I'm 20 and I cannot thank you enough for this video. A couple years ago I became interested in my family history. I knew that we were German but my great grandfather's obituary said that he was born in Schuschara, Yugoslavia. I did a little research and stumbled upon the Donauschwaben. I wish my great grandparents were still alive. I have so many questions that will never be answered.
What a coincidence, I’m also 20 and my father’s father’s mother was a Donauschwab and married a local there. Unfortunately the only family member left to tell the story is my father’s mother. She said Donauschwabs have really strong legs, and I actually do have really thick quads lol. Do you? My great grandparents lived in Virovitica. My grandfather fled to Germany to avoid army service and never went back.
The Serbians hid the mass graves purposely. They took over the homes and farms of my family and the others they shot and sent to camps to die. We finally received recognition for their war crimes due to the unwavering stance of my grandmother and others to not let our families be forgotten..
@@patriciabrenner9216 can you elaborate on that statement? I’m looking into my own family history and want to understand the connections between the main concentration of Germans (today’s Germany and Austria) and the various enclaves of ethnic Germans that exist/ed in Romania, Serbia, Hungary, Poland, Italy, etc.
@@TheMickey1892 they populated danube area mostly in 18 century, sent there by austrian government to develope agriculture, because it used to be austro-hungarian kingdom teritory. In ww2 hitler attacked region and promised danube swabians he will spare them, but they had to join military forces I believe. When Yugoslavian partisans declared victory, you can only imagine how keen off they were of nazi collaborators
@Branka Petrov. This is not accurate. They were sold by Hitler to the Soviet Union. They were promised things not because they supported the Nazis but because Stalin wanted slave labor and Hitler sold them to him. Your comments are not accurate. I have the stories of the survivors and what happened to their families. They did not support the Nazi party. And just so you are aware there was only one party when Hitler took power - there was no option to be an opposing view. Stop spreading your misinformation here and making them out to be supporters of Hitler. Stalin was brutal - as brutal as Hitler - and he played two sides. The allies and Hitler - the allies thought russia was an Allie while Hitler thought he had secret deals secured with Stalin - all so Stalin could seize power over Eastern Europe. The people of Yugoslavia were pawns and had little to do with the actions of the Nazi party. Any of them who were involved in that literally had no choice but to be killed - which many of them were. Go troll elsewhere
My oma passed last night, she was from Neu Passau, now called Nova Pazova. They escaped from a camp near Mitrovica, her father was killed before they escaped.
My mother-in-law's family was sent to Russia - Siberia to the concentration camps under Stalin. The men in the village were rounded up and killed. Her father was executed in the village. The rest of the family was put on a train that went to Russia as part of an agreement that they would be used as slaves. It was brutal. They escaped there when she got deathly ill and made it to Austria to refugee camps. This is a part of history that is ignored completely. I try to explain this to people and they literally tell me "you are lying," "that didn't happen," or "you need to prove that." I am still amazed at how little of history is actually believed.
That’s not the truth. You lack the knowledge of the Russian/Nazi agreements that allowed this violence to occur on innocent people. They were not Nazi supporters. They were Germans but they were not Nazis. There are deals being made with Stalin that Russia would get certain countries to control / it was Stalin who played two sides here - pretending to be the the Allies of the US and European nations while making back door deals with Hitler. The donauschaben were not Nazi supporters. They were Yugoslavian people. You can keep your nastiness to yourself. This was not a purge of Nazi people. It was a murderous violent purge of Germans who had lived there forever centuries working and being part of the community. The only thing they did wrong was not seeing what was planned for them. They did nothing to deserve the actions of Tito and the communists from Russia. Don’t put your nasty spin on what happened to my family - you were not them
@@lauraschnur8074 one thing I do not lack knowledge of is Yugoslavia 45-91. First principle was unity of nations and religions under one roof. They went agains an enemy based on their ideology, not nationality. Personally, I do not trust germans to this day for those reasons.
