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Neu-Pasua,
A Short Homeland
Book
By Mathias Huber
Translated by Henry Fischer,
Edited by Rose Vetter
Agriculture
The community was
without qualification a
farming village with 80%
of the population
engaged in agriculture.
This was carried out in
a very progressive
manner. As early as
1908 the first combine
harvesting machines made
in the United States of
America were introduced
locally. Up until the
Second World War the
grain crops were
harvested with this kind
of machinery. As a
result of the prevailing
and generally accepted
inheritance rights the
family acreage in almost
all cases was evenly
divided among all of the
male heirs. Because of
this practice no large
scale farms developed
but rather remained
mid-sized or small plots
of land. The major
crops were wheat and
maize in addition to
barley, oats, sugar
beets and other root
crops. In the last
years prior to the
Flight sunflowers were
grown as a source for
cooking oil. As an
example of the yields
that our fields produced
in terms of maize and
wheat we can share the
following: there was a
yield of about 400
wagonloads of maize and
250-300 wagonloads of
wheat. If we add the
yield of oats and barley
to meet the individual
farmers needs, the large
scale cattle rearing,
the feeding of swine for
slaughter and seeds for
the next year’s planting
the annual production
exceeded 1,000
wagonloads. The
vineyard annually
produced several
thousand Hekto liters of
good wines.
Crafts and Trade
The reputation of the
local tradesmen went far
beyond the borders of
our home community. In
many cases the Serbs in
the neighbouring
communities preferred
the services of our
tradesmen to their own.
Many tradesmen also had
some small landholdings.
The daily activities
and skills of the
tradesmen were as
follows: They spun,
sewed, knitted,
crocheted, baked,
slaughtered, wove
baskets, made brooms and
so on. Much of this
work was done in the
winter months when
fieldwork was at a
standstill. Thanks to
these trades our rather
unassuming but neat and
tidy farm clothing was
worn right up to the
Flight in our home
village.
The Co-operative
Society
The Society did not
exist until the mid
1920s. The Farmer’s
Assistance Association,
the so-called Agraria
was founded under the
chairmanship of Johann
Flohr in 1925.
Following the
establishment of this
institution the
co-operative was forced
to face very unstable
times for a few years
until after meeting a
major crisis it led to a
healthy agricultural
economy and general
prosperity for the
farmers. In the years
ahead the Farmer’s
Assistance Association
consisted of a
membership of over one
thousand villagers.
Credit was generously
extended to the members
that enabled them to
purchase additional
land.
A type of credit union
was a component of the
Farmer’s Assistance
Association that proved
itself of great value.
There was a hardly a
family or household that
was not part of it. The
Farmer’s Assistance
Association had its own
kiln to dry maize that
processed over one
hundred wagonloads from
autumn through the
winter. The existing
seed cleansing machinery
was used by the farmers
a great deal. Through
the efforts of the
Farmer’s Assistance
Association,
agricultural equipment
and machinery were
ordered and used, along
with other necessary
articles for farming and
vineyard production.
Outside of the scope of
the Farmer’s Assistance
Association there was a
livestock insurance
co-operative that
provided insurance on
cows, which was a major
concern of the farmers.
The risk of the loss of
beef cattle was not
considered as great.
The requirements for
this insurance and the
necessary regular
examinations of the
animals by veterinarians
resulted in a
tuberculosis-free herd
in the community.
People’s Savings Bank
The oldest financial
institution in Neu-Pasua
was the People’s Savings
Bank established in 1905
by our countryman Ludwig
Schumacher. With the
arrival of the Farmer’s
Assistance Association
it lost a great deal of
its importance. It
remained in operation
until the time of the
Flight.
Industries
They were not very well
developed due to the
lack of capital. There
was a textile works in
the village, the firm of
Müller and Company, with
a workforce of 35 to 40
persons; in addition,
there were also a large
and smaller brickworks.
In 1944 Neu-Pasua had
two modern export
customs houses for mill
products. There were
approximately a dozen
modern mills in other
locales, owned and
operated by men from
Neu-Pasua. A workshop
made bicycle parts. At
that time there were
eighteen commercially
operated threshing
machines in the various
German communities and
in Serbian villages that
earned a good income for
the owners in Neu-Pasua.
Community Life
The cultural life of
the village was
deliberately curtailed
by the Yugoslavian
government to prevent
the German consciousness
of the inhabitants to
gain ascendancy. The
German teacher was not
permitted to lead the
choral society founded
in 1905. One of the
deserving members of the
society was Dr. Noll the
village doctor. He
achieved great results
in singing
competitions. Sports
activities only began
after the First World
War and began with
football (soccer).
Callisthenics and
gymnastics first began
to develop in the
1930s. The Fire
Department was first
founded after the First
World War under the
leadership of Fritz
Schneider the local
innkeeper. One can say
this was rather late in
being established. In
one respect there was
always the danger of a
major fire because of
the enormous numbers of
haystacks and piles of
maize leaves in the
barnyards while on the
other hand the danger
was minimized by the
nature of the
construction of the
houses out of bricks and
roofed with tiles.
Otherwise when fires
broke out every farmer
abandoned whatever work
he was doing and lost no
time in coming to help.
There was no lack of
wells or water to put
out the fire.
The
most significant
landmark in the village
was the baroque style
church built in 1812.
The services were always
very well attended. At
the time of the major
festivals not all of the
worshippers were able to
find seating. Chairs
were placed along the
centre aisle of the
church. The Siloah
orphanage established in
1910 did not only serve
the village of
Neu-Pasua. It is now
located in Isny in the
Allgäu and has developed
into a children’s and
youth village. It
serves approximately 150
children and youth and
will never be forgotten
by its founders, the
people of Neu-Pasua.
[Published at DVHH.org 18 Aug 2009]
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