Geschichte von Zerne was originally published in Munich by Oliver Ledermüller
© Hans Tabar, 1973

This English translation copyright ©2004-2024
by Fran Matkovich and Mara Henderson

Cover picture courtesy of Géza Szűcs

The Northwest Banat

    Our former homeland was the Banat. It lies in the southern part of the Pannonian lowland plain between the Danube River, the Theiss, Marosch, and Siebenburg Mountains. It has a surface of 28,000 qkm [quadratkilometers or square kilometers]. The population before World War I was 1.5 million.
    The land is flat in the west, rolling, and mountainous in the east. The history of the Banat is very changeable. No doubt, the Romans walked the lands of our homeland, and there were Roman legions stationed there after they conquered Decebal, the king of Dacia, and made the Siebenburgs a Roman province.
    During the great migrations, which shook the empire of the Romans to their foundations, Goths, Gepids, and Vandals marched through this region. In the year 375 it was under the command of the Huns, who founded a great empire under their king Attila (Etzel) that fell into ruin after Attila’s death. Lombards and later Avars succeeded the Huns. The latter were totally vanquished by Karl the Great.
    In 896 A.D., the Hungarians (Magyars) conquered the Banat. They took possession of the land within the Carpathians, overthrew the resident tribes, and founded a permanent abode there. It did not all go smoothly. They harassed the neighboring nations. They led raids into other countries. The tribal princes were always fighting among themselves. Under the first king, Stefan the Holy, the Magyars were converted to Christianity and more peaceful and more favorable times followed for the country.
     However, the dangers from outside had no end. The incursion of the Cumans and the march of the crusaders through the land caused terrible devastation. Scarcely had the first sign of improvement appeared when the troops of the Greek emperor Manuel destroyed our homeland.
    In 1242, the Mongols broke out of Asia, invaded Hungary and the Banat, and devastated it completely. Hungarian king Béla IV himself had to flee. After the departure of these wild hordes,

the country was a picture of total devastation. Only slowly did the people who endured this destruction venture out of their hiding places. A small number survived this sudden and cruel invasion and began reconstruction.
    The population had only slowly multiplied before a new threat arose. The Turks from Asia, having invaded and conquered the lands of the Balkan Peninsula (1389 Battle of Amselfeld), also invaded the Banat and brought in the plague. The already sparse population was newly decimated. In 1526, the Hungarian king Ludwig II suffered an annihilating defeat at Mohács, and the Turks pressed forward their advantage. Their goal was the conquest of Vienna. Only with the help of the Polish king Jan Sobieski could they be repelled from this siege in 1683. Now came a turning point in the long battle against the Turks. Finally, in 1686, Ofen (Budapest) was re-conquered, and there followed the liberation of the territories subjugated by the Turks. The triumphant battles of Prince Eugen von Savoy at Zenta (1697) and Temesvar, and the ensuing conclusion of peace at Passarovitz (1718), finally delivered the Banat from the Turks. A setback occurred once more in 1737 with a new outbreak of the Turkish War. To protect the boundaries from the Turks, so-called military borders were established; these borders were colonized by military farmers. Their task was to protect the land from the constant Turkish invasions.
     What did the Banat look like after the Turkish dominion?
    Where there had once been flourishing villages before the Turkish rule, now were only ruins and leftover rubble, fruitful fields overgrown by wilderness. Weed, cane, brushwood, and forest grew over everything. Here every kind of beast of prey, wolves, wild hogs, and birds of prey found shelter. Rivers overflowed their banks, changed their course. Puddles and wild watercourses arose. The land became marsh. The marsh formed a breeding place for harmful insects. The vapors were not healthy. The inhabitants were nomadic Slav herders who lived in caverns. The land was very sparsely settled. It made sense, therefore, to colonize it and bring it into cultivation. The first governor of the Banat was Count Claudius Florimund Mercy. His first task was to transform the fallow lands into fruitful farmland through the settlement of colonists. He had the land surveyed and had the Bega canal built so that the extensive lands were drained. Then he allowed settlers to come 

