Selection from:

Heimatbuch eines deutschen Dorfes in Slawonien - Kroatien

By

Heinrich Heppenheimer

translated by Henry Fischer

(Translator’s Note:

As indicated in the title, I am providing selections from various chapters of the book that would be of interest to the general reader and do not include information that is available in other articles on the Hrastovac Site with regard to customs, traditions, dialect, daily life and the cultural issues of the German speaking settlements in Slavonia.  Nor do I include the extensive overview the author provides with regard to the migration of the forebears of the people of Klein Bastei from Hesse to Hungary and their settlement in Swabian Turkey in the eighteenth century, which is also addressed elsewhere.   I do, however, provide some of the author’s introductory material that might be helpful to the general reader unfamiliar with Eastern European history.)

  The name, “Bastaji” is a derivative of “bastion” meaning a bulwark or fortress, which became Bastei to the German-speaking inhabitants of the village and region.  It indicates that it comes from the time of the Turkish wars.  But like Daruvar, that is fourteen kilometers distant from Bastei, it was settled during the Roman occupation of the area.  The region was always rich in forests, well watered, with slightly rolling hills, which had been cultivated, even prior to the coming of the Romans.  Little is known of the people living there in the Middle Ages and all that preceded the year 1300 remains shrouded in darkness.  Then in 1550 the Turks broke into the area and they destroyed everything, either killing or enslaving the local populations that had not fled before them.

  The nobles by and large fled out of Turkish occupied territory.  Many Croatians fled to Burgenland, (a province of Austria) and were settled there in five communities.  From the captured territory of Hungary, the Turks launched attacks or attempted to invade Austria almost two hundred times in the years that followed.  They killed, maimed, violated and abused the local populations, drove off their livestock and burned their villages and took their young people to sell in the slave markets of Istanbul.

  For about one hundred and fifty years, the Turks occupied Slavonia and Syrmien.  In this period the economy of the region and the life of the surviving population changed drastically.  The number of villages and homesteads declined and the land reverted to wilderness.

  Following the liberation of Hungary from the Turks by the Hapsburg armies under the command of Prince Eugene of Savoy after the failed siege of Vienna in 1683, both Slavonia and Syrmien were securely held against any future incursions by the Turks by 1687.  But for over a century after the expulsion of the Turks from Slavonia it remained undisturbed and undeveloped.  The land north of the Sava River was part of the Military Frontier District that was ruled and governed from Vienna.  The land south of the Drava River, which included Croatia and Slavonia, was ruled by the Ban (Governor) in Agram (Zagreb).  The liberated lands were returned to the nobles and landed estate owners if they had deeds to prove their claim.  But because so many nobles had fled into exile and had no heirs, the Crown granted or sold estates to former military commanders, sometimes as back pay.  Most of them did not live on their recently acquired estates and showed little interest in them.

  With the Turkish threat eliminated, the Croatians agitated for the elimination of the Military Frontier District and incorporating it into Croatia and Slavonia.  The region was undeveloped and backward.  The representatives of the Croatian “parliament” knew that the tax income from the area was dependent upon building a strong economy, which meant the construction of a railway and highway network throughout the territory.  Even though the Croatian nationalists opposed the settlement of other nationalities or religious confessions in their midst they believed it was necessary to achieve their aims.  Their   primary interest was in securing German settlers to be an example and demonstrate better farming methods and industriousness to the existing local populations.

  The estate owners made a good living by selling lumber and timber.  Slavonian oak was world famous as an export.  But they did not deal with the issue of deforestation.  There were countless swamps that needed dams and canals for drainage in order to make use of the land.  There were also Croatian settlers who walked the land and were free of taxes, but when taxes were later imposed they left the area and took up tax-free land somewhere else.  One of the Croatian politicians complained about the poor work ethic of his fellow Croatians.  They saw work as something that had been forced upon them and not as necessary.  In 1848 most of them were still shepherds and cattle herders.

  It was only in the mid nineteenth century when Protestants were permitted to settle in Croatia – Slavonia.  According to the Constitution of 1850, religious freedom was granted in Austria and all persons were equal before the law.  Some parts of the Constitution were later reduced in 1851.  But, on September 1, 1859 a law was put into effect that Protestants could purchase houses and land, and the Croatian parliament protested to Vienna.  Earlier, the bishop of Djakovar had written a letter of complaint to the Emperor Franz Josef over the Compromise of 1868, which made Roman Catholics and Protestants equal before the law.

