Donauschwaben | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Total population | |
| 230,509 (220.000-230.000) 220.000-230.000 (including those ofancestral descent) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Hungary | 186,596[1] |
| Romania | 36,884[2] |
| Serbia | 4,064[3] |
| Croatia | 2,965[4] |
| Languages | |
| Hungarian,Romanian,Serbo-Croatian,German | |
| Religion | |
| Catholicism andLutheranism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Germans of Hungary,Germans of Romania,Germans of Serbia,Germans of Croatia,Banat Swabians,Satu Mare Swabians | |
TheDanube Swabians (German:Donauschwaben[ˈdoːnaʊʃvaːbm̩]ⓘ) is a collective term for the ethnic German-speaking population who lived in theKingdom of Hungary in east-central Europe, especially in theDanube River valley, first in the 12th century, and in greater numbers in the 17th and 18th centuries. Most were descended from earlier 18th-century Swabian settlers fromUpper Swabia, theSwabian Jura, northernLake Constance, the upper Danube, theSwabian-Franconian Forest, theSouthern Black Forest and thePrincipality of Fürstenberg, followed by Hessians, Bavarians, Franconians and Lorrainers recruited by Austria to repopulate the area and restore agriculture after the expulsion of theOttoman Empire. They were able to keep their language and religion and initially developed strongly German communities in the region withGerman folklore.
The Danube Swabians were given their German name by German ethnographers in the early 20th century.[5] In the 21st century, they are made up ofethnic Germans from many former and present-day countries:Germans of Hungary;Satu Mare Swabians;Germans of Croatia,Bačka, theBanat Swabians; and theVojvodina Germans of Serbia'sVojvodina andCroatia'sSlavonia, especially those in theOsijek region. They called themselvesSchwowe in a Germanized spelling, or "Shwoveh" or "Shwova" in an English spelling; in the singular first person, a Danube Swabian identified as aShwob.
In Serbo-Croatian, Danube Swabians, alongside the local populace would refer to themselves asŠvabo (Serbo-Croatian for "of Swabia") orNijemci /Nemci (Serbo-Croatian for "Germans"), referring to their ethnic origin. However, theCarpathian Germans andTransylvanian Saxons are not included within the Danube Swabian group.
After the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire following theFirst World War, the areas where the Danube Swabians had settled were divided into three parts by the Allied Powers. One part remained withHungary, the second part was allocated toRomania, and the third part fell to the newly established state ofYugoslavia. In this atmosphere of ethnic nationalism, the Danube Swabians had to fight for legal equality as citizens and for the preservation of their cultural traditions. In the 1930s, Nazi Germany promoted National Socialist ideas to the Danube Swabians and claimed the right to protect them as part of its reason for expanding into eastern Europe.[6]
The Danube Swabians faced particular challenges in theSecond World War, when the Axis powers, including Germany, overran many of the nations where they lived. While they were initially favored by the occupiers, some were moved from their homes. As the war progressed and Germany needed more soldiers, the men were conscripted. Many atrocities took place during and after the war, as a result of the complicated allegiances, brutality of the Nazis, andpartisan reaction to it.
Toward the end of the Second World War, tens of thousands of Danube Swabians fled west ahead of the advancing Soviet army. After the war, the remaining Danube Swabians were disenfranchised, their property seized, and many were deported to labor camps in theSoviet Union. Hungary expelled half of its ethnic Germans.[7] In Yugoslavia, the local "ethnic Germans" were collectively blamed for the actions of Nazi Germany and branded as war criminals. Immediately after the end of the war, partisan troops conducted mass executions of numerous Yugoslav Danube Swabians. Survivors were later confined to labor and internment camps by the Yugoslavian authorities.[8] Following the dissolution of the camps, the majority of the remaining Yugoslav Danube Swabians left the country, seeking refuge in Germany, other parts of Europe, the United States, and Canada.
Of the 1.4 to 1.5 million pre-war population of Danube Swabians, the overwhelming majority of the survivors resettled in German-speaking countries: about 660,000 inGermany and about 150,000 inAustria. Danube Swabians also resettled in theUnited States,Canada,Brazil,Argentina, andAustralia.[9] The greatest concentrations of Danube Swabians in the United States were inNew York,Rochester,Trenton,Chicago,Cleveland,Cincinnati,Akron,Mansfield,Philadelphia,Detroit,Milwaukee,St. Louis, andLos Angeles.[10] The diaspora communities of Danube Swabians maintain their language and customs in numerous societies and clubs. The number of organizations is shrinking as the generations that lived in the Danube Swabian homelands die.