from Germany, France, Italy and Spain, mainly farmers, to whom he allocated fields and home sites. The Turkish War in 1737 led to a setback in the colonization. Many settlers fled. Others became victims of pestilence.
    The second large settlement occurred under the reign of Maria Theresa. These were Catholic Germans from the German Empire and, to a smaller extent, French from Alsace-Lorraine.
    What induced the settlers to leave their homeland? When it became known that the empress had issued the “Charter of Colonization" ("Kolonisierungs-Patent”) in 1763, recruiters and agents were drawn throughout the land to enlist settlers. The recruitment had good results, especially in the southwestern area of Germany. The settlers were granted an allocation of land, home sites, a fee allotment of timber and firewood, and freedom from taxation for 6 years. Craftsmen received freedom from taxation for 10 years. For the journey, the colonists received daily travel expenses based on the number of family members. The difficult trip into the Banat went through Ulm, Regensburg to Vienna. Here they received the charters and travel money to Ofen (Budapest) and from there, additional travel money to the Banat. The offer was enticing and the decision to move as settlers to distant Hungary, into the Banat, alleviated problems in their homeland at that time. Due to many wars, the people were impoverished, the tax burdens were huge, the tariffs high, and likewise the rents. The chicanery of civil servants was no less troublesome. All these things together promoted the decision for emigration.
     Although many incentives were given which favored and led to the decision of the colonists, there still followed a difficult farewell. Everything that was beloved and dear to them up until then had to be left behind. Sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, good friends, or neighbors remaining at home were forlorn. The settlers felt the pain of separation twice, for not only did they leave behind their loved ones, but also the homeland that had always given them much beauty and much joy. Many private tears were shed before the trip for they knew the separation could be forever.
    So they set out upon their laborious journey. A murderous climate and wilderness awaited them upon their arrival in the Banat. With unparalleled courage and diligence, they took on the battle, and

it took ten years before they became master of the perils and made for themselves a new homeland. The battle against epidemics and arduous cultivation of the earth cost hundreds of lives, but their efforts and perspiration were rewarded at the end with success. The Banat became the breadbasket of Europe.
    After the liberation, it became an imperial province and was administered by the Vienna councilor. His respective regents were the king and queen of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine. After World War I, the Banat was divided between Yugoslavia and Romania. Romania received the larger eastern section and Yugoslavia the smaller western section.

    Since the Banat had been freed from the Turks with a huge sacrifice of blood in the victorious campaigns of Prince Eugen, there was a question about the security of the regained possession. Even when the Turks had been forced back into the area lying south of the Danube, there were still constant raids by smaller Turkish troops along the borders. To prevent this, and to enable peaceful development in these possessions, proper measures had to be taken.
    This led to the decision to settle soldiers as farmers along the boundaries in a wide border patrol. Their task was to avert the smaller Turkish raids as defense farmers and, as such, they were under the command of their border regiments. Special privileges were granted to them. This border patrol was known as the military frontier.
    However, even larger troops had to be stationed in the northern areas for they had to reckon with the problem of much more adverse invasions.
    The larger troop federations required a large amount of provision, war materials, equipment, and other things. These often had to be procured from distant territories of the empire with great difficulty and effort. So arose the plan for the settlement of the Banat.
    The first settlers who received land were veterans, members of the baggage train, and camp followers. Next came thousands of settlers, mainly from the southwestern part of the empire.
    By these two measures, establishment of the military border and settlement and cultivation of the Banat, the security and provisions for the army were guaranteed not only for the present but also for the future.
    Connected to the settlement were the following sovereigns and generals:

    Kaiser Karl VI. He was the father of the succeeding Empress Maria Theresa. During his reign, colonization of the Banat began.

