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Evacuation Of The Swabians
Stefan Brendli, the last pastor of the
Church community, gives this account of the
evacuation of the Swabian inhabitants:
"On the ninth of October (1944) came the
order that Scheindorf, together with the
neighboring town of Hamroth, would be
evacuated the next day. The people were in
the fields, in the vineyard, and in the
nearby forest, as shortly before noon crying
women and girls ran in all directions to
spread the news. I was just coming out of
the woods with the church warden and his
wagon, as we saw what was happening in the
town. The town looked like an anthill that
had been disturbed. We had been expecting
this blow for a long time, but now, when it
was becoming reality, everyone was stunned
and alarmed. Everywhere on the main street
there was violent debating and advice, back
and forth talk. No one wanted to submit to
fate without argument.
During the night of October 10, no one in
the town closed their eyes in sleep. After
midnight, people came to church for
confession. At the morning Mass at 7
o'clock, crying and sobbing was the prayer
of the faithful. At the final prayer, the
people said good-bye to house and farm, to
church and school, to field and vineyard, to
meadow and forest. Afterwards, teacher
Martin Gyetko played the organ for a long
time, since it would probably be the last
time. With tears in his eyes, he squeezed my
hand afterwards. Old Mesner let out a
painful sigh with the words: 'This is a hard
thing.' He also had tears running down his
cheeks.
Around 11 o'clock, commissioned soldiers
pushed for departure. But no one wanted to
drive from their courtyard, although the ox,
cow, and horse wagons stood by their houses
ready for departure. At last, the soldiers
had to threaten them. Finally, the first
wagon drove out, and the others followed
hesitatingly and thoughtful. They were
telling each other that in two weeks they
would be home again and everything would be
better. Nobody believed this, though. At the
church, they blessed themselves and tipped
their hats. Many hurried quickly into
church, and some took some holy water.
Gradually, the town emptied. At the end, a
horse and wagon drove from the courtyard
with church objects and the St. Anne statue.
Now the bells began to ring from the tower.
They announced to the world the tragedy of
this Swabian town among other nations. They
wailed and cried together with the people.
Then, it also began to rain softly. Even
heaven cried. The bells rang for a whole
hour. Meanwhile, I watched the wagon train
from the tower with two soldiers. The two
soldiers were unable to hold back their
tears either. The wagon train drove farther
and farther away from the town. But it
looked as if they kept stopping and looking
back. As if, over and over, they wanted a
last look at their house, their field. Who
knew if they would ever see them again!
I stayed in the town. The next day, the last
soldiers left the town. The long street was
deserted. A few hours ago, each house and
yard was crowded; and now suddenly this
deathly silence. It disturbed the mind, it
was frightening, as if a man who was fit as
a fiddle died suddenly. After two days, I
drove out after them and found them west of
Grosskarol. Gradually, they were able to
cope with the necessity of flight. It also
helped that it was a beautiful, sunny fall
day.
I turned to go back home. It was risky, but
I arrived back in Scheindorf. There was not
an animal left in the town. The soldiers
took the rest, while they shot every living
thing. At the edge of town, a few couples of
mixed nationality remained. The looting of
the Swabian farm houses was carried out
quietly. Even the rectory door had been
broken. The next day, I was lucky to be able
to reach Sathmar by military transport.
In the meanwhile, the wagon train from the
community slowly made its way west. They had
mostly oxen and cow teams, and the horses
had to adapt themselves to their pace.
Through Sathmar, Grosskarol, Nyirbator,
Nagykallo, Nyiregyhaza, Polgar, Poroszlo,
Heves, Jaszbereny, Rakoskeresztur, Budapest,
and on October 28th, they reached Budaors.
The approximately 400 kilometer trip took 18
days. They were in constant fear that the
front would overtake them. Four miles from
Poroszlo, there was a battle as they were
going through the town.
In Budaors, where they met fellow countrymen
from other towns, the news spread that the
war was going over the border into Germany.
They had thought they would be able to stay
in western Hungary. Those who wanted to,
were told that they would be able to travel
by train. Many who had oxen or cow teams
chose to do this. The army took over their
oxen and cows and wagons. For consolation,
they were given a receipt for them. Those
who took the train went to Thuringen" (This
was where Mary Weiss - Anne Weiss Boyle's
mother - parted from John Weiss' parents,
John's sister Mary, and Mary's family).
"The people had taken from their houses what
they were able to load on one or two wagons.
Some slaughtered a pig that night. Mainly
they brought clothes and bedding. Then
kitchen utensils, tools; some brought a
sewing machine, etc. Most importantly, they
brought food. They had no problem with food,
however, because from Budaors on, the army
took good care of the refugees. Again and
again, they came to a field kitchen, where
they had a hot meal and were given food to
take along on their journey. All the way to
the border the wagon train drove, through
Bia, Bicsk, Kisber, Veszpremvarsany, Tet,
Rabacsanak, Csapod, Nagyczenk, Kophaza, and
Odenburg. In Kophaza, all the wagons pulled
by cattle had to be given up. Only the
horse-wagons were allowed over the border.
Here, the people also exchanged their
Hungarian Pengo for German Mark. They were
going into Austria. 287 head of cattle had
left the town with the people. Before the
border, they gave away the last one. The 136
horses they kept until the end of the line,
which was in Enns, by Linz, Altmunster, and
Traunsee in Salzkammergut. From Budoars to
Odenburg, a distance of 250 kilometer, took
13 days. The 300 kilometers to Altmunster
took another 13 days. The horse wagons
arrived in Altmunster on November 26. They
were happy after a month and a half, to
unhitch their wagons.
On October 10, 692 people left their
homeland. On the way, 5 people died, 2 were
missing, 214 went to Thuringen, and from
there went back to Scheindorf after the war.
471 people arrived in Altmunster; this
number included 7 children who were born on
the way."
[Credits,
Originally Published by Jody McKim Pharr at the DVHH.org 29 Sep 2006]
[Published by Sarah Coraggio
at the DVHH on 2 October 2018]
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Last
Updated:
13 Oct 2018 |
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