The well-known music researcher, Robert Rohr, died
on January 10, 2008. He was 85 years old. Robert
Nikolaus Rohr was born on August 4, 1922 in
Werschetz. After completing elementary school, he
graduated from the State Secondary School in
Werschetz. He then attended the private German
Teachers College in Neu-Werbass and Werschetz, and
passed his first-level teaching examination in
September 1941. He was teaching sports and biology
in Werschetz and Weisskirchen until May 1942, when
he was drafted into military service. He served
first in the Seventh Mountain Division (7.
Gebirgsjägerdivision) & later in the Eleventh
Mechanized Infantry Division (11.
Panzergrenadierdivision). On April 29, 1945, he was
severely wounded in the battle for Berlin, and ended
up in the emergency hospital of Ketzen on the Havel
and in the County Hospital of Nauen, which was under
Soviet administration. From July 1945 to May 1946,
he was in the KLV Lager (students and teachers from
the Banat) in Windbergand Mittenfels (Lower
Bavaria). During this time he had to undergo two
more operations as a consequence of his war wounds.
Subsequently he worked as an unskilled labourer and
shoemaker, until he found work again as teacher in
various schools in Bavaria; he finally found a
permanent position in 1955. In 1959 he qualified as
a government-certified teacher of stenography and
took a course in health science for the preparation
of auxiliary teachers. Until 1984 he worked as
Superintendent of Special Schools for
Learning-Challenged Children in Munich. He enjoyed
his work as a teacher, and he wrote the book Lega
und Steni, in which he proposed an instruction
system for the prevention and avoidance of
weaknesses in spelling.
He was not only fully dedicated to his profession;
he also dedicated himself to the concerns of his
fellow Banaters and Danube Swabians. Since 1955 he
advised them in jurical questions regarding pension
law, and in 1959 he started his research on their
music. He participated in and often initiated the
establishment of many subsections of the
Landsmannschaft der Donauschwaben in Munich. On
January 3, 1963, he married Margarethe Weilinger,
who also came from Weißkirchen.
From 1960 to 1963 he self-produced six records, and
on February 28, 1964, he founded the
Donauschwäbische Blaskapelle München, later renamed
Original Donauschwaben. By founding this brass band,
he ensured the revival of the Danube-Swabian music
in Germany and the old tradition was continued. He
was also the first Danube-Swabian author of texts
for songs performed with brass band accompaniment.
The many songs he penned will remain unforgettable
for many of us. Remember Rosen der Liebe and Bei den
Donauschwaben, to name just two. Altogether he
produced with the Original Donauschwaben three
singles, 15 LPs, and three EPs, which brought back
a little bit of Heimat to many Danube Swabians; they
are listened to even today. There are numerous
publications by Robert Rohr, both as teacher, and as
musical chronicler of the Landsmannschaft der
Donauschwaben. He took part in many radio and TV
interviews and published more than 250 publications
on the history of Danube-Swabian music. He published
the book Bayern und seine Schwaben (Bavaria and its
Swabians) in 1991 and Die Donauschwaben in
Baden-Württemberg (The Danube- Swabians in
Baden-Württemberg) in 2004. For an exhibition he
organized on the subject of the Danube-Swabian boys’
bands, he published the companion book Die
Knabenkapellen der Donauschwaben (The Boys’ Bands of
the Danube Swabians). As another one of his hobbies,
he wrote poems and stories, and published them in
2002 under the title Spätlese (Late Harvest) and in
2005 as a book entitled Besinnliche Stunden (Hours
of Reflection). His songs for brass band were
published in 2002 under the title Rosen der Liebe
(Roses of Love).. Not to be ignored are his three
volumes Unser klingendes Erbe (Our Sounding
Inheritance) an impressive documentation of the
Danube-Swabian cultural heritage from its beginnings
to the present. This work can rightly be considered
as his masterpiece and will inform many future
generations about the culture of the Danube
Swabians. For many years, Robert Rohr maintained
connections with various scientific institutions in
Germany and throughout the world, such as the German
Archives of Popular Songs in Freiburg. The three
volumes of this work are not only about music, but
also about theatre, opera, choirs, actors, etc. in
the old homeland, so that the books will remain
perennial reference works for succeeding
generations.
