FOOTNOTES

1 The autochthonous Slavic population called all German colonists and their descendants ‘Schwaben’. Numerous German sources use the same name, refering to the German colonists in south-eastern Europe as ‘Donauschwaben’. The expression appeared after WW I, as a collective name for Germans in ex- Hungary, especially in Banat, Backa, Baranja, Syrmia and Slavonia. Only a small number of ethnic Germans originated from the Schwabenland, while the majority came from other southern provinces in Germany. At the beginning of the colonisation, though, there were relatively many ‘Schwaben’, which explains the root of the name. Germans from the Reich used to call their countrymen who were born and lived in another country outside Germany ‘Volksdeutsche’ (ethnic Germans). This name is also very common. In the post-war period even this name had an extremely derisive meaning, due to the overall anti-German climate of the time. Regardless of all these names, the descendants of the German colonists in south-eastern Europe declared themselves as Germans or Austrians, depending on whether they considered themselves to be members of the German or Austrian nation.

2 D. Biber, Nacizem in Nemci v Jugoslaviji 1933. - 19941., Ljubljana 1966. (further: Biber), 29 and further

3 Biber, 31 - 32; I.A. Prazic, Zastita manjina prema odredbama ugovora o miru 1919. - 1920. god. i suverena prava drzava, Belgrade 1922; Carinthiacus, Polozaj Slovenaca pod Austrijom i polozaj Nemaca u Kraljevini Srba, Hrvata i Slovenaca, Ljubljana 1925, 22.

4 Biber, 32

5 Biber, 19 - 20

6 J. Marnic, Nemci u Backoj u drugom svetskom ratu, Novi Sad 1974. (further: Marnic), 30.

7 Marnic, 26; See also: J. Mantl, Die Agrarreform in Jugoslawien, Berlin 1927.; N. Gacesa, The Germans in the Agrarian Reform and Land Ownership Patterns in the Voivodina Province During the Period from 1919 to 1941, in: The Third Reich and Yugoslavia 1933-1945, Belgrade 1977, 145-170; N. Gacesa, Nemci u agrarnoj reformi i vlasnistvu obradivog zemljista u Vojvodini 1919.-1941., in: Zbornik za istoriju, XII., Novi Sad 1976, 71-94; M. Eric, Agrarna reforma u Jugoslaviji 1918-1941 god., Sarajevo 1958; N. Gacesa, Agrarna reforma i kolonizacija u Backoj 1918.-1941., Novi Sad 1972; same author, Agrarna reforma i kolonizacija u Sremu 1919.-1941., Novi Sad 1975; O. Jansa, Agrarna reforma v Sloveniji med obema vojnama in: Zgodovinski casopis No. 17, Ljubljana 1964, 173-189; Z. Bruck, Die Agrarreform des Königreiches der Serben, Kroaten und Slowenen, Bern 1927

8 Biber, 38-41; Mirnic, 32; H. Rasimus, Als Fremde im Vaterland, Der Schwäbisch-Deutsche Kulturbund und die ehemalige deutsche Volksgruppe im Spiegel der Presse, München 1989 (further: Rasimus, Als Fremde im Vaterland), 185-198; On the German school system in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, see: J.V. Senz, Das Schulwesen der Donauschwaben im Königreich Jugoslawien, München1969; F. Schneider, Das Schulwesen der Deutschen in Jugoslawien, Belgrad 1944; K. Hügel, Abriß der Geschichte des Donauschwäbischen Schulwesens, München 1957; O. Plautz, Das Werden der Deutschen Volksgemeinschaft in Südslawien, Novi Sad 1940 (further: Plautz); H. Rasismus, Die deutsche Schulnot im ehemaligen Königreich Jugoslawien, München 1979

9 In more detail: Rasimus, Als Fremde im Vaterland; Biber, 32 and further; H.H. Harriman, The German Minority in Yugoslavia 1941-1945, Ann Arbor 1973, 40

10 See: V. Jojkic, Nacionalizacija Backe i Banata, Novi Sad 1931; Izvori velikosrpske agresije (edited by B. Covic), Zagreb 1991; Etnicko ciscenje: Povijesni dokumenti o jednoj srpskoj ideologiji (edited by M. Grmek, M. Gjidara, N. Simac), Zagreb 1993

11 Biber, 34; Plautz, 34-36

12 In more detail: Rasimus, Als Fremde im Vaterland, 206-254; Biber, 35-38; M. Annabring, Volksgeshcichte der Donauschwaben in Jugoslawien, Neuhausen/Filder 1956, 29-30; P. Mentzel, The German Minority in Inter-War Yugoslavia, in: Nationalities Papers, Vol. XXI, No. 2, 1993 (further: Mentzel), 133, Harriman, 44; The Party of Germans was quite conservative, winning about fifty thousands votes at the elections, so German historians claim that the party had never really been accepted by the German minority.