    Empress Maria Theresa. The largest portion of settlement occurred under her time of reign. Over 50,000 families established themselves in the barely populated territories of southern Hungary. They took upon themselves the development of their lands and strengthened the Germans. The objective was a united state. She limited enforced labor, implemented freedom of the farmers to own property, supported trade and industry, and ordered the opening of schools for the people. During her reign, only Catholic settlers were allowed. In gratitude for the help of the Hungarians in the Seven Years War (1756-1763), she granted them certain privileges. The Hungarian language became the administrative language in the Banat, which was to the disadvantage of the German people.

    Josef II. He permitted the settlement of Protestants in the Banat, abolished serfdom, and granted his subjects freedom of speech and freedom of the press, for which he received the name “Josef the German”. His objective was a monolingual united state. To the woe of the German settlers and the placation of the Hungarians, he withdrew all of his reform measures on his deathbed.

    Prince Eugen von Savoy. “The noble knight” freed our homeland from the Turks and saved the West from Islam. He was a well-educated, religious and art-loving man, one of the greatest personalities of his era, a triumphant general and a great statesman.

    General Count Claudius Florimund Mercy. He was the first governor of the Banat. Under his direction, reconstruction of the Banat was most seriously pursued. He had the canalization of the Banat completed, resulting in a decline of the dreaded swamp fever (malaria) that had previously taken thousands of lives. Fruitful fields and farmlands soon spread out upon this reclaimed land. He

had mulberry bushes planted and brought in silkworms. Even today the village of Mercydorf in the Romanian Banat carries his name.
    Furthermore, if that unhealthy swamp soon sprang into a rich harvest full of farms and vineyards, then that is also a credit to Count Mercy.
    Adam Müller praised his accomplishments in this way:

    In the year 1753, 68 Serbians, among them a few Romanian families, came into the territory of our homeland community as settlers from Boldur Ried, which they left because of the constant threat of flooding. Boldur Ried was in the vicinity of the future village of Deutsch-Sankt-Michael in today’s Romanian Banat, near the community of Csene. They settled on the black bar jutting out of the flood area where Csekonics' stud farm (Ménes) later stood. From there came the first name, Crna-Greda [Black Bar]. Later the settlement was moved to where the Serbian church stands today. Since the earth was black they named the place Crnja (Zerne). In the 17th century, a settlement there called Olesch or Olasch was destroyed by the Turks. In 1775, the Serbian church was built on the site.
    In 1790, Josef von Csekonics settled our ancestors just west of the Serbian village. Even before the settlement a few German families were there. In the beginning, there were only 55 houses. All of the first settlers came from the neighboring village of Hatzfeld. From the origin of the settlers, we derived the Hatzfeld street names (Trierer-, Mainzer-, Luxemburger-, Lothringer-Gasse). New settlers constantly streamed out of Hatzfeld, Heufeld, Mastort, St. Hubert, Soltur, and Charlevill. In 1800, there were already 218 houses and 112.5 sessions [Ed. note: a land measure of 35 to 47

acres, depending on the source] of community land for farming, grazing, and gardening, and, in fact, 89 whole sessions, 43 halves, 6 quarters, and 4 eighths. In 1800, Zerne received 167 acres for the parish priest, school, and butcher’s stall, 4 acres for the church yard, and 6 acres for the inn.
    From the beginning, the German and Serbian settlement was composed of two political communities with independent administration.
    Upon settlement, every colonist received a home site and a 600 square fathom wine garden, which was first chartered in the year 1856. They rented the fields, which remained the property of the estate.

General Jozsef Csekonics,
Count János Csekonics, Zsombolya és Janovai,
Count Endre Csekonics, Zsombolya és Janovai.

