1) THE PRESIDENT'S CORNER (by Tom Steichen)
 This
month's random bits and pieces (Article 1) starts with two bits on elections... a
report on the current status of the Austrian federal election and another on the upcoming Burgenland state
election... will they echo each other? The third piece is about Syrians in Austria... will asylum be revoked after
the fall of Assad? We then move into the less-political arena with an update on water for the Neusiedlersee...
progress is happening! The fifth bit is totally nonpolitical: we have two new transcriptions to report for
Mischendorf plus three for Sankt Martin an der Raab. The 6th bit is about a piece that appeared on website
burgenland.orf.at... either the reporter got it wrong or was misled... and
the error is a minor pet-peeve for me, so you get to hear about it. Then we have a Christmas wish from the BG...
enjoy! The 7th bit is a look at income of working people in Austria and Burgenland, which is a different
measure than the purchasing power and per capita data I presented last month. We wrap up our bits
and pieces with two items that are a staple of yearend newsletters: a mini year-end review of the BB and a request
that you check your email address on our site and, if necessary, update it.
Our regular tidbits include the monthly BB Facebook report, book sales, and some more
Words for Thought.
We conclude with our standard sections: A Historical BB Newsletter article, Ethnic Events and
Emigrant Obituaries.
 Austrian
Federal Election Update: I thought it was time to update you on the status of the Austrian efforts to form
a government.
The late September election for the Austrian National Council, the primary elective body in Austria and the one
that determines who leads the country, resulted in a plurality for the far-right FPÖ, with the 183 available
mandates (seats on the Council) being distributed as follows: FPÖ 57, ÖVP 51, SPÖ 41, NEOS 18, and GRÜNE 16 (no
other party earned a sufficient percentage of the vote to be awarded a mandate). As the FPÖ failed to attain a
majority (92 or more seats) this meant a coalition government would need to be formed.
However, every other seated party quickly refused to join the FPÖ in a governing coalition, forcing the President
of Austria to request that the second place ÖVP (center-right, capitalist) party attempt to form a government. To
do so, it was clear that the ÖVP would need to include the SPÖ (center-left, socialist) in its coalition, as it
had already rejected a coalition with the FPÖ and one with just NEOS (left, capitalist) and GRÜNE (far-left,
socialist) would only have 85 mandates, which are too few to rule. With just the SPÖ, a coalition would have
exactly 92 seats, enough for a majority but likely not enough to rule effectively. Forming a three-party coalition
by adding NEOS would result in a comfortable 110 seats (or 108 seats by adding GRÜNE instead).
On November 12th, the ÖVP and SPÖ officially invited NEOS into exploratory talks for forming a government. My take
was that the Greens (GRÜNE) were too socialist and too leftist for the center-right and capitalist ÖVP. Further,
they were the junior partner in the prior ÖVP coalition government that was soundly rejected by the election, so
it made little sense to continue that relationship. The Greens quickly said they would "accept the role of
constructive opposition with a sense of responsibility," and graciously bowed out "in the interest of the
republic and its people."
Echoing that language, the ÖVP and SPÖ leaders said the goal is a "government of constructive forces" and
that "the challenges should be overcome with a broad and stable alliance." The ÖVP leader Nehammer said
their priorities were to secure growth and prosperity, restrict migration and improve the education and health
systems. SPÖ's Babler cited affordable housing and living, climate-fit transformation, as well as functioning
health and care systems. They believe their alliance represents a broad majority and the political center, one
close to the people and against radicalism and division.
Like in much of Europe, these exploratory talks are taking place against a backdrop of budgetary challenges (in
2023, 23 of the 27 EU member states reported a deficit, with 10 states above the EU-mandated cap of 3% of gross
domestic product). Austria is projected to have a deficit of 3.9% in 2024 (up from 1.3%), which must be reduced.
The ÖVP and SPÖ quickly set up a group of budget experts and invited NEOS into the discussion.
That was followed on November 18th with an invitation to NEOS to enter negotiations to form a joint government,
which ÖVP leader Karl Nehammer called an "alliance of reason and the political center" and for which SPÖ
leader Andreas Babler claimed "all three of us don't have to work together, we want to work together. We want a
coalition with the population." NEOS leader Beate Meinl-Reisinger agreed: "We want to express the common
will today."
