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THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 320 May 31, 2021, © 2021 by The Burgenland Bunch All rights reserved. Permission to copy excerpts granted if credit is provided. Editor: Thomas Steichen (email: tj.steichen@comcast.net) BB Home Page: the-burgenland-bunch.org BB Newsletter Archives: BB Newsletter BB Facebook Page: TheBurgenlandBunchOFFICIAL Our 25th year! The Burgenland Bunch Newsletter is issued monthly online. The BB was founded in 1997 by Gerald Berghold, who died in August 2008. |
| Current Status Of The BB: * Members: 3058 * Surname Entries: 9061 * Query Board Entries: 5861 * Staff Members: 13 |
This newsletter concerns: 1) THE PRESIDENT'S CORNER 2) HISTORICAL BB NEWSLETTER ARTICLES: - THE CREATION OF THE BURGENLAND (by Matt Boisen) 3) ETHNIC EVENTS 4) BURGENLAND EMIGRANT OBITUARIES (courtesy of Bob Strauch) |
1) THE PRESIDENT'S CORNER (by Tom Steichen)  I'm
finally less concerned about wearing a mask everywhere... though I do follow the rules in locations requiring them. Let's
hope that progress toward normality continues!This month's bits and pieces (Article 1) contains a follow-up bit about Walter Dujmovits and the BG, a rather extensive follow-up on the "2021 Update" I did last month for the "Historical BB Newsletter Articles: Orphanage Near Kukmirn?" item, a report on solar-energy plans for Burgenland, a blurb about the release of the 1950 US Census being less than a year away, a bit about an EU Project on History of the Burgenland/Hungary Border and a monthly update on corona-virus happenings in Burgenland, plus our regular tidbit features, the monthly BB Facebook report, book sales, a recipe and a words-for-thought item. The remaining articles are our standard sections: A Historical BB Newsletter article, (no) Ethnic Events and Emigrant Obituaries.   Burgenländische
Gemeinschaft and Walter Dujmovits: Last month I passed along some words from Erwin Weinhofer, a Vice President of
the Burgenländische Gemeinschaft (BG), about Walter Dujmovits' situation. Since then, the latest edition of the BG
Newsletter arrived at my door and it contained three short items, all written by Walter, related to his status. I'll
provide my translations of those items below.Clearly, it is the end of a significant era in the history of Burgenland's outreach to us, its emigrant children. I thank Walter for being the chronicler of our history and the lead person in that outreach for so, so many years. We have been blessed by you, Walter!  Walter writes: FAREWELL Joe Baumann (New York) and I are the last to have been part of the Burgenländischen Gemeinschaft at its beginning in 1956. In March 1958 I joined the board, where I have been working for 63 years without interruption. It's been a lifetime. In 1985 I became President. It's been 36 years now. When I look back, a lot comes to mind: Nice and responsible work, touching human encounters, happy hours with compatriots in America and Heimat visitors at home. In my books and exhibitions and in the Emigration Museum, I have given the Burgenländers in America a monument to their homeland and willingness to help, and I have saved a lot from being forgotten. A new President will be elected at the upcoming General Assembly. I am 89 years old and will not be running again. Farewell also has something to do with sadness. But the gratitude is stronger. I thank God for my long life in which I could do a lot of good. I would like to thank my wife and two sons who have always supported me, thank all employees and my many friends at home and around the world. We have become a large community - a "Burgenländische Gemeinschaft" (= a Burgenland Community). May it continue to flourish and remain a bridge of the heart to all friends and compatriots. Walter Dujmovits Dear Compatriots! We will think about the past year for a long time. Corona pandemic has messed everything up. It was difficult to plan, events had to be postponed or canceled. So also for our picnic, which would have been held for the 60th time. Hopefully this will all be over soon. I went to the hospital several times because of a stupid fall in my own house. I have handed over the management of the BG to Vice President Edi Nicka. He has done a good job with his fellow board members in Güssing and should continue to do so. "Never change a winning team." It should be a harmonious transition. I'll be doing the newspaper for a while longer. There is no separate invitation to the General Assembly. Every member receives the newspaper with the official invitation. Members who are unsure whether the scheduled date will hold despite Corona should ask in the office shortly beforehand. With native greetings, Your Walter Dujmovits General Assembly The Burgenländische Gemeinschaft duly invites you to the General Assembly with the election