Historically, Swabians have been associated with a reputation for thriftiness, industriousness, and financial success, which has contributed to a broader perception of them as wealthy. This perception is partly due to the region of Swabia in southwestern Germany, which has long been known for its strong economic base, particularly in manufacturing, engineering, and trade. Swabians are often seen as pioneers in industries such as automotive manufacturing, precision engineering, and high-quality craftsmanship. Companies like Mercedes-Benz, Bosch, and Porsche are iconic examples of Swabian enterprises that have contributed to the region's wealth and global economic influence.
The Swabian reputation for being financially successful is also tied to a cultural emphasis on frugality and a strong work ethic. These traits have historically allowed Swabians to accumulate wealth, often through careful savings, investment, and a focus on long-term financial security. As a result, many Swabians are considered to be economically well-off, particularly in contrast to other regional groups in Germany.
Swabians, (German:Donauschwaben,lit. 'Danube Swabians'), played a significant role in the history of Hungary, particularly in the 18th and 19th centuries. During this period, theHabsburg Empire encouraged German-speaking settlers from various regions, including Swabia, to migrate to Hungary. The government sought to populate and develop the sparsely inhabited areas along the Danube River, and many Swabians took up the offer, establishing communities in the area of present-day Hungary.
These Swabian settlers brought with them their dialect, customs, and economic practices, contributing to the cultural and agricultural development of the region. In Hungary, Swabian communities thrived, particularly in areas such asTransdanubia (the western part of the country), where they became an integral part of the local economy. Over time, these settlers integrated into Hungarian society, while maintaining their distinct dialect and traditions.
Though the number of Swabian speakers in Hungary has declined in recent decades, the dialect is still spoken in some areas, particularly in villages and towns that were historically home to Swabian communities. While Hungarian is the dominant language in these regions today, Swabian is still occasionally used by older generations, particularly in informal settings and within families. Efforts have been made to preserve the Swabian language and cultural heritage, including local festivals, educational programs, and cultural events that celebrate the unique traditions of the Swabian-Hungarian communities.
In some cases, Swabian is also seen as a mark of identity among the descendants of these migrants, and the language is cherished as a link to their ancestors. There are even Swabian-language publications, radio programs, and cultural organizations in Hungary that promote the continued use and preservation of the dialect.
The Swabian identity, particularly as a symbol of wealth and success, continues to resonate both in Germany and in regions with historical Swabian populations, such as Hungary. While the traditional economic dominance of Swabians in industries like engineering and manufacturing remains a source of pride, the association with thrift and financial prudence is still a defining characteristic of the Swabian stereotype. In Hungary, the Swabian legacy is still visible in architecture, culinary traditions, and festivals that celebrate their distinct cultural contributions.
Today, the Swabian dialect remains a key part of this identity, both in Germany and in Hungary, as descendants of Swabian immigrants continue to maintain links to their linguistic heritage.
Beginning in the 12th century, Germanmerchants andminers began to settle in theKingdom of Hungary at the invitation of the Hungarian monarchy (seeOstsiedlung). Although there were significant colonies ofCarpathian Germans in theSpiš mountains andTransylvanian Saxons inTransylvania, German settlement throughout the rest of the kingdom had not been extensive until this time.
During the 17th–18th centuries, warfare between theHabsburg monarchy and theOttoman Empire devastated and depopulated much of the lands of the Danube valley, referred to geographically as thePannonian plain. TheHabsburgs rulingAustria andHungary at the time resettled the land with Germanic settlers fromSwabia,Hesse,[11] especiallyFulda (district),[12]Palatinate,Baden,Franconia,Bavaria,[13]Austria,Alsace-Lorraine and theRhön Mountains,[14] andHunsrück.[15] Despite differing origins, the new immigrants were all referred asSwabians by their neighbor Croats, Serbs, Hungarians, and Romanians, because the majority of the first settlers were Swabians. TheBačka settlers called themselvesShwoveh, the plural ofShwobe in thepolyglot language that evolved there. The majority of them boarded boats inUlm, Swabia, and traveled to their new destinations down theDanube River in boats calledUlmer Schachteln. The Austro-Hungarian Empire had given them funds to build their boats for transport. The total number of German settlers who emigrated from different parts of Germany to Hungary between 1686 and 1829 is estimated at 150,000. The official name Danube Swabians has been used for this population group since 1922.
