BB News No. 125 dtd 31 Jan 2004

THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 125 DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY (Our 9th Year-20 Pages/4 Email Sections Issued monthly by G. J. Berghold) January 31, 2004 (c) 2004 G. J. Berghold - all rights reserved) RECIPIENTS PLEASE READ: You are receiving this email because you are a BB member or have asked to be added to our distribution list. To discontinue these newsletters, email with message "remove". ("Cancel" will cancel membership, website listings and mail.) Send address and listing changes to the same place. Sign email with your full name and include BB in the subject line. Send no attachments or graphics unless well known to me. Please keep changes to a minimum. To join the BB, see our homepage. If you join, your email address will be available from our websites. We can't help with non-Burgenland family history. Appropriate comments and articles are appreciated. Staff and web site addresses are listed at the end of newsletter section "C". Notes and articles without a by-line are written by the editor and reflect his views. Members please exchange data in a courteous and cooperative manner-not to do so defeats the purpose of our organization. This first section of our 4-section newsletter includes: 1. What Is A Bürgermeister? 2. Village Of Kroatisch Ehrensdorf 3. Response To Tonk Article In Newsletter 124 (Viennese Draft And Foundling Records) 4. Famous Dr. Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis A Burgenländer? 1. WHAT IS A BÜRGERMEISTER (ED. Note - As host of the Burgenland Query Board - see section "C" for address - I frequently scan the entries. I rarely reply, as our members and readers generally beat me to it. If you are not scanning these queries, you may be missing a good thing. The two that follow are illustrative.) Member writes: My g-g-grandfather, Joseph Resch, came from Breitenbrunn, Burgenland, Austria, in 1855 and settled in Wisconsin. He died in 1890 and his obituary says "In his native town in Germany, previous to his emigration to this country, he held the office of burgomaster, corresponding to mayor for twelve years." My question is, what exactly was the job of burgomaster? Would there be some records or even a picture of when he was burgomaster? Fritz Königshofer replies: According to the Allgemeine Landestopographie des Burgenlandes for the district of Eisenstadt, published 1963, Joseph Resch was the Marktrichter (meaning roughly the same as today's Bürgermeister, or the English word mayor) of Breitenbrunn from July 1838 till July 1840, June 1846 till May 1848, and January 1851 till February 1853. At these times, Marktrichter were selected by the administrator of the domain and had the responsibility for keeping law and order in the town (the word Markt means market town, Richter means judge). If town people did not comply with the Marktrichter's advice or rulings, he could report them to the domain owners who decided on punishment. The same book mentions a Paul Resch in the neighboring village of Purbach whose name was recorded in a document from 1593. If this is the same family as yours, the Resch may have been resident in the area at least by, and likely before, that year. Another source ("...nach Amerika," published 1992) mentions the names Kloiber, Reiner and Trummer as the first ever emigrants from Breitenbrunn and Purbach to the USA (and thus among the first emigrants from the entire Burgenland ever) who settled in Texas in 1854. As you can see, your g-g-grandfather was not far behind them. 2. VILLAGE OF KROATISCH EHRENSDORF BB member Frank Paukowits writes: Frank Teklits and John Lavendowski have helped me trace my Paukowits family roots back to Kroatisch Ehrensdorf in the early 1700's. In the late 1600's, the Paukovits surname was prevalent there. As a result, I believe there is a strong likelihood that they may have been part of the original settlement. I know very little about the history of K-Ehrensdorf. I've read past Newsletters, but only found sketchy references. I was wondering if anyone knows whether there is anything in writing prepared by Fr. Gratian Leser or others that tells of the founding of this town. Has an "Ortschronik" (history) ever been released? Fritz Königshofer replies: The only additional information I have is from the district book on Güssing (Güssing im Wandel der Zeit - Kirsner & Peternell) where Kroatisch-Ehrendorf is described under the commune of Eberau. Accordingly, the first written mention of Horváth Hásos was in the year 1659, but the settlement of the Croat population likely happened about 100 years earlier. Frank responds: Thanks for responding to my query. I was wondering whether you could speculate on the likelihood that K-Ehrensdorf was an offshoot from D-Ehrensdorf, similar to what happened when the communities were split in Reinersdorf, Stegersbach and Mürbish between the Croats and German-speaking populations? Also, do you have any idea whether K-Ehrensdorf had connections to the Erdody family, like many of the other towns in the Eberau Domain, rather than the Batthyány Family. Fritz replies: The district book about Güssing (which I had referred to) says that the Croat settlement was carved out from the medieval proper of Hásos (Ehrensdorf). This would mean that your guess is right, i.e., that the Croat settlement was an offshoot of Ehrensdorf which then became known as Deutsch Ehrensdorf. Horváth Hásos was first mentioned in a written document in the year 1659, but the assumption is that the Croats had settled there at least a hundred years earlier. The nearby domain of Eberau went to the family Bakocz in 1496, who were raised into aristocracy and assumed the name Erdödy (it hailed from Transylvania). They embraced Protestantism. In a swap of domains in 1556, which apparently was later contested, Peter II. Erdödy transferred the domain to Count Nikolaus Zrinyi, descendent of old Croat nobility. The Zrinyi family stayed in Eberau till 1613. The influx of Croats in Eberau happened between 1545 and 1561, encouraged by both the Erdödy and Zrinyi families. When Thomas Erdödy converted back to Catholicism, he won the legal fight for the domain in 1613. From that time onwards, the Erdödy family was in command again. From this information in the district book, it appears that the Erdödy may well have been the overlords of Kroatisch Ehrensdorf, but probably acted in concordance with the Batthyánys. Unfortunately, I know too little to clarify this question. From other literature, it seems there were two waves of Croat immigration. The first wave happened under Franz Batthyány around 1550. The other happened around 1650 under Adam Batthyány. From this, one cannot say whether Kroatisch Ehrensdorf may have been founded in the first or second wave. However, as I wrote before, the district book says that it was a foundation of the first wave. If so, the settlers may well have come from the area of Kopreinitz in Croatia, which apparently was the area of origin of the Croats in the region around nearby Rechnitz. (ED. Note: page 44 (Teklits translation) of "People On The Border" - Johann Dobrovich states: "Jandrisovits says in volume 4 of his "Urkunden und Dokumente" that 15 Croatian refugees established the small village of Punitz in 1553 on Batthyány Property. Croats also established (at the same time?) the villages of Neuberg, Kroatissch Ehrensdorf, and Steinfurt. Neuberg was purely Croatian in 1635, Kroatisch Ehrensdorf was Croatian in 1698 - according to the visitation)." Hajszan in "Die Kroaten der Herrschaft Güssing" has little else to add.) 3. RESPONSE TO TONK ARTICLE IN NEWSLETTER 124 (Viennese Draft & Foundling Records) Reference Tonk Article In Newsletter 124. Fritz Königshofer writes: It was fascinating to read the story of your visit to Burgenland in BB Newsletter no. 124. Concerning your questions, let me pass on some ideas that come to mind. If the local priest was the father of the child, Gertrud Tonk likely went to Vienna to give birth in order to camouflage the out-of-wedlock birth, compounded by the fact of who the father was. Normally the parish priest would have been punished by his superiors, i.e., demoted to chaplain and posted to another place. Since this apparently did not happen, the identity of the father may never have come officially to the knowledge of the Church. As to the origin of Gertrud (mother of Franz), what does Franz's civil marriage record say about her place of living? It would be important to ferret every little bit of information about Gertrud in this marriage record of her son. There are two other avenues you could take. LDS (the Mormons) have filmed the duplicate birth records of Vienna, males only, which were written for the purpose of capturing the boys for the military draft 18 years after their birth. Since you have a precise birth date and last name, the duplicate birth record of Franz may be easy to locate. For the film numbers, go to the web site of LDS at http://www.familysearch.org/eng/Library/FHLC/frameset_fhlc.asp, Enter Vienna as the place name and Austria in the "Part of" field and follow the leads until you see the one page general index of the LDS's Vienna holdings. Then select "Civil Registration" followed by "Militärische Stammrollen." This will bring you to the male birth records (duplicates). Look for the films for 1879. My guess is that the birth would be on the film marked "1879 S-Z, 1880 A-..." There might be a cataloging error though, as the previous film is marked as covering "1879 L-Z". The other LDS avenue would be the Vienna orphan records. These records cover birth entries for orphans and foundlings which normally included out-of-wedlock births where only the mother was known. You find these records for 1879 if you select "Orphans" from the main index of Vienna, then follow the leads to the film numbers about the births of foundlings ("Findelbücher"). Both the male and the foundling birth records might tell you in which Vienna parish the birth was registered and Franz was baptized. While the parish records of Vienna have not been filmed by LDS, you might find a way through correspondence or your next visit to Austria to look up the baptismal entry which may contain yet further information about the mother. Most importantly, however, the various birth records might reveal the "belonging" of Gertrud, i.e., the village or town where she had home rights, which was often identical with the birth place (and if not, usually provides a good lead to the birth place). The name Tonk does not exist among the listed entries in the current Austrian phone directory (see www.etb.at). Somewhat similar names that do exist in Burgenland would be Tongisch or Tongitsch. However, you should really start from what you know, and this, according to the marriage record, is the name Tonk, in precisely this spelling. I also checked the on-line phone directory for Hungary, and it yielded the eight entries I am pasting in below. The Hungarian phone directory also shows the names Tonka, Tonkó and Tonkö. As to the eight entries for Tonk, most are in Budapest (which means little as nearly all family names can be found in this old capital city), but two entries (it's really one entry only) point to Barcs which is in Somogy county near the border to Croatia, a town which included a small minority of ethnic Croats. I think it would be too early to search the Barcs records filmed by LDS, though, without better leads on Gertrud, but you may keep this option in mind. You might also consider writing to the listed Tonks asking the question what they know about the origins of their family and last name. The Hungarian phone directory can be found at http://tudakozo.matav.hu/matavonline_en. If you click on the individual names as found there, you will also receive the street number for a full address. 1. Tonk Emil Ferenc Pécs 7634 Abaligeti út (70) 545-0755 2. Tonk Mónika Budapest III. kerület 1038 Tündérliget utca (1) 240-6900 3. Tonk Réka Budapest IV. kerület 1045 Széchenyi tér (1) 369-7706 4. Tonk Veronika Dóra Budapest XV. kerület 1155 Mézeskalács tér (1) 416-8270 5. Tonk Vilmos Barcs 7570 Köztársaság utca (82) 461-259 6. Tonk Vilmosné Budapest III. kerület 1036 Pacsirtamezo utca (1) 250-0474 7. Tonk Vilmosné Barcs 7570 Köztársaság utca (82) 461-175 8. Tonk Virág Budapest IV. kerület 1045 Széchenyi tér (1) 369-6207 4. FAMOUS DR, INGNAZ PHILIPP SEMMELWEIS A BURGENLÄNDER? (from Fritz Königshofer & Albert Schuch) Fritz writes to your editor: Thank you for putting together yet another one of the most informative BB Newsletters. I have a comment on the story in section C of the newsletter about early child (and mother) deaths, the cause of which most often was puerperal fever, and the counter-measures found by the "savior of mothers," Dr. Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis. The latter, ironically, died in Vienna from a sepsis stemming from an infected wound. My major sources all say that Dr. Semmelweis was born in Ofen (i.e., Buda) in 1818, and developed his diagnosis and treatment of puerperal fever while working at the University of Pest. However, according to the Burgenländische Landestopographie, edition for the district of Eisenstadt, Dr. Semmelweis actually hailed from a old established family from Eisenstadt. I remember that some time ago I even read in a source I cannot remember that Dr. Semmelweis was born in Sieggraben in today's Burgenland, but my memory may fool me as I cannot see how this could be true. In any case, one can legitimately speculate that Dr. Semmelweis was, in fact, a Burgenländer! Albert Schuch writes: You are right. According to an article in the Burgenländische Heimatblätter of 1965, Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis was born in Ofen. But his great-grandfather had moved to Eisenstadt from Sieggraben around 1730 (together with a brother). Ignaz' father Josef (born in Eisenstadt 30 Jan 1778) moved to Ofen around 1800. He opened a shop (Kaufmannsgeschäft) there and married Theresia Müller, whose father Philipp Müller had come to Ofen from "Beykheim" (?) in Germany. His profession is given as "Wagenfabrikant". Ignaz Philipp was born on 1 July 1818 as the family's fifth child. An article in the "Neuer Pester Lloyd" (7 July 1998) stated that Ignaz Semmelweis was born in Apródutca (Pagengasse) 1-3 at the southern side of the Buda castle hill. The house was owned by János Meindl, who lived there from 1814 till 1844. A list of the 23 inhabitants of 1809 mentions Ignaz' father Josef. The house was destroyed by fire in 1810 and rebuilt. Another list of inhabitants dating from 1817 already mentions Ignaz' mother Julianna (note the different name in my first source!). In an advertisment dating from June 1823 Josef Semmelweis advises his customers "dass ich meine seit 17 Jahren im Hause des Hrn. Joh. v. Meindl im Taban bestehende Material-, Specerey- und Farbwaren-Handlung nunmehr in mein eigenes Haus, obigem gegenüber, übersetzt habe." (... that I have relocated my shop after 17 years in the house of Johann von Meindl to my own house on the opposite side of the street). The house of Ignaz Semmelweis' birth was marked with a commemorative inscription in 1904. In 1964 a museum for medical history was established at this place. Newsletter continues as no. 125A.

THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 125A DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY (Issued monthly by G. J. Berghold) January 31, 2004 (c) 2004 G. J. Berghold - all rights reserved) ***CHICAGO AREA MEMBERS WISHING TO ATTEND THIS YEAR'S CHICAGO JOLLY BURGENLÄNDER FASCHINGFEST ON FEB. 13, PLEASE CONTACT TOM GLATZ AT PHONE NO. 773 239-6523. TOM WILL ARRANGE FOR A SPECIAL TABLE FOR BB MEMBERS*** Tom Glatz reports that the Jolly Burgenländer Faschingfest or pre-Lenten dance will take place on Friday, February 13, 2004, at the Chicago Gaelic Park, 6119 W. 147th St., Oak Forest, Illinois. Tickets are $8.00 in advance and $9.00 at the door. This second section of our 4-section newsletter includes: 1. Family History Primer - Spelling-Spelling-Spelling! 2. Family History Primer - Finding That Village Of Origin 3. First Generation Burgenland Immigrants Please Contact Marion Steinwandtner 4. New Year's Serenade From Burgenland - Bob Strauch 5. Origin of Names Wallach/Vlah/Walsch -Fritz Königshofer 6. Midwest BB Picnic Date Set - Hap Anderson 7. Austrian Newspapers On-Line 1. FAMILY HISTORY PRIMER - SPELLING-SPELLING-SPELLING! All too often I find that searchers look for information about their family surnames or villages of origin and find nothing that coincides with what they are looking for. This is particularly true when using search engines within computer files or the Internet. As rapid as computers are, they are basically very simple in intellect and if one's search does not exactly match what is given, the result will be "no match!" It therefore always pays to search under various spellings. This is a must when searching for names from the Burgenland. Given Germanic, Hungarian and Croatian languages, even Latin on occasion, it is very probable that the spelling in mind may not be the one used in the material being searched. This is compounded when the possibility of a name change or phonetic spelling is encountered. Another pitfall when searching Germanic names is the use of the umlaut or diacritical mark sometimes added to the vowels of Germanic words. What does one search for if "ö" does not provide a match? Try "oe" which is a normal English translation of the umlauted "ö" - the same applies to the other vowels - or plain "o" or even "au." Hungarian and Serbo-Croatian diacritical marks can also cause similar problems. We have already mentioned the myriad of spelling problems encountered in searching the Ellis Island database - you must try alternate spellings if you draw a blank. In the same way that you must know the German-Hungarian/Croatian names of villages, so too must you be aware of alternate surname spellings. Only in this way can you benefit from available computer data. The following example taken from a recent Burgenland Query Board exchange is illustrative: John Klein writes: My father, Johann Rogner (Roegner, Regner), was born in Baratfalu, Hungary (today Monchhof, Austria) on 28 March 1900. Johann and his mother, Maria Rogner, moved to USA in 1903. Maria married Franz Klein in 1905 and Johann's name was changed to John Klein. I have been unsuccessful in trying to find the name of my grandfather. Neither Church nor Civil Records include his name. If anyone has any information or has any suggestions where to find the name of my grandfather I would be very grateful. Margaret Kaiser replies: The following family group arrived in NYC from Monchoff on May 12, 1903 on board the Zeeland. Their destination was Paul's son, George Rögner at Bancrofy Farms. The family is indexed as Roegner, but the name is entered on the manifest as Rögner. Paul, age 59, laborer; Julianna, age 49, wife; children Joseph, age 18, Joseph, age 9 and Johann, age 3. It may be that Maria was the wife of Georg or of another sibling, or it could be that Maria was a daughter of Paul and Julianna. I suggest the microfilmed Mönchhof parish and civil records be searched for family details. For civil records Oct 1895-1920, see film 665232, see 665233 for marriages and deaths. Rom. Cath. birth, marriage and death records for 1826-1864 are on film no. 700855; see film 700856 for 1865-1895. (ED Note: Margaret's answer suggests that John's problem may well be his search approach regarding the umlauted spelling of the family surname - it will be umlauted in Germanic records. While the Ellis Island record identifies the father of Johann, his birth may be recorded in the church of his mother's previous church.) 2. FAMILY HISTORY PRIMER - FINDING THAT VILLAGE OF ORIGIN Unless you know the village of origin of your immigrant ancestor you cannot trace your Burgenland heritage. I can't repeat this often enough - it surfaces daily in the email requests I receive for membership. Another correspondent wrote asking about the Murlasits (possibly Murlaschitsh or Murlasitch) and Derkits names (this example also emphasizes the previous article's spelling advice). Our reply: The names ending in "its"or "itsch" are Croatian and probably came from southern Burgenland, where Croatian refugees settled in the 16th & 17th centuries. I find a number of Murlasits families in Stegersbach (District of Güssing), one of the towns in which Croatians settled. Check the on-line Austrian phone directory for possibly more. I find a Peter Murlasich there as early as 1599. In the first half of the 1600's there were an Ivan Murlacsicz, and an Andre Murlacsiz. Don't be confused by the spellings - translation from Serbo-Croatian to Hungarian to German causes many differences. I feel you will do well to check the church records of Stegersbach via the LDS. Since there are still many Derkits families in Stegersbach, I feel that's your place to search. They too are found in the fragments of early records under various spellings. See our village listing for data on Stegersbach. Check the Hungarian and Croat village names (SzentElek and Horvat SztElek) I'd also go back to the Ellis Island records and try searching on various spellings for definite supporting evidence. Your lineage thus goes back as far as the late 1400's in what was the district of Stenicnjak in Croatia - an area just south east of Zagreb - then to the Burgenland (Domain of the Batthyány family) starting in 1524 to the present. My information comes from "Die Kroaten der Herrschaft Güssing" by Robert Hajszan. Now how did I do that? 1. I identified the racial origin - it was Croatian, not Germanic or Hungarian (not always easy to do) 2. Since it was Croatian and the date of immigration was at the turn of the century - I guessed it was a southern Burgenland emigration. (If earlier it would probably be from mid or northern Burgenland.) 3. I searched the phone directory of the largest towns in the south with a Croatian population. On the first, Stegersbach, I found the Murlasits name. When I also found Derkits, I knew I was in the right spot. (I have a Burgenland phone directory but you can use the online Austrian phone directory available from our website - the URL list.) Of course a check of our surname and village website lists should also be made - I did not do this when my first attempt succeeded. 