  This news hit the Lutheran and Reformed settlements in the Batschka, Banat, Syrmien and also on the estates in southern Hungary with a big bang.  The reason for their response was economic stagnation and need. Large families could not feed their children.  Land was not available and what land was available was too expensive.  The second son of a farmer who learned a trade and his son after him were unable to take over from their parents and found it difficult to marry and support a family.  They hoped that by selling their property they could buy more land in Slavonia.   They did not consider the difficulties that lay ahead of them.

  Most of the families arrived with horse and wagon.  Some found empty houses whose inhabitants had left for the cities.  They settled in numerous areas.  German minorities were swallowed up by assimilation, others were able to maintain their identity, and some formed the majority population in their village.  The settlers who come to Klein Bastei had their origins in Swabian Turkey in southwestern Hungary.  The vast majority of these families’ origins had been back in Hesse.  The dialect they spoke remained the eighteenth century Hessian of their ancestors, primarily from the southern region of Hesse.

Chapter Four

The German Settlement of Klein and Gross Bastei

  With regard to the arrival and settlement of the first Danube Swabian families in Klein- and Gross Bastei and Miletinac, we have really no factual history.  But upon the basis of the church records we can ascertain that the first children were born in 1891.  It is obvious that young families expecting a child remained behind in Hungary until after the birth of a child.

  One of these pioneers, Johann Brautigam who was born in Murga in the Tolna on 21.06.1871, later reflected, “The first Donauschwaben family here came from Koetcse in Somogy County in 1886 and they were the May family.  In 1887, four families came from Bikal, and year later; six more families came from Bikal and Nagy Hajmas in Baranya County.  In this way Klein- and Gross Bastei were eventually settled with ethnic Germans.  There were forty-two German and forty-two Serbian house numbers.”

  From the last Lutheran pastor of Bastei, Jakob Abrell we have this report:

                 “Danube Swabian settlers came around 1885 from Swabian Turkey, the villages of Bikal, Mekenyes, Csikotottos, Kaposszekcso, Barcs and others.  Most of them settled in Klein Bastei, while a few others moved into Gross Bastei.”

                   Klein Bastei and Gross Bastei had a population of 2,000 before World War II, of whom there were 300 to 350 Donauschwaben. The rest of the population was mixed, mostly Serbs, Croatians and some from Czechoslovakia and Hungary.  Almost all of the ethnic Germans lived in Klein Bastei. Gross Bastei was the seat of the local government, with a Post Office, an Orthodox Church, Roman Catholic chapel, the school, small shops and stores, the workplaces of Tradesmen, a dairy, blacksmith, lock maker, tailor and Shoemaker.”

  There is no evidence to indicate that this was part of a planned settlement program carried out by Count Jankovic and his successors the Tukory and Turkovic families to recruit Donauschwaben settlers.  A Yugoslavian source indicates, “The last arriving settlers in Bastaji were Czechoslovakians and ethnic Germans and were settled there by members of the Jankovic family.”

  The places of origin of our ancestors who settled in Bastei came from numerous regions of the area bordered by the Danube, Drava and Lake Balaton from so-called Swabian Turkey and the following villages:

  From Koetsce

  The May family.  This family was the first German family to settle in Klein Bastei on the basis of village lore.  This couple, Adam May and his wife Katharina nee Lohr, had a daughter born to them in Koetcse on 02.05.1885 and after her birth, and early in 1886 they came to Klein Bastei.

  From Bikal

  The large extended Keim and Frey families, three Knies families, the Frudinger, Schild, Schoenfeld Peter, Hansel and Sterner families.

 From Mekenyes

 The Kraehling and Waygand families.  The Kraehlings were the parents of Susanne Knies, in Mekenyes, “the corner field” Kraehlings as they were known.  The Hopp, Stieb, Tewich and Schmidt families.

  From Nagy Hajmas

  The Emrich, Leipold, Reiber and Sabo families.

  From Nagyag

  The Gruenwald, Ernst and Lehn families.

  From Csikostottos

The Schoenfeld Lorenz, Schoen Nikoluas, Meisinger and Wertz families.

  From Kaposszekcso

  The Hecker and Goldmann families.  It is possible that the Goldmanns had also lived in Gerenges before moving to Klein Bastei.

