Christmas Letter 2019

The Danube Swabian Foundation of the U.S.A., Inc.
Die Donauschwaebische Stiftung der USA, Inc.

The Christmas Letter 2019

Liebe Landsleut

As another year comes to a close, it is once again time to ask you to support our foundation financially. Our expenditures for youth programs have never been stronger. The fourth “Welttreffen der Donauschwaben Jugend”, the crown jewel in this year’s budget, was a smashing success. Stipends for youth groups, brass bands, German schools, and the annual soccer tournament have never been higher. Thanks to volunteers at the club level, youth participation in club activities remains strong. To maintain the momentum in our youth programs let’s reach into our” giving pockets” and make some sizeable donations to our foundation for the holidays!

The Welttreffen trip to Hungary and Romania gave our youth the opportunity to connect with their families’ Heimat. Organized by Weltdachverband president Stefan Ihas, this bus tour visited Baja, Nadwar, Hajos, Seetsch, Mohacs, Boly, Temeswar, Hatzfeld, Warjasch, Maria Radna, Nitzkydorf, Budapest, and Taksony. Among the highlights, we participated in the dedication of the Ulmer Schachtel at the Internat, visited with the mayors of several cities, participated in two Kerweih celebrations, heard first-hand reports of Russia-deportations, made Strudel and Bratwurst, visited Weinkellers, danced at the Annaball and other fests, learned new dances and songs, and learned hat-making in Hatzfeld. We visited the pilgrim church at Maria Radna and the graves of Stefan Jaeger, Peter Jung, and others. From Seetsch we boarded a Donau ferry and placed a ceremonial wreath in the Donau! Almost ninety Schwowe from the USA, Canada, Germany, Austria and Brazil attended this Treffen. The average cost to attend, a major commitment for all participants, exceeded $3000. Our foundation’s support enabled many of the youth attending this event to make the trip. Results are already evident as the dances and songs learned in Europe are being introduced to our youth groups. The excitement generated among participants is flaming interest in our culture.

In closing, I once again ask every Schwob who reads this letter to reach into their pocket and make an annual donation of fifty dollars or more.

Frohe Weihnachten!

Robert F. Filippi President, Landesverband der Donauschwaben Chairman, Danube Swabian Foundation – Donauschwäbische Stiftung USA

Weltdachverband der Donauschwaben

Das Präsidium des Weltdachverbandes der Donauschwaben wünscht allen in der Welt lebenden Donauschwaben ein besinnliches, friedliches und gesegnetes Weihnachtsfest.

Für das Jahr 2020 wünschen wir viel Gesundheit, Zufriedenheit, Wohlergehen, Erfolg und Gottes reichen Segen. Frieden soll in unseren Herzen und in der Welt Sein!

Stefan Ihas, Präsident, Weltdachverband der Donauschwaben e.V.

As in previous years, we are pleased to share with you two of the youth oriented events which the Stiftung helped to sponsor in 2019