vegetables and hemp. The farmer was allowed to sell his lease but only to someone acceptable to the lord of the manor. He could bequeath it to only one of his children.
    After the families became very rich in children, they were very short of land for building; therefore, they extended the main street to the south. Until then, it extended only to the houses of Christoph Grün and Johann Bischof. For this reason, the southern part of the main street is named “Neue-Gasse" [New Street]. In 1850, they began to extend the double street to the Serbisch-Zerne district in the south where there previously had been wine gardens and a Serbian cemetery. This Serbisch-Zerne area inhabited by Germans was named after a former higher court judge, Ferenczyutca (in the common tongue Ferenc-utca). This accounts for the large German population in Serbisch-Zerne. The German school building in Serbisch-Zerne was built upon the former churchyard land. Mostly poorer people who earned their livelihood as day laborers, servants at the manor, or as groups at harvest or threshing lived there. Each fellow was awarded a 1 joch corn field and a 1/4 joch field of potatoes. Many of these groups were familiar. The group leaders were Johann Tabar (Tschak), Michael Grün, Michael Heschel, and Josef Killberger. Another part of the population of our sister communities, who were able to purchase horses, carriages and farming tools, worked on the manor field for an agreed amount of the harvest (contractor). They maintained a parcel of clover field. There a considerable number of artisans also found work and a good livelihood.

through our community. In the Romanian area 5 kilometers from the frontier lies the beautiful German municipality of Hatzfeld from which came the largest proportion of our pioneer ancestors. In the north were our neighboring communities of Heufeld, Mastort and Ruskodorf, somewhat further northwest, the so-called French villages of St. Hubert, Soltur, and Charlevill. In the south were the neighboring communities of Hungarian-Zerne (Nova Crnja) and Vojvoda Stepo, in the northeast, Klarija, in the southeast, Hetin.
    The terrain of our villages was flat; they lay on a fruitful plain where there were neither mountains nor rivers nor streams. The fruitful terrain provided abundant crop yields.
    The climate of our homeland was moderate in its continental character, summer being hot and dry with occasional thunderstorms and hail that caused some damage to the crops. The winter was not too cold and did not last too long. The late autumn and spring brought most precipitation. Whenever the ground-water level was high, the fields would flood and considerable damage occurred.
    Our two municipalities actually formed a large settlement whose eastern area populated by Serbians and southwestern area populated by Germans was known as Serbisch-Zerne. However, the western area formed the community of Deutsch-Zerne. Consequently, some houses in Serbisch-Zerne that were inhabited by Serbians belonged to Deutsch-Zerne, and some isolated German houses in Deutsch-Zerne actually belonged to Serbisch-Zerne. This strange situation had occurred due to the land ownership within each settlement.
    Relationships between both population groups were good, proper, and benevolent until the end of World War I. The change in political circumstances, deliberate arousal of national feelings and passions, partitioning of the Csekonics holdings among Serbian volunteers (Dobrovoljci) and colonists, development of two large Serbian colonies on Deutsch-Zerne property, and the blatant attempt of the administration to strengthen the Slavish element — without consideration for the interests and limited alternatives of the long-time German residents — led to a deterioration of good

relationships. With the numerical rearrangement of population areas in Deutsch-Zerne whereby the Serbians achieved majority, there arose such violent altercations over the community political property that the community seat was relocated to the colony of Vojvoda Stepo and the name of the village became Vojvoda Stepo. Only with extreme difficulty did Deutsch-Zerne become autonomous again.
    Over the course of time, passions cooled down again and relations with one another improved so that, especially during the hard times of World War II, order was generally maintained and everyone tried to provide protection to each other.
    Our communities had straight lanes running parallel that were joined by cross lanes. They were immaculate, especially the areas inhabited by Germans. A row of trees, mainly acacias, was planted along both sides of the pavement, and a lovely fragrance emanated during the blooming season. Footpaths were paved all the way through with firebricks so that one could also walk easily in bad weather. The houses were without floors, the roofs covered with tiles. In earlier times, the walls were made of rammed earth; later they were constructed with kiln bricks up to the base height and much later completely with kiln bricks. The area between the walls was filled with clay. The main gable faced the street. The house extended to a courtyard and, on the courtyard side, a wide gangway that in many cases was threaded with wine grapes or other vines, was usually slab-built. The farmer’s house consisted of the following rooms: toward the street was the parlor. It was only used occasionally and was the showroom of the house. The kitchen was located inside where a door led to the courtyard. Next was a small room that served as living room and lounge. Here most of the life of the family was spent. Then came the pantry, the storage house of supplies, which often was used as a second kitchen. The rooms usually had wooden floors. Last of all were the stalls for the cattle. In the attic, grain was stored; in the cellar, potatoes, wine, etc. That is the general picture of a farmer’s house. Well-to-do people, who wanted to have more living space, extended the house along the street, so there developed the Winkelhaus [crooked or angled house].

