BB News No. 192 dtd 31 Oct 2009

THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 192 DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY October 31, 2009 (c) 2009 - The Burgenland Bunch - all rights reserved Our 13th Year, Editor: Johannes Graf and Copy Editor Maureen Tighe-Brown The Burgenland Bunch Newsletter, founded by Gerry Berghold (who retired in Summer, 2008, and died in August, 2008), is issued monthly as email and available online at http://www.burgenland-bunch.org Current Status Of The BB: * Members: 1752 * Surname Entries: 5620 * Query Board Entries: 4236 * Newsletters Archived: 190 * Number of Staff Members: 14 EMAIL RECIPIENTS, PLEASE READ: You are receiving this email newsletter because you are a BB member or have asked to be added to our distribution list. To subscribe or unsubscribe, use the change form available from our Home page at http://www.burgenland-bunch.org. You cannot send email to this newsletter. If you have problems receiving the newsletter as email, it may be read, downloaded, printed, or copied from the BB Home page. There is also an Archive of previous newsletters. This first section of our 2-section newsletter concerns: 1) HOMEPAGE STATISTICS 2) UPDATE THE LDS FILES 3) "EMIGRATION AND DEPORTATION" PAGE 4) SCHANDORF - CEMBA BOOK & CD 5) UPCOMING EVENTS 6) GERRY BERGHOLD SCULPTURE 7) EMIGRATION LIST OF SCHANDORF/CEMBA 1) HOMEPAGE STATISTICS The popularity of our Homepage is growing month by month. In September, 2009, we had a record 12,500-plus visits, with a daily average of 418. 2) UPDATE THE LDS FILES At 9th of October, Ed Tantsits wrote: I am sending you the updates of the Districts. Frank Teklits talked with me and said it would be a very good idea to include all the location names and the parishes they belong to. That it would be good to see these together and we would not have to go elsewhere to do this research. Thank you, Ed, for this good idea and your work! I have added the updates to the LDS pages of several districts. It is available under: http://www.burgenland-bunch.org/LDS/LDS.htm 3) "EMIGRATION AND DEPORTATION" PAGE I got some lists of Deportation and Emigration, so I have done this new feature. Whenever we get additional lists, they can be added. And it's easy to correct and update in this way. The first list was a deportation list from Pernau, which was published the first time at NL-187. Now, Wilhelm Schmidt has corrected it and I have published it under: http://www.burgenland-bunch.org/Emigration/Pernau.htm The second was a emigration list of Schandorf/Cemba. Ferdinand Mühlgaszner gave it to me in a meeting at his home. It is available under: http://www.burgenland-bunch.org/Emigration/Schandorf.htm I also have set a link to the external deportation list from Wolfs/Balf, maintained by Robert Steiner in Germany. 4) SCHANDORF/CEMBA BOOK & CD In the last NL (191) main theme, there was a short chronicle of Schandorf/Cemba. This was a summary of the book "Schandorf - Cemba - Csem" that was put out by the Kulturverein Schandorf. It has 216 pages, many pictures, and is written in German, with summaries in Croatian and English. Another book and CD of the Kulturverein Schandorf is "Schandorf - Cemba / Auswanderer - Iseljeninki - Emigrants". Additionally, on the CD is a Powerpoint presentation with 225 pages that needs 100 minutes to play and has a background of Tamburizza music. It is complete and showable in three languages: German, Croatian, and English. (Ed: It's great, but takes a while to load.) All these goodies are available from Dr. Ferdinand Mühlgaszner 5) UPCOMING EVENTS 2009 November 12 - Bi-monthly meeting of the Burgenland Bunch of Missouri at the home of Ronald E. Markland P.E. 15908 Wetherburn Road Chesterfield, MO 63017 6) GERRY BERGHOLD SCULPTURE Last week, I started the final steps for the Gerry Berghold Sculpture. For people who don't know about it, here's a little introduction. After the death of Gerry Berghold (our Burgenland Bunch founder) last year, I had an idea to make a monument (sculpture) for him. First, I tried to find people or institutions in