of new officials for the period 2021-2023. It will take place on Friday, July 2nd, 2021 at 6:00 p.m. in the Moschendorf Wine Museum. Agenda: - President's report - Report of the Treasurer and the Auditor - Election of the President - Election of the Board of Directors - Election of the Auditor and the Court of Arbitration - Handling of proposals - Anything Requests for the General Assembly must be sent in writing to the President by June 2, 2021 (email: dr.dujmovits@gmx.at). Dr. Walter Dujmovits, President Orphanage Near Kukmirn? / 2021 Update, Part II: Last month I wrote a large update on an old article from 2011. This month, I want to provide a shorter follow-up, as I have learned more (although, by the time I got done, I see it wasn't that much shorter!). The original article and its update was about Emilie Illichmann, initially believed to be a foundling who ended up in foster care in Kukmirn. While I did not say it directly last month, I had already come to believe Emilie was not a foundling; rather, although she was born in the Vienna "birthing facility" associated with the foundling home, I believed she remained with her mother an  d
was raised by her or a family member. Since then, I have also come to believe that her presence in Kukmirn had nothing
to do with foster care. In this tidbit, I want to reiterate why I believe she was not a foundling, will present my
"evidence" against fostering, and then comment on a few related items.Not an orphan/foundling: We can dismiss the "foundling" theory quickly. The classic definition of a foundling is "an infant that has been abandoned by its parents and is discovered and cared for by others." We know that is not the case for Emilie as her birth record exists showing when she was born and baptized, who her mother was, and what her real surname was. Clearly, she had not been abandoned and discovered, so she was not a foundling. The case against being an orphan is not quite as clear... but I still strongly lean that way.  Further research revealed
that, at that time, use of the Vienna "birthing facility" was available anonymously to single women of all classes,
regardless of whether they wished to give up their child. So orphanhood was not a obligatory outcome of being born in
the facility. Not only was the birthing facility available to single women of all classes, it was also possible for the
child to remain at the facility during its nursing period so the mother could work (she had the option to pay a fee and work
outside or to work at the lying-in home as a barter exchange; regardless, she came in to nurse her own child). Thus it is
well possible that Emilie lived for a period within the hospital orphanage environment, even though her mother had no
intention of giving her up. And last month I raised the issue of Zuständigkeit, noting that Emilie's birth record did
not provide any evidence of her place of belonging but also noting that the place was mentioned on her illegitimate
daughter's birth record, meaning Emilie knew this place. I argued she had to have remained in significant
contact with family into adulthood for her to have this knowledge; a true orphan would be unlikely to know this fact.
I realize that none of these arguments proves she was not an orphan... but I still think it is true.So let's move on to the issue of growing up as a foster child in Kukmirn, an issue for which I can present significant evidence that dismisses this idea. Before I do so, I must acknowledge two individuals who wrote to me after last month's "update" and provided useful information: Patrick Kovacs and Christian Ofenböck; thanks guys! The critical bit of information relative to fostering came from Christian, and that was that Emilie had an illegitimate child, Karoline, in Simmering (part of Vienna) in 1894, and that Karoline later died in Kukmirn, on 1 Apr 1896. Emilie is listed as a 20-year-old manual worker in Simmering on that birth record and mentions only her birthplace in Alservorstadt (rather than any residency in Kukmirn). In Kukmirn, per the death record of Karoline, she is a 22-year-old candle factory worker living at house 70. Age at apparent arrival in Kukmirn is not consistent with growing up as a foster child there (nor, actually, is her job). And it was obvious from the Simmering (Catholic!) birth record that Emilie was already on her own there, so the move to Kukmirn would again have nothing to do with being fostered. As for related items, first, Emilie has an illegitimate son, Franz, in 1899 in Kukmirn, where she is listed as an agricultural day-laborer in house 69. This son is later legitimized after Franz Ernst marries Emilie in 1904 and Franz legally recognizes his son. Of course, as reported in the previous update, illegitimate daughter, Therese, was born in 1901 at Kukmirn 45; Emilie is still an agricultural