My Father was born in Vrbas (Neu Werbaß) in the Baçka, Vojvodina. Before the Donauschwaben came, my family lived in that area for over 500 years. We inter-married with the Germans and my family members had various surnames - Serbian, Hungarian Romanian and German. It was a melting pot. The people prospered for generations. My grandfather worked in the sunflower oil processing industry and could speak 4 languages. Tito was heavily and negatively influenced by Stalin. Of course Stalin's brutality trickled down into the Serbian army and partisan soldiers. This is war. That's what it does. It destroys goods things and affects people for generations. Believe me, I'm 59 and here I am, still reflecting on the stories I was told. My Father witnessed many atrocities. He even saw a partisan trying to rape my Grandmother. Guess what, the soldier didn't live. My Father aged 9 made sure of that. Luckily, many families were able to escape on a long horse and buggy wagon train in late 1943. At that time, Hungary was beginning to switch sides and fight with the Allies. Crossing the border from Serbia into Hungary was not always an easy task. Upon reaching the border, my Father's younger brother raced toward the border and a Hungarian soldier stopped him with the point of his pistol on my Uncle's head. He actually pulled the trigger and it misfired. The long wagon train was being escorted by a Luftwaffe officer. He simply walked up to the Hungarian soldier and shot him in the head and allowed our families to pass. Once in Hungary, the families were loaded onto a flatbed freight train headed for Passau, Germany. As a boy, I would see these little very well drawn sketches. These were my Father's memories as a child. One of them was of an Allied plane diving toward and shooting at the flat bed freight train they were on. They were told to quickly get off the train and run into the nearby forest, as he saw the train being bombed and said the freight cars looked like little toys flying through the air at a distance. These Donauschwaben families were brought to an old abandoned castle in Passau. They were starving and lice were everywhere! The young boys, including my Father, who was only 9 years old at the time, would sneak out in the middle of the night into a freshly harvested potato field and tried to find remaining small potato bulbs to bring back to their mothers. My Father 4 youger siblings. My Dad could never talk about these things to me unless we were drinking a bit together. He told me although he was starving, instinctually, he would never eat even one of those potato bulbs they found at 2 or 3 in the morning. From the other side: my Great-Grandfather, who I was named after, insisted on staying in Vrbas. He was not harmed by Tito's people. He was allowed to live there normally. He died peacefully. I am very thankful for that. Thank you
Love your story. Thank you for sharing your history. I'm Serbian. My grandmothers sister is married to a Donauschwab. Uncle Karlo as we call him came after the war in the seventies to visit his former home. There he met my grandmother and her sister. I know from him that these war memories never leave you. It remains a painful wound.
Interesting.. There is still an old remaining German church in that area of Vojvodina, although it's in city called ''Vrsac''. I find it interesting that Partisans did not destroy it. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ZOCP9potmM0.html
A love story - a survival story - a story if happened any other way, I wouldn't be here to tell it. I'm inspired by life and am thankful for the opportunity to have lived in peace. You're welcome and thanks for reading. It's nice to be able to recall and share some of my Father's stories about our family and their experiences. To anyone reading this, please know that I hold no animosity toward anyone, especially during war time. Humans are capable of carrying out unspeakable acts of horror, but also bravery, heroism and compassionate acts of love. That was a great video. It reminds me a lot of Vrbas. I will finish watching it a bit later. I am currently in Batumi, Georgia and must pay import taxes at the airport now! 🤣
Thank you for this documentary. My parents come from Schamagosch / Grosskarol (Romania) and are Donauschwaben. It's so interesting for me to see this documentary. The people from there are so humble and kind, rarely speaking about their history 🙈
This was amazing. Very well put together. As a descendant of Black Sea Germans (one of my ancestors came to Russia via Hungary/modern day Serbia before later ancestors emigrated to the United States), I found this riveting. I have not heard of the details of this history until now
This was Genocide. My Grandfather survived it. His village in Northern Serbia became a concentration camp were tens of thousands perished. He is 89 years old now, born in Gakowa, Yugoslavia in 1931.
