Town History

Until 1944 Sekitsch was a purely German populated town in the Batschka ( today Serbia) which was established and in 1786 settled by emporer Josef II with German protestant colonists.

Feketitsch is a community founded by Hungary and in 1785 settled with Hungarians. The first Sekitsch citizens moved to Feketitsch from ca 1820 on.

1786	At the time of first settlement Sekitsch had 5 streets called: Unterreihe, Zweitreihe, Hauptgasse, Schwabengasse und Oberreihe. Until 1862 the Old Cemetery was the only one in Sekitsch. Until 1830 German was the official language in Sekitsch.

27.10.1786	First entry into the parish register of birth.
1788	Start of entrances into the Sekitsch register books
18.05.1796	First authentic index oft he German homeowners (215 houses and one empty courtyard)
1798	First Sekitsch school with 170 students
1817	Inauguration of the church
1822	Sekitsch has 1751 inhabitants of which 1624 are protestants, 71 reformed protestants, 51 catholics and 5 jewish
1826	For Sekitsch 2 townnames are used: Szeghegy und Szikity
1830	Start of the construction of „Gässel“ area Latin ist he official language until 1842
1834	Excavation oft he fountain „Rossbrunnen“ in the area „kleine Wiese“ (small meadows)
1836	Abolition of corporal punishment
1840	Start oft he construction „Weingärten“ area
1841	Excavation of a „Big Fountain“ in the „Thal“ area Production of a century wine
1842	Opening of the road between Szeghegy and Hegyes
1849	First oven for roof tiles
1850	First official census. Sekitsch has 377 houses and 2825 inhabitants German is the official language until 1862
1852	First taxes are raised, those were property-, head- and house taxes
1854	Start oft he construction „Jerusalem“ area
1856	Excavation of a cattle fountain
1857	Start of keeping a land register

1860	Land register becomes legal
1861	Start of the construction of the town areas „Jarek“, „Thal“, „Froschgasse“ and „Spitz“
1861	Construction of the Hegyesch cemetary
1862	Hungarian becomes the official language until 1918
1870	Sekitsch has 468 houses and 3377 inhabitants
1870	Start of the construction of „Kulaer street“
1871	Emergence oft he religous sect, the „Nazarenes“
1878	Fencing in of Leitergässler cemetary (the newest cemetary)
1879	Start oft he construction of „Affenstreet“
1883	Opening of a mutual railroad station in Hegyesch
1885	Sekitsch has 668 houses and 4485 inhabitants
1887	Errection of a memorial stone (monument) in commemoration of the battle of Szeghedy
1895	A second memorial stone in commemoration of the battle of Szeghedy
1898	The first seasonal workers go to work in Germany
1900	Census, there are now 818 houses for 4936 inhabitants
1910	Lukas Kinkel opens the first movie theater
1912	Construction of the Methodist Church on the Hauptgasse (main street)
1912	Attachement of a power plant to the Hunsinger flower mill
27.07.1936	The Olympic flame arrives in Sekitsch. Philipp März, Hans Karbiener and Paul Ohlicher carried it each for one kilometer.
1938	The area „Spitz“ becomes a gravel road
1939	Establishment of the assosiation oft he hemp growers
01.04.1941	Franz Glöckner, Ludwig Niedan and Friedrich Weingärtner are taken as hostages to Sremski Karlovci
10.04.1941	Ca 200 men who were drafted into the Serbian army returned home
13.04.1941	Hungarian troops invade Sekitsch
1941	Hungarian becomes the official language until 1944
April 1942	A first group of Sekitsch men are drafted into the Waffen-SS
1942	The first group of 60 children are sent from Germany for recreation to Sekitsch
April 1943	A group of 80 girls from Hamburg arrived in Sekitsch
Oktober 1943	40 boys from Bremen and 60 from Ostfriesland arrived in Sekitsch A second group of Sekitsch men are drafted into the Waffen-SS
29.11.1943	The party convention of the communists reaches a resolution to disposses and annihilate the German minority.
1944	A children group from the area Szatmar arrives for recreation. Students from Vienna come for the same purpose.
Juli 1944	A third group of Sekitsch men are drafted into the Waffen-SS
8./9.10.1944	A refugee trek with ca 80 horses and 500 persons leaves from Sekitsch
18.10.1944	Russian military invades Sekitsch
20.11.1944	Sekitsch is officially declared as a prisoner camp
25.11.1944	The Tito partisans evict Germans from their homes. Ages 14 to 65 are brought to B. Topola, and later to Subotica.
1944	There existed 1341 home lots, of which 1200 had houses built on for ca. 4500 inhabitants. 1100 had already emigrated to USA.
1944/45	The power plant and flower mills were dismanteled
01.01.1945	Abduction of 62 men and 135 women who were transported from the Kulaer railroad station to Toschkowa and Karbonit to work as miners. On Jan. 20. 1945 the transport reaches Woroschilowgrad (Ukraine).
Spring1945	The remaining men and adolescents were brought to Semlin (Zemun) to work on the construction of railroad trak from Schid to Vinkovci
01.10.1945	The prisoner camp of Sekitsch holds 7000 prisoners.
03.10.1945	Prisoners unable to work are transfered to the extermination camps Gakowo and Kruschewlje.
06.05.1946	The relief organisation of Peter Max Wagner is entered into the register of associations in New York.
1946	The ancestry cemetery is leveled out.
since 1948	Parish festivals of the Sekitsch displaced citizens take place in Geislingen, Groß-Umstadt, Babenhausen, Lampertheim und Salzburg.
03.11.1949	Home return (Germany) of the survivors who were abducted to Russia.
1950	The Sekitsch church is demolished. On the opposite site, on the lots of Weber and Tauss a house of culture is constructed.
1964	Peter Max Wagner, born 04. August 1898 in Sekitsch, founder and chairman of the relief association in New York, is honored through the erection of the Pannonia-Fountain in Kirchheim u. Teck.
28.08.1966	Dedication of the „House of the Southeast-Germans“ in Böchingen/Pfalz.
05.09.1971	Dedication of the additional construction to the „House of the Southeast-Germans“ in Böchingen/Pfalz
14.09.1974	Foundation of the Association for the Cultivation oft the Danube-Swabian culture Sekitsch-Feketitsch
31.10.1975	The archive of the relief association in New York burns down.
05.11.1975	The articles forFoundation of the Association for the Cultivation of the Danube-Swabian culture Sekitsch-Feketitsch are manifested.
Dezember 1976	First edition of the „Sekitscher Bote“ (Sekitsch Messenger) is published
05.11.1977	The book „Sekitsch – erlebte Heimat“ by Philipp Sandles is published.
1978	New edition of the first book on Sekitsch published in 1886 by Johann Jaussis published.
14.11.1981	The „Picturebook Sekitsch“ is published.
03.02.1982	Peter Max Wagner – the helping force in the Danube-Swabian cause – dies in Brooklyn, USA
1982	New edition of the Feketisch township book written by Dr. Viktor Pratscher is published
1985	Publication of the book „Die Donauschwaben / The Danube-Swabians“ written by Jeanne J. Nebel
August 1986	Completion of the „ Township-book Sekitsch“ written by Franz Glöckner
26. – 28.09.1986	200-Year-Celebration of Sekitsch in Gross-Umstadt
1989	The book „Mottersproch“ (Sekitsch-mother-tongue) by Philipp Sandles is published
2005	Inauguration of the memorial monument on the Sekitsch cemetery.