It was upon his intiative that at the 1200-year
celebration of the city of Neckarelz, a street was
named for our homeland composer Silvester Herzog.
Robert Rohr was particularly pleased when the
Freundeskreis Donauschwäbische Blasmusik reported to
him last year that that the city of Budaörs was
honoring Silvester Herzog by a commemoration, an
exhibition, and the publication of some of his
music.
After it had become quiet around Danube-Swabian
brass music and Mathias Loske and I were attempting
its revival, we met with Robert Rohr and Heinrich
Klein in Munich on April 18, 1998. It was decided to
bring out a double CD with an accompanying booklet
with the title Historic Recordings of Danube-Swabian
Brass Music. The publisher was Robert Rohr. On that
day, the Freundeskreis Donauschwäbische Blasmusik
(Friends of Danube-Swabian Brass Music) was created
on the initiative of Robert Rohr, and today has a
membership of 14 brass bands. In 2000 Rohr published
the CD Unsere Liede (Our Songs) with songs by the
Donau-Duo. In 2001 he published another CD with a
brochure entitled Späte Ernte, which contained a
poem by Robert Rohr, put to music by Adam Scherer
and sung by the Donau-Duo.
Many honors and decorations were bestowed on Robert
Rohr for his work. In 1961 he received the
Certificate and Golden Pin of the Association of
Yugoslavia Germans (Bavarian Region); in 1974 the
Certificate and Golden Pin of the Association of
Danube Swabians (Federal Association); in 1987 the
Medal of Honor of the Danube-Swabian Kulturpreis
1986 of Baden-Württemberg; 1989 the Merit Badge in
Silver of the Association of Danube Swabians
(Bavaria Association); in 1992 the Gold Medal of the
Association of Danube Swabians (Bavaria
Association); in 1993 an appreciation of his merits
as honorary language teacher in the continuing
education of teachers in Hungary; in 1995 the prize
for Culture of the Cultural Community of all Danube
Swabians in Traun (Lower Austria) and the
Hungary-German prize for Culture of the
Hungary-German Culture and Social Association; in
1999 the Honorary Certificate and Prinz-Eugene-Medal
in Gold on the occasion of the 50-year anniversary
of the Association of Danube Swabians (Bavarian
Region); and in 2004 the Golden Merit Medal of the
Association of Banat Swabians. Last year he received
the Josef Gungl award from the Country Council of
Hungary-German Choirs, Bands, and Dance Groups for
his activities and his life work of research into
Danube-Swabian brass music.
Just a few days before his death, he sought to
establish contacts with the Country Forum of the
Hungary-Germans. That this contact has been
successfully established and a cooperation has been
contemplated— I was no longer able to tell him.
Robert Rohr always felt good at the meetings of the
Freundeskreis, and never shied away from undertaking
the long trip from Munich with Heinrich Klein. He
left his entire collection of musical notes to the
Freundeskreis, after we secured a home for the
collection at the Banat Culture and Documentation
Center in Ulm, and the Association of Banat Swabians
accepted the patronate over the archives. In the
company of Robert Rohr we always felt happy, and
many times he found a joke or a story to cheer up
the participants, after the work was done.
His
knowledge and advice were always in demand. For as
long as I have known him, I have found him helpful
and charming, and many times, in his friendly
manner, he found a solution to the association’s
problems. Personally, I will miss his knowledge and
advice very much, as will many other countrymen, who
always counted on him to answer their questions. He
leaves behind a gaping hole that is unlikely to ever
be filled. He will live on in our hearts, and the
Freundeskreis will endeavor to carry on his work.
Translated by N.
Tullius 2008/03/25
[Published at DVHH.org 26 Apr 2008]
Rohr,
Robert 