Burgenland who would be interested and would support this project. I had some ideas about how it should look when finished, but I was not sure about it, so I discarded them and started from the beginning. I had my final idea on my US trip to Pennsylvania this past summer, and I told it to the BB staff members attending our meeting in Northampton. But this idea also needed time to begin the realizing. I sampled some materials I needed, but didn't have much time to do so. My final idea, which will now become realized, is: A bronze-casted monitor-keyboard-mouse-mix that has the form of a Burgenland-map and Gerry's face. It's the idea that each BB member would have his or her own sculpture on their desk, with Gerry's face looking out of the computer monitor (in relief) to watch us continue his work. But I know that I have to do it NOW. I got a lot of support from my friend, Paul Mühlbauer, the founder and owner of the Sculpture-Park in Olbendorf. http://www.muehlbauer.cc/ So we made an agreement that I can use his studio and he will help me if I need it. I really have no idea how I should finance all this material and the casting. But anyways, maybe we can all start to think about it. I have made an Internet page where I am documenting the ongoing "evolution" of this project: http://www.burgenland-bunch.org/Imp/Gerry/GS.htm 7) EMIGRATION LIST OF SCHANDORF/CEMBA Name House_Name / Adr. Birthdate Emig._Year / Address =============================================================================== Bauer Andreas Bardosijevi 95 16.9.1885 1902 Bauer Josef Bardosijevi 95 1901 1902 Bauer Katharina Bardosijevi 95 1894 Bauer Karl Jurkesov 49 Bauer Michael Bardosijevi 95 1879 1907 New York Bauer Agnes Bardosijevi 95 1891 1907 New York Berszenyi Anna Michini 33 Berszenyi Rosa Michini 33 Berszenyi Stefan Vargini 116 26.10.1902 1925 Berszenyi Katharina Vargini 116 Berszenyi Anna Vargini 116 27.8.1905 1927 Bencsics Wilhelm Tisljarovi 135 13.1.1937 62/70 Chicago Bencsics Ingrid Tisljarovi 135 13.8.1944 62/70 Chicago Bencsics Kornelia Tisljarovi 135 5.8.1962 62/70 Chicago Bencsics Heidemarie Tisljarovi 135 13.10.1968 1970 Chicago Csencsics Johann Rozalini 88 15.4.1905 Kanada Csencsics Josef Fabiancicevi 4 27.11.1894 1921 Hoffmann Theresia Fabiancicevi 4 17.9.1898 1921 Csencsics Karl Fabiancicevi 4 1921 Eine Person Cinajkini 28 Eine Person Cinajkini 28 Csencsics Helene Fabiancicevi 4 12.4.1905 Dorner Andreas Agelini 100 Dorner Josef Agelini 100 Dorner Ludwig Agelini 100 Dorner Ferdinand Agelini 100 Dorner Koloman Agelini 100 Dorner Karl 125 14.10.1899 1930 Amerika Billisics Maria Dürnbach 72 1.3.1895 1930 Gabriel Georg Koloncevi 1867 1907 Passaic Gabriel Maria Koloncevi 1871 1907 Passaic Fabsits Karl Pesini 81 Fabsits Johann Pesini 81 Fabsits Johann Pesini g. Grabantovi h. 94 24.9.1906 1927 Amerika Fabsits Michael Pesini d. 8 Fabsits Anna Pesini d. 8 Fabsits Karl Pesini d. Strukljini h. 8 1.5.1901 1922 Amerika Fabsits Stefan Pesini d. Strukljini h. 8 20.8.1903 Amerika Fabsits Josef Jokelinovi 135 Fabsits Etelka Jokelinovi 135 Fabsits Angela Jokelinovi 135 Fabsits Ferdinand Jokelinovi 135 Fabsits Maria Jokelinovi 135 Fabsits Rosa Jokelinovi 135 30.8.1914 Amerika Fabsits Johann Botkini 112 17.4.1905 Fabsits Ferdinand Botkini 112 Fleischacker Josef Stefurini 130 11.9.1894 1923 Veszelits Anna Stefurini 130 Fleischacker Eleonora Stefurini 130 17.9.1925 Fleischacker Karl Suokerovi Pepicini h. 65 7.7.1898 1922 Fleischacker Koloman Truckini 56 28.11.1905 1924 Fleischacker Karl Hercokovi 1.12.1936 1961 USA Geicsnek Karl Kucerkini Truckini h. 57 11.6.1895 1923 Geicsnek Karl Janini Stuparicevi h. 25 25.8.1896 1921 Marlovits Karoline Kilencevi Spanovi h. 35 15.9.1902 1925 Gerlesits Robert Kejnjijevi 127 30.12.1900 1923 Gerlesits Johann Kejnjijevi 127 30.5.1930 Gruber Alexius Filipovi 104 1950 Herits Ferdinand Bufovi g. 82 Herits Josef Bufovi g. 82 Holzmann Anna Jandrini g. 54 1950 Holzmann Josef Jandrini 131 5.10.1885 1925 Holzmann Ludwig Jandrini g. 54 16.11.1894 Holzmann Emil Jandrini g. 54 Holzmann Veronika Licljini 5 Horvath Franz Spanovi 36 1868 1907 Passaic