The Danube Swabian Foundation of the U.S.A., Inc.
Die Donauschwaebische Stiftung der USA, Inc.
The Oma Abt Youth Heritage Award
1st year’s (2014) essay topic was:
Why is it important to carry on your Danube Swabian Heritage?
OMA ABT YOUTH HERITAGE AWARD RESULTS 2014
1st place: Ali Toth Chicago Donauschwaben 2nd place: Kathleen Martini Trenton Donauschwaben 3rd place: Peter Hutz Milwaukee Donauschwaben
Their Entries:
Ali Toth Chicago Donauschwaben
It is important for me to carry on my Donauschwaben heritage so I don’t lose it. At the time my family came to the United States, there was immense pressure for all immigrant groups to assimilate. As a result, many parents chose not to teach their native language to their children, and other important cultural traditions were lost. However, my grandparents refused to give up speaking German, and so made sure that their children were able to speak the language. Meanwhile, my parents made sure that my sister and I grew up knowing German, being aware of our culture, and participating in the Donauschwaben. I will forever appreciate the decision my grandparents and parents made to carry on our Donauschwaben heritage, because one’s culture is an essential aspect of one’s identity. While it is important to be grateful for the new life that my family has been able to achieve in the Unite States, it is equally important that I acknowledge my Donauschwaben culture. If Donauschwaben culture is not carried on, then there runs the risk that the plight of our ancestors will be forgotten to history. Our heritage must be acknowledged and carried on so as to remember our ancestors and the horrors they endured in Europe. Carrying on our Donauschwaben heritage asserts that we were able to survive the worst situations that any human can suffer, and that we were able to prosper in our new homeland. It is this assertion, as well as my pride in my Donauchwaben culture, that was the catalyst for my interest in history. When I was a child, my Oma and Opa would tell me stories of what they had to endure, and I was later outraged to find that the story of the Donauschwaben is largely unknown to those outside of our cultural group. It was my fascination with the stories of what my utmost importance to me to continue carry on my Donauschwaben culture. It is not only because I take pride in my heritage, but because it is also my ambition to educate others about it, so the stories of our people will not be lost in history ancestors survived that eventually inspired me to double major in secondary education and history. It is also the reason why I am choosing to specialize in European history. For my senior thesis, I plan to write about the tragedies that befell my family after World War II ended. It is my mission to tell the world about Donauschwaben people and the genocide that was carried out against us, and it is my aim to teach my future students about these forgotten atrocities. Ultimately, it is of the utmost importance to me to continue carry on my Donauschwaben culture. It is not only because I take pride in my heritage, but because it is also my ambition to educate others about it, so the stories of our people will not be lost in history.
Kathleen Martini Trenton Donauschwaben
Living as Schwobs.
Growing up I Atlanta, then moving over to Texas, I didn’t really have a Verband to call home. My father had danced for Trenton Donauschwaben, and my Opa was a former president of the club, but when we moved away, it became almost impossible to attend any club functions, save for the occasional dinner or Fest if we happened to be in town. So, of course, every year I counted down the days until Labor Day, not just because it was the best weekend of the year, but because it was the only weekend I got to wear my dirndl and dance and really see my Donauschwaben family. Because I was so far removed from the club, I devoured any mention of Donauschwaben culture. I did whatever I could from 1,000 miles away, naively trying to start my own club by putting together an Atlanta Donauschwaben website (which wasn’t taken too seriously, since a 13-year-old designed it), nagging my cousins to send me videos of he Trenton dances so I could perform with them at the Treffen, and learning to speak, read , write, and understand German as best I could. The culture that was so close and tangible to some of my northern Schwob friends was far away and incredibly precious to me, and I couldn’t – and still can’t – get enough. In a way, however, I’m a better Schwob for it. It kept my hunger for our culture and traditions strong and allowed me to see how special they are. Our grandparents and great grandparents suffered greatly, and many died, to ensure that we future generations could have better lives today. They took the ultimate risk to guarantee our futures. My generation is lucky to know that, to appreciate that sacrifice, and to celebrate our history today. America may be a melting pot, but we must refuse to forget where we have come from. I cannot stress how important that is, how vital it is to keep going on Europe trips and sharing our culture there, how imperative it is to continue hosting groups from other countries who want to visit and dance in our cities. Yes, there are monuments and museums, but what’s more important is that a living reminder of who we are as Donauschwaben exists. The French can return to France, the Chinese to China, the Australiens to Australia. We don’t have a Heimatland, it was taken from us when our grandparents and great grandparents were sent to Tito’s work camps. But, in a way, we can form our own Heimatland in our hearts and through our deeds. We owe it to our ancestors and ourselves to keep our culture alive so that our children and our children’s children may remember the sacrifice that was made for us and them and the culture that makes up who we are. The resilience and pride is what connects the Donauschwaben of past, present, and future, and it is worth celebrating and preserving.
Peter Hutz Milwaukee Donauschwaben
By the summer of 1944, my Oma Eva had already thought that she had heard the worst news of her life. Her husband, my Opa Sepp, had been drafted into the German military and been stationed in Berlin some 500 miles away from his three loves (his wife and two daughters) who he had left in his hometown of Vukovar. However, news spread quickly that summer that the Donauschwaben in Vukovar had little time to decide between fleeing to Germany and joining the approaching Communist forces. My Oma packed what she could and gathered her two daughters, ages five and three – my Tante Ingeborg and Tante Irmgard – to begin their long journey by train to Germany. It was a frightening time for my Oma because there was so much uncertainty and so many questions left to be answered. Where would they go? How would they survive? Would they have enough to eat? Would they ever see my Opa again? Day after day, news arrived of husbands and sons killed I battle or missing in action. My Oma had almost given up hope of ever seeing her husband again. When he was spotted a distance away, my Tante Ingeborg ran to my Oma and said, “I think I see Papa.” It was indeed my Opa who had almost starved to death on his long hike from Berlin to northern Austria at the end of the war. My Oma and Opa were fortunate to be reunited with each other when so many were not. But the years following the war were a struggle. It was their faith in God, work ethic, and sense of family that kept them strong and ultimately led them to immigrate to America with many relatives. Throughout my life, I have been fortunate enough to receive many gifts in various forms but the one I am most thankful is certainty. I know that I have a warm bed to sleep in at night. I will go to and graduate from college, and never even think twice about going to bed hungry. None of this would be possible without my Oma and Opa, along with all of the other Donauschwaben, fighting to survive and live to see another day. I was raised to always put family first. Whether that means my siblings and parents or my entire Donauschwaben family, there is no bond stronger than that of family. The greatest part about our Donauschwaben bond, which my brother, sister, and I have all seen, is that no matter what, our Donauschwaben friends are always there for us. They always go out of their ways to be with us because we truly are all family. Unfortunately, my Oma and Opa passed away a few years ago, so they cannot answer the many questions I still have about them and their time prior to coming to the States. However, their legacy of hard work, determination, and most importantly love, lives on to this day through their children and grandchildren.