Despite these words, the NEOS leader made it clear that "not everything is in the bag" and Nehammer said "we
have not yet reached the goal of a coalition or a government program." It seems clear that budgets and taxes
are sticking points, with the SPÖ demanding an increase in corporate taxes as well as a wealth and inheritance
tax, while the ÖVP rejects any new taxes and is in favor of a reduction in corporate income tax and non-wage
taxes.
Not surprisingly, the start of minority-led coalition negotiations drew criticism from the FPÖ, calling it a "black
day for democracy in Austria."
 The
Upcoming Burgenland State Election: Six parties will be on the ballot in the Burgenland state election on
January 19th. The SPÖ, ÖVP, FPÖ, Greens, NEOS and HAUS (Hausverstand
= Common Sense) all submitted their state nominations on time.
NEOS had to collect 180 declarations of support in each of the seven constituencies (districts
within Burgenland), where 180 is five times the 36 total mandates to be awarded. The KPÖ (Communist Party
of Austria) also had to collect support declarations to participate in the election (as they also were not seated
in the current Landtag) but did not do well and instead announced it will not run.
HAUS, although it is new, did not need to collect declarations of support because its leader, Geza Molnar,
became an independent member of the current parliament after being expelled from the FPÖ in 2021, so his
signature was sufficient for his new party to run.
Anyway, these six parties are running in all seven constituencies and will participate in the distribution of the
remaining mandates at the state level. As I explained in Newsletter 359, Burgenland voted in 2021 to make
preferential votes decisive over party list ranking in determining who gets seated in the state
Parliament. However, this applies only to the district portion of the election. Each district
determines a number of mandates that is proportional to its vote count relative to the total votes
cast state-wide in the election.
To explain how this works, I previously gave a "simplified" example: Let's assume the votes were equally
divided among the seven districts, meaning each district should determine 36/7 = ~5.14 seats in the 36-seat
Burgenland Parliament (in reality, districts vary in both population and voter turnout so an equal division is
unlikely). A partial seat is, of course, impossible, so in this example each district will be given 5 seats to
fill (35 = 5×7 seats total) and the remaining seat will be filled based on the state-wide excess vote. In this
example, a party will need to earn 20% of the district vote to earn a mandate (or multiples of this for more than
one seat).
However, since many parties are in the election, it is possible that the within-district vote will not exactly
determine which party fills those 5 seats... a simple example being a party gets 50% of the district vote, so 2.5
theoretical seats... but you can't seat a half-candidate from that party. So the party fills two seats (based on
earning 40% of the vote) and their excess vote (10%) transfers to the state portion of the election (where it will
be combined with its excess votes from other districts). Likewise, a seat will transfer to the state portion of
the election and be filled based on the state-wide excess vote for each party via their remaining list-ordered
candidates.
In this election, 250,399 people are eligible to vote (versus 250,181 in the 2020 election). Of the eligible
voters, 230,732 have their main residence in Burgenland, and 19,667 are secondary residence owners.
People can vote in person on January 19th (the actual election date), on the early election day, January 10th, or
by voting card, which can be submitted a number of ways, including by mail.
Aside: I asked VP Klaus Gerger about this secondary residence voting thing, something
I've never seen in the US. He tells me that in Austria you may have multiple secondary residences, though you
must have a main residence somewhere in Austria to vote in any elections. It is sufficient that someone
merely has a "point of contact" with a rented, leased or purchased accommodation (room / apartment / house) for
a certain period of time (“until further notice”). As he says, "the line for creating a secondary residence
is otherwise pretty low... and there is absolutely no public discussion on that topic" (this second comment
was in response to an observation by me that it waters down the local vote, and a question to him of whether
the locals objected to the practice).
Klaus owns an apartment residence in Vienna but also the family home in Güssing, which he has been renovating.
He has established the Güssing home as his main residence (apparently there were advantages in doing so while
renovating) and Vienna as his secondary residence. His wife and daughter do the opposite (Vienna main, Güssing
secondary).
He tells me that main residences are very important for communities because they are the key for federal
financial distributions to communities, and he notes that Vienna forces people to have their main
residence in Vienna by restricting parking permits only to people with main residences there (thus their car is
in his wife's name).
For federal elections you are automatically on the electoral roll of your main residence. However, secondary
residents must register for provincial and community elections, which his family did. Voting is done in
the polling station of the electoral district of each residence, but you can apply for a voting card and vote
in secondary elections via surface mail or at any polling station in Austria.