Horvath Karl Spanovi 36 28.4.1911 Horvath Johann Spanovi 36 26.7.1883 1920 Passaic Horvath Maria Spanovi 36 5.9.1889 1920 Passaic Horvath Anna Spanovi 36 28.0.1911 1929 Passaic Horvath Johann Agelini 79 11.11.1899 1929 Horvath Paul Agelini/Tucijevi 79 8.6.1902 1929 Amerika Horvath Rosa Tucijevi 79 Horvath Anna Tucijevi 79 Horvath Stefan Tucijevi 79 14.4.1898 1922 Chicago Horvath Stefan Ziecevi 46 Horvath Katharina Ziecevi 46 Horvath Josef Docini 113 20.04.1913 Horvath Karoline Docini 113 Horvath Koloman Luobickini 78 6.11.1901 1924 Horvath Ferdinand Hecljinovi 41 13.7.1900 1923 Puhm Johanna Debelovi 62 10.8.1899 1925 Horvath Helene Debelovi 62 8.7.1929 Horvath Josef Debelovi 62 Resetar Anna Ruozicini 39 26.0.1909 Karlovits Johann Miskicini 10 1.11.1899 1924 Kanada Antal Rosa Miskicini 10 1935 Karlovits Johann Cikosevi Tulijevi h. 117 23.6.1898 1926 Karlovits Karl Truckini h. 57 12.3.1905 1908 Karlovits Vincent Hantuolovi 2 11.4.1926 1953 Kanada Ont. Karlovits Elisabeth Viktorovi 122 28.9.1926 1953 Kanada Ont. Karlovits Ladislaus Hantuolovi 2 USA Karlovits Stefan Hantuolovi 2 22.4.1905 USA Kiss Katharina Bufovi 7 Bosits Maria Bufovi 7 Hanslist Rosa Bufovi 7 Berszenyi Ferdinand Bufovi 7 Leszecz Ludwig Hajsini 15 11.10.1899 1922 Dorner Anna Hajsini 15 10.10.1903 Lesetz Veronika Debelovi/Hajsini 62 USA Leszecz Maria Hajsini 15 28.3.1921 Magdits Ladislaus Matokovi g. 61 9.4.1905 1948 USA Magdits Johann Matokovi g. 61 14.4.1905 1948 USA Magdits Anna Matokovi g. 61 1948 Amerika Magdits Johann Magdicevi d. 13 4.5.1907 1928 Magdits Ludwig Magdicevi d. 13 Magdits Stefan Tildini 90 14.3.1896 1913 Antal Rosa Tildini 90 12.3.1905 Eisengrazn? Magdits Katharina Tildini 90 Nov.29 Magdits Viktor Bankini 91 1.5.1901 1922 Steier Helene Bankini 91 18.5.1900 Magdits Maria Bankini 91 1.11.1925 Magdits Stefan Bankini 91 Magdits Alexander Lenkini 30 6.10.1896 1924 Südamerika Bosits Johann ? Lenkini 30 Magdits Ernest Lenkini 30 17.3.1930 Magdits Josef Tildini 4.3.1905 1907 Passaic Magdits Angela Karulijevi 137 Magdits (Bruder) Karulijevi 137 Milisits Josef Julini 3 Kanada Milisits Anna Kovacevi nutri 35 Kanada Muhr Josef Truckini 59 4.10.1888 1924 Muhr Anna Truckini 59 17.03.1915 Argentinien Muhr Ferdinand Truckini 63 10.9.1902 1924 Omischl Johann Hajsini 29 14.10.1887 Omischl Josef Hajsini 32 10.12.1896 1923 Orovits August Kovacevi 138 31.8.1881 Karlovits Maria Stifterovi 138 5.8.1884 Orovits Ferdinand Stifterovi 138 14.3.1911 Bencsics Anna Dandini 95 27.3.1905 Orovits Franz Kovacevi 34 1932 Kanada Orovits Maria Kovacevi 34 Orovits Anna Ziecevii 46 1927 Kanada Orovits Maria Kulasevi 46 Orovics Josef Kovacevi 34 24.10.1898 1925 Puhm Josef Debelovi 62 6.2.1901 1926 Dorner Anna Seckerovi 92 30.10.1905 1929 Resetar Agnes Ruozicini 39 Resetar Stefan Ruozicini 39 Kanada Resetar Anna Ruozicini 39 Gruber Elfriede Fudacevi 61 Kanada Susits Rosina Baricevi 22 2.5.1913 1930 Südamerika Susits Maria Baricevi 22 Susits Martha Baricevi 22 1930 Südamerika Stefanits Johanna Troskini 9 Stefanits Stefan Troskini 9 Veraszto Franz Gejzini 38 1925 Argentinien Veraszto Maria Nacijovi 23 Veraszto Michael Nacijovi 23 Takacs Helene Debelovi 62 1936 USA Toth Angela Sundijevi 87 Toth Anna Sundijevi 87 23.3.1894 1908 Varga Maria g. Puhm Debelovi 62 Chicago Varga Ernest Debelovi 62 1928 Chicago Wolff Mary g. Varga Debelovi 62 1931 Chicago Veszelits Ferdinand Steforini 130 Veszelits Teresia Steforini 130 Veszelits Karl 136 1907 USA Wukits Stefan Vidanovi 1923 Amerika http://www.burgenland-bunch.org/Emigration/Schandorf.htm Newsletter continues as number 192A.
THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 192A DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY October 31, 2009 (c) 2009 - The Burgenland Bunch - all rights reserved The second section of this 2-section newsletter includes: 1) THE HUNGARIAN UPSRISING OF 1956 (by Emmerich Koller) 2) THE BRIDGE OF ANDAU 3) THE STREET OF ESCAPING 4) COMMENTARY ON THE LIST OF DEPORTEES (by Wilhelm A. Schmidt) 5) BORDER VILLAGES, ETHNIC TWINS? (by Wilhelm A. Schmidt) 1) THE HUNGARIAN UPSRISING OF 1956 (by Emmerich Koller) On the 4th of November fifty-three years ago, a terrible tragedy was unfolding in the heart of Hungary. A popular uprising that began on October 23 was coming to a premature and bloody end. In the early hours of this day, an overwhelming force of Soviet troops and tanks attacked Budapest, and Hungary's hope for independence and freedom vanished under a hail of Russian shells and bullets. Far from these tragic events in the capital city, in my village near the Austrian border, people were glued to radios trying to find out what exactly was going on. While listening to a broadcast from Radio Budapest on the first day of the uprising, I heard many gunshots in the background. Later I learned that the armed conflict began at the radio station where that broadcast originated when the AVO, Hungary's hated secret police, fired upon demonstrators. Now, thirteen days later, my father listened with dismay and fear to the desperate plea for help that Imre Nagy, Hungary's Prime Minister, sent out to the free world. Despite earlier promises, especially through CIA-sponsored Radio Free Europe in Bavaria, no help materialized. By mid-morning, my father had reached a very important decision. He gathered us around him to inform us that we had to escape to Austria immediately. As a fourteen-year-old boy, I was a bit scared but also excited by this new development and started packing what I could carry. I did not yet know the underlying reasons for my father's fateful decision. As we trudged through the mud towards the border, loaded down with whatever we could carry - we lived very close to the Iron Curtain and knew where it was safe to cross - Father finally had time to share with his family of ten people the reasons for our leaving. He was escaping from the clutches of the secret police that had made his life intolerable in the past years. He also couldn't see us continue suffering the deprivations and indignities placed on us by Hungary's tyrannical Stalinist regime. As we said good-bye to Grandmother, who at the last minute decided to stay behind, we made a promise to her that we would be back just as soon as things got better again. Sadly, for years after our escape, the situation at home became worse instead of better and Grandma died of a broken heart waiting for her family's return. When we stepped onto Burgenland's soil near Bildein at about noon that Sunday, we didn't know that we were just the front-runners of a massive exodus that unfolded in the following days and weeks. Before the border was closed tightly again, 200,000 Hungarians left their homeland with only their clothes on their backs and maybe a few possessions in their hands. From all corners of the country, refugees stole their way westward, to the safety and freedom in Austria. Once the escapees made it past the dangers and obstacles of the Iron Curtain, the people of Burgenland were ready to welcome their dispirited and traumatized guests with neighborly generosity and kindness. The brutality with which the Russian forces crushed the revolution may have precipitated the exodus, but the reasons for leaving had been piling up during eight years of communist terror. Hungary's communist party took control of the government in 1948. Until Stalin's death in 1953, life in Hungary had become almost unbearable. The leaders of the regime initiated a reign of terror in Hungary that was harsher than in all other socialist countries, even harsher than in the Soviet Union. Throughout the land, people were persecuted, tortured and even executed on trumped up charges against the state. Tens of thousands were imprisoned or were taken to forced labor camps. On the eve of the revolution, the number of purge victims had reached over 200,000. Show trials, in which even communist political leaders like László Rajk were condemned to death and prominent religious leaders like Cardinal Mindszenty to life in prison, made a mockery of the justice system. Those who didn't end up in prisons or forced labor camps were coerced into spying and informing on each other. Friends and neighbors, even