day-laborer and Franz Ernst is listed as the "natural" father. Three months after Emilie marries Franz in 1904, a legitimate son, Rudolf, is born at Limbach 52. I'll admit that learning that Emilie had four children before emigrating (not just the one Dan mentioned) was a great surprise to me! But that's where things remained until Franz Ernst (Sr.) dies in 1906 and Emilie and Therese emigrate to America. Now a reasonable question might be, "Why did Emilie take only Therese to America and not older brother Franz or younger brother Rudolf?" If anything, only the middle child (unless we consider gender) seems least appropriate to take along. Both boys later emigrate to America on their own but I still do not understand the rationale of Emilie taking one child with her... all or none seems much more logical to me. An odd thing (that I was aware of last month but chose not to report then) is that an "Emily Illichman" married Frank Hacker in Allentown in 1915. What are the odds of there being an Emilie Illichmann and an Emily Illichman marrying in Allentown eight years apart (the Illichmann/Schwartz marriage was in 1907), especially given the rarity of this Illichman(n) name? To take this oddity a step further, let me tell you some of the facts about Emily Illichman, as reported on her 1915 marriage record. First, she is 18, implying born 1896-1897, and listing Austria as place of birth (however, in the 1920 census she says she was born in Hungary). Second, her father is listed as Frank Illichman, deceased but born in Hungary, and third, her mother is listed as "Emily Illichman (Swartz)," with maiden name Emily Ernst, born in Austria. To me, this seems to be a probable mangling of reality! I'll start with her listed mother ...is "Emily Illichman (Swartz) neé Ernst" really Emilie Illichmann, then current wife of Joseph Schwartz and former wife of Franz Ernst? And if so, is the deceased "Frank Illichman" from Hungary really the deceased Franz Ernst from Hungary? By the way, do you remember Therese Ernst, legitimized daughter of Franz Ernst and Emilie Illichmann? She marries this same Frank Hacker in 1920, after Emily dies. Did "sisters" marry the same guy? But let's also take a look at the 1920 death certificate of the then Emily Hacker, first wife of Frank Hacker... it says she was born 23 Nov 1896 in Austria to parents Joseph Schwartz and Theresa (no maiden name shown), both of Austria. Is this Joseph Schwartz the same one who married Emilie Illichmann in 1907? So who is this Emily Hacker (if you'll let me use the only name I really trust for her!)? Christian Ofenböck (the guy who provided information about Karoline Illichmann) thinks she is another daughter of Emilie Illichmann. Remember, Karoline was born in Simmering in 1894 to Emilie and died in Kukmirn on 1 Apr 1896. Then brother Franz was born in Kukmirn in 1899. So there is "room" time-wise for an Emily to be born to Emilie in November of 1896 and, if so, in Hungary. But both Christian and I have searched the Kukmirn birth records for an Emily born to Emilie in this time period and did not find a record that could be hers (in fact, we found no Emily that was a possibility at all!). In addition, I searched the birth records of Simmering (and surrounding parishes) for the birth of an Emily Illichmann and failed again. Given this, I am convinced she is not a daughter of Emilie Illichmann. Could she be a daughter of Franz Ernst (and stepdaughter to Emilie)? I'm not sure... Patrick Kovacs has documented Franz Ernst in his geni.com tree and has him married to Theresia Nikitscher in 1892 and having children in Neustift bei Güssing with her in 1892 and 1898 (keep in mind that a Theresa was listed on Emily's death certificate as her mother!). However, Patrick does not document an Emily as daughter of Frank and a recheck of the birth records for Neustift does not reveal an Emily born there at or around November 1896. Nonetheless, Franz' last "known" child with first wife Theresia was born just 8 months before Franz (Jr.) was born illegitimate to Emilie in 1899, so it is quite possible that Franz Sr. was not a faithful husband (although I cannot find the death record of Theresia, his first wife). But to add confusion to this, the child born in 1898 to "wife" Theresia Nikitscher was listed as illegitimate with a note saying Franz Ernst was the "legal" father ...but not being explicit on whether he was the "natural" father!). So what about Joseph Schwartz? Is he her father (as stated on her death certificate... and again making Emilie her stepmother, not mother, as the mother is listed as Theresa)? The 1910 census says Joseph emigrated to America in 1902 and his marriage record indicated he was born in Eisenburg, Hungary. Surprisingly (or not?), the only Joseph Schwartz I could find emigrating in 1902 and coming from Vas (= Eisenburg), Hungary, listed