  From Tofu

  The Heppenheimer family came in 1873 from Sabadi to Tofu and around 1891 they came to Klein Bastei.

  From Barcs

  The Ritzl and Neuhardt families.

  From Nagyberki

  The Jakob Klein family from the lower village.

  From Somogydoroschke

  The Gaertner family.

  From Belac

  The Ernst family.  Their daughter married Stefan Partz.

  From Pasian by Gross Mlinska

  The Muth family.  They came from Csikotottos to Pasian.

  From Izmeny

  The Petermann and Zarth families.

  From Graboc

  The Semmelroth and Lamp Johann families.

  From Gadacs

  The Wajandt family and later the Knoch family by way of Miletinac.

  From Hrastovac

  The following settlers married wives from Hrastovac:  Georg Keim-Elisabeth Stark, Jakob Keim-Katharina Wagner, Johann Hecker-Katharina Bierer born 24.12.1885, Johann Hecker (second marriage)-Katharina Bierer 31.12.1890, Johann Schild-Elisabeth Just, Johann Knies-Anna Stark, Peter Schoenfeld-Barbara Dietz and Heinrich Frey-Christine Ochsenhofer.

(The author then quotes from the Hrastovac (Eichendorf) Heimatbuch with regards to its settlement as an example of the conditions the first settlers faced.)

 Chapter Six

The Relationships Between the Donauschwaben of Klein Bastei and Their Neighbours

(Portions Only)

  Gross Maslenjaca, which was located close by and was settled by Croatians after World War I.  The Ilova River was nearby and served as the border between Slavonia and Croatia.  North of Bastei was Miletinac and about fifteen German Lutheran families lived there, and most of them were part of the Lutheran congregation in Bastei.  Some of these families left before World War II and settled in Cacinci.  The overwhelming majority of the populations in the vicinity were Serbian.

  Relations between the Serbs and ethnic Germans were cordial, but never very close.  From the church records of Bastei it can be ascertained that many of the Lutheran children were baptized by the Orthodox priest during the time before a Lutheran pastor came to serve them and a congregation was officially formed.

  In World War I all of the men regardless of nationality served in the Austro-Hungarian Army.  There were heavy losses among all of the ethnic groups.  At the close of the war when young Slavs came home on leave, they did not return to their front line positions, but fled into the forests and formed groups for mutual protection and were called, “greens” and there were ethnic Germans among them.

  With the collapse of the Dual Monarchy of Austro-Hungary in 1918, the two general stores in Bastei, both owned and operated by Jews, Frank and Schoenauer were plundered and vandalized by a Slavic mob.  The local Donauschwaben and Hungarians were also   threatened, but as the new government of Yugoslavia took control of things, relationships returned to normal.  The young Donauschwaben men were drafted into the army but saw service only in Serbian Macedonia and never in Croatia, Slavonia or Slovenia.  Most of the men served on the rugged swampy border between Macedonia and Albania and many of them returned home suffering from malaria.  All of the minorities in the new Yugoslavian State met with discriminatory treatment in the military and in all walks of life and the rights of the minorities that had been promised in the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 were never put into effect.

Our school children had to attend the Public School in Gross Bastei and the language of instruction was Serbo-Croatian.  From 1932 to 1941 they had a German section in the school.  Relations with their Slavic neighbours was good until the breakout of World War II, when the Danube Swabian population found themselves caught between the Serbs and Croats in their fratricidal war.

Chapter Seven

The Beginnings of Economic Development

(Portions Only)

  Every beginning is difficult and that was surely the case for our Great Grandparents on their arrival in Bastei.  We have no records to indicate what the economic situation was like for them as they undertook the task of establishing themselves and providing for their families.  In most cases we know that the settlers only had enough money to pay for the land and house plot, while others also had sufficient funds to build a crude house.  But from what our Grandparents have told us, we do know that many of the younger generation, both men and women, left for America, Canada and Germany soon after the houses were built.  They went to earn money in order to later buy land in Bastei, or to pay off their family debts.  There were others who remained, and earned extra money by working on the estates of the Tukory family, on the railroads or the furniture and lumber industry.