children, could no longer be trusted. Fear, mistrust, deprivation and a total disregard of human rights were the hallmarks of Hungary's Stalinist era. For the small farmers in villages like Pornóapáti/Pernau where my family lived, the agrarian policies were the most difficult to take. Soon after they seized control of the government, the communists introduced the failed policies of the Soviet Union, complete with the persecution of the so-called kulaks, a strong push for collectivization, excessive delivery quotas and a counterproductive tax system. By the early 1950's, Hungary, a land that used to produce a surplus of food supplies, moved to the brink of starvation. These were the years when I often stood in line at the village store for an entire family's ration of half a loaf of bread or a small bottle of cooking oil. After Stalin's death in 1953, Hungary experienced a very modest thaw; persecutions became a little less vicious, arrests a bit less frequent. In February 1956, Khrushchev denounced the crimes of Stalin. Poland reacted with a popular uprising in June; Hungary followed in October. Both uprisings were put down brutally by Russian forces. Thirty-three years later, the system collapsed on its own accord, exposing the flawed ideology and philosophy upon which it was built. And although great progress has been made since then in the embrace of the EU, long-term consequences of the damages that the socialist governments of Eastern Europe have caused linger to this day. 2) THE BRIDGE OF ANDAU On October 23rd, 1956 a national uprising broke out in Hungary. This uprising was put down by the Soviet troops on November 5th. Over 200,000 Hungarians fled the country. The "BRIDGE at ANDAU" at that time was indeed the last possible way into freedom for many. The late American best-selling author James A. Michener had then been "reporter on the spot." Thereafter, he wrote a book about the dramatic events, entitled "The BRIDGE at ANDAU". This was, Michener writes, possibly the least important bridge in Europe. But the twist of fate would have it become one of the most important bridges in the world for a couple of weeks. The Andau chronicle tells you about these events: On Sunday, November 4th, the roar of tank engines and the rattling of the chains of armored vehicles approaching the national border was in the air. The people held their breath, wondering what would happen. Our firefighters went to the border and marked it with red-white-red flags. ... In the next few days the first refugees arrived. From day to day, the flow of refugees swelled. Thousands came from all over Hungary via the Einser channel to Andau, into the freedom of the West. This small, insignificant and yet world-famous ANDAU BRIDGE had been blown up a little bit later. Shortly before Christmas 1956, the future U.S. President Richard NIXON came as the then Commissioner for Refugees to Andau to get a picture of this refugee disaster. The population of Andau had been in continuous use for the refugees. Here again, the local chronicle: The municipality and the people of Andau accomplished great humanitarian work in those days and weeks, which today would be impossible to imagine. The schools, the kindergarten, the cinema and all public spaces have been provided for the accommodation of refugees. Today the "BRIDGE at ANDAU" stands again. It is not only a monument that commemorates the ill-fated times of a divided Europe, but also a symbol of helpfulness, tolerance and togetherness across all political boundaries. James A. Michener "If I ever had to flee, so I hope that it can be to Austria" Text excerpts from James A. Michener's book "The bridge at Andau" At Andau there was a bridge. Could someone reach it, he found the way into freedom. Only an insignificant bridge, neither wide enough for a car nor strong enough for a motorcycle. It's rickety ..... Those generations who had once built this bridge could not, of course, know the role this bridge of simple planks and beams will play one day. ....... They came out of the reeds of the marsh land, from the mud and the dirt, right across the swamps and via the Einser channel, across the bridge with the rickety beams. Yes, that's the way they came. Then we heard a dull bang, but nothing was to be seen. A refugee, who had kept hidden until then, took his opportunity. Breathless he came running towards us: "They have blown up the bridge!" On November 21, 1956, the bridge was blasted by Soviet troops. 