity to delve a little deeper into my family’s experience. From my research, I've gained a much deeper understanding of the events, politics, treaties and players of World War II. For example, I have grown up to view Tito in only one perspective, that of a very evil man. I was so surprised to learn how he was loved by the Yugoslavian people. A very compelling moment during my research was when I encountered a "death" book for the Donauschwaben and the first name to pop up when I entered the Schäffer name was that of my Uncle Anton, followed by my great grandmother Schäffer. I had to stop, save my work and leave in order to process the sudden closeness of the material.
For application to a classroom, this website is appropriate for the World History curriculum of sixth graders. I feel that this study connects with many North Carolina Standard Course of Study sixth grade objectives, from the study of Europe, World War II, to the migrations of people. Some specific objectives are: 4 .01 Describe the patterns of and motives for the migrations of people, and evaluate their impact on the political, economic, and social development of selected societies and regions. 7 01 Identify historical events such as invasions, conquests, and migrations and evaluate their relationship to current issues. 8.01 Describe the role of key historical figures and evaluate their impact on past and present societies in South America and Europe.
I would like to see this website used as a supplement to the study of World War II and the Holocaust. Students must be educated on the disastrous consequences of intolerance and hate so that we can have hope for a more peaceful future. Additionally, the greatest lesson that may be learned from this website I learned long ago from my father, a man targeted for ethnic cleansing. He taught me that no other criteria than a person’s character should ever be used to make judgment on an individual. This lesson is important not only for students but for teachers in this ever increasingly diverse world.