“Portable Roots” – the 11^th annual Donauschwaben Jugendfreundschaftslager

The Cincinnati Donauschwaben Verein was home to 45 Jugendgruppe members from 6 different cities the last weekend of June, 2019. On June 27^th, Jugendgruppe members and their chaperones from Kitchener, Toronto and Leamington, Canada and St. Louis, Detroit and Cincinnati arrived late in the afternoon and began to set up a tent city around the playground. By dinnertime everyone was hungry and ready to get the weekend started. Thursday evening activities included a simulation on immigrating into a new “land”, and building Ulmer Schactels, that would carry the campers down on Danube River. The evening was capped off with an ice cream sundae bar. Friday found the campers up early and dressed in their orange shirts. They hit the road for a day-long adventure. The first stop was a “drive by” of Union Terminal and a brief history of the importance of this train station to the Donauschwaben who moved to Cincinnati. The next stop was a walking tour of the “Over-the- Rhein” historic district of Cincinnati. Here they heard interesting stories of the buildings that were important to the Donauschwaben people as well as the huge German impact on this area and the city of Cincinnati. The afternoon was filled with a picnic lunch and swimming at Sunlite Pool. We traveled to Smale Park for a beautiful view of the Ohio River and an all-you-can-eat pizza dinner. We walked along the riverfront to the Red’s Stadium where we actually saw the Red’s beat the Chicago Cubs and had a front row seat for Fireworks Friday. Saturday, June 29^th was set aside for our cultural day. The campers spent the day immersed in activities that taught them of life in the “Heimatland.” More members of the Cincinnati Jugendgruppe took advantage of the Jugendfreundschaftslager being on their home turf and joined in the activities for this day. We had a special “Kindergruppelager” take place this day as well. Patty Butterfield and Catherine Dehne designed activities for the day that shadowed what the Jugendgruppe was doing and they joined us for lunch and the history lesson. After a filling breakfast, the campers were split into groups based on their age and for the remainder of the day, they rotated through a series of five activities. Katy Abt taught several songs, Wahre Freundschaft, Kehr ich ein zur Heimat Wieder, and the Donauschwaben Hymn, to each group. Jen and Johna Stolze discussed the Wappen and then the groups painted the Wappen on clay Christmas ornaments. Lisa Spraul had the groups busy making spaetzle for dinner. Megan Spraul taught each group an upbeat dance that was created by members of our own Jugendgruppe. Barb Waldeck, Cathi Weissmann and Marty Kunkle worked with the groups to mix, bake and ice a lot of Honig Bursl cookies as well as rolling and dipping “Buckeyes”. Joe Abt took time to demonstrate for many interested people the various steps of making Oktoberfest chicken. A very personal and touching presentation was given in the afternoon by Barb Waldeck, Cathi Weissmann and Marty Kunkle. These women spoke of their memories of living in the Lagers in Austria and then what life was like for them as they immigrated to Cincinnati and finally beginning their life anew. It was a marvelous way to tie together the theme of Portable Roots, the information the group learned on the Over-the-Rhein tour and how the Donauschwaben club was central to these women’s lives as teen-agers. They brought many artifacts with them that their families had carried from Europe. These items held a special interest for the Jugend and there were plenty of questions afterwards for the ladies. After a delicious dinner of Oktoberfest chicken and spaetzle, there was a closing ceremony that was followed by a night of dancing to music provided by DJ ED, Eddie TulliusAfter breakfast on Sunday, the groups found it hard to say good-bye. There were plenty of pictures taken and promises to keep in touch. Everyone is already looking forward to the Labor Day festivities. Everyone left “Proud to be Donauschwaben”.