Anyway, back to the main point of this bit—the pending state election and the questions it will resolve: Will
the center-left SPÖ retain a controlling majority and continue to operate a single-party Burgenland government? Or
will the worldwide shift to the right (as in the US, Austrian and EU elections) sweep them out of power or
into a coalition government? We will soon see!
 Syrians and
Asylum in Austria and the EU: Just days after the fall of Syria’s dictator Assad, after nearly 14 years of
civil war, many European countries have put asylum applications from Syrians on hold, and some are considering
returning them home. Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy,
the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland have all paused asylum applications, and France is considering doing
the same. These decisions to revise asylum policies come as anti-immigrant far-right parties have surged in
popularity across the European Union.
More than 4.5 million Syrians made their way to Europe after Assad’s crackdown on protests and dissent amid the
2011 Arab Spring, unsettling politics in Germany, Italy and Greece (EU nations bickered over who should host them
and whether other countries should be forced to help; those tensions remain today). In 2015, more than 1 million
Syrians made their way by land and sea to Europe at the height of the civil war. Some 70% of them ending up in two
countries: Germany 59% and Sweden 11%. Austria, Greece, the Netherlands and France host between 2% and 5%, while
other countries host less than 2%.
Syrians still make up the biggest group of asylum seekers in the EU, with 14,000 through September 2024 (17% of
all applications), and with over 100,000 cases still pending (on average, only one in three applications are
accepted).
Austria's initial action after Assad's fall was an order by the Interior Minister for his agency to prepare a
program for "orderly repatriation and deportation to Syria." However, Syrians who have been granted asylum
will face no change in their status. Currently, some 100,000 Syrians live in Austria.
More recently, Austria's government has said it is offering Syrian refugees who wish to return to their home
country a return bonus of 1,000 euros to go back to Syria. Deporting people against their will is not yet
possible, so the government said it will focus on voluntary deportations.
Syrians currently make up the largest group of asylum-seekers in Austria, and since the government is under
pressure from the far-right to take a tougher stance on immigration, that pressure likely prompted this action.
Germany had also discussed a return bonus of 1,000 euros for volunteers who wish to go back to Syria (likely for
the same reason). Their government said "We will charter planes for anyone who wants to go back to Syria, and
we will give them €1,000 to get them started."
There are strict EU and international laws rules for ending refugee status, requiring, for example, that changes
in the country of origin must be significant and non-temporary, which no authority has yet to declare. The UN's
refugee agency has called for "patience and vigilance" in the treatment of Syrians who have sought
international protection and believes that much will depend on whether Syria's new leaders are prepared to respect
law and order.
Danube Water for Lake Neusiedl: Progress is slowly being made concerning a water supply intended to
stabilize the water level in the Neusiedlersee. While there has yet to be an announced target date for when nor an
exact location for where Danube water will flow into the lake, the needed flow volume has been determined and a
plan for a method of delivery has been discussed. According to Christian Sailer, head of the Lake Neusiedl task
force, "A pipeline is being considered and the discharge into the lake will not take place selectively with the
end of the pipeline, but the water will be evenly distributed over the reed belt."
What this implies is 1) that a canal will not be used and 2) that there is a need to "filter" the Danube water to
prevent it from altering the lake (and the reed beds can do this filtering).
The plan is that two cubic meters of Danube water per second are needed and will flow into the lake via an
artificially created delta in a (yet unspecified) section of reed bed. This is the way that the Wulka River water
(an average of 1.2 cubic meters per second) successfully discharges into the lake.
In the image below, the Wulka River is the dark, wider line coming into the image in the lower left corner then up
into the deeper green, where it quickly breaks into a delta of small channels and little ponds (the speckled light
green area) before it then seeps eastward through the reeds toward the lake on the right. It is about 2 miles in a
straight line from the start of the deep green area to the open lake... how far the water actually travels depends
on its wandering route.
As for the planned artificial delta, there are a number of possible locations currently being examined
individually, but they remain secret while feasibility studies go forth. The task force has been charged with
submitting a plan for approval by autumn 2025 and also has been given strict requirements that must be met: the
filtered Danube water must be compatibility with the flora and fauna of Lake Neusiedl and also not disturb the
surrounding agriculture and drinking water supply.