Chapter Twelve

Church and School in Klein Bastei

  Of great importance to the development of the Lutheran Church in Slavonia were the work and activities of the British and Foreign Bible Society and the preachers from the Pilgrim Mission St. Chrischona, based in Switzerland.  This was especially true in the early years when the Lutheran Church of Hungary was unable to respond to the needs of the Protestants in Slavonia and Croatia after the Protestant Patent became law in 1859 which was another attempt at suppressing Protestantism in the Hapsburg Empire and halting any expansion.  There were not enough pastors to serve small and isolated groups in a very backward and primitive situation even if they had been permitted to do so because of the restrictions on theological education for both the Reformed and Lutherans.  As a result few Lutherans in Slavonia had pastors or schools for their children.

  The Mission in Switzerland, which was less rigid and much more flexible and was outside of governmental regulations was able to respond quickly to meet the needs of these forgotten Protestants.  In response to the appeals they received, The Mission sent preachers and teachers to serve in many of the settlements.  Often the function of the preacher and teacher were united in one person and called a Levite, as had been the case of our ancestors in Hungary during the Counter Reformation in Swabian Turkey.  In most cases the missionaries arrived as teachers and then became preachers of the congregations that were formed.  Some of them were later ordained.  Some of these men gave their lifetime to the service of The Mission.  Three of them, Adolf Locker, Jakob Keller and Carl Busse each served for fifty years.  These men were instrumental in the development of a confessional identity, the forming of congregations and filial, erecting “prayer” houses and schools and preaching and teaching in them.  These preacher-teachers were instrumental in the formation of the congregations and schools in Hrastovac, Zvonimirovac, Velimirovac, Darkovac, Sidski Banovci and Bastei.

  The pastors of the Mother Churches had a vast territory to serve in addition to the local congregation and community in which he lived.  The pastor at Vinkovacko Novo Selo served the Diaspora all along the Sava River.  Before Podravska Slatina became an independent congregation with twenty-eight filial and mission stations, the pastor in Esseg served the whole of Virovitica County.  No wonder the ministry of the Levites was so important to the survival and expansion of the Church.  Many of the filials would become Mother Churches in the future with their own resident pastor and a brood of filial and mission stations of their own.  In terms of the official Lutheran Church structures in Hungary that were sidelined from any involvement in these developments by the Protestant Patent, the most important step that was taken was the establishment of the Croatian Slavonian Evangelical Church District (Seniorat) of the Augsburg Confession in 1900.  Now the Church in Slavonia had an “official” structure.   The Lutherans had maintained their identity in a sea of Catholicism and a century of oppression.

  Through the Bible Society’s literature, the peoples’ faith was nurtured and strengthened.  Above all the scriptures and tracts were well received.  The “fellowship movement” had a great impact on the spiritual life of the congregations and it was a new expression of the old Pietistic “circle” that had been the sustaining force of Lutheranism in Swabian Turkey during the “times of trouble”.  As the Seniorat grew, expanded and deepened its place in the lives of its people in Slavonia they were now joined by Magyar (Hungarian) and Slovak fellow believers giving expression to Lutheranism’s “catholicity”.

  The development of the church and school in Bastei cannot be discussed separately.  From the time of settlement around 1888 the Lutheran children were baptized by the Orthodox priest, Panta Bikick until the arrival of the first pastor in 1908, Adam v. Mernyi when the prayer house and parsonage were dedicated.  Marriages were performed by the Lutheran pastor in Hrastovac.  The children went to school in Gross Bastei and were taught in Serbian.  Both the pastor in Hrastovac and the parents in their homes provided religious instruction, because the distance involved, was some thirty kilometers.

  Following World War I in around 1920-1922, Ferdinand Dully came as the pastor to Klein Bastei.  He had been the former director of the Lutheran orphanage Siloah in Neu Pasua.  During these difficult times there was often no pastor available in Klein Bastei and as a result chosen members of the congregation were called upon to conduct and preach at the worship services and at funerals.  There were several members who acted in this capacity but two in particular were held in great esteem by the congregation, Stefan Reiber who had been born in Tarros, Baranya in 21.11.1869 and his wife Katharina, nee Oberlaender.

  With Ferdinand Dully’s coming, the congregation not only had the benefit of a resident pastor but also a teacher, who also taught the children to read and write in German as well as provided for their religious instruction.  He left in 1932 to serve in Koenigsfeld in Bosnia.  Karl Mattermayer who had a special interest in the youth and provided outings for them succeeded him.  He and his wife took over the responsibility of directing the orphanage Siloah in Neu Pasua in 1935 and they would later be in charge of the evacuation of all of the children before the advancing Red Army and found safety in Eglofstal in Austria in 1944 and re-establish the orphanage there.