DNA Test examples of Danube Swabians from Hungary shows their German Ancestry.[16]
The first wave of invited resettlement came after the Ottoman Turks were gradually being forced back after their defeat at theBattle of Vienna in 1683. The settlement was encouraged by nobility, whose lands had been devastated through warfare, and by military officers includingPrince Eugene of Savoy andClaudius Mercy. Many Germans settled in theBakony (Bakonywald) andVértes (Schildgebirge) mountains north and west ofLake Balaton (Plattensee), as well as around the capital city,Buda (Ofen), now part ofBudapest. The area of heaviest German colonization during this period was in theSwabian Turkey (Schwäbische Türkei), a triangular region between the Danube River, Lake Balaton, and theDrava (Drau) River. Other areas settled during this time by Germans werePécs (Fünfkirchen),Satu Mare (Sathmar), and south ofMukachevo (Munkatsch).
After the Habsburgs annexed theBanat area from the Ottomans in theTreaty of Passarowitz (1718), the government made plans to resettle the region to restore farming. It became known as theBanat of Temesvár (Temeschwar/Temeschburg), as well as theBačka (Batschka) region between the Danube andTisza (Theiss) rivers. Fledgling settlements were destroyed during another Austrian-Turkish war (1737–1739), but extensive colonization continued after the suspension of hostilities.
The late 18th-century resettlement was accomplished through private and state initiatives. AfterMaria Theresa of Austria assumed the throne asQueen of Hungary in 1740, she encouraged vigorous colonization on crown lands, especially between Timișoara and the Tisza. The Crown agreed to permit the Germans to retain their language and religion, generallyRoman Catholic. The German farmers steadily redeveloped the land: drained marshes near the Danube and the Tisza, rebuilt farms, and constructed roads and canals. Many Danube Swabians served on Austria'sMilitary Frontier (Militärgrenze) against the Ottomans. Between 1740 and 1790, more than 100,000 Germans immigrated to the Kingdom of Hungary. Under the reign ofJoseph II, Holy Roman Emperor, Lutheran Germans were also allowed to settle in Hungary and other parts of the Habsburg Empire. Mainly from Hesse, Palatinate and Lower Saxony. In the various Danube Swabian dialects they were locally referred asLutherische (Lutheran). 80% from the Danube Swabians was Catholic while Lutheranians was 20% until the end of WW2.In the 1950s, many of the Lutheranian Danube Swabians went from West Germany and Austria to Canada and USA.[17]
TheNapoleonic Wars ended the large-scale movement of Germans to the Hungarian lands, although the colonial population increased steadily and was self-sustaining throughnatural increase. Small daughter-colonies developed inSlavonia andBosnia. After the creation ofAustria-Hungary in 1867, Hungary established a policy ofMagyarization whereby minorities, including the Danube Swabians, were induced by political and economic means to adopt theMagyar language and culture.
Beginning in 1893, Banat Swabians began to move toBulgaria, where they settled in the village ofBardarski Geran,Vratsa Province, founded byBanat Bulgarians several years prior to that. Their number later exceeded 90 families. They built a separate Roman Catholic church in 1929 due to conflicts with the Bulgarian Catholics. Some of these Germans later moved toTsarev Brod,Shumen Province, together with a handful of Banat Bulgarian families, as well as to another Banat Bulgarian village,Gostilya,Pleven Province.
After the treaties ofSaint-Germain (1919) andTrianon (1920) followingWorld War I, the Banat was divided betweenRomania,Yugoslavia, andHungary; Bačka was divided betweenYugoslavia andHungary; and Satu Mare went to Romania. BeforeWorld War II, the biggest populations of Germans in theVojvodina were atHodschag,Werbass, andApatin.