13 At the time of the prohibition of the party, only 9,000 Germans were members of the Kulturbund, which is about 1 % of all ethnic Germans; Mentzel, 133; A. Komjathy, German Minorities and the Third Reich, New York 1980, (further: Komjathy), 126-127

14 Mirnic, 35-36

15 In more detail: J. Pleterski, Die Frage der nationalen Gleichberechtigung in Jugoslawien 1918-1941, in: Geschichte der Deutschen im Bereich des heutigen Slowenien 1848-1941, Wien 1988, 155-170

16 There are many references on ethnic Germans in Yugoslavia. The following are some of the more important summaries and monographs: H. Brunner, Das Deutschtum in Südosten, Leipzig 1940; J. Senz, Geschichte der Donauschwaben, Freilassing 1955; B. Saria, Geschichte der Südostdeutschen Volksgruppen, Kitzingen 1954; A. Tafferner, Quellenbuch zur Donauschwäbischen Geschichte, I-IV, München 1974-1983; G. C. Paikert, The Danube Swabians, The Hague 1967; M. Annabring, Volksgeschichte der Donauschwaben in Jugoslawien, Stuttgart 1955; Adriaticus (F. Lange), Die Deutschen in Südslawien, Berlin 1930; F. H. Riedl, Das Südostdeutschentum in Jahren 1918-1945, München 1962; H. Rüdiger, Die Donauschwaben in der Südslawischen Batschka, Stuttgart 1931; A. Valentin, Die Banater Schwaben, München 1959; H. Haller, Syrmien und sein Deutschtum. Ein Beitrag zur Landeskunde einer südostdeutschen Volksinsellandschaft, Leipzig 1941; W. Köhl, Die deutschen Sprachinseln in Südungarn und Slawonien, Innsbruck 1902; H. Schrecheis, Donauschwaben in Kroatien. Historisch-demographische Untersuchung, Salzburg 1983; J. Müller, Syrmien - Slawonien - Bosnien. Verlorene Heimat deutscher Bauern, Freilassing 1961; V. Oberkersch, Die Deutschen in Syrmien, Slawonien, Kroatien und Bosnien. Geschichte einer deutschen Volksgruppe in Südosteuropa, Stuttgart 1989; H. Maier, Die deutsche Siedlungen in Bosnien, Stuttgart 1924; A. Lenz, Die Deutschen Minderheiten in Slowenien, Graz 1923; Zgodovina Nemcev na obmocju danasnje Slovenije 1848-1941, Wien 1988; H. Grothe, Die deutsche Sprachinsel Gottsche in Slowenien, Münster 1931; Komjathy; H.H. Harriman; H.-U. Wehler, Nationalitätenpolitik in Jugoslawien: Die deutsche Minderheit 1918-1978, Göttingen 1980; J. Beer, Donauschwäbische Zeitgeschichte aus erster Hand, München 1987; One should consult bibliographic text-books, especially: A. Scherer, Donauschwäbische Bibliographie 1935-1955, München 1966; same author, Donauschwäbische Bibliographie 1955-1965, München 1974. There is not much reference material on the history of Yugoslav Germans in Slovene, Croatian and Serbian. Most of it covers only a certain time period or is limited to a certain area. The most significant work is D. Biber’s book ‘Nacizem in Nemci v Jugoslaviji 1933-1941’ (Ljubljana 1966). J. Mirnic’s book ‘Nemci u Backoj u drugom svetskom ratu’ (Novi Sad 1974) covers the period of WW II. The monograph ‘Nemci u Jugoslaviji 1941-1945’ (Beograd 1991) by P. Kacavenda tells us about the history of ethnic Germans from the breakdown of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until the end of WW II. The book ‘Sto se dogodilo s Folksdojcerima? Sudbina Nijemaca u bivsoj Jugoslaviji’ (Zagreb 1993.) by V. Geiger and I. Jurkovic is a historic survey about the fate of the Germans after WW II in Yugoslavia, as well as S. Maricic’ book ‘Susedi, dzelati, zrtve: Folksdojceri u Jugoslaviji’ (Beograd 1995)

17 For a detailed analysis of the German population in Yugoslavia, based on official publications and relevant references, see: Biber, 15-23; see also: Dokumentation der Vertreibung der Deutschen aus Ost-Mitteleuropa, Bonner Dokumentation, Band V, Das Schicksal der Deutschen in Jugoslawien, Düsseldorf 1961, München 1984, Augsburg 1994. (further: Bonner Dokumentation, Band V), 119E and further.

