Can You Go Home Again? And if „Yes“, Where to?
In June 2011 I once again returned my native city of New York. For the sake of convenience I joined a trip organized by the German-American Institute of Tübingen. I wasn´t too keen on sight-seeing – or riding the elevator of the Empire State Building for the twentieth time, even though this building has a very special significance for me: its construction was completed just months before I was born. So, instead, I decided to go to the Top of the Rock for its grandiose view of the city. This building directly faces Radio City Music Hall, that coliseum whose construction was started one day after my birth! Furthermore, my father, Jacob, and brother-in-law, Jack Judt, had worked on some of the better known high rises of New York. All this allows me to define myself mainly as a New Yorker – which I consider my Identity No. 1.
My flight began with Identity No. 3: that of a Tübinger, where I´ve lived most of my life. Leaving Identity No. 2, that of „Jaksch“, as some of my schoolmates from the days I lived in Yugoslavia/Hungary choose to call me. This label seems to come from an attempt to make a „Sekitscher“ out of me, which, due to the short time I lived there, could only be because my parents came from Sekitsch. Nonetheless, I´ll always remember those very important six years there!
As much as I like New York, I´m still more attached to my sister on Long Island, Tessie, and her family. So it was obvious that I´d call her immediately after my arrival. And as it happened, I´d once again shown up when another meeting of the Donauschwäbischen Hilfs- & Jugendverein (follow-up organization of the Donauschwäbischen Jugendverein, founded in 1956) was to be held.
If fifty years since the foundation of the earlier group seem long, we should remember that emigration to the US from Sekitsch started as early as the 19th century. The arrival there of my grandfather, Ludwig Klein, and his oldest daughter, Katie, dates from before World War I. After the war it took until 1921 before his wife and the other three children were able to join them. When he died in 1926 (photo), he was the first of three generations to be buried in New York. Also in 1921, my father and mother, together with „Max“ Wagner and many other Sekitschers arrived in Brooklyn. Both of my parents, Theresa and Jacob Lohrmann many years later found their last resting place within view of the Empire State Building – not far from the graves of my grandparents Klein and nephew Gary Judt
Actually, my memory indirectly reaches back to the time of my grandfather´s emigration because of my grandmother Katharina whom I knew very well: born in 1881, she died in New York in 1975. Under such premises it is difficult for me to consider myself anything but primarily a New Yorker. After all, major experiences of my life – early childhood, high school and college – were made there, with the adage, however, that I spent much of that time among Donauschwaben, mainly Sekitscher, be it helping to pack relief parcels for the „United Friends of Needy and Displaced Peoples of Yugoslavia“ (founded by Peter „Max“ Wagner), or playing soccer for the „German-Hungarian Soccer Club“. It was in these very rooms of our former clubhouse that the present meeting of the Donauschwäbischen Hilfs- & Jugendverein was taking place.
Searching for ties between the Donauswabian Americans and those in Germany, it turns out that they are closer than one would suspect: on the surface, neither side seems very aware of the other. Yet, if you ask: „do you remember him or her?“, memories crop up that indicate a deep-rooted connection, like the one maintained by the efforts of Justine Wittine.
The best proof, however, lies in the telling use of language: At that meeting on June 13th 2011, I heard as much Donauswabian-English, as I heard Donauswabian-German at similar meetings in Germany! And because “Schwowe“, as they call themselves in their dialect, just don´t seem to be able to shed their skins, they seek additional support to bolster their reminiscence of a blessed childhood. The best way to do this is to join an organization like the one mentioned.
Chairman George Ritter opened the meeting by reading the agenda containing a surprising number of activities the members had undertaken or planned: a trip to Atlantic City and its casinos in June, 2011; a meeting in Philadelphia with representatives from 20 cities; one in Mansfield, Ohio, planned for September 2011, to which guests from Trenton New Jersey are invited; attendance of a performance of „Jonah“ in Pennsylvania Dutch Country; a Spring Festival in May, 2012; and – most important: a celebration of the anniversaries of the two organizations in October, 2011.
These endeavors are remarkable not only because of their scope but also because of the participants, most of whom having been born in the old country! Another surprise is the considerable number of members beyond those 29 shown in the picture below (photo). Of course, a realization that the remaining time is waning – one´s own as well as that of the Donauschwabentum”, gives impetus to making use of as many opportunities as possible to preserve a 200-year-old heritage.
I must confess, though, that each time I attend these meetings, whether in New York or in Böchingen, a sense of “once-upon-a-time” and remorse enter my mind. I also regret the wasted opportunities of visiting those few Landsleute still remaining. Most likely we will realize this, when it is too late. Be this as it may, I was asked to convey the best wishes to the Donauschwaben of Germany, from the Donauschwäbische Hilfs- & Jugendverein of New York.
Karl Bubenheimer, Heinz Eichhorn, Josef Ganz, Reinhard Konrad, Ani Kuehbauch, Elsa Flenka, Anna Bubenheimer, Richard Hoffmann
Katharina Kuhner, Anna Sauer, Barbara Kapp, Sophie Schmitt, Eva Ganz, Klara Jaeger, Anna Fischer, Maria Tabor
Justine Wittine, Magdalena Metzger, Adam Metzger, George Ritter, Matt Kleinhans, Gerda Hoffmann
Adam Frank, Jacob Judt, Theresa Judt, Magdalene Frank
Philipp Kuhner, Helen Walter
Text by Jack Lohrmann