3) THE STREET OF ESCAPING This is the path that was received as the "escape road" in 1956 in world history. That road was used by the Einser-channel, which forms the border with Hungary, on the historic bridge Andau as the last escape route of many thousands of people. After the breakdown of the Iron Curtain, a group of artists made 1992-96 an international Syposium "Flucht und Vertreibung", and then placed their works at the "Street of Escaping" between Andau bridge and Andau village. More than 90 sculptures are left and right at the road and also at the Andau-bridge area beside the Einser-channel in a outdoor gallery of unique proportions. 4) COMMENTARY ON THE LIST OF DEPORTEES (by Wilhelm A. Schmidt) see: http://www.burgenland-bunch.org/Emigration/Pernau.htm In the BB newsletter 187A, a list of families deported from Pernau/Pornóapáti, Hungary, on May 26, 1946, was published. The list was submitted by Emmerich Koller. But he did not prepare it, and no one I have asked seems to know who did. The names on the list, both first and last, are given in Hungarian, suggesting a Hungarian origin. I immediately noticed discrepancies on the list. I recognized the first name on it, but knew that a person by that name was deported with her mother and four sisters, not alone. I think it refers to an old woman, living across the street from us in Schwabhausen, whom we called Resi Muam. Her last name, I have since found out, was Eder, not Schmidt. Worse than this misnaming, the list completely omitted two families and erroneously numbered the members of others, including my own. From former Pernauer, I also learned that the list contained families that left the country either prior to deportation or during the rebellion in 1956. My list does not include those who left of their own volition. Quite a few people besides Emmerich Koller aided me in the compilation of a more accurate list: Felix Pehr (left in 1956); Emerich Gratzl, Maria (Wölfinger) Legath, Margaret (Meltsch) Binder, Kamilla (Steger) Welke, Theresia (Schmidt) Rotter, and Pauline (Windisch) Mueller (all DPs, i.e., "Displaced Persons"). There are other deportees still living that I wish I could have contacted, but I was unable to find their current whereabouts. I forwarded my tentative list to Gizella (Schmalzl) Bogdan, a friend of my mother, living in Pernau. She prevailed upon the current village notary, Kovacs Geza, to amend it. The original list provides only the names of the heads of the families and the number of people in each family. The list he sent me provides the names of all family members. But it has some of the same shortcomings as the original list. One family is entirely omitted, as is my sister (at less than a year old, the youngest person deported), and I am consigned to another Schmidt family that was childless. The number of people on the notary's list is 90. The same number appears on a memorial plaque in Pernau. The total number reported by the village priest, Gyorgy Illes, in a letter to his bishop two days after our expulsion, without giving names, is 92. This number must be considered the most authoritative. My list contains several more names, including two men that returned to Pernau from a Russian prison camp in 1948, unaware of the deportation. They joined their families in Germany, and should therefore be counted. But I am not sure about some of the names, and urge readers to verify my list. A final remark: all the names on my list are given in German. This reflects their true ethnicity and my lingering antipathy for the nation that deported me. 5) "BORDER VILLAGES, ETHNIC TWINS"? (by Wilhelm A. Schmidt) On the topic. "Border villages, ethnic twins" at the end of BB Newsletter 