There were approximately two million ethnic Danube Swabians in the region before World War II. In Romania, census of 1930 recorded 745,421 Germans; Hungarian Census of 1933 recorded 477,153; and Yugoslavian Census of 1921, 513,472. German estimations from the interwar period place those estimations at 850,000; 600,000 and 620,000 for Romania, Hungary and Yugoslavia respectively.[18]
Beginning in 1920 and especially after World War II, many Danube Swabians migrated to the United States, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Austria, Australia, andArgentina. Some of them, descending from French-speaking or linguistically mixed families fromLorraine, had maintained the French language for some generations, as well as an ethnic identity, later referred to asBanat French,Français du Banat. They were resettled in France around 1950.[19]
In 1941, much of Yugoslavia wasinvaded and occupied byNazi Germany as part of the Second World War, and in the German-occupied Banat, they granted the Swabian minority superior status over the other ethnic groups in the Yugoslav population. TheBaranja andBačka Swabians reverted to Hungary.[20] The Danube Swabians were already under heavy Nazi influence by that time and served as theAxisfifth column during the invasion of Yugoslavia, although many served in the royal Yugoslav army in the brief war against the Nazis in April 1941.[21] TheIndependent State of Croatia (1941–1945), a fascistpuppet state[22][23] created within Axis-occupiedYugoslavia, was home to 182,000 Danube Swabian ethnic Germans (who were calledFolksdojčeri inCroatian).[24] In addition, the Danube Swabian minority were granted the separate autonomous region ofBanat within German-occupiedSerbia[25] In Backe in 1941, Danube Swabians formed around 20% of the population.[26] Yugoslav Danube Swabians supplied more than 60,000 troops for German military formations, some voluntarily but many more under duress. They actively participated in the sometimes brutal repression of Yugoslav Partisans and their suspected sympathizers, including 69,000 Jews living in Yugoslavia.[21]
The local collaborationist authorities were forced to make it illegal to draft Danube Swabians. However, of the approximately 500,000-strong Danube Swabian minority in occupied Yugoslavia (182,000 in theNDH, 350,000 inVojvodina), 500,000 inRomania and 500,000 inHungary, approximately 100,000 eventually entered service in various German and Axis military organizations, most notably in the two locally formedWaffen-SS volunteer divisions, the7th SS Volunteer Mountain DivisionPrinz Eugen, and the22nd SS Volunteer Cavalry Division (which was made-up of Hungarian Danube Swabians).
Although these military units were initially formed as volunteer units,[21] SS officials ultimately imposed conscription under the dubious legal pretext that occupied Serbia wasdeutsches Hoheitsgebiet, and the archaicTiroler Landsturmordung (Tyrol General Levy Act) of 1872 was invoked.[27] Guenther Reinecke, chief of theHauptamt SS-Gericht (SS legal office) wrote toHimmler that thePrinz Eugen was "no longer an organization of volunteers, that on the contrary, the ethnic Germans from Serbian Banat were drafted, to a large extent under threat of punishment by the local German leadership, and later by the SSErgänzungsamt."[28] At the end of the war, all POWs captured by the Yugoslav Army were killed as Yugoslav citizens collaborating with the enemy. In 2010, a mass grave of 2,000 summarily executed prisoners from the 7th SSPrinz Eugen was discovered near the Slovenian village ofBrežice.[29][30]
Between 1941 and 1943, a total of 2,150 ethnic German Bulgarian citizens were transferred to Germany as part ofAdolf Hitler'sHeim ins Reich policy. These included 164 Banat Swabians from Bardarski Geran and 33 from Gostilya.[31] From 1945 to 1948, many ethnic Germans in Hungary were dispossessed and expelled toAllied-occupied Germany under thePotsdam agreement. In theBačka, which had been part of Hungary from 1941, Shwovish villages were emptied forcibly in March 1945.
