The family we met in Bickenholtz told us about a museum in Ulm dedicated to the story of the Donauschwaben and of course we had to come.
Right out front is a replica of the riverboats the emigrants traveled on. We don’t know how long the journey took but it doesn’t look like a very comfortable means of travel.
Maria Theresa and her husband Francis ruled the empire and when they hatched the scheme to hold the lands previously occupied by the Ottomans, Maria Theresa suggested to Francis that he send peasants from his homeland Lorraine for the purpose. And that was the genesis of the Donauschwaben.
We learned through firsthand accounts that the promised houses and livestock rarely materialized and the new arrivals were left to fend for themselves in an undeveloped and infertile landscape.
Eventually they cleared the fields, and after some lean years of harsh weather and crop failures they made a home for themselves. The museum exhibited typical furnishings, clothing, crafts, and tools.
The photo below is from the general area and period Jack’s family lived in just before they left for America, one sibling after another in a perfect example of chain migration. Jack’s grandfather was the youngest and last in his family to arrive.
“For the dispossessed who left their villages in search of an opportunity to earn, there is still an alternative to the factory. Between 1899 and 1914, about 252,000 Danube Swabians, mainly from rural regions, made their way to America.
“They are mostly young people whose future is not materially secured by their parents’ inheritance or by a gainful profession. They hope to prosper in the land of unlimited possibilities and thus to be able to build an existence in their old homeland after returning.”
Most of the emigrants to America prospered, finding work in the industrial Midwest.
Things got worse for the families who stayed. As ethnic Germans they were considered enemies during the World Wars, and many eventually had their property seized or were sent to labor camps or deported.
We spent a long time in the museum, then walked around the town. It’s a very typical west German city and we tried to imagine what it must have looked like when Jack’s ancestors were here 250 years ago.
Down by the river there’s a wall of plaques commemorating some of the regions, specific villages, and even countries where the people of the Donauschwaben diaspora ended up. I can’t emphasize enough how rare it is to have this clear a picture of the history of Jack’s paternal ancestors. Americans are so often a mishmash of heritage and ethnicity. Having a discreet and well-documented ancestral line is a gift. We were both moved by their story.
And then it was on to the Autobahn as we follow the Danube, more or less.
And check this out: miles and miles of solar panels. We’ve never seen so many!