48A, a correction is in order. The idea that the mentioned villages on opposite sides of the border are ethnic twins, one mostly German and the other mostly Hungarian, is a misperception. Before the separation of Burgenland, all these villages were part of Hungary and had Hungarian names. Simultaneously, all of them were inhabited by ethnic Germans and had German names. Other pairs of villages up and down the border could be mentioned. Curiously, the four that are cited have an interesting relationship to my birthplace, Pernau/Porno (Pornóapáti since 1899). They belonged to a member of the Jak family back when, and were bequeathed to the Cistercian monastery in Pernau in 1233. With the exception of Deutsch Schützen, all of them already existed late in the 12th century. This village, adjoining the monastery on the west, was inhabited by archers in the employ of the Counts of Güssing. At the time the monastery was founded, the land belonged to the Jaks, but then reverted back to the Wildoners. Originally, the archers had settled in a village immediately to the north of Pernau. After Croatians migrated to that village around 1548, they founded a new village. To distinguish the two villages, the old became Kroatisch Schützen / Horvátlövő, and the new one became Deutsch Schützen / Németlövő. Höll, southwest of Pernau, was originally part of Oberbildein / Felsőbeled, the village due south of Pernau. Its name is supposedly derived from the "hel" in Hétföhely, meaning "Monday market," which was the name of the estate that became Oberbildein. Eberau / Monyorókerék (=Stein am Hazelrund) and Prostrum (=Gesindeacker) / Szentpéterfa, two villages below Unterbildein / Alsóbeled, also were given to the monastery in Pernau, as were two other properties still further south, the forest of Moschendorf / Nagysároslak and the mill at Allerheiligen / Pinkamindszent. (See 750-year Festschrift for Deutschschützen.) As late as the end of World War II, the inhabitants of all these villages were largely German speakers. Croatian was spoken only by part of the population of Kroatisch Schützen and Prostrum. Pernau was still staunchly Hianzisch during my early childhood. Only the priest, the teacher, the doctor, and the village notary were Hungarian. Official business was conducted in Hungarian, but Mass was said in German. Instruction was both in German and Hungarian. I only learned a few words of conversational Hungarian. With the exception of Allerheiligen, the "Hungarian" villages in the above pairs were initially designated by the Treaty of Trianon to be part of Burgenland. The reason for keeping them in Hungary differs for each of the remaining three. Kroatisch Schützen was apparently indifferent about its alliance. The inhabitants of Pernau wanted to be part of Austria, but Prince Franz of Bavaria, the owner of the estate (the monastery grounds), persuaded the border commission to keep it in Hungary. Despite protests in Prostrum, the Austrian government exchanged this "Croatian" village for a "German" village elsewhere along the border. Evidently, the grounds for pairing the villages on opposite sides of the new border is historic accident, not ethnicity. Between the world wars, commerce and kinships kept following their centuries' old patterns. It was the Iron Curtain that completely altered the situation. All the roads crossing the border were closed, and Hungary achieved its long desired linguistic hegemony. Concomitantly, the Hungarian language became obsolete in Burgenland, and cultural diversity disappeared there as well. Only due to this loss is a pairing of the villages on opposite sides of the border on linguistic grounds valid. END OF NEWSLETTER NOTICE (Terms and Conditions): The Burgenland Bunch (BB) was formed and exists to assist Burgenland descendants in their research into their heritage and, toward that end, reserves the right to use any communication you have with us (email, letter, phone conversation, etc.) as part of our information exchange and educational research efforts. . 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