4. I then checked my Croatian records for settlement data (you can use the Teklits translation of the Croatian Burgenland history available from our archives). While the church and Ellis Island records must still be searched for absolute proof, I feel the village of origin had been identified. Admittedly, it is easier to find Croatian origins because of the Slavic names, but the same thought process may be followed for Germanic or Hungarian names. 3. FIRST GENERATION BURGENLAND IMMIGRANTS PLEASE CONTACT The Austrians I most enjoy hearing from are those who are working on university degrees. They invariably are working on a theses or dissertation, the subjects of which interest me. (My greatest joy was hearing from Albert Schuch when he was still working on his doctorate at the University of Vienna - he not only provided tons of material, he became our Burgenland editor and a very good friend.) Now we hear from another student, Marion Steinwandtner, who requires data for a theses concerning Burgenland immigration. Her plea for contacts, published in newsletter 124, did not generate enough cooperation. If you are a first generation immigrant she would like to have you fill out a questionnaire, subject "Heimat". Please contact her at the address mentioned below. You will be helping to generate immigrant data and provide another BB contact. Contact: marion.steinwandtner@gmx.at Marion writes: Dear Mr. Berghold! First of all thank you for publishing my request in the newsletter. Until today I got one answer but I will need for my dissertation at least five persons. I'm working on the questionaire. It will be about 30-40 short questions about leaving home, arriving in the USA, learning the new language, assimilation, jobs, motives for leaving, identity, new home, connection with Burgenland, family at home and so on. Maybe you know some emigrated Burgenländer personally (I don't) and could give me their email address. I would first ask them if they would help me and then I would send them the questionaire. I'm really sorry to bother you again but my dissertation depends on these questions being answered. I have to compare the answers and analyze them in my dissertation. Maybe you can send me a list of the people who subscribe to the newsletter (BB policy forbids this) and I can ask them by myself per email. Or maybe you know an association of Burgenländer and you have a address. I just need five people to interview. This whole thing is very important for me!!! Thank you in advance for your help. 4. NEW YEAR'S SERENADE FROM BURGENLAND (from Bob Strauch) Dås ålte Jåhr, dås geht zu End', drum kommen wir's mit Instrument. Drum kommen wir's mit einem Gruss: Gelobt sei Jesus Christus! Wir wollen's nicht ålle beinånder nennen, åber Gott, der Herr, wird's ålle kennen. Drum wünschen wir Euch viel Glück und Seg'n, und åll'n im Haus ein långes Leb'n! (Old New Year's Serenade from southern Burgenland) Translation: The old year has come to a close, so we've come with our instruments. And we've come with a greeting: Jesus Christ be praised! We don't want to mention everyone, but God, the Lord, will already know you. We wish you much happiness and prosperity, and a long life to all in your house! (a picture of a group of musician's carrying their instruments while traveling a snow covered farm lane accompanied the verse) 5. ORIGIN OF NAMES WALLACH/VLAH/WALSCH (from Fritz Königshofer) (also Walsch, Welsch, Wallisch, Wallitsch - which sounds almost like Wallage - Olah, Vlah, Vlach, Wallach, Wallich) Fritz writes: In Burgenland Bunch newsletter no. 123, Gerry Berghold discussed an enquiry about the family name Wallage. Chances are that the family name, and however it was written/spelt in the old country (most certainly not Wallage), is derived from the old Germanic term "walsch" by which the Germanic tribes described the non-Germanic population they found when they moved and expanded into heartlands of Europe in the first millenium AD. The word meant "not belonging to us" as compared to the word "deutsch" which likely means "belonging to us." Mostly, the term described the surviving population from the Roman Empire, which was already settled in these European heartlands. Terms derived from walsch are welsch or walsch, the term used by Austrians for Italians, the term vlah as used in old Western Hungary to describe the Croats, the same terms (olah, olasz) used by Hungarians to describe Italians or Romanians, the term Wallach (pronounced vallack) to describe Romanians, and, far away at the other end of the former Roman Empire, the term Welsh to describe the inhabitants of the land today called Wales (in Great Britain). Last names with the same meaning (i.e., "the non-Germanic one") are, for instance, Walsch, Welsch, Wallisch, Wallitsch (which sounds almost like Wallage), Olah, Vlah, Vlach, Wallach (see the actor Eli Wallach), Wallich (see the former deputy governor of the Federal Reserve). Given all its variations, the name is frequent. Why someone would suggest a connection with count Dracula (Vlad the Impaler) is something I cannot understand. In fact, count Dracula might not have been a "Wallach." The name Vlad, only a given name anyway, more likely relates to the word vlad meaning "to rule." This is a very old indo-european rootword which exists/existed in similar forms in several indo-european languages, such as as "walten" (rule) in German, valere (be powerful) in Latin, wield in English, and vlad in Slavic languages (in names like Wladimir, Wladislav, and just Vlad as in the name of the infamous count). Best regards, Fritz Königshofer, BB subsector editor, Bethesda, Maryland. (ED Note: the name Wallitsch appears in my family lines. There are many such families in southern Burgenland in the area of Rudersdorf and Deutsch Kaltenbrunn. A number of Wallitsch's emigrated to Allentown, PA, where one can still find their descendants, including a judge of the county court. This name was also prominent among tavern owners and social club founders.) 6. MIDWEST BB PICNIC DATE SET (from Hap Anderson) Hap writes: BB Picnic staff, Dean has set the date for this year's picnic. Any picnic questions? Original Message ----- from Dean Wagner. I reserved the Trapp Farm Park Pavilion in Eagan. Minnesota (close to Minneapolis) for Sunday, August 8, 2004, from 10AM to 4PM. Mark your calendar. 7. AUSTRIAN NEWSPAPERS ON-LINE (from Margaret Kaiser & Anna Kresh) (ED. Note: more and more newspapers are putting archives on line. A great source of family data. Of course for Austrian ones you must know some German. Margaret and Anna write: Margaret: A correspondent posted the following link. http://anno.onb.ac.at/ Ongoing digitalization project of old newspapers at the National and Parliamentary Libraries. Some editions date back to the 18th century. Anna: This site has been listed on our BB URL list for a while as: o ANNO - Österreichischer Nationalbibliothek http://anno.onb.ac.at/listztg.htm - a worldwide project of major libraries to scan, and make available on the web, all old newspaper holdings, in some cases going back to the 18th century; scanning now in progress. Newsletter continues as no. 125B.

THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 125B DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY (Issued monthly by G. J. Berghold) January 31, 2004 (c) 2004 G. J. Berghold - all rights reserved) ***BB URLs - NEW/REVISED - 01/01/04 BY ANNA KRESH- SEE HOMEPAGE *** EDITOR KLAUS GERGER IS VISITING ME FROM BURGENLAND - HE IS WATCHING THIS DELIVERY! HE OFFERS HIS GREETING! This third section of our 4-section Newsletter includes: 1. Where Do We (The BB) Go From Here? 2. Marrying Cousins, Surname Spellings & Collateral Family Lines 3. Taste Of The Burgenland - Chicken Paprikash & Backhendl - Strauch & Berghold 4. Origin Of Germanic Settlers To Burgenland - Bob Strauch 1. WHERE DO WE (THE BB) GO FROM HERE? The following was sent to the BB Staff at year end: Hello all and Happy New Year; As we enter our ninth year as the major (if not the only) English language website concerning Burgenland family history, I'd like to address what the future might bring. Certainly we will increase our membership as word continues to spread among the descendants of Burgenland immigrants. More and more of them will become interested in family history. I do not think it would advisable to engage in any sort of advertising campaign as this often brings only fleeting as opposed to permanent interest. We will continue to insist that members must provide their family data and be listed in order to join and receive our newsletters as email. (of course anyone can read or download them via the archives.) In addition we may well find more members among the ethnic clubs if they are successful in increasing their membership. I may be wrong but I sense a greater interest in ethnicity as our population absorbs so many more ethnic groups. If nothing else, such growth makes others think about their ethnic origins. I see no decrease in the number of people interested in family history. Whether it will continue its rapid rise is anyone's guess, but we can only expect continued tremendous interest in personal computers and the internet. This perhaps more than any other factor has sparked its past meteoric growth. We have accomplished much in the last eight years. If you consider our website just a few years ago, you will realize how much we have grown. I feel we should continue this growth, albeit slowly. There are a few additions to the homepage that I would like to consider in the new year. 1. I see the need for an alpha list of Hungarian village names. I frequently must use Albert Schuch's village list to find the Hungarian name of a German village or vice-versa. This is time consuming for me. I am sure many others have the same problem. We have a great German to Hungarian list - now we need an Hungarian to German one. I can find other ways of doing this - the LDS microfilm index or Klaus Gerger's lists for instance but I would like to see a homepage section which could be downloaded and printed. If some of you already have such a list, I'd appreciate a copy as well as contacting Hap Anderson to include in the homepage. The contra to Albert's List. (ED - one is currently in process.) 2. I am very excited about the possibility of Croatian researchers going beyond the Burgenland into their Croatian origins. Both Frank Teklit's' translation of "People on the Border" and existing books (i.e. Hajszan's "Die Kroaten der Herrschaft Güssing") mentioned in previous newsletters show it is possible to do this. I have traced some members' origins in this way. One drawback is the different spellings of surnames - German (Hungarian) vs Slavic. Some avid Croatian researcher would do us all a favor by compiling a list, i.e. Stocits- Stosith-Stosytt-Stoysich. (p44 Hajszan). This could be another addition to the Homepage. 3. An easy one would be the addition of the BB Invitation Letter to the Homepage, if Hap has the space. I find some members never receive this (and they should) because it furnishes all of the necessary data asked for in the Homepage. These people only then receive the Welcome letter. Both of these documents are necessary to provide members with what they should know (although some NEVER read the fine print). Nonetheless, when some later complain about one thing or the other, I can remind them. 4. As we add more material to our site, I've reviewed what we already have, to determine whether it is superfluous or outdated. I find nothing like this. One thing we might do is update the publishing date on all of our websites. Some, carrying old dates (FAQ, etc.), require no change, but should still have more current dates so viewers may feel they are pertinent and up to date. The surname, membership and village lists as well as the link lists are updated frequently. The others are not. 5. A BIG hole exits concerning origin of German-speaking families. I still search for this (in vain). I know of very little that can trace the origin of Burgenland Germans to their respective Germanic states. Perhaps we will never see this. If any of you find some hint, however remote, please advise. 6. If you have any additional thoughts we'd like to view them. Best to all, you are a great group to work with and my personal thanks for your past efforts, Gerry 2. MARRYING COUSINS, SURNAMES SPELLINGS & COLLATERAL FAMILY LINES In a message dated 1/2/04, a correspondent writes: Have a question for you, we are finding 'cousins' marrying other cousins, and while we realize that is not unusual, there does appear to be a higher concentration of 'cousins' marrying in the Purbach area. Was there a shortage/lack of available partners in the 1700s-early 1800s in the Purbach area? Just curious. Also should we be listing different spellings of surnames? Another question, in searching through surnames, have not yet located anyone researching collateral lines that married into my major lines, and while we am not personally researching any of the collateral lines .. at this time .. and have not included any in my membership update .. is it permissible to include them in a membership update? Reply: Thank you for your kind words. Now as to your questions: It is permissible and a good idea to list some of the different surname spellings encountered. This is of particular importance when surnames have changed upon coming to the new world. I know of no lack of partners in the Purbach area during the time you mention although 1700's were a time of much upheaval and partners may have been in short supply. Our people were farmers for the most part and understood "inbreeding" - the church also would not marry close cousins without dispensation; the less distant cousins frequently married to keep things in the family as well as to not "buy a pig in a poke." We generally list direct blood lines but it doesn't hurt to list some collateral lines - particularly the first generation removed. What we are attempting with our lists is to capture the immigrant lines and provide a link that other members may query by contacting the person providing the listing. We do not list Gedcom or Ftw files because of their size and special requirements - but again a few collateral surnames are no problem - if they connect to the immigrant surnames. 