As I mentioned, it is expected that 2 m³/s (about 528 gallons per second) of Danube water will be piped to the
lake. This is about 3/100th of one percent of the average flow of the Danube River, which moves an average of
about 6,452 m³/s of water in an annual range from a minimum flow of 1,790 m³/s to a maximum of 15,900 m³/s.
However, 2 m³/s means over 45 million gallons will be fed to the lake each day, which is sizable!
New Transcribed Records: Patrick Kovacs has contributed two record collections to the BB, both being
for the Mischendorf Catholic parish. The transcription of birth records is for years 1815 to
1827 and consists of 881 records. The transcription of death records is for years 1817 to 1827 and consists of 514
records. These year ranges were chosen to bridge the gap between the index on
GenTeam (births 1715-1814, deaths 1715-1816) and the
FamilySearch duplicates
(1828-1895). The source for the transcriptions are the original Mischendorf Catholic record images available on
matriken.at.
 ...
The Mischendorf Catholic parish included itself and the villages of Großbachselten, Kleinbachselten,
Kleinzicken, Kotezicken, Neuhaus in der Wart, and Rohrbach an der Teich. Copyright for both transcriptions remain
with Patrick, but we thank him for sharing his work with us!
Ferenc Zotter has also been busy, adding three transcriptions to others he has done for the
Sankt Martin an der Raab Catholic parish. He provides two transcriptions of birth records, one for
years 1737-1769 (3,989 records) and another for years 1770 to 1817 (6,497 records). In addition, he provided a
transcription of marriage records for years 1797 to 1828 consisting of 880 records. Copyright for all three
transcriptions remain with Ferenc, whom we thank greatly for sharing his work with us!
Ferenc asks that if anyone finds an error or has any information to add, to please share it with him, as he would
like to continuously correct and update data. Also, if anyone is interested in his work, to contact him at
zotter.ferenc@gmail.com. [In general, this applies to all of our
transcribed records... if you find an error or have additional information, please share it with me so we can fix
it.]
The Sankt Martin an der Raab parish at that time consisted of itself and the villages of Doiber,
Eisenberg an der Raab, Gritsch, Neumarkt an der Raab, Oberdrosen, Welten, and Windisch Minihof, plus the
now-Hungarian village of Alsószölnök.
Side Note: Ferenc transcribes primarily for MACSE (Magyar Családtörténet-kutató Egyesület
= Hungarian Society for Family History Research) and is kind enough to share his work with us when
appropriate. Their English-language introductory page is at
macse.hu/society/en/kezdolap.php. While access to their
databases (usually) requires a paid membership, the annual fee is low (5000 HUF = ~$12.70 currently) and can be
paid via PayPal, Visa or MasterCard (a free access window, Dec 25 - Jan 1, is open at this writing). Their
databases contain millions of indexed birth, marriage and death records for the current territory of Hungary, and
they have started to expand to the entire Kingdom of Hungary territory (Ferenc's Burgenland efforts being an
example). Currently, you can find records for Lockenhaus, Frauenkirchen, Jennersdorf, Neumarkt an der Raab, and
Sankt Martin (the records described above are not yet available but will be soon). There are also records for
nearby Szombathely, Kőszeg, and Szentgotthárd. If you are interested in this opportunity, check out their site at
the link above.
The Fiction Continues (But Please Stop!): I read a very nice story on
burgenland.orf.at about
 103-year-old
Charles "Chuck" Estvan, Jr., who was born in 1921 in Güssing and emigrated in 1929 with his mother and sister, all
joining his father Karl in Passaic, NJ, who had emigrated earlier in 1923. The picture to the right (circa
1922-1923) shows then-Karl Istvan (lower left) with his mother Rosa, sister Marianne, and older brother Josef (who
died of typhus shortly before the family emigrated).
Chuck grew up in Passaic, NJ, studied mathematics and art, and joined the US Navy in 1943, being stationed on the
west coast on an aircraft carrier at the end of the war. Although he returned to New Jersey, he soon moved back to
California, where he became a successful advertising designer and art director in Hollywood. He married, had a
daughter, and lived in the Hollywood Hills among the stars before retiring to a house in Oxnard Beach fronting the
Pacific Ocean some 20 years ago. He still lives there with his daughter, who joined him after his wife died in
2018, and he continues working as an artist, now presenting his work via social media, though earlier he ran his
own gallery.