Kukmirn as his prior residence! ...but we have already shown that no Emily was born there. Further, listing Kukmirn as prior residence is not the same as saying he was born there and, in fact, a search for his birth in those records fails to find him. But, it might explain why Emilie Illichmann later married him! However, there is a 29 Mar 1910 manifest wherein an Emi Schwarz, female, age 11, appears. She is joining father Jos Schwartz in West Coplay, PA, and is listed as born in and traveling from Kukmervas, Hungary (almost certainly a 'typo' of Kukmer, Vas, Hungary). She lists grandmother Anna Ernst in Kukmer 8 as old-country contact (Ernst? the mother of the deceased Franz Ernst was Anna Graf!). In the 1910 census (dated May 3), the family of Joseph Schwartz and Emilie Illichmann (though her given name is shown as Amelia) is listed as living in Coplay (at a west-side address) and it includes a daughter Amelia Schwartz, age 16, and she has 1910 listed as her year of immigration. Note that Joseph's mother was listed as Anna Schwartz in the wedding record of Joseph and Emilie. Although there are inconsistencies in the above, it seems more likely than any other scenario that Emily Hacker really was the daughter of Joseph Schwartz and the partially identified Theresa (but you'll agree, I'm sure, that nothing is near being proven!). At this point, I'm going to let the Illichmann story rest... unless one of you readers can set me on another trail worth investigating! But I do want to mention one other interesting thing... remember from last month that word that was scratched out and another word written in on the birth record for Therese Ernst? The printed word was törvenyes (= legal) and the written-in word was természetes (= natural), as in the natural (biological) father of the child. I noted that I had never seen this before. Well, BB member Cathy Stallone, after reading last month's article, wrote to say, "Have to smile at the new word you added to your Hungarian vocabulary. I also added "természetes" this past month, although I was able to easily decipher the handwriting and use Google to translate it." In addition to Cathy's message, Patrick Kovacs sent me a new transcription and he noted that törvenyes was scratched out twice in the images of that record set. When it rains it pours! Along with this, Richard Potetz wrote and noted he had once seen a similar thing in church records: a father's name listed on a baptism record when the child was clearly marked illegitimate. I had occasionally seen this too; it was the civil record occurrence that was new to me. Lastly, I'll note that I received a fair number of positive comments about last month's "update" ...those are always appreciated! More Solar Panels in Burgenland: Burgenland has committed to increasing 10-fold their generation of electricity from solar panels (or photovoltaics as they say there). That decision is sparking pushback from, of all places, the Green party. The government says their long-term intent is that electricity for Burgenland will primarily be solar generated so they can attain climate neutrality by 2040, as envisioned in their climate strategy, “Mission 2030.”  Energie Burgenland, the
government and private industry co-owned corporation in charge of wind and solar power in Burgenland, says that it will
require generation of 2,000 megawatts via solar power to achieve that goal. Where the rub comes concerning Green
party opposition is that the corporation says that only 250 megawatts can be generated via roof-mounted photovoltaic
systems, the rest must come from solar farms on the ground. Further, they argue that a photovoltaic system on a roof costs
twice as much as a system on an open area. The Greens, however, still oppose installations on fields and meadows,
preferring such on roofs, parking lots and noise barriers, an approach some call the "umbrella" method. While it was not discussed in any news release I saw, I suspect that building solar arrays on noise barriers will subject them to significant truck and auto pollution, increasing the maintenance costs significantly. Likewise, building an "umbrella" system over a parking lot must entail first creating an elevated structure to hold the solar array, another costly endeavor. What was mentioned was that linear installation on noise barriers would cause "current dissipation" to be factor. I suspect that means that long-distance, comparatively low-voltage transfer to a battery storage or voltage step-up station would lead to more energy loss than if the same panels were configured in a compact array near the energy storage, processing or grid-connection facility. Regardless, Stephan Sharma, Director of Energie Burgenland, says there is no way around photovoltaic systems in open spaces... but "systems are also planned on roofs. We will use