**Cincinnati wants it to be said that this was the first Jugendfreundschaftslager in eleven years to have NO rain.

Debi Tullius, Cincinnati Donauschwaben Jugendleiterin

4. Welttreffen  –  A GATHERING TO REMEMBER

Imagine going on a trip where every day was bright and sunny, packed full of meaningful activities and villages that took your breath away AND it was a family gathering of family you didn’t even know you had – then you can begin to imagine the Welttreffen. When we arrived at Internat des Ungardeutschen Bildungszentrums or UBZ in Baja, Hungary, we were greeted with hugs, kisses and enthusiasm that was contagious and never ending. We could see a huge beautiful facility with a full- sized Ulmer Schactel in the courtyard. We were assigned our rooms and given time to unpack, relax and mingle before dinner and the first evenings activities.We stayed for a week at the boarding school. While we were there we attended lectures on the care of trachts and the starching of slips by Erzebet Haklik, the Donauschwaben settlement in Entre Rios, Brazil by Roberto Essert, a folk song class by Jozsef Emmert, and a discussion about the Donauschwaben history by Josef Jerger, past president of the Weltdachverband. We had 4 hour dance workshops with several choreographers; Ilona Koch taught us a particularly cute routine that involved singing and dancing, Simon Kishegyi focused on the old type of polka and tzepple and taught us many moves that we can use in our dances and Rita Fresz shared amazing children’s dances that we hope to pass on to our Kindergruppe. We were treated to a formal tour of their expansive school which starts with Kindergarten and goes through high school. The students are taught and must pass tests in both German and Hungarian. The academic standards are so high at this school that there is a waiting list to attend.We stayed for a week at the boarding school. While we were there we attended lectures on the care of trachts and the starching of slips by Erzebet Haklik, the Donauschwaben settlement in Entre Rios, Brazil by Roberto Essert, a folk song class by Jozsef Emmert, and a discussion about the Donauschwaben history by Josef Jerger, past president of the Weltdachverband. We had 4 hour dance workshops with several choreographers; Ilona Koch taught us a particularly cute routine that involved singing and dancing, Simon Kishegyi focused on the old type of polka and tzepple and taught us many moves that we can use in our dances and Rita Fresz shared amazing children’s dances that we hope to pass on to our Kindergruppe. We were treated to a formal tour of their expansive school which starts with Kindergarten and goes through high school. The students are taught and must pass tests in both German and Hungarian. The academic standards are so high at this school that there is a waiting list to attend. During the stay in Hungary we also took many day trips to visit beautiful old Donauschwaben villages and learn how their life changed forever after WWII, as well as to celebrate with them the revitalization their villages are undergoing in the present. In Nadwar, we were spellbound by their cultural presentation which ended with the expulsion from the homelands and had everyone in the audience sobbing. We toured the city, sat in the beautiful church, had dinner at a local wine cellar and ended the evening by “dancing in the streets”. In Seetsch, we had classes in strudel and sausage making and toured the Catholic and Serbian Orthodox churches. After lunch we paraded to the Danube River, following the local brass band, where we boarded onto a ferry and had a commemorative wreath laying ceremony on the river. The groups then boarded our buses and visited a working mill in Schomberg and a Schnapps Distillery in Mohatsch. We then returned to Seetsch for a concert, dinner and dance. We ventured to Hajosch where we had a walking tour of the Donauschwaben section after visiting inside another beautiful church. Their dance group performed for us at an outside park and then we enjoyed a lovely dinner and wine-tasting in an outdoor beer garden. The Hajosch singing group performed for us, and we ended the evening by joining them in a sing-along. I am not sure which group was more excited to be singing! We also had a trip to Boly that included a tour of their beautiful town and extensive park system, and a lovely meal and wine tasting at the Roth Wine Cellar. The highlight of the trip to Boly was the folk dancing presentation in their beautiful cultural center. We saw Donauschwaben folk dancing by the Naarad Dance Group from Grossnaarad as well as the Mohatsch Nationalities Folk Dancing Group. Those performances were certainly ones I will always remember. Saturday, July 27th was a day to remember for sure. We walked to the Town Hall early that morning and had a brief reception with the mayor. The group then boarded the “Bimmelbahn” or cute little passenger trams for an extensive tour of the town. Baja is truly built along the Danube River and has developed a great parklike venue along the waterfront. We were dropped off back at the school where we participated in a wonderful ceremony to dedicate the full-sized Ulmer Schachtel, or boat that carried the Donauschwaben people from Germany