He says he never went back to Austria because "I was always too busy, I didn't have time. I met such wonderful
people here—artists, actors—and became part of them, so Austria is only the place where I was born—but the best
thing that happened to me." Of his native German language, he only remembers a few words.
It seems he led a wonderfully successful life... so why did I title this bit "The Fiction Continues"?
It was one little line in the story that said: "In the US, immigration changed the family's surname to
Estvan." I'll let you decide if this is true...
Below are a series of image clips (to see a larger version, right click each and select "open image in a new
tab"), the first clip being from the 1923 passenger manifest that includes Karl Istvan, Sr. and was
processed by immigration services in the port of New York. Do you see any evidence of the Istvan surname
being changed?
He names his wife Rosa Istvan in Güssing and details on the record match with other evidence to clearly
indicate that this is Chuck's father.
Next I give you two clips from the 1929 passenger manifest for when Chuck and family joined his father. It also
was processed by immigration services in the port of New York. Again, do you see any evidence of the surname being
changed (or that the father's surname had changed at this time)?
Another piece of evidence is a clip from the 1930 census page that includes the family and that was prepared by
the census enumerator in Passaic, NJ, well after the family cleared immigration services in New York:
Seems to say Istvan there, right?
So, one last piece of evidence, this being the corresponding 1940 census page:
Guess what? We finally see surname Estvan!
So, sometime between 1930 and 1940, Karl Sr. changes his first name to Charles and his surname to Estvan
(and the kids' names are Americanized too). Like so many other immigrants, it seems clear that he chose to change
his name on his own, likely to fit in better and make it easier for his friends and coworkers to spell and
pronounce his name.
In 1946, son Chuck gets married in California under the Estvan name. Also I found a 1939 record for his
sister and she used the Estvan spelling in that year.
My point, of course, is that family lore that a family surname was changed by US immigration authorities is
almost always a fiction... a fiction I wish we could put to rest for good (and I sent a message to ORF News to
that effect!)
PS: After this bit was written, I ran into a claim in a new novel I was reading that a character's surname was
changed by emigration officials... grrr!
 From
the Burgenländische Gemeinschaft:
A Recipe for a Wonderful Christmas
Ingredients
- a spoonful of warmth of heart
- a packet of love
- a good gram of anticipation
- a large portion of forgiveness
- a handful of good wishes
- a touch of contemplation
Preparation
Pour all ingredients into your heart, mix well and share with loved ones!
Notes
From your old and faraway homeland, we wish you all a blessed, peaceful Christmas and a healthy, happy New Year
2025!
 Burgenländers Earn
the Most: The Austrian Court of Audit presented its General Income Report, which summarized the
developments in the labor market of employees in 2023. The analysis showed that the highest average gross annual
income was achieved by employed persons residing in Burgenland, while the lowest was achieved by those in
Vienna.
This income of employed persons is a different statistical measure than the purchasing power or
per capita income data I presented last month. According to the report, more than 4.7 million Austrians were
employed.
Employees in Burgenland earned an average of €39,286 ($40,857 at the current exchange rate) in the year, which is
more than €2,900 ($3,016) above the Austrian average. Men's income was higher than that of women in all federal
states. In Burgenland, women earned an average of €30,984 ($32,223) and men €46,351 ($48,205). However, much of
the gender difference was because the proportion of part-time employees among women is almost twice as high as
among males.
The level of income depended heavily on the industry. The highest earnings were achieved in the energy supply and
financial and insurance services sectors. The lowest incomes were in accommodation and gastronomy. The proportion
of women was highest in health and social services, while it was lowest in the construction, energy supply and
goods sectors.
The average gross annual income of pensioners residing in Austria was €25,820 ($26,853) in 2023. Women's pensions
were on average 64 percent of men's pensions, illustrating that income differences persist even in retirement
(likely due to fewer full-time working years).
 2024 BB Notes:
While this is not a full-blown year-end summary, I am going to acknowledge a few things from the year.
The first thing is to acknowledge the growth of the BB over the year. We started 2024 with 3,206
members and are leaving the year with 3,250 a growth of 44. A warm welcome to all you new members (as well as a
hello to the many that have been with us longer). I hope you all find membership in the BB to be useful and
educational!
Along with our direct BB membership, I also want to report on the growth of our affiliated Facebook page.
It started the year with 2,118 members and now reports 2,283, a growth of 165. The Facebook page has very
much become our "immediate help" tool, often answering member questions within a few minutes. As such, I suggest
you join both groups.