    In the courtyard space parallel to the main building, there was an auxiliary building. The summer kitchen was often located here followed by a wagon and supply shed. In the farmhouse were also supplies of straw, hay, chaff, cornhusks, pig stalls, and the corn storage “kotarka”. The property was surrounded with a fence made of wire, boards, or slats. On the street side was a brick wall and rarely locked wooden gate. The houses and rooms were beautifully plastered inside and outside. The living rooms and hallway were painted. Order and cleanliness dominated overall, on the streets, in the house and the courtyard, so that everything gave a pleasing impression.

    A short time after the settlement of our community we had to address some problems so that proper order would reign in our village. Every settler had obligations to assume, the fulfillment of which had to be monitored for the common good. That was the task of the court of law. In the fore was the supreme judge, and there were also the following members: the lower court judge, several jury members, and an orphanage superintendent. To them was entrusted the administration of the community. The supreme judge controlled unlimited power of the establishment and therefore, everyone had great respect for him. Elections were as follows: the lord of the manor had the right to recommend three capable citizens for these positions and the vote took place by acclamation. Whoever had the most votes was elected. In the same way, the remaining members of the town council and the aldermen were elected.
    The members of the town council helped the judge in the execution of his office. The treasurer managed the finances. The orphanage superintendent watched over the fate of orphans and their assets. The lower court judge (a civil servant) had various public services to provide. He also kept order and proclaimed orders of the town council with drumbeats and loud cries.

18

    The town council and the aldermen held their meetings in the community house. Community officials performed the written work. At the head stood the notary public. His deputy was the vice-notary public.

    In the first decades after the settlement of Zerne, as the laws and police duties were still not exactly defined, the town judge had a lot of power and authority. If someone should get into debt, commit a misdemeanor, play some pranks, or commit petty theft, the judge had the right to impose heavy penalties. The culprit was arrested or whipped as punishment. At the whipping, he had to lie on a bench in the presence of curious onlookers and receive from the judge the number of strikes that had been assigned to him with a hazel stick. After the refinement of the laws and police duties, the town judge was allowed to declare only very small administrative penalties. The militia, which kept the peace at night and protected the goods and chattels of inhabitants, was no longer necessary; the constabulary undertook these duties.

    Our community belonged to the district seat of Hatzfeld (Zsombolya). The district judge and Finance Office were also there. In 1924 Hatzfeld became part of Romania in a boundary treaty between Yugoslavia and Romania, and the communities of Modosch (Jaša Tomić) and Pardan (Ninčićevo) were annexed to Yugoslavia. From then on our district seat was Jaša Tomić and the district court and finance office were in Grossbetschkerek.

    In the course of time, the name of our village was changed several times:

   Deutsch-Cernya, Német-Czernya, Németczernya, Németcsernye, Nemačka-Crnja, Deutsch-Zerne; Crnja, Czernya, Csernye, Srpska Crnja.

    The official language until 1830 was Latin (predominantly),

1830—1849 Hungarian,
1849—1881 German,
1881—1918 Hungary,
1918—1945 Serbian.