all roofs and start an offensive at the end of the week.” To meet the 2,000 megawatt goal would require systems on 1,440 hectares (~5.4 square miles), according to the state (1,300 hectares being in solar farms). That 1,440 total corresponds to 0.4 percent of Burgenland's land area. So far, 19 tracts for solar farms, all currently under further investigation, have been identified in the communities of Kittsee, Parma, Nickelsdorf, Mönchhof, Halbturn, Tadten, Wallern, Donnerskirchen, Wimpassing, Hornstein, Trausdorf, Schattendorf, Deutschkreutz, Rotenturm, Jabing, Tobaj and Güssing. While it is not yet clear exactly where the projects will be located, it should be noted that many of these communities also host wind-power installations, suggesting that access to their existing grid connections might be a consideration. The Greens have also accused Governor Doskozil (SPÖ) and Director Sharma of having “megalomaniac plans.” Likewise the People's Party (ÖVP) have demanded that arable land be reserved for food production. "We are clearly against the fact that the SPÖ is going ahead and primarily paving hundreds of hectares of valuable arable land," said ÖVP energy spokesman Walter Temmel.  1950 Census—Release Less
Than A Year Away: The National Archives releases a census to the public exactly 72 years after the "official"
date of the census. As that was April 1st for the 1950 census, it will be become available to the public on the same date in
2022. But what does that mean for access by us "regular" folk?In 2012 for the 1940 census, the National Archives immediately provided digital images of the census to FamilySearch, who quickly uploaded those digital images to their website. Within a few days after release, those who had a FamilySearch account could view the digital images. However, the records were not yet indexed, so all early searches had to be page-by-page. But FamilySearch immediately implemented a project to index the 1940 census with a goal to have it done in 6 months. With the exception of the Puerto Rico portion, the index was completed in just 4 months. So how long will the 1950 census index take? That will depend, of course, on how many volunteers commit time to the effort and on the number of records to be indexed. The 1940 census enumerated just over 132 million individuals, whereas the 1950 census includes a US population of just over 150 million. So, if volunteers perform at the same rate as 10 years ago, the task should still be done under 5 months. There will be calls for volunteers... answer that call if you can! EU Project on History of the Burgenland/Hungary Border: A three-year EU-funded Interreg project titled Border(Hi)Stories {Border Stories / Border Histories} has been established to create a shared digital archive concerning the history of the border region between Burgenland and Hungary. The intent is that the archive and its findings should support and flow into school lessons on both sides of the border. As we know, history has been written along this border several times,  what
with the founding of Burgenland in 1921, the Hungarian uprising in 1956 and the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989. However,
opinions about these events have sometimes differed greatly between Burgenland and Hungary. The aim of the three-year
project is to gather materials about this common history and the contradictory views about it. The digital archive is
intended to hold documents, specialist literature and images of significant places and events in an accessible, retrievable
place.Schools in Burgenland and Hungary are already involved in the project, for example, schoolchildren looked for local places of remembrance using old black and white photos. Similar projects are also being implemented in Hungarian schools. There will also be joint training courses for the teaching staffs, a traveling exhibition and a whole series of historical lectures.  Corona
Virus in Burgenland: The early Corona news in Burgenland this past month was that the seven-day incidence of the
virus continued to decline slightly and the vaccination rate continued to rise. By May 12th, 93,039 Burgenländers had been
vaccinated against the coronavirus, which was 35.4 percent of eligible citizens and the highest rate in all of the Austrian
federal states. Comparatively, a little more than a million people had been vaccinated against the coronavirus across
Austria. Currently, Burgenland is the only federal state showing "Orange" on the coronavirus "traffic light" (the others are