For the BB itself, we did not gain nor lose staff members this year. The current crew of "managing"
staff on our site has been stable and the site itself has been functioning well. Our "contributing" editors have
also remained the same, though much of that contribution is more often now on our Facebook page as opposed
to email-based help or newsletter articles.
Having said that, I need to publicly thank the BB staff (as well as the BB Facebook
administrators), as they are the ones that make all this possible. I personally appreciate them and I'm
sure you do too. Thanks all!
We continue to sell the English edition of Walter Dujmovits' book, "The Burgenländer
Emigration to America." As you may know, the BB performed the translation and published the book in 2013
and it has been for sale (at production cost) on Lulu, a print-on-demand service, since January 2014.
Current total sales are 1805, an increase of 48 books over the year.
As for BH&R, the team added 836 honorees, raising the total to 28,839.
Another count I want to mention is that of Burgenland Emigrant Obituaries. 2024 saw 28 obits
published in the newsletter, a count that had been declining as the last great wave of Burgenland emigrants aged
out (from annual counts in the 50's) but slightly higher than last year's 25.
The last 2024 thing I want to talk about is genealogical records. We all know that
FamilySearch.org and Ancestry.com continue to add genealogical records of all sorts, but the most
interesting to us are the 53 new Burgenland Lutheran collections that Patrick Kovacs identified on
FamilySearch (we listed these collections in Newsletter 360 and links to them have been added on our FS
Films pages), and the indexes and confirmation records identified by Ferenc Zotter.
Ferenc pointed out that there is now an "Images" option to "Search" on the FamilySearch
website. This is the easiest way to find these uncataloged image collections. Just put in the village name you
want (try both the German and Hungarian village name, as FamilySearch is inconsistent about how to access
them). Not all villages will have such collections but it is still worth looking!
It also was announced this past year that the Evangelical Lutheran Superintendency intended to place images of all
of their matrikal records online by year end. The last word I heard is that the digitalization of the books has
been completed and a review process was underway, with publication by year's end "still on track."
However, my focus here is on the records we offer on the BB website. Church records are notoriously hard to
transcribe, so having knowledgeable BB members perform the transcriptions tends to lead to more accurate work
(something we all appreciate). 2024 provided transcriptions of eleven vital records collections (there was just
one in 2023). The new collections this year were:
- Jennersdorf Catholic Records: Edward Schraith and Tom Steichen transcribed the 8,850 birth records
and the 1,670 marriage records for the 1828-1895 period.
- Deutsch Tschantschendorf Catholic Records: Patrick Kovacs transcribed 14 "original" marriage
records for 1873 that were missing from the online FamilySearch "duplicates" image collection.
- Sankt Michael Catholic Records: Bernhard Antal transcribed the 2,326 death records from 1794 to
1827.
- Apetlon Catholic Records: Rebecca Chamberlain transcribed the 3,853 birth records for 1771-1826
and the 989 marriage records for 1746-1826.
- Mischendorf Catholic Records: Patrick Kovacs transcribed the 881 birth records for 1815-1827 and
the 514 death records for 1817-1827.
- Sankt Martin an der Raab Catholic Records: Ferenc Zotter transcribed the 10,486 birth records for
1737-1817 (in two parts) and the 880 marriage records for 1797-1828.
- New and Revised House Number Translation Lists: Christian Ofenböck provided a new house number
translation list for Rudersdorf as well as enhanced versions of his previous translation lists for Zahling and
Neusiedl bei Güssing.
 Check, Update
E-mail Address: This is a now-regular feature of my year-end BB newsletter: an annual
request that you review your e-mail address on our pages and, if it is no longer correct,
that you send in a correction using the BB's Change Form found here:
the-burgenland-bunch.org/change.
Your e-mail address is the only way other BB members (even BB staff) can contact you; if it is invalid, you
may as well not bother to list your family data with us. The Change Form also allows you to update your
other information... but the starting point is a valid e-mail address, so please check it!
How do you check it: Go to our Members Pages at
the-burgenland-bunch.org/Members, select the correct section of the alphabet, find your entry in
the alphabetical listing, then click your name; that should open a blank e-mail with your e-mail address on
the "To:" line. If the listed address is obsolete/wrong, copy it then go to our Change Form and
paste that wrong address into the 3rd box on the form (we want the wrong address so we
know we are fixing the right problem!). Then fill out at least boxes 1, 2 and 4, answer the
"human-verification" question at the bottom of the form, then click the "send" button. We'll take care of the
rest!