    As far as can be determined the following town judges served in Deutsch-Zerne in the years from 1886 through 1944:

Notaries in Deutsch-Zerne were:

Vice Notaries were:

The town clerks were:

    The territory of our homeland community was owned by the Csekonics family. Since the Banat had been freed from the Turks, it was under the administration of the Vienna exchequer who was anxious to market Banater goods to deserving nobles for, due to the many wars that Austria had to fight, the treasury was empty and had to be filled up. For this reason, the territory came into the possession of the Csekonics family. They descended from Croatian nobility and provided the imperial army many courageous commissioned officers. One of them, of course, was Josef von Csekonics, the Austrian general. As soon as the Csekonics family took possession of the territory, they considered it their foremost task to settle and reclaim the land. In the course of time, fruitful farmland would spring from this wilderness and swampland. As their domicile they chose Hatzfeld, in the middle of which they built a beautiful castle which was surrounded by a wonderful park. Later there arose at the southern outskirts of the community a larger castle built in the English style with a beautiful well-kept park and a forest, which became cherished by the Hatzfeld people as a place for outings. A beautiful parkway led from Hatzfeld to this castle (Csitó). Just next to Csitó was the burial vault of the count’s family where family members found their final resting-place. Besides these two castles, the count’s family owned several palaces in the capital city of Budapest, Hungary, and a property in Enying with a 7,000 joch field in the vicinity of Budapest. Their Banat territory was 33,000 joch. Three communities were settled there: Deutsch-Zerne, Hungarian-Zerne, and Csösztelek (Tschestelek).
    Fourteen thousand joch of the count’s territory belonged to Deutsch-Zerne. For easier management tenant farms were built. Officers, hired workers, craftsmen, and other attendants lived there, and they administered and worked the estate. Hundreds of villagers also found work and income there. The administrative center of the property was in Hatzfeld. Included in Deutsch-Zerne were the following tenant farms: Julia-major, Sziget-major, Endre-major, Szöllös-major, Konstancia-major, Klein- Konstancia-major, Klein-Rokus-major, Leona-major, Sándor-major, Klein-Julia-major, Margitháza, and Fácányos.

    Besides farming there were some centers of emphasis for other branches of trade. Klein-Julia-major and Szöllös-major had large dairies; Klein-Konstancia-major and Sziget-major were centers for pig breeding.
    There were schools in Julia-major and Konstancia-major for children of the employees. There was also a church in Konstancia-major where the chaplain from Deutsch-Zerne held services every Sunday. A doctor was responsible for the medical care of the employees. The pastor and doctor received a yearly stipend. A wagon and driver were also placed at the doctor's disposal free of charge. In Julia-major, there was a steam mill, large warehouses, electric lighting, and large workshops for the maintenance and repair of the farming machines. Also near Julia-major was the manorial stud farm (Ménes), the center of horse breeding for the property.
    The individual tenant farms were linked together by wide streets, on both sides of which acacia trees were planted. Even an industrial railroad connected the larger farms. At Julia-major they had a connection to the Betschkerek-Hatzfeld narrow gauge railway. The nobility had contributed a large sum toward its construction. Likewise, they contributed much to the commercial development of all the villages along the rail line.
    A great deal of attention was also given to the wilderness preserve. The area had many small woodlands. The largest was a few hundred joch so-named Jägerwald (Hunter’s Woods), where deer and pheasant were bred. There was also an office for the ranger.
    The whole territory was threaded with trenches that led to the Bega River. They served as drainage of the earth and ground water and averted the accumulation of water on the farmlands.
    Through their investment and cultivation, the territories of the manor became a model economy that was often inspected by foreign visitors.
     Our community owed much to the manorial system.  The manor lords made it possible for our ancestors not only to find a new homeland, but they stood at their sides and even provided the community with counsel and action.  They had permitted a school and church to be built and they always helped with open hands on rainy days to relieve trouble and prevent perils in times of

emergency or misfortune. The manor lords also built a convent, maintained it, and paid the sisters for their expenses.  Whenever anyone was in personal need or distress, he always found a listener and was energetically assisted.

——————◊——————

    The life of our ancestors in the time of the settlement was extremely difficult. In an unfamiliar climate, with primitive tools and equipment, in a swampy region full of noxious fumes, they worked the earth with its lush undergrowth and weeds. Wild, dangerous beasts threatened their health and life. Parasites destroyed the crops while flooding of the fields and hailstorms also contributed. One can truly visualize how difficult the work was if one wanted to make a