down the Danube River to their new homelands. This ceremony was followed by a formal banquet luncheon and later in the evening the Annaball. The Annaball was attended by many townspeople and dignitaries as well as the participants of the Welttreffen. It was an amazing evening of friendship and dancing. On Wednesday, July 31st we packed our bags and loaded the bus for Hatzfeld, Romania. On our way we had the pleasure of spending an amazing afternoon in Temeschburg. What a beautiful city. Our entire group lucked into a city tour from a local guide who seemed to know ALL of the city history and how the Donauschwaben’s history tied into and wrapped around the history of the city. I felt as if she were speaking specifically to me and answering many questions I didn’t realize I had. By dinnertime we had arrived at the Hostel Ilina Classic, our home for the next 5 days.Our time in Romania was filled with amazing lessons and visits as well. We learned about the art of hat decorating with Edith Barta and listened to very emotional presentations on the Russian deportation of Donauschwaben from Josef Koch and Ignaz Fischer. We participated in a lively dance seminar with choreographer Hansi Muller and learned several dances we are eager to share at home. We had a beautiful day’s journey that took us to the Banat Donauschwaben Pilgrammage to the Basilica Maria Radna, where we had lunch at the Basilica. We were guided on a tour of Hatzfeld where we laid a wreath on Stefan Jager’s gravesite, attended mass at the Catholic Church and were treated to a classical concert. This day ended with a banquet celebration at the Thermalstrand that included music and dancing. One of the biggest highlights of our time in Romania was the participation in not one but two very traditional Kirchweihs. The first was on Saturday in Warjasch and this event was attended by several Donauschwaben groups from the area. Here we watched as the Kirchweih tree was paraded through town and then raised. Then the group paraded through town behind a rousing Blaskapelle and the very traditional Kirchweih bush, visiting 3 different houses that offered Wurst, Brot, Kuchen and Schnapps to the entire group. We marched the Strauss to church where it was blessed in a mass, and took it back to the cultural hall to auction it off. The evening was topped off with dinner and a dance. The very next day we traveled to Nitzkydorf, for another rousing Kirchweih. The group got to see the home of Herta Müller, a Nobel prize winner; walk through town to the cemetery to lay a memorial wreath and then we traveled to the school for coffee and cake. There again was the very traditional parade through town, but the Blaskapelle had to be in the middle for everyone to hear as there were almost 200 couples in this parade. We visited homesteads for snacks and were greeted at the city center by the mayor. This Kirchweih had a festival atmosphere as there were tents with games and foods outside, dance performances by various groups in the courtyard and a 5 course meal and music and dancing inside the cultural center. This evening ended all too soon as did our time in Romania. On Monday, August 5 we said good-bye to Romania and traveled to a neighborhood outside of Budapest, Torokbalint. After we checked into our rooms, we attended a seminar, “Traveling to Donauschwaben Throughout the World” by Jurgen Harich. It was interesting to learn of the Donauschwaben in South Africa and sad to see that the Donauschwaben club in Brazil is loosing its identity in an effort to keep its facility. This evening ended with a beautiful relaxing 3 hour dinner cruise down the Danube River with the lights of Budapest illuminating the night. It is hard to say which was most appealing – the food selection or the view. On Tuesday, we ventured to the Pest side of the city and walked down the hillside park, across the bridge and into the heart of the Buda side. We had time for shopping and a chance to pick up lunch. Our day ended in Taks, for a farewell party filled with many surprises. The group took a tour of the town in “Trabis” which are Cold War era, 2 cycle engine, tiny cars. We had stops at the Catholic Church and their Heimat Museum. The Taks facility is a lavish clubhouse surrounded by outdoor picnic areas, bandstand and performance stage. Their dance groups performed for us, there was a great band that played dance music all evening, and we were treated to an amazing buffet dinner. What a way to say good-bye to such a lovely place. From the moment we arrived at the Budapest Airport and were met by Donauschwaben travelers from other cities, to the moment we left Budapest Airport with Donauschwaben friends who were going home to other cities, the eleven members of the Cincinnati delegation were thankful to have been part of this event. The organizers of this unbelievable Treffen, Stefan Ihas, Weltdachverband President, and Anna Fernbach, Weltdachverband member worked tirelessly to make this a meaningful and memorable event from the biggest activity to the smallest detail. We, from Cincinnati, have never been more proud to be Donauschwaben. As Stefan and Anna wore on their shirts for all to see – Donauschwaben steh dazu.

Debi Tullius, Cincinnati Donauschwaben Jugendleiterin