3. TASTE OF THE BURGENLAND - CHICKEN PAPRIKASH & BACKHENDL (from Bob Strauch & Gerry Berghold) (ED. Note - Paprikash is a decidedly Hungarian recipe. Like so many others, it was adapted by the German and Croatian element as well. My Germanic grandparents loved recipes that contained sour cream - I did not. As a result, in my family we leaned toward the Viennese preparation for chicken, removing the skin, breading and frying or baking in the oven. Nonetheless paprika was added to the breading. This is a variation of "Wiener Backhendl" - where the skin is not usually removed. My cousin Helene Gilly in Poppendorf served us a great Backhendl Mittagessen - she said "I know you prefer strudel but today gives Backhhendl." We also had a great Paprikash at a luncheon hosted by Dr. Walter Dujmovits - president of the BG in his home in Stegersbach.) Bob Strauch sent us some Paprikash extracts from the Allentown, PA Morning Call column called "Recipe Exchange." You'll find many ethnic recipes appearing in the column. See address below. From: December 3, 2003 - the Morning Call FOUND: ... Sandy Kriebel of Pennsburg sent a recipe for Chicken Paprika. 'It was my mother's recipe, I don't know where she got it' ... Dorothy Shafer of Emmaus sent a recipe for Chicken Paprika with Spaetzle 'Drop Noodles' from the Lehigh Valley Dairy. 'It has weathered with age and usage,' she said. CHICKEN PAPRIKASH (Allentown Versions) - Copyright (c) 2003, The Morning Call CHICKEN PAPRIKA 1 frying chicken (3 to 3 1/2 lbs.) Flour, salt and pepper to coat 1/8 lb. butter 1 cup chicken bouillon 1 clove garlic, chopped fine 2 Tbsps. paprika 1 cup thick cream Cut up chicken into serving pieces. Roll pieces in flour seasoned with salt and pepper, coat well. Heat butter in heavy pan. Brown chicken on both sides. Add 1/2 cup bouillon, garlic and paprika. Cook chicken, uncovered, about 20 minutes, gradually adding bouillon as it evaporates. Turn chicken occasionally during this cooking. Then cover pan and cook another 40 minutes. Turn off heat and mix in heavy cream. Sandy Kriebel, Pennsburg CHICKEN PAPRIKA w/SPAETZLE "DROP NOODLES" 1/2 cup chopped onion 1/2 cup butter 1 broiler-fryer, cut up (21/2-3 lbs.) 2/3 cup flour 2 tsps. salt 1/4 tsp. pepper 1 1/4 cups water 2 Tbsps. paprika 1 cup milk 1 pt. sour cream Saute onion in butter, remove and save. Shake chicken in a paper bag with flour, 1 tsp. salt, and pepper until coated. Save 2 Tbsps. of this seasoned flour. Brown chicken in remaining fat. Add 1 cup water and the onions, cook covered over low heat for 30 minutes or until tender. Remove chicken, keep warm. Make a paste of the seasoned flour, paprika, salt and water. Stir into skillet, add milk, cook while stirring constantly until thickened. Then cook 10 minutes longer. Add sour cream, very slowly to avoid curdling. Add chicken. Serve on heated platter with Spaetzle. Spaetzle 1 egg 1 cup water 1 tsp. salt 2 1/2 cups sifted flour Beat egg, water and salt together, blend flour in slowly. Mix. Add 3 tsps. salt to 3 quarts of boiling water. Drop dough by 1/2 teaspoonfuls into the boiling water until tender, and when noodles rise to top of water, they are done. Remove noodles, keep warm. Repeat until all dough is used. Drizzle melted butter generously over noodles. Makes 4 servings. Dorothy Shafer, Emmaus Send recipe requests and recipe finds to Recipe Exchange, c/o Food Editor Diane Stoneback, The Morning Call, P.O. Box 1260, Allentown, PA 18105, or e-mail them to diane.stoneback@mcall.com. Include your name, address and daytime phone number on all submissions. BURGENLAND VERSIONS CHICKEN PAPRIKASH - "PAPRIKAHENDL" (from "The Cooking Of Burgenland" by Alois Schmidl, as translated by Bob Strauch) 1 chicken about 4 lbs. 3 tbsp. Butter 2 large onions chopped 1 tbsp tomato paste 1/2 cup (or more-should cover bottom of pan) chicken broth or water 2 tbsp flour 2 tbsp sweet Hungarian paprika 1 cup sour cream Cut chicken in to pieces and season with salt. Lightly brown onions in butter. Blend in 1 tbsp paprika, broth and tomato paste. Add chicken and simmer covered for 1 hour or until tender. Remove chicken. Add remaining paprika to sauce, then flour beaten together with sour cream. Simmer stirring 5 minutes. Puree in blender of food processor. Over low heat, warm chicken and sauce together. Arrange on platter. Pour over half the sauce, serve rest separately. Accompany with flour dumplings. VIENNESE STYLE BREADED CHICKEN BERGHOLD - OVEN FRIED (ala Molly Berghold) 2 1/2-3 lb broiler cut up and skinned (or use skinless and boneless breasts) 1/4 cup shortening (or substitute 1/2 cup cooking oil for butter & shortening) 1/4 cup butter 1/2 cup flour 1 tsp salt 2 tsp paprika 1/4 tsp black pepper or half sharp paprika 2 beaten eggs dish of dry bread crumbs Heat oven to 425 degrees. Wash chicken, pat dry. In oven melt shortening and butter in baking pan. Mix flour, salt, paprika and pepper. Coat chicken pieces thoroughly. Dip in egg and then breadcrumbs. Place chicken in melted shortening. Cook uncovered 30 minutes (half breasts 25 minutes). Turn over and cook another 30 (25) minutes. Should be fork tender. Garnish with parsley - serve with potatoes or rice with seasoned tomato sauce. A green vegetable or salad goes well with this. Serves 4. WIENER BACKHENDL (ala Alois Schmidl cook book.) 2 small young chickens (about 2 lb. each) cut in pieces 3/4 cup flour 2 eggs beaten lard 4 sprigs parsley 1/2 tbsp salt 1 cup dry breadcrumbs (preferably made from Vienna bread with crust) Lightly salt chicken. Dip first in flour, then in beaten eggs and then in bread crumbs. Press crumbs into chicken. Fry quickly so a good crust forms in hot lard deep enough so chicken swims. Lower heat and continue frying about 20 minutes or until done. Fry parsley and use as garnish. Serves 4. 4. ORIGIN OF GERMANIC SETTLERS TO BURGENLAND (from Bob Strauch) Bob writes: Over the years I've read in various sources about the regional origins of individual families, but not villages as a whole (the exception being the Croatian villages - much more has been published on that topic). For example, I've read that the Schabhüttls of Rudersdorf came there from Schleswig-Holstein in the late 1600's. The Wutzlhofers of Forchtenstein came there from Bavaria in the mid 1700's. The Flamisch's are said to have been craftsmen from Belgium (Flämisch = Flemish) - a friend of ours named Flamisch from Neustift said that this bit of oral history was passed down in his family. There's much more known about the origins of the 18th C. German settlers farther east in Hungary, also the Donauschwaben. I have quite a few articles about this in German-Hungarian yearbooks. In many cases church records were kept, so the exact villages of origin are known. My relatives in Hartberg/Steiermark once gave me a 2-volume history of the Bezirk Hartberg. There's a section dealing with the settlement of that area during the 12th Century and pinpoints where those settlers came from. If I remember correctly, they came from southern Upper Austria and southern Lower Austria, where the landlords of the Hartberg area already had holdings prior to receiving land in the Steiermark. But where had those settlers or their ancestors originally come from? Bavaria, it's always assumed. Then there's the village of Wenigzell, which is said to have been settled by colonists from the Schwarzwald, where the local landlord also had holdings (the books also says that there was more migration of Schwarzwälders into the Eastern Steiermark in the early 18th C.). Whether or not there was further "spillage" from the Eastern Steiermark into western Hungary at this early point, I don't know. There certainly was in later centuries. I've never seen any Burgenland history books with such detailed settlement accounts (of Germans, that is). I have read that the towns over by the Steiermark border, such as Neudauberg and Burgauberg, where later extensions of the towns just across, such as Neudau and Burgau. If I recall or come across any more examples, I'll pass them on. Newsletter continues as no. 125C.

THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 125C DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY (Issued monthly by G. J. Berghold) January 31, 2004 (c) 2004 G. J. Berghold - all rights reserved) ***OUR THANKS FOR THE MANY XMAS & HOLIDAY GREETING - THE GRAPHICS WERE SUPERB*** This fourth section of our 4-section newsletter includes: 1. A Christmas Greeting From Father Leopold 2. A Message From A Newsletter Fan 3. BB Editor Celebrates Two Important Events 4. Village Of "Wolffs" Found 5. Data Concerning 76th Honved Regiment 6. Schachendorf Was Not The Site Of A Concentration Camp 7. Pictures From The 1870'S 1. A CHRISTMAS GREETING FROM FATHER LEOPOLD We published Pater Leopold's autobiography (translated into English by Gerhard Lang) in previous issues. I'd like to share a message which he sent to Bob Strauch. I include both the English and the German. Father Leopold (if you don't remember) is a 94-year-old Franciscan priest who survived the battle of Stalingrad and five years of Russian prison camps. He was a corpsman in the Wehrmacht. He still serves occasional mass and leads parishioners on local pilgrimages. He can still out-walk most of them. He visited the US two years ago (with his friend and BB member Heinz Koller) and was well received by the Burgenland immigrant families in the Allentown, PA area. He is quite a man, a true Burgenländer and his message is very timely. Another friend with whom I shared this message writes: "Thank you too for sharing the note from Fr. Leopold, he surely has it right! Words of comfort and joy when so many of us are struggling with the vicisitudes of cruel fate to one degree or another. A priest of great spiritual depth and empathy indeed...." Bob writes: "On Christmas Eve I received this message which I'd like to share with you " (English translation follows the German): Lieber Bobby! Dir, dem Hianz'nchor, und allen Freunden aus Pennsylvania danke ich sehr herzlich für die guten Weihnachts- und Neujahrswünsche, die mich sehr erfreuten. Ich kann mir vorstellen, dass die schwere Krankheit von Helene Euch alle sehr traurig macht. Auch mir tut sie sehr leid, da wir, Heinz und ich, bei ihr so liebevoll aufgenommen wurden. Ich besuche jede Woche die Kranken in unserem Spital. Da sage ich ihnen manchmal: "Im Supermarkt kann man sich aussuchen, was man will, bei der Krankheit muss man nehmen, was man bekommt." Auch wenn man etwas Schweres bekommt, ist es ein Geschenk des liebenden Gottes. Das ist schwer zu verstehen. Gott will uns eine ewige Freude schenken. Der Weg dahin führt manchmal über das Leiden. Aber der sicherste Weg in den Himmel ist der Kreuzweg. Dir, dem Hianz'nchor, und allen Freunden aus Pennsylvania wünscht ein gnadenreiches Weihnachtsfest und ein gesegnetes Neujahr Euer dankbarer Pater Leopold Dear Bobby! Heartfelt thanks to you, the Hianz'nchor, and all my friends in Pennsylvania for the good wishes for Christmas and the New Year, which delighted me very much. I can imagine that Helen's (Rothrock) serious illness is grieving all of you. It also saddens me as well because of how kindly she took us in (Heinz and myself). Each week I visit the infirm at our hospital. Sometimes I say to them: "At the supermarket one can choose whatever one wants. But with sickness, you have to take what you get." Even when given a serious illness, it is a gift from loving God. That is difficult to understand. God wants to grant us eternal joy. Sometimes the way to it leads through suffering. But the surest way into heaven is the way of the Cross. I wish you, the Hianz'nchor, and all my friends in Pennsylvania a gracious Christmas and a blessed New Year. Yours thankfully, Father Leopold 2. A MESSAGE FROM A NEWSLETTER FAN Not all of the readers of the Burgenland Bunch News are BB members. In addition to libraries and people in Academe, the news is sent to a few interested close personal friends. One sent me the following message. It contains some thoughts that I'd like to share: My friend writes: "Gerry, I am continually impressed with the loyalty and interest of the Burgenland descendants in their heritage, which you continue to cultivate, evoke and extol. I wonder what the reason might be that you have tapped into such a rich treasure of heritage and remembrance with such a resounding response. During my "German experience" in Berlin years ago it dawned on me that there is/was a lot of sectional rivalry among the "Germans," North versus South (i.e. Prussia vs. Bavaria, Wuerttemburg, Saxony, Lippe-Detmold, Hanover, Baden, etc.) and what surfaced for me was that the notion of Heimat was of most importance, that small piece of countryside where 'my fathers lived and died' over the last thousand years. A rivalry is thus cultivated that is bred in the bones, a loyalty that could hardly be comprehended by one whose blood only boiled during an Ilini vs. Badgers or Boilermakers fall football game. I think this is a deeply wonderful emotion, this gut feeling for the homeland, yet it has been such a fateful and sometimes disastrous way of looking at things through the centuries. I applaud the way that you interject every now and then an editorial comment vis-a-vis the confessional barriers among the Burgenlaenders that seem to have lessened and even been surmounted both here in the US and in Austria/Hungary. Freud once spoke of the 'neuroticism of the small difference' and we surely all cultivate that difference whatever it may be in our own ways wherever we find ourselves. I am, nevertheless, so glad that you share with me your enthusiasm and joy in your heritage." 3. BB EDITOR CELEBRATES TWO IMPORTANT EVENTS Exactly fifty years ago tomorrow, my wife and I were married in Packer Chapel at Lehigh University. It was a gray and misty morning, but the sun came out about noon and has been shining for us ever since. Yesterday we received news that our eldest granddaughter had given birth to our first great-grandson, Ethan Bartolo Zardus - weighing in at 7 lbs, 9 ounces. Both mother, father and baby are doing well - a 5th generation Burgenländer by way of Austrian, Hungarian, Pennsylvania German, Irish and Italian heritage. We wish to share our joy on both of these occasions with the BB staff, membership and friends. 4. VILLAGE OF "WOLFFS" FOUND A number of our editors responded to this query, all saying about the same thing. Fritz Königshofer writes: Dear "ajaeger," Gerry Berghold discussed your enquiry about a village called "Wolffs" in the BB Newsletter 124B. He pointed to the possibility of this village being Wolfau in southern Burgenland. There is likely another option for you to check into. This is the village of Balf near the city of Sopron, which became part of the city Sopron proper in 1985. The population of Balf was mostly ethnic German (over 1,000), and mostly Lutheran (about 1,000). About 350 inhabitants were Roman Catholic, and about 30 were Jewish. All figures are from the 1910 census. The German name of Balf was Wolfs. LDS have film of both the Lutheran as well as the Roman Catholic matrikels of Balf. For the film numbers, go to http://www.familysearch.org/eng/Library/FHLC/frameset_fhlc.asp, enter Balf as the place name, and follow the leads to the Balf in Hungary, old Sopron county. 