Without a country to call their own, the Donauschwaben have an identity problem. The Donauschwaben, anglicized “Danube Swabians”, came into existence in the 17th and 18th century when German pioneers settled in Habsburg, Hungary. #danubeswabian #german #donauschwaben 
German troops, commanded by Prince Eugene of Savoy, a Frenchman in service of the Austro-Hungarian dual-monarchy in command of German troops, had recovered land from 150 years of Turkish misrule. #danubeswabian #german #donauschwaben
In the aftermath of the Second World War, the Donauschwaben were divided, stripped of their possessions and expelled from their homelands. #danubeswabian #expelledgermans #justiceforgermans #German
Despite the fact that they hadn’t existed within the boundaries of #Germany for hundreds of years, anti-German sentiment following the Second World War #WW2 led to the persecution of the #Donauschwaben.
Because of their ethnicity, one million six hundred thousand innocent souls were forcibly deported from their native soil. Those who remained, or were unable to escape, were massacred. #DanubeSwabian #German #Donauschwaben #WWII
In #Communist #Yugoslavia, these peaceful pioneers became victims of Tito’s state-sponsored genocide. They were deported from #Hungary and dispossessed in #Romania, and survivors were eventually sold to #Germany.
The #Donauschwaben were divided, expelled from their homelands, stripped of their possessions and murdered en masse. All of these crimes were committed outside war-time at the hands of #communist partisans, and with the knowledge of allied victors.
“Nur der ist seiner Ahnen wert, der ihre Sitten treu verehrt.”
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“Only those who honor the traditions of their ancestors are worthy to be their descendants.”
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“Only those who honor the traditions of their ancestors are worthy to be their descendants.”