I could imagine how it was there Serbs was killing even in Jugoslav was when tv and cameras was there can you imagine what they was doing in thar time when was no cameras at all
@@gideonros2705this is not a competition. Everything that happened was terrible. Lets not put one pain over another. But this video is about people whos entire existence is almost completly forgotten and erased
@@emmq5157Is not the same to be a victim of being Serbs under German occupation and of the Ustaše (Italians, Hungarians, Albanian Ballistas, Handzar Division, SS Prince Eugen, Verhmart) and being a German both in the name of Nazism and your beloved Hitler whom you looked up to and loved as God and in the name of Nazism and Hitler to commit crimes against Serb civilians. Stop pretending that you don't know it, and you know it and you never deal with the crimes of your forces against the civilian population of Serbia. Get your historiography with this information, you have documents about it in Washington and in Berlin.
bartsimpson 67543 Genocide was that the German forces in Yugoslavia/Serbia committed crimes against the innocent Serbian local population with the help of the local German population (public hangings, raids, killing in the sense of liquidation by firing squad). Enrich your historiography with these pictures, documents, videos. You have everything documented in the Archives in both Berlin and Washington.
Over 20 of my family died under communism in Serbia, Batcshka, Tovariševo, etc. many were old or young. We found their records just yesterday on the Donauschwaben website. Thank you for this video
My grandparent lived as farmers in Kernei in the north of Serbia. My great grandmother, my grandmother and my mother survived Gakowa. In 1944 they fled from home first to Hungary and then to Silesia. After the red army got there, they fled again but the Czechs deported them shortly after the end of war back to Serbia, where they were immediately arrested and sent to death camp Gakowa. In 1948 they were able to escape and fled again to Germany.
My grandparents, great-grandparents and father all were in Gakowa where my great-grandparents died of starvation. My father was a young child and had PTSD the rest of his life.
Thanks for making this! These are my people and I've always wanted to know our history. I've been a part of the German Family Society in Brimfield since I was born. I even danced in the Kindergruppe in the 90's. See you guys at the Oktoberfest!
Fantastic documentary. My grandparents emigrated from there to Argentina. My Opa was from Iovanovac and my Oma was from Parapuč or Parabutsch (today renamed Ratkovo)....An amazing story about the Donau-Schwaben...
My grandmother belonged to Donauschwaben, but, luckily for her, she did not pass the horror of the concentration camps. Her 2 oncles' families were tortured and killed in Rudolfsgnad. I am still searching the info about her parents and her brother"s destiny....
This might be a late reply, but I know there is a Serbian comission which has published most of its records for those who died in the Concentration camps or were executed. The downside of this page is that it is in Serbian. But I know a way to make a lookup. otvorenaknjiga.komisija1944.mpravde.gov.rs/
Hello Ana 🙋♀️- I'm am from Germany; my father is origin a Donauschwabe and here we have many and different types of Institutes and museums; where you can find many; many informations you need. If you need a helping hand; so let me know. It's so important to know our roots. Alles Liebe zu Dir 🙋♀️
In this video ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ZOCP9potmM0.html you can see old Danube Swabian city and old German church. To this day people in Serbia often refer to all Germans as ''Svabe/Swabe''
@@munimunus6141 nein, Du liegst falsch. Es gab Donauschwaben ; die Hitler- willig waren. Aus sehr verschiedenen Gründen; Keine Frage. Doch: der Großteil lebte in abgelegen Dörfern; wollte mit Krieg und Kampf nichts zu haben. Floh zum Teil deshalb nicht vor den großen Gefahren; weil die Meinung vorherrschte: " Wir haben nichts und niemand etwas getan; sehr bewusst keiner Partei/ Führer/Gegner oder dergleichen zugejubelt und zugearbeitet. Uns wird man also nichts tun; wir waren neutral; haben einfach gearbeitet und versucht; unsere Familien durchzubringen. Trotz der Beschlagnahme von Getreide/ Tieren/ manchen Häusern von den verschiedenen Kriegsparteien waren wir: neutral. Sie werden uns nichts tun. Weder die