  On September 16, 1935 Jakob Abrell and his family came to Klein Bastei as the new pastor.  He was a conscientious pastor and formed a choir and spent much of his time with the youth of the congregation.  The so-called “Renewers” established a local branch in Klein Bastei and found in the pastor an active opponent.  He was concerned that the movement would distance the young people from the Church and must have sensed some ties with what was occurring in the Third Reich and the influence that might have on his people through this association.  The group later became The Swabian German Cultural Association, but that did not persuade the pastor any differently, causing a rift among the Donauschwaben community.  But when the time came later to defend themselves against the Communist Partisans on June 5, 1942 it was the pastor who stood first in the ranks against them, while many others who had spoken so bravely gave in to their fears.  After the attack, in which the prayer house and parsonage were destroyed, he took a leadership position with the Folk Group in Esseg.  He held this position until the evacuation of the city in November of 1944.  He took the church records to Esseg at the request of the Dean of the District shortly before the evacuation that he joined along with his family.

  The Lutheran congregation in Klein Bastei was organized in 1888.  But no records of the event exist.  But it appears that the pastor of Hrastovac and an official of the Church District were present.  It would take the congregation twenty years to build the prayer house and the parsonage.  Klein Bastei became a filial of Hrastovac but most of the children were still baptized by the local Orthodox priest and as indicated previously there were also a corps of “lay preachers” in the congregation when a pastor or teacher was not available.  This was especially true at funerals.

  The prayer house and parsonage were both built in 1908 and shortly after that Pastor Adam v. Mernyi arrived in Klein Bastei.  When speaking of him with older members of the congregation they always mentioned that he attempted as much as possible to teach the children the Hungarian language.  It is now not possible to determine exactly when he left his ministry in Klein Bastei.  But shortly after World War I, Pastor Ferdinand Dully came to us after serving at Siloah the Lutheran orphanage in Neu Pasua as mentioned previously.  This orphanage provided a residence for fourteen children, but on the night of October 28, 1919 a plundering horde of Slavs broke into the home and plundered it of everything of worth.  All that remained, we are told, was a wall banner with the words:  “Jesus lives!”  It would take until February 8, 1921 before the orphanage could be re-opened.  Probably during this time, Ferdinand Dully took over the pastorate in Klein Bastei.  During his ministry the church became the focal point of the spiritual and cultural life of the community.  During religious instruction we also learned to read and write in German.  He was also involved in the development of the Agricultural Co-operative and Credit Union and attended their meetings.

  From 1932 to 1935 the pastor in Klein Bastei was Karl Mittermayer and his successor was Jakob Abrell.  On the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the congregation in Klein Bastei a second and larger bell was installed.  And because of its size a tower had to be built to house it.  This was constructed under the direction and supervision of our village carpenter, Heinrich Muth without any difficulty.

  From September 16, 1935 until the Partisan attack and raid on Klein Bastei on June 5, 1942 Jakob Abrell was our pastor.  On the day of the raid, both the prayer house and the parsonage were burned to the ground.  In the last minute, he was able to save himself from the flames, and then he and his family left for Esseg, but he still continued to concern himself with his Partisan threatened congregation.

  On one occasion the pastor wrote:

          “Bastei counts a bit more than three hundred souls and was an independent congregation because it was too far away from any other pastoral station, and previously had only four annual pastoral visits.  There were two small groups served from Bastei in the vicinity.  Daruvar, which could be reached by train, had about twenty Lutherans, and Miletinac, which could be reached by a reasonable walk where there were about thirty believers.

  In both communities regular services were held six times a year, and religious education was provided for the children every two weeks. Following the attack on Klein Bastei on June 5, 1942, in which three men of my parish lost their lives, thirteen others were kidnapped and dragged off against their will by the Partisans  and were never seen or heard from again, the prayer house and the parsonage and all of their contents were destroyed in the fire and I was forced to leave Bastei.  I accepted a position with  the Folk Group leadership in Esseg because of the threat to most  of our congregations, especially the smaller ones.  I remained in this position until the beginning of November 1944 as the evacuation got underway.

          On May first and second of 1943, I was in Bastei and held a Service as well as baptized five children.  During my time in Esseg I assisted the Dean of the Church District in preaching, baptisms and funerals.”

  There is no record or information as to what became of the church records of Bastei given to the Dean at his request shortly before the evacuation.