18 Definitivni rezultati popisa stanovnistva od 31. januara 1921 (The final results of the 1921 census), Sarajevo 1932. There were approximately 10 % less Germans in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in 1921 than in 1910 (on the same territory).

19 Definitivni rezultati popisa stanovnistva od 31. januara 1931. godine, Beograd 1938.

20 Rasimus, Als Fremde in Vaterland, 574. Distribution of Germans in banovinas, according to confessions (1931) - see also Rasimus, 575-596.

21 Biber, 16-17.

22 Biber, 15-16; Bonner Dokumentation, Band V, 120E-123E; Examples: R. Damert, Deutschlands Nachbarn in Südosteuropa, Leipzig 1949; L. Schumacher, Donauschwaben und Karpatendeutsche, Stuttgart (1958); G. Wolfrum, Die Völker und Nationalitäten in: Jugoslawien. Osteuropa-Handbuch, Stuttgart 1954; Even before Hitler came to power German authors estimated that 600,000 - 700,000 Germans lived in Yugoslavia; P. Rohrbach, Deutsches Volkstum als Minderheit, Berlin 1926, 60 - he believed the number to be over 700,000; T. Grentrup, Das Deutschtum an der Mittleren Donau in Rumänien und Jugoslawien, Münster 1930, 20 - he estimated the number to be about 700,000.

23 See: V. Vinaver, Svetska ekonomska kriza u Podunavlju i nemacki prodor 1928-1934, Beograd 1987; D. Lukac, Treci Rajh i zemlje jugoistocne Evrope 1933-1936, I, Beograd 1982; same author, Treci Rajh i zemlje jugoistocne Evrope 1937-1941, II, Beograd 1982; Compare to: R. W. Krugman, Südosteuropa und Grossdeutschland. Entwicklung und Zukunftmöglichkeiten der Wirtschaftbeziehungen, Breslau 1939; S. H. Schröder, Südosteuropa in der Deutschen Donauwirtschaft, Berlin 1939; Lj. S. Kosier, Grossdeutschland und Jugoslawien (aus der südslawischen Perspektive), Berlin-Beograd 1939.

24 Biber, 262; Mirnic, 75-77.

25 Mirnic, 75-77; Biber, 265; Müller, 53.

26 B. Sohl, Heidschutz, Freilassing 1960, 47.

27 J. Wüscht, Beitrag zur Geschichte der Deutschen in Jugoslawien für den Zeitrum von 1934-bis 1944, Kehl am Rhein 1966, 70; J. Wuescht, Jugoslawien und das Dritte Reich. Eine dokumentarische Geschichte der deutschen - jugoslawischen Beziehungen von 1933-194, Stuttgart 1969, 261-162.

28 For more details see: Bonner Dokumentation, Band V, 45E-59E (see also their references).

29 See: Bonner Dokumentation, Band V, 85E and further.

30 See: H. Sonnleitner, Aktion Intelligenzia in Karlsdorf, München 1986.

31 Yugoslav historians fail to explain the brutal expulsion of the German minority from Yugoslavia. They generally favour the thesis according to which the majority of the German population chose to flee the country and thereby resolved their destiny in the autumn of 1944. According to this thesis, the Germans were conscious of their guilt and fled in fear of punishment. This certainly is part of the truth, but it does not explain the policy and the actions of the new Yugoslav government towards those Germans who decided to stay. Yugoslav official historians exaggerated excessively, as in: Report on the Crimes of Austria and the Austrians against Yugoslavia and her People, Beograd 1947; M. Grozdanic, U ime Krista i Übermenscha, Osijek 1958; M. Marjanovic, Ekonomska politika nemackih nacistickih okupatora u Jugoslaviji 1941-1945, in: Jugoslovenski istorijski casopis, No. 4, Beograd 1963, 73-93; N. Zivkovic, Ratna steta koju je Nemacka ucinila Jugoslaviji u drugom svetskom ratu, Beograd 1975. There are many Yugoslav historians (Krnic, Hreckovski, Ljubljanovic, Lucic, Redzic, Biber, Mirnic, Kacavenda...) who wrote about the Germans in Yugoslavia. I would not like to evaluate their work or their intentions. It is a fact, though, that Yugoslav historians did not research the fate and the exodus of ethnic Germans from Yugoslavia.