"Red"). In a bit of negative news, the Neudorf bei Parndorf elementary school was closed due to detection of seven coronavirus cases and was scheduled to remain in distance learning until May 24th. In the political arena, the ruling SPÖ party announced a €600 million stimulation package for the Burgenland economy and labor market that was immediately criticized by the minority ÖVP and FPÖ parties. The package enumerated 56 specific measures, ranging from investments in the health and care sector, through infrastructure measures in the communities, to new support campaigns for individual and small businesses. Some of the measures had already been budgeted but there will be new debt of around €100 million. Burgenland Chamber of Labor President Gerhard Michalitsch welcomed the package for growth and employment, saying "This is the right way to secure jobs, to bring people back into employment in the long term and to strengthen Burgenland's economy." The part I found interesting was that Governor Hans Peter Doskozil stated that they no longer want to rely on workers from abroad, especially in the health care sector. The goal is to become self-sufficient, so a new training campus for nursing professions and a qualification offensive are planned. Likewise, the domestic tourism industry is lacking enough well-qualified tourism staff, so there will be state assistance for troubled tourism businesses.  The
Facebook Bunch (from Vanessa Sandhu):Greetings Burgenland Bunch! I hope that you are all doing well! Here is your monthly Facebook update! We now have 1648 members, an increase of 20 since last month. Please consider joining if you haven’t done so! We would love to have you! facebook.com/groups/TheBurgenlandBunchOFFICIAL It has been a bit quieter than usual this month, but there are still quite a few great things to share! For your viewing pleasure, check out this short film featuring the wines of Burgenland. The scenery is breathtaking, and I promise you that it is going to make you want to book a trip there soon! youtu.be/MMyfK6VLiHQ We are proud to present our own Alex Meixner, sharing his lovely rendition of “Die schöne Burgenländerin”. Alex’s Meixner family hails from Eisenberg an der Pinka. You can learn more about Alex and his family’s musical dynasty at alexmeixner.com/. Here is the link to this beautiful song: youtu.be/xZLf5a3k9ew Staff member Patrick Kovacs shared a simplified birth index for Großpetersdorf (including Kleinpetersdorf and Miedlingsdorf) 1895-1920. Patrick continues to work on his Burgenland Emigrants project on Geni. He stated “In addition, I want to push the Emigrants project on Geni over 2,000 profiles this year, so I've started to add the emigrants from Kleinpetersdorf according to the BH&R.” geni.com/projects/Emigrants-from-Burgenland the-burgenland-bunch.org/BH&R Member Adam Jakab let us know that matriken.at just uploaded a lot of records for Nikitsch/Füles: Deaths 1789-1950, Births 1789-1856, Marriages 1789-1856 and Mixed 1715-1746. It includes some material for Kroatisch Minihof/Malomház/Mjenovo also. Member Janet Kroboth-Weber shared a great blog post about the amazing WW-II rescue of Austria’s famous Lipizzaner horses. The blog is not shareable outside of Facebook, but for anyone wishing to learn more, I highly recommend the book, The Perfect Horse, by Elizabeth Letts. CONNECTIONS: Member Sandy Richter writes: “Searching for my grandparents' family. My grandmother was Rosa Halvachs, born 1890, siblings were Terez and Karoly, parents were Vintze and Anna (Gruber) Halvachs. They were born in Köszeg, Hungary. My grandfather was Frank Schutzenhofer, born 1885 to Frank and Theresa (Pfershy) Schutzenhofer from Grafenschachen, Austria. Any help would be appreciated.” If you would like to contact Sandy, please let me know! I’d be happy to put you in touch with her! My email address is HooftyRN@msn.com. I hope that you and your families are doing well! Until next time - be well! 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 1597 copies, as interested people purchased 5 more books during this past month. As always, the book remains available for online purchase at a list price of $7.41 (which is the production charge for the book, as we purposely choose not to make a profit so we can avoid dealing with the income tax consequences and 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 and for information about current discounts (there is at least one discount on price or shipping available most of the time... if not, wait a few days and there will be one!). Getting the book and reading it is an excellent way to pass the time during the coronavirus-imposed "house arrest." Burgenland Recipes: This recipe is from Erick Griffin, which he found in his grandmother's recipe book. Maria (née Schwartz) Gaschel was from Nemétsaroslak (Moschendorf) and cooked a lot of the traditional recipes. Here is one that she had published in the Hudson Register-Star. His grandparents always called it Zuitzi, but when it was published the newspaper named it "Hungarian Pork Chop Casserole." Whether or not that's an accurate translation doesn't matter; what matters is the taste! 