Einen, noch die Anderen. Wir waren neutral". Welcher fatale; tödliche; so viel Leid bringende Irrtum. Und bis heute sehen wir- hier durch Deine Behauptung- solch' schlimme Unwahrheiten; unbelegbare Behauptungen und Versuche; über die Sprache und via Geschichtsklitterung; > weiterhin < Vernichtung zu üben. How dare you? ! Tradierter Hass ohne Ende. Es war und ist >genug< Vernichtung und es ist gut und wichtig; dass die neuere Geschichtsschreibung zum Thema Hitler/ Stalin und Tito in Deutschland; Serbien; Kroatien jetzt differenzierter hinsieht. Aber es ist ein schweres Ringen; insb. in Serbien,& Kroatien; für die Tito- Anhänger insbesonders. Aber wir müssen hinsehen. Wir sind es allen zukünftigen Generationen schuldig; bei allem : genau hinzusehen. Eigene Schuld zu bekennen- und Projektionen - zum Zwecke des Schwarz/ Weiß... zu benennen. Was Hitler tat- ist niemals! entschuldbar. Was Stalin und Tito taten; auch nicht. Bastarde waren sie alle; denn sie hatten alle das Ziel; die ihrer Ansicht nach " jeweils Falschen". " zu vernichten. Ja, zu vernichten. Die gesamte Forschung der Historiker über die letzten 20 Jahre belegt; dass das Narrativ : "Kollektivschuld für Donauschwaben" definitiv nicht haltbar ist. Bitte erkundige Dich zum Beispiel in Deutschland; in der Stadt Tübingen "Donauschwäbisches Institut" ; dort bekommst Du auch im Englisch genaueste Auskünfte der Historiker. Dasselbe in Belgrad usw. So viele Menschen; Generationen nun; haben so teuer mit ihrem Leben und auch nicht selten mit ihrer Lebenskraft / Lebensglück teuer bezahlt. ( Transgenerationale Traumata) . Wir als Kinder und Enkel von Überlebenden; von Menschen; die Ihre Ehepartner; ihre Kinder; Mama, Papa, Oma, Opa, Familienmitglieder; Spielkameraden; die Heimat und so viel mehr verloren haben.... bitten Dich; keine Geschichtsklitterung zum Zwecke Deiner Selbstdarstellung; des Säens von neuem Hass und Zwietracht zu betreiben. Es war und ist genug Verlust. Das gilt es anzuerkennen und auch zu bewahren. 📌⚰⛓⚖ "Die Vernichtung von uns Donauschwaben durch alle Kräfte den Krieges hat dann ausgespielt; wenn wir heute unsere Kinder und Kindeskinder glücklich in ihren Großfamilie sehen. Satt; unbeschwert spielend; mit Bildung gesegnet; groß werden sehen. Und wir unser Erbe somit tragen; bewahren und weitertragen. Unauslöschlich. " 👨👩👧👦🤸♀️🙆♂️🚴♀️ 📌 ( Dies schrieb' mir ein Donauschwabe vor einigen Jahren; 92 - jährig im einem persönlichem Briefwechsel im Rahmen meiner Ahnenforschung). ....------....
My Urgroßeltern, die Nollemotter and the Nollevater died in the Jarek Völkermord camp. They were in their nineties, so much useless evil, so much stupidity.
Tito killed Serbs too. Mihailovich was the real freedom fighter in the former Yugoslav Republic. Ask the " Forgotten 500" , US airmen , who were saved by Mihialovich , & his Chetniks.General Mihialovich returned them to the USAAC. If Tito rescused them, he would have either bartered them to the Nazis, or given them to the Ustache.
duroshebanja6810-Partisans saved 2,000 American soldiers during the war, so what did that not determine the further course of the war. If it were not for Tito, NOB, KPJ and Partisan, he would have been Germanized and would not even exist as a Serb. Draža Mihailović was an associate of the fascist Germans, Italians, Nedićevs, Ljotićevs, Ustaša (he had an agreement with all fascist forces on the territory of Yugoslavia on non-aggression and assistance with weapons). At the same time, he ordered the murders of Serbs in Vranić, Čačak, Ćuprija, Boleč, Drugovec, Trstenik, Rajinac, Stragari, Sevojno, Dokmiru, Valjevo, Ljig, Gornji Milanovac, Kukljin... And that's why he was convicted as a war criminal and as an accomplice of the occupiers in the people's court, and his trial was public, and it couldn't be more public. The whole world watched it through radio operators. President Truman gave the order to Draža Mahailović because he thought he could use the old Chetniks in the fight against the communists during the Cold War. That's why they were admitted to America after the war, to be there because someday they would be needed by the American administration in the fight against communism during the Cold War.
They were not forced to leave yugoslavia they had to give for example a daughter to a serbian men so the family is related to serbians or croatians and the german family would just change their name into a slavic Form For example Schuhmacher would be Šuman now and These people are mixed today