32 Yugoslav documentation on the post-war fate of ethnic Germans is irreplaceable and most important, if one is to research the subject correctly. Unfortunately, the documentation is inaccessible, since it is kept in the archives of the Secretariat of Internal Affairs and the Secretariat of External Affairs in Belgrade.

33 Sluzbeni list Demokratske Federativne Jugoslavije, No. 2, Beograd, February 6, 1945, 13.

34 Bonner Dokumentation, Band V, 130E-132E; These data were also taken over by: V. Zerjavic, Gubici stanovnistva Jugoslavije u drugom svjetskom ratu, Zagreb 1989 (further: Zerjavic), 177.

35 During the year 1945 a significant number of people who were fit for work (the exact data differ from author to author), mainly women, were picked from various camps and handed over to the Soviet command. They were then transferred to mines or were sent to Siberian construction sites. Most of them never returned.

36 Beer, 228.

37 Zerjavic, 55-56.

38 Zerjavic, 61-68.

39 B. Kocovic, Zrtve drugog svetskog rata u Jugoslaviji, Sarajevo 1990. (further: Kocovic), 65.

40 Kocovic, 65.

41 There is a substantial amount of reference material on the exodus of the Germans from eastern and south-eastern Europe. For more information see: Dokumentation der Vertreibung der Deutschen aus Ost-Mitteleuropa. Bonner Dokumentation, Band I, 1-3, Die Vertreibung der Deutschen Bevölkerung aus den Gebieten östlich der Oder-Neiße; Band II, Das Schicksal der Deutschen in Ungarn; Band III, Das Schicksal der Deutschen in Rumänien; Band IV, 1-2, Die Vertreibung der Deutschen Bevölkerung aus der Tschechoslowakei; Band V, Das Schicksal der Deutschen in Jugoslawien, Düsseldorf 1961, München 1984, Augsburg 1994; Leidensweg der Deutschen im komunistichen Jugoslawien, München - Sindelfingen (Band I, 1991, Band II, 1993, Band IV, 1994, Band III, 1995). The first book was also published under the title ‘Weissbuch der Deutschen aus Jugoslawien 1944-1948’, München 1992. See V. Geiger, Osvrt na vazniju folksdojcersku literaturu o sudbini Nijemaca u Jugoslaviji, in: Casopis za suvremenu povijest, No. 1, Zagreb 1993, 163-168.

41 Harriman, 188.

42 Source: Drzavni zavod za statistiku, Zagreb (State Institute of Statistics)

43 L. Schumacher, Aussiedler aus den Südosteuropäischen Staaten von 1950 bis 1977, in: Donauschwaben Kalender 1979, Aalen 1978, 83. Emigration data are as follows: n 1950 - 1668 in 1960 - 3308 in 1970 - 1372 n 1951 - 3668 in 1961 - 2053 in 1971 - 1159 in 1952 - 3407 in 1962 - 2003 in 1972 - 884 in 1953 - 7972 in 1963 - 2543 in 1973 - 783 in 1954 - 9481 in 1964 - 2331 in 1974 - 646 in 1955 - 11839 in 1965 - 2195 in 1975 - 419 in 1956 - 7314 in 1966 - 2078 in 1976 - 265 in 1957 - 5130 in 1967 - 1881 in 1977 - 218 emigrants n 1958 - 4708 in 1968 - 1391 n 1959 - 3819 in 1969 - 1325

44 The Association of German Emigrants from the Southeast publishes yearly tens of books about the old homeland. There are monographs about almost every former German settlement. Equally, there is hardly an important event in the history of the Danube Germans that has not been dealt with in publications. Besides historic reviews, memoirs and journalistic works, there is a whole series of ‘homeland books’ (Heimatbücher). See: W. Kessler, Njemacke "Zavicajne knjige" o Jugoslaviji, in: Historijski zbornik, god. XXXI-XXXII, Zagreb 1978-79, 505-506; A. Tafferner, Donauschwäbische Heimatbücher und Ortsgeschichten in chronologischer Reihenfolge 1777-1972, in: Donauschwäbische Lehrer- und Forschungsarbeit, München 1973, 301-326.