Hungarian Pork Chop Casserole (Zuitzi) (from Erick Griffin) Ingredients: 2 large potatoes 2 large tomatoes or whole canned tomatoes 1 green pepper 1 large onion 1/4 lb butter 6 pork chops, with bone 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp paprika 1 lb rice ground pepper to taste 1 clove chopped garlic 2 tbsp chopped parsley water Preparation: Slice two large potatoes, two large tomatoes, one large pepper and one large onion, nice and thin. You can substitute whole canned tomatoes. In a skillet or frying pan, melt the butter. Add sliced onion and cook until light brown or straw color. Remove the onions and set them aside, then brown 6 pork chops in this same skillet. In the bottom of a large (4 qt) casserole dish, place the cooked onion. Add the potatoes over the onion layer, sprinkle with salt and paprika. Add the tomatoes in a layer, sprinkle with salt and paprika. Add the rice in a layer (about one pound), sprinkle with salt and paprika. Add the peppers in a layer, sprinkle with salt well. Add pork chops on top of peppers, salt and pepper well, sprinkle top with the chopped garlic and parsley. Add enough water to reach the peppers. Bake for 2 hours at 350°F (moderate oven), add water if necessary and cook until done. Turn out on plate or serving dish and serve. Evaluation: Delicious  Note:
We have updated the recipes sortable list with 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, we have now used up most of our unpublished recipes... thus this recipe section will become dormant when we run out. 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! Cartoon of the Month:  |
2) HISTORICAL BB NEWSLETTER ARTICLES Editor: This is part of our series designed to recycle interesting articles from the BB Newsletters of past years. The entry below is the first part of an article from 10 years ago, an article that is somewhat long but worth reading again in this 100th Anniversary Year for Burgenland. It was written by then staff member, Matt Boisen and talks about the years just prior to the formation of Burgenland. Given its length, I've chosen to do as I did a few months back for a similarly long article: I include below only the "set up" from the article, the part that lays out the issues. For the rest of the article, I include a link back to the originating newsletter... as I said two months ago, you can read it there as easily as here! THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS No. 210 May 30, 2011 THE CREATION OF THE BURGENLAND (by Matt Boisen) 1919: Europe lay prostrate, millions were dead, famine stalked the survivors and disease spread worldwide. Three great European empires, Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia, lay in ruins. In Paris, the Peace Conference of 1919 had become the seat of a virtual world government, as delegates from over 30 countries met and discussed the outcome of the Great War. One of the main points of the conference was to assign blame for the war. The Great Powers (the United States, Great Britain and France) formally affirmed, “the responsibility of Germany and her Allies for causing all the loss and damage to which the Allied and Associated Governments and their nationals have been subjected as a consequence of the war imposed upon them by the aggression of Germany and her allies." (Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles) To understand the formation of Burgenland, one has to consider the maelstrom of events that occurred between 1918 and 1921. Starting in 1917, newly crowned Austrian Emperor Karl I (also titled as Karl IV, Apostolic King of Hungary) made several peace overtures to the Allies but was rebuffed, especially by the Italians, who had much to gain from a complete defeat of Austria-Hungary. Even before the Armistice, Hungary had separated from Austria during the so-called “Aster Revolution” of October 1918. In November 1918, Emperor Karl I stepped down from the Hapsburg throne and went into exile in Switzerland but, technically, did not abdicate as King of Hungary. At this time, ownership of the area known as German West Hungary was in dispute. As early as 1907, the Hungarian German People’s Party, led by Karl Wollinger, promoted rights for Germans in West Hungary, with an aim toward greater autonomy. After the Armistice, Sopron resident and Austrian nationalist Odo Rötig christened the area as “Vierburgenland” because the area consisted of the four counties known in German