5. DATA CONCERNING 76TH HONVED REGIMENT Juergen Brandtwein writes: Dear Gerry, I read the BB News No. 38B dtd 30 Jun 1998 about 76 Honved regiment at the BB site. My cousin gave me some old family documents. They are handwritten and hard to read and there were also some in Hungarian. I started to type them for better understanding. One of them is particularly interesting. The title is "Honvéd vég-elbocsáto." It was delivered 31 Dec. 1884. It seems that "Honvéd" is in German "Landwehr", the Hungarian army. The document says that my great-grandfather Johann Hopitzan served from 1872 to 1884 in the 76th Honvéd regiment of Körmend. He fought in 1878 in Bosnia. In this year, Austria occupied Bosnia and Hercegovina. In the document, 3 battles (Izacic, Baljevac and Peci) are mentioned in which he was mentioned. He also got a decoration that each soldier got when he fought in at least one battle. All this information is included in the document. My Hungarian is practically non-existant and so it took me some time to understand everything. It seems that Joe Gilly's (deceased BB member) great-grandfather served in the same regiment as did mine. But the 76th regiment was stationed in Körmend (M. kir. Vasi 76-ik számu Honvéd-zaszloalj Körmenden), so I think that his great grandfather was born in Neustift. Mine was born in Rohr, Güssing Bezirk too. Most likely the 76th regiment of Körmend was the one Güssing men used to serve in. Gerry, if you want, I can send you a transcription of the document, that could help other members that wonder about the 76th honvéd regiment. 6. SCHACHENDORF WAS NOT THE SITE OF A CONCENTRATION CAMP Newsletter no. 122C-1 carries an article, which asks if Schachendorf was the site of a WW-II concentration camp. This question was posed via a query to the BB. Apparently Schachendorf is on someone's list of places where concentration activities occurred. Never having heard of any, I published the question. Recently BB member Charles Petti called to provide some information. His father was a resident of Dürnbach, about 4 kms west of Schachendorf during WW-II. His story follows: Dürnbach had a population, along with Schachendorf of about 800, 80 of which are listed on their war memorial. They also suffered civilian casualties when the Russians invaded. There was one Jewish family in Schachendorf who he remembers as having a store - they left about the time of the Anchluss (1938). There were four in 1873. About the early part of 1945 or the latter part of 1944, two companies of the Wehrmacht were sent to the border region just east of Schachendorf. Anticipating the Russian advance, their orders were to build defensive positions and gun emplacements for 88mm cannon among others. To do this they drafted the help of the villagers in the region, including inhabitants of Dürnbach. The work proceeded slowly so between 200-400 Jewish workers were brought from a concentration camp (site unknown, but it could have been any of those within rail proximity, as they were housed in box cars while working on the defensive positions). They were mainly used to carry timber from Schachendorf and erect artillery sites. Petti's father was helping dig trenches when he saw one of the Jewish workers shot - he apparently fell down and could not rise to continue work. He said this was the only atrocity he witnessed. Upon finishing the defensive works, the Jews where taken away - he doesn't know where. They were in the area for just a few weeks. There were many other areas where concentration camp labor was used for various purposes. (The following is also from Petti and is corroborated by a book in German which covers the fighting in the southern Burgenland - I have an extract from this book covering the Jennersdorf district - the events are the same and are representative of what some border villages suffered during the fighting. Most villages, located away from the main roads, were spared.) The Russians first charged the defenses with cavalry, but were repulsed. They then attacked with infantry and artillery, the area including the villages being shelled. The Wehrmacht retreated after one or two days of defense. The first Russians to enter the villages were Asians who raped, pillaged and killed with impunity. They had the villagers collect all of the dead for burial in shallow graves. The combat troops were soon replaced with occupation troops who behaved in a more civilized manner. They had the bodies of the dead exhumed and reburied in a mass grave in front of the church. While Petti is silent concerning the aftermath of the occupation, I've been told that many people in Güssing were sad when the Russian occupation troops left in 1955. Perhaps the same was true for Dürnbach. From the above, it appears that there were no concentration camps in the Schachendorf area or in any other part of the Burgenland. 7. PICTURES FROM THE 1870'S Member Bob Loeffler writes: I have an exciting announcement to make for the BB group. I just acquired copies of approximately 200 photographs -- circa 1870's. All names will be listed on my website under a new *Genealogy* page. If anyone in the BB group finds a connection, I will be very pleased to email the photograph(s) to them. Who knows -- they may just fill in some loopholes in some family trees. Anyone can view the list of names directly at www.lvipublications.com by scrolling down and clicking on the "Genealogy" title. That will open my genealogy page. There will be instructions on how to contact me. I also plan to contact Roots and other genealogy search sites. These photos are just too great not to make them available to their descendants. This was truly a great once-in-a-lifetime find. END OF NEWSLETTER BURGENLAND BUNCH STAFF (USA residents unless designated otherwise) Coordinator & Editor Newsletter (Gerald Berghold) Burgenland Editor (Albert Schuch; Austria) Home Page Editor (Hap Anderson) Internet/URL Editor (Anna Tanczos Kresh) Contributing Editors: Austro/Hungarian Research (Fritz Königshofer) Burgenland Co-Editor (Klaus Gerger, Austria) Burgenland Lake Corner Research (Dale Knebel) Chicago Burgenland Enclave (Tom Glatz) Croatian Burgenland (Frank Teklits) Home Page village lists (Bill Rudy) Home Page surname lists (Tom Steichen) Home Page membership list (Hannes Graf, Austria) Judaic Burgenland (Maureen Tighe-Brown) Lehigh Valley Burgenland Enclave (Robert Strauch) Szt. Gotthard & Jennersdorf Districts (Margaret Kaiser) Western US BB Members-Research (Bob Unger) WorldGenWeb-Austria, RootsWeb Liason-Burgenland (Charles Wardell, Austria) BB ARCHIVES (can be reached via Home Page hyperlinks) BURGENLAND HOME PAGE (WEB SITE) http://www.the-burgenland-bunch.org http://go.to/burgenland-bunch (also provides access to Burgenländische Gemeinschaft web site.) The BB is in contact with the Burgenländische Gemeinschaft, Hauptplatz 7, A-7540 Güssing, Burgenland, Austria. Burgenl.gem@bnet.at Burgenland Bunch Newsletter distributed courtesy of (c) 1999 RootsWeb.com, Inc. P.O. Box 6798, Frazier Park, CA 93222-6798 Newsletter and List Rights Reserved. Permission to Copy Granted; Provide Credit and Mention Source.