 The
Facebook Bunch (from Vanessa Sandhu):
Happy New Year, BB! (and a belated Merry Christmas or Happy Hanukkah, as well!)
As we close the books on 2024, we look forward to another great year in our group. This year, we gained 165 new
members, bringing our total membership count to 2283! We are so grateful for each and every member in our group.
Without you, your vast knowledge, and your willingness to help others, we would not be able to assist others on
their journeys to learn about their Burgenland families. You are all greatly appreciated, so thank you for all
that you do! Here’s to another year of research, culture, and lifelong friendships! If you haven’t joined us yet,
please feel free to check us out! We’d love to have you!
facebook.com/share
This month, we enjoyed lots of beautiful music from Burgenland. We had daily holiday music, courtesy of the
Burgenländisches Volksliedwerk’s musical Advent calendar. Here is a link to their YouTube channel:
youtube.com/burgenlandischesvolkslied
Member Fred Knarr shared this nice video by Metternich and Da Winkla:
youtu.be/B0
Member Janet Kroboth-Weber shared this beautiful Advent selection, the Andachtsjodler:
youtube.com/AKHR
BB Staff member Bob Strauch shared a holiday music collection from 1967: The Coplay Sängerbund
Chorus (aka, The Edelweiss Choraliers), under the direction of Anna Mohr, recorded an LP of Austrian
and German Christmas hymns and carols at St. Peter's Catholic Church in Coplay. The LP is included in an online
archive at Lehigh University in Bethlehem.
RLP225: Edlelweiss Choraliers Sing Old Time Christmas Carols
We had tons of great family recipes shared by his month, from Fred Knarr’s recipe for
salzstangerl (salt sticks) to many delicious cookie recipes, including Roland Schuller’s
vanillekipferl: youtu.be/IkaJJQWJY
Member Heidi Frank shared a nice video and photos of her Apfelstrudel making process,
complete with a recipe and lots of tips. It looks absolutely perfect and I can’t wait to try it out!
Member Gerhard Lang shared a beautiful photo from the world’s largest Christmas crib, built at the
festival stage at Moerbisch. The crib is 90 meters wide and has a height of 18 meters.
Member Barbara Gibian Heinrich shared some photos and information about her father-in-law, Oscar
Heinrich. Oscar was a former Großpetersdorf resident. While on the trip, he showed his family where they had lived
and worked before being evicted in 1938 by the Nazis. Oscar’s father, Ludwig Heinrich, had a butcher shop in town.
The shop contained a normal store, while he sold Kosher meat in the back. Barbara also shared photos from a 2001
memorial ceremony held at the castle in Schlaining, honoring 47 survivors and their descendants.
CONNECTIONS:
Member Moritz Wagner writes “Hey there everyone, I am currently researching the Drauch branch of
my family. Does anyone know a Drauch family in Inzenhof?
Here's the info I have: The family lived on Inzenhof 2. The father, Josef Drauch-Jost (12.10.1880 - ??? ) was
adopted by his aunt and uncle after his parents emigrated to America. Josef first married his adopted sister Maria
Jost. And they had two children: Josef (*1904 - ???) and Maria (*1906 - ???) married to Fabian Ofner in Thal,
Styria.
Sadly, Maria (the mother) died giving birth to her daughter. Josef married on 24 Jan 1909 his second wife Maria
Joszt. He had eight other children with her: 1. Julianna (*1910 - ???), married Hermann Hütter? (1897–1975) in
Tchanigraben. 2. Theresia (1911 - ???) 3. Irma (1912 - 1979), married Kurta, lived in the USA. 4. Rudolf (*1914 -
1965), married to Emilie (*1920 - 1998). 5. Robert (*1919 - 1990), probably married Stefanie Stradal (*1923 -
1994). 6. Cecilia (*1921 - ???) 7. Anna (*1924 - ???) 8. Paulina (*1926 - ???)
If anyone has information about this family or knows descendants of those mentioned persons, I would appreciate
your information!”
Member Harold Egon writes “Looking for family members from Jormansdorf. Maria Welz, born April 5,
1885. If you have any info, please let me know.”
Member Walter Müllner of Austria writes “Does anyone here have connections with a Fred Dorn who
moved to Chicago from Vienna? He was an uncle of my uncle Fritz Dornhackl (but removed the 'hackl' from his name).