In 1944, a joint advance of the Yugoslav Partisans, and the SovietRed Army saw the liberation of northern areas of German-occupied Yugoslavia, which were home to the Danube Swabian minority. In Yugoslavia in particular, with many exceptions, the Danube Swabian minority "collaborated . . . with the occupation".[21] Consequently, on November 21, 1944, the Presidium of theAVNOJ (the Yugoslav parliament) declared the ethnic German minority in Yugoslavia collectively hostile to the Yugoslav state.[32] The AVNOJ Presidium issued a decree that ordered the government confiscation of all property ofNazi Germany and its citizens in Yugoslavia, persons of ethnic German nationality (regardless of citizenship), and collaborators. The decision acquired the force of law on February 6, 1945.[33] The reasons for this announcement are still debated by historians, but revenge against the ethnic German minority and the expropriation of Swabian agricultural lands to facilitate collectivization in Yugoslavia appears to have been the prime reasons.[34] In addition, approximately 30,000 Danube Swabians, the majority being women, were deported toDonbas in the Soviet Union as forced laborers in the coal mines of that region. It is estimated that 16% died due to the harsh conditions they faced.[35]
In Yugoslavia in 1945, most ethnic Germans had their land confiscated and some were stripped of their citizenship by the new communist government. The old and the young were imprisoned in camps in several villages of Vojvodina (in modern Serbia) includingGakovo,Kruševlje,Rudolfsgnad (Knićanin),Molidorf (Molin),Bački Jarak, andSremska Mitrovica, and two villages in the Slavonia region of Yugoslavia (now part of Croatia),Krndija,Valpovo.[34] Those able to work were used as slave labor throughout the countryside. On March 1, 1946, there was a proposal to expel 130,388 interned Yugoslav ethnic Germans under the Potsdam Agreement.[36][dubious –discuss] This proposal was turned down but provides a good estimate of the number of Shwovish internees. In addition, 35,000–40,000 Swabian children under age sixteen were separated from their parents and forced into prison camps and re-education orphanages. Many were adopted by Serbian Partisan families.[37][dubious –discuss]
Of a pre-war population of about 350,000 ethnic Germans in theVojvodina, the 1958 census revealed 32,000 left. Officially, Yugoslavia denied the forcible starvation and killing of their Shwovish populations, but reconstruction of the death camps reveals that of the 170,000 Danube Swabians interned from 1944 to 1948, about 50,000 died of mistreatment.[34] Men between the ages of 16 and 65 were executed while women, children, and the elderly were interned, many succumbing to fatal diseases and malnutrition inYugoslavia. Some of the Germans in Romania were deported, others were dispersed within Romania.[citation needed] Austrian historianArnold Suppan considers the destruction of the Danube Swabians to begenocide.[38]
Many left Romania forWest Germany between 1970 and 1990, and this trend increased in 1990.[citation needed] Many were literally sold to the Federal Republic of Germany, from the 70s until 1990. Since thefall of communism and the formation of new nations with new borders, the forces for movement of people among European nations have changed.Hungary joined theEuropean Union and travel between nations became simpler. From 2001 to 2011, the number of those identifying as German in Hungary increased sharply, comparing the census tables from the two years. Explanations for the increase seem complex, including the willingness of citizens to claim the ethnic identity.
The Stifoller or Stiffolder are a subgroup of the Danube Swabians who practiseFolk Catholicism, settled in some 25–30 Villages atBaranya County and 4 villages inTolna County of southwest Hungary between 1717 and 1804,[39] mostly in 1720[40] Their ancestors once came from theDiocese of Fulda atFulda and the surroundingRhön Mountains in Germany.[41]
Stiffoller kept their German tradition and a special dialect until today, calledStiffollerisch, resembling the SouthHessian dialect ofSchlüchtern in Germany,[14] example:Mir rede unsri Shwowish Moddersproch. As can be seen in the title, they refer to themselves as Shwovish.[42][43]A street inPetersberg, Hesse near Fulda is given the name, Stiffollerweg.[44]
Prior to the First World War, the Swabians were the largest ethnic group to assimilate into Hungarian society, seconded by the Galician Jews and the Slovaks. They were first and foremost Catholics, peasants thereafter, and thirdly loyal subjects to Kaiser Franz Joseph. But a distinct Hungarian Swabian ethno-national consciousness didn't develop until the spread of Romantic Nationalism in the late nineteenth century.
For the greater portion of their history, the Danube Swabian did not share a cultural identity. The term Swabian has its roots in the first wave a German-speaking immigrants from Swabia to re-settle southern Hungary after the expulsion of the Ottomans in 1689. However, it came to encompass all German-speaking people who followed in migrations from across the Holy Roman Empire in the eighteenth and nineteenth century. The termSwabian was not originally a self-proclaimed identity of a singular people but a term ascribed by Magyar lords to refer to German-speaking Catholic peasants, tavern keepers, and poor artisans. For the most part Swabians lived in villages, had few privileges, and no developed intellectual layer.[45] In 1930 Hungary 55.4% of the total Swabian population were engaged in agriculture; 28.8% in industry, crafts, commerce, or transport; and 3.1% were in state administration. The rest were employed in the service sector.[46]
The Danube Swabian culture is a melting pot of southern German regionalcustoms, with a few degree of Hungarian-Croatian influence. This is especially true of the food, wherepaprika is heavily employed, which led to the German nickname for Danube Swabians asPaprikadeutsche. The architecture is neither Southern German nor Balkan but is unique to itself. The houses, often made of stamped mud and straw walls or mud bricks, are ubiquitous throughout theVojvodina region.Georg Weifert was responsible for developing one of the most famous beers in the Serbia/Yugoslavia region and later became an important banker and politician inBelgrade (his image currently features on theSerbian 1000 dinar note).
