Introducing . . . Hans Martini
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Many
of
you
may
not
know
Hans
Martini
who
is
on
our
DVHH
Board
of
Directors
since
he
is
quietly
in
the
background
but
doing
good
things
for
the
Donauschwaben.
He
is
very
important
to
us
as
well
as
to
the
Trenton,
New
Jersey
Donauschwaben
Organization
known
as
Vereinigung
der
Donauschwaben,
Ortsgruppe
Trenton.
He
serves
as
the
secretary
of
this
very
active
group.
You
can
see
more
about
the
organization
at
www.dvhh.org/membership/affiliate/trenton/index.htm.
Hans
was
a
new
element
to
me
and
I
looked
forward
to
making
his
acquaintance
since
I
had
heard
so
many
good
things
about
him.
I
was
not
disappointed
. .
. he
is
another
fine
example
of
the
good
qualities
those
of
Donauschwaben
descent
possess.
Here
then
is
your
new
friend
. .
.
Hans
Martini |
Hans, please
tell us a little
about yourself
such as where
you live, your
education, and
your family . .
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My wife, JoAnn, and I are the
parents of three wonderful young ladies,
Anna, Luisa and Christina. We have what is
known in German as a Dreimädelhaus!
We live in Hamilton, a suburb of historic
Trenton, New Jersey. My formal education
culminated in a baccalaureate degree from
Rutgers University where I majored in
European history and I obtained a teacher’s
certification in secondary education.
Despite this, I decided to follow my true
passion. Like my father and grandfathers
before me, I became a cabinet and furniture
maker.
Hans,
wife
JoAann,
mother
Eve
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Hans, I just went to your
site at
www.martiniswoodwork.com
and am so impressed with the quality and
beauty of your work! Along with this
amazing talent, do you have any hobbies?
History
remains an interest of mine. It is part of
the reason why I am involved in the Trenton
Donauschwaben. In fact my entire family is
active in every aspect of the organization.
I am pleased to serve the club as its
secretary. Beyond the usual secretarial
duties, I’m involved in prayer services at
the Donauschwaben Genocide Memorial,
contributing to our newsletter, and on
special events’ coordination. It’s been a
most rewarding and fulfilling experience. I
love it!
What got
you started in doing genealogical research?
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My
Donauschwaben roots are about five miles
from my house. They are my parents, both
native-born Donauschwaben who arrived in
this country in the 1950s. Theirs is a life
story worth telling and that’s exactly what
my father is doing these days. Please check
out the DVHH website for some of his more
interesting experiences (one can be found at
www.dvhh.org/history/ds_camps/haigermoos.htm).
Adam was born in Bukin (in the Batschka),
survived Tito’s death camps and eventually
ended up in Austria. My mom (Eva, yes that
makes it “Adam and Eve”
J)
has a story that is very similar. She was
born in Palanka (also in the Batschka),
survived the camps and ended up in Austria,
too. Both immigrated to the US before
meeting each other here in Trenton.
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My mother’s
parents lived here in Trenton until their
passing in the 1990s. Eva (nee Wagner from
Palanka) and Markus Mayer (from nearby
Obrowatz) gave me a great view of the lives
of the Donauschwaben. They lived here
in Trenton very much the same way they did
“back home” it seems. They interacted with
no one but other Donauschwaben and spoke
very little English. Indeed, I
benefited from the fact that they never
spoke English. If I wasn’t speaking German,
we weren’t speaking! We would make
sausages, wine and even slivovitz, in the
same manner as they did in their native
land. They would talk about the old
days, what they did, who they lived next to,
what they liked and didn’t. Looking
back, our great relationship was very much a
history lesson too!
Have you
had an opportunity to visit the village of
your ancestors?
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I did get to
visit my ancestral home(s) as a ten-year-old
back in 1973 with my parents, siblings, &
Martini grandmother. Palanka was already
being transformed into a more modern town at
that point, but Bukin was very much
unchanged. We approached my father’s house
in Bukin with disappointment, peering into
the windows, but seeing nothing. The place
was a mess, not having been maintained since
the Martini’s left in haste back in 1944 it
seemed. The experience was made all the
more difficult because a few youths had
gathered nearby, swearing and laughing while
pointing our way. They knew who we were and
just didn’t like it. |
Undaunted, my
father pressed on. We walked the streets of
that village saying Dobra Don (good
day I think) to everyone we met and many
folks responded in kind. It seemed he
wanted to make some kind of connection with
his hometown beyond the run-down house of
his birth and the jeering youths. Finally,
such an encounter came to pass in the form
of a Serbian watermelon merchant. This
grizzled and toothless soul rode around in a
horse-drawn cart full of the tasty fruit,
calling out to the townsfolk as he went.
Curious about us, he asked who we were. It
turned out, he knew my father’s father very
well! Out came the schlivovitz and a
reunion celebration of sorts commenced right
there in the middle of the unpaved streets
of Bukin! He even ignored repeated
attempts by townspeople to buy his product,
telling them to “go away, I’m busy.” He
cut up a number of his precious fruit for
our little group and would not accept a
single dinar in return. Although just ten
years old at time, it was an experience I
still remember quite well.
Who or what
has been most helpful in your research?
I have had two
wonderfully talented friends help me with
genealogical research. The first was a
native of Palanka named Peter Kiss. Peter
died back in the 1990s but not before doing
an enormous amount of family research using
a variety of non-computer- based methods.
Indeed, he became well known at the local
Mormon Family History Center, viewing
microfilm upon microfilm for this tid-bit or
that. In fact, when his ALS (Lou Gehrig’s
Disease) really took hold, the Mormon’s
brought the mircrofilm reading machine to
his house so he could continue his
research. I have to think he would have
loved the Internet in general and the DVHH
in particular.
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The other
gentleman is well known to the DVHH world.
Dennis Bauer ran into Peter Kiss while doing
his own family research, which is how I met
him. Dennis has been an immense help,
plotting the various branches of my family
like nobody’s business. He is a gifted and
generous Donauschwab! I confess that while
I’m very interested in my family tree, the
fact that I’ve had Peter and Dennis to lean
on has made me quite lazy when it comes to
genealogical research! I’ve kept my focus
on the “living history” side of things as my
involvement in the Trenton Donauschwaben
shows. |
I really
couldn’t be happier with the DVHH. It
really is a Godsend for the promotion and
perpetuation of our cultural heritage. With
so much talent and passion out there in the
cyber world, it really does appear the
Donauschwaben will continue to live on long
after the last native Schwob is gone.
As long as
people such as you are around, Hans, we’re
sure the “living history” will continue and
the Donauschwaben will continue to be known
and remembered.
I think you
will all agree that we are lucky to have
Hans not only serving on our Board but also
serving as a fine example of our ancestry.
I am pleased to have met him via this
interview . . . I hope it has been the same
experience for the rest of you.
For those
of you who live in New Jersey or close to
Yardville, here is information that might be
helpful:
Hans Martini, Club
Secretary
Vereinigung der Donauschwaben, Ortsgruppe
Trenton
127 Route 156
Yardville, NJ 08620
www.trentondonauschwaben.com |