He married there and had some kids. I think he had one of the first dog salons there. Additional information: He
was born 5 Mar 1898 in Langschwarza, Lower Austria (in the nowadays Waldviertel) under name Friedrich Dornhackl.
His parents were Franz Dornhackl and Karoline Rötzer. He emigrated via Bremen (Germany) on the ship 'Seydlitz' on
17 Mar 1923 to New York. Final destination is given as 'Humphrey'. In the census of 1940, he is listed as single
living in the same household as a 'Pauline Tuck' in 'Chicago, Ward 5, Block 3'. His profession is given as
'Baker', working in a bakery. In a 1942 military service record he was listed as married, contact person was
'Annette Dorn', address 2225 Burling Street. As a special identification characteristic it says 'shot through left
elbow'. He died on 1 Jan 1978 and is buried at Elm Lawn cemetery in Chicago, his wife (maybe his second wife?) is
given here as 'Antonie Weidner'. I'd appreciate any hint to more information. Thanks.”
If anyone has any information for Moritz, Harold, or Walter, please let me know and I would be happy to help you
connect! You can reach me at HooftyRN@msn.com.
Until next month, stay safe and healthy!
Vanessa
 Update
for book "The Burgenländer Emigration to America": Here is this month's update on purchases of the English
issue of the 3rd edition of Dr. Walter Dujmovits' book "Die Amerika-Wanderung Der Burgenländer."
Current total sales are 1805 copies, as interested people purchased 3 books during this past month.
As always, the book is available for online purchase at a list price of $8.89
(which is the current production charge for the book, as we purposely choose not to make any profit so
you can obtain the book at as low a cost as possible!), plus tax & shipping. See the BB
homepage for a link to the information / ordering page.
The book is an excellent read for the Burgenländers in your family... so, if you didn't get them one for
Christmas, get theirs now!
Burgenland Recipes: (none this month... got one for us?)
 Note:
Our recipes sortable list has links directly to the recipes or food-related articles
published in our past newsletters. You can access the list by clicking our recipe box (to the right). Thanks to
the contributions of our members over the years, we have quite a collection of Burgenland recipes, some with
several variations.
However, whenever we use up our unpublished recipes, this recipe section will become dormant. So, if you have a
favorite family recipe, please consider sharing it with us. We will be happy to publish it. Our older relatives,
sadly, aren't with us forever, so don't allow your favorite ethnic dish to be lost to future generations.
You can send your recipe to BB Recipes Editor,
Alan Varga.
Thanks!
Words for Thought: I stumbled across the following quote in a novel I was reading... and it reminded
me of the Ottoman incursions into the Austro-Hungarian Empire. That made me think of the hubris of all
great people in their time, which led me to read again a favorite poem, Ozymandias. I give you the quote
and the poem below:
If you had not committed great sin, God would not have sent
a punishment like me upon you. – Genghis Khan, c.1220
Ozymandias (Percy Bysshe Shelley, 1818)
I met a traveler from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of
 stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed:
And on the pedestal these words appear:
"My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
No thing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
There is actually a lot of history associated with this poem. It was written as part of a friendly competition
in which Shelley and fellow poet Horace Smith each created a poem on Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses II
under the title of Ozymandias, the Greek name for the pharaoh.
Smith, a banker and political writer who managed Shelley's finances, spent the Christmas season of 1817–1818 with
Percy and Mary Shelley. Members of their literary circle would sometimes challenge each other to write competing
sonnets on a common subject. In this case, Shelley and Smith chose a passage from the writings of the Greek
historian Diodorus Siculus that described a massive Egyptian statue and quoted its inscription: "King of Kings
Ozymandias am I. If any want to know how great I am and where I lie, let him outdo me in my work."
Shelley's revered poem explores the ravages of time and the resulting oblivion to which the legacies of even the
greatest men are subject, as well as their hubris while alive. In this poem, as in everyday life, power is
ephemeral.
If you wish to read Smith's long-forgotten poem, you can find it here:
Ozymandias.
|
shared
his plans for an 'internet group' with the governor of Burgenland, Karl Stix, and the head of the state
parliament, Wolfgang Dax... but it would not be until 1997 that a formal organization came into being.
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