45 The existence of camps for unfit persons, children and elderly people is indisputable. The fate of children was most tragic. Soon after the general internment all children who were unfit for work, i.e. 13 to 14 years old and younger, were separated from their parents and put in special camps. These children were left to shift for themselves - they were reduced to hunger and suffered from epidemics. Still, in 1946 the authorities started to accommodate German children in Slavic homes. This saved the lives of many children, but contributed also to the fact that many lost consciousness of their origin and their family. Later, when the German and the Yugoslav Red Cross started to co-operate, most of the German children were transferred to Germany. See in more detail: A. K. Gauss, Kinder im Schatten, Salzburg 1950; K. Spingenschmid, Janitscharen, Die Kindertragödie im Banat, Wien 1978.

46 It is indisputable that German military troops took reprisals in Serbia, Bosnia, parts of Croatia and Slovenia... Retaliations for the crimes committed by occupation forces were undertaken by armies of all occupying countries: Bulgarians in Macedonia and southern Serbia, Italians in their occupation zone, Hungarians in Voivodina. It may sound cruel, but the crimes of German troops in Banat and Syrmia were nothing compared to the massacres committed by Hungarian troops in Backa. And once again, the members of the German minority were punished for their ‘collective’ crime.

47 Compare: A. Taffner, Donauschwaben in den Todeslagern der Titopartisanen 1944-1948, in: Die Donauschwaben 1944-1948. Beitrag zur Zeitgeschichte, München 1968, 128; V. Geiger - I. Jurkovic, Poratni logori za pripadnike njemacke nacionalne manjine. Imenik i tipovi poratnih logora za pripadnike njemacke nacionalne manjine na teritoriju istocne Slavonije, Srijema, Baranje, Backe i Banata, in: Zatvorenik, No. 9, Zagreb 1991., 28-31; see the map of camps, published in "Zatvorenik", No. 9, 26-27; Compare to the map in Taffner’s Volkskalender der Donauschwaben, Ulm 1965, 32.

48 In more detail: Geiger-Jurkovic, Sto se dogodilo s Folksdojcerima? 85-102.

49 N. Gacesa, Agrarna reforma i kolonizacija u Jugoslaviji 1945-1948, Novi Sad 1984, 78-79.

50 Gacesa, 362.

51 Gacesa, 347. Except for Gacesa, there is little research work on the national structure of the colonists who came to live on German estates. In more detail: Geiger-Jurkovic, Sto se dogodilo s Folksdojcerima?, 103-106.

52 See: B. Bukurov, Poreklo stanovnistva Vojvodine, Novi Sad 1957; R. Petrovic, Migracije u Jugoslaviji: Etnicki aspekt, Beograd 1987; S. Zuljic, Narodnosna struktura Jugoslavije i tokovi promjena, Zagreb 1989; A. Bognar, Razvoj etnicke strukture Baranje, in: Politicko-geografska i demografska pitanja Hrvatske, Zagrb 1991., 293-315; S. Sterc, Promjene nacionalnog sastava stanovnistva istocne Slavonije i zapadnog Srijema i Backe nakon 1921. godine, in: Kolo, br. 5-6, Zagreb 1991., 129-158; Z. Stiperski, Kretanje Nijemaca u istocnoj Hrvatskoj, Backoj i Srijemu, in: Slavonija, Srijem, Baranja i Backa, Zbornik, Zagreb 1993., 143-148; Geiger-Jurkovic, Sto se dogodilo s Folksdojcerima?, 106-107.

53 Eminent post-war economists agree that the land reform changed the land structure of Yugoslavia. The fears that the colonists would not be able to manage the abandoned German estates came true. See: A. Petkovic, Politicke borbe za novu Jugoslaviju. Od Drugog AVNOJ-a do prvog Ustava, Beograd 1988, 215.

54 See: L. Egger, Das Vermögen und die Vermögenverluste der Deutschen in Jugoslawien, Sindelfingen 1983., which shows not only the wealth of ethnic German estates in ex- Yugoslavia, but also the importance of the German minority in various fields of business life.