as Pressburg (Poszony), Wieselburg (Moson), Ödenburg (Sopron) and Eisenburg (Vas). In December 1918, less than a month after the Armistice, Wollinger brought together several villages in the lower Lafnitz and Raba valleys, which became known as the “Forty Gemeinden of Szent Gotthárd.” He demanded “for the Germans of West Hungary the rights of self-determination and asked the Austrian Government to intercede, with all its means, at the peace negotiations in Paris, to have German West Hungary separated from Hungary and joined to German Austria” (Borderland: A Historical and Geographical Study of Burgenland, Austria. Andrew Burghardt, University of Wisconsin Press, 1963, pp. 170-1). However... End of excerpt, go here for the full article: Newsletter210.htm#02 |
4) ETHNIC EVENTS (none! ...blame the virus!) LEHIGH VALLEY, PA (none) NEW BRITAIN, CT (none) ST. LOUIS, MO (none) UPPER MIDWEST (none) |
5) BURGENLAND EMIGRANT OBITUARIES Felix Jurasits  Felix Jurasits, 84 of Northampton,
Pennsylvania, passed away peacefully on Friday, April 30, 2021 in his home surrounded by his loving family. Felix and his
wife, Florence (Tanzosh) celebrated 59 years of marriage together.Born on March 6, 1937 in Szentpéterfa (Petrovo Selo/Prostrum), Hungary, he was a son of the late Felix and Maria (Janny) Jurasits. He escaped Hungary in 1955, spent a year in Austria and entered the United States in September 1956. He was employed at Fuller Company for ten years then at Ingersoll Rand of Allentown as a machinist until his retirement. He was a member of Queenship of Mary Catholic Church in Northampton where he served as a choir member for many years. He was also a member of the Ss. Peter and Paul Hungarian Society. Felix enjoyed horse racing, bowling and had a passion for singing - his friends called him the "Velvet Hungarian". Survivors: In addition to his wife, Felix is survived by his son Michael, at home; daughters Marianne Grabarits and husband Michael, of Walnutport; Monica Weninger and husband Mark, of Warrington; sister Kathy Lukacs of Hungary; grandchildren, Sarah Bachman, Chelsey Henson and husband Josh, and Rachel Weninger; great-grandchildren, Khale, Konnor, Breanna, Kayden, Riley; step-grandchildren, Kristi and Sabrina Grabarits; brother-in-law Paul Tanzosh, and several nieces and nephews. A sister, Gizella Varga of Hungary, preceded Felix in death. Services: A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Friday, May 7th at 10:30 a.m. in the church, 1324 Newport Ave., Northampton. Family and friends may call on Thursday evening, from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. in the Reichel Funeral Home, 326 E. 21st St., Northampton. Interment will be in Our Lady of Hungary Cemetery, Northampton. Those in attendance will kindly be requested to practice social distancing and wear a face cover. Online condolences may be offered at www.reichelfuneralhome.com. Memorials: In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the church or Lehigh Valley Hospice, 2024 Lehigh Street, Suite100, Allentown PA, 18103, in loving memory of Felix. Published in Morning Call on May 3, 2021 Josef Jandrisits Passed away peacefully at Centennial
Place Long Term Care Home in Millbrook, Ontario, Canada, on Tuesday, April 27, 2021 in his 88th year.A native of Tudersdorf, Austria, Joe was the beloved husband of Hermine Jandrisits for 62 years. He is survived by his brother John (Barbara) and sister-in-law Gertrude Jandrisits. He will be missed by many nieces, nephews and cousins. Joe was a skilled mason and ended his career as the Chief Building Official for The Corporation of the Township of Cavan. He will be fondly remembered by his family and friends for his love and devotion to his wife Hermine, his love of gardening, living in the countryside and his love of his homeland, Austria. A special thanks to the staff at Centennial Place Long Term Care for their support and care to Josef during his short stay at their home. Due to COVID restrictions, a private family service and internment was held. As an expression of sympathy, the family would appreciate donations to the Alzheimer's Society of Canada. Arrangements entrusted to the Fallis & Shields Funeral Home, Millbrook (705-932-5300). Donations or condolences may be made at www.fallis-shields.com Published in Kawartha Region News on May 3, 2021 |
| END OF NEWSLETTER (Even good things must end!) |
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