The Danube Swabian language is only nominallySwabian (Shwovish, as it was referred to locally). In reality, it contains elements or many dialects of the original German settlers, mainlySwabian,East Franconian,Bavarian,Pfälzisch,Alsatian, andAlemannic, as well as Austro-Hungarian administrative andmilitary jargon. Loanwords fromHungarian,Serbian, orRomanian are especially common regionally regarding cuisine and agriculture, but also regardingdress, politics, place names, and sports. Other cultures of influence includeSerbian andCroatian,Russian (for communist concepts),Romanian,Turkish (Hambar), English (forfootball), and generalBalkan andSouth Slavic loanwords likeKukuruts (corn). The plural of loanwords is in most cases formed in the Shwovish way. Conjunctions and adverbs from the respective contact languages may be integrated as well.[47]
In Baranya, the Stiffolderish Shwovish is its own dialect.
Many German words used by speakers of Danube Swabian dialects may sound archaic. To the ear of a Standard German speaker, the Danube Swabian dialect sounds like what it is: a mix of southwestern German dialects from the 18th century with many strange words from other languages. Due to relative isolation and differing proximities to nearby German speakers (Austrians andTransylvanian Saxons), the language varies considerably, with speakers able to distinguish inhabitants of neighboring villages by the words they use for such things asmarmalade (Leckwaar andSchleckle being two variants), or by how many (usually Hungarian) loanwords they employ. This even applied to verb conjugations. For example, the German verb "haben" was conjugated as "han" in Sankt Hubert and as "hava" In Mramorak, although both were in Banat.[48] Herman Ruediger, a German sociologist, reports that in his trips throughout theBačka in the 1920s, he noted that Danube Swabians from widely separated villages had to use standard high German to communicate with each other because their speech was so different. This was particularly true for towns likeEsseg (Osijek) where Shwoveh were thoroughly mixed with majority Croatians.[49] For instance, the ethnic Germans of Esseg were so thoroughly assimilated with Croatia that their Shwovish or 'Essekerish' could only be understood by those who also spoke Croatian or Serbian.
Danube Swabian cuisine includes recipes brought with them from Germany but also includes regional dishes that were adopted into the Danube Swabian repertoire. Common foods includechicken paprikasch,[50]goulash,[50]spätzle,[50]kipfel,[50] caramel and walnut wafers called Oblaten,[50]sarma,[50] applestrudel,[50] pumpkin strudel,[51] cheese strudel,[50]schaum rolle,[50]djuvec,[52] stuffed peppers andplum dumplings[53] among others.
As is the custom in Hungary (as well as southern Germany), Danube Swabians often put thesurname first, especially when writing, for exampleButscher Jakob (see photo of memorial). Danube Swabian villages tend to have relatively few family names as the villagers stem from only a few families, but usually the same family name does not appear in more than a couple of villages, meaning that there are many Danube Swabian family names. The names come from throughout southern Germany, from assimilated Hungarians, and occasionally from Balkan and Italian origins. There are usually nomiddle names, but often double first names, if a distinction can be made. The variety of first names is few, since children were usually named after grandparents or godparents. Popular names for women include: Anna, Barbara, Christina, Elisabeth, Eva, Katharina, Magdalena, Maria, Sophia, Theresia, and many two-name combinations thereof. Popular names for men include: Adam, Anton, Christian, Franz, Friedrich, Georg, Gottfried, Heinrich, Jakob, Johann, Konrad, Ludwig, Mathias, Martin, Michael, Nikolaus, Peter, Philipp (or Filipp), and Stefan (or Stephan). With so few names in villages, other modifiers or nicknames were almost always used to distinguish people. The modifiers were often size related (e.g., "Kleinjohann" or "Little Johann"), occupation related ("Tischler Stefan" or the "carpenter Stefan"), or location related (usually by prefixing the streetname).
Acoat of arms designed in 1950 byHans Diplich has been adopted by many Danube Swabian cultural organizations. Its blazon is "Parti per fess wavy 1 Or, an eagle displayed couped Sable langued Gules; 2 parti per fess Argent and Vert, a fortress Argent roofed and turreted Gules surmounted with Sun and Crescent waning Or; chief wavy Azure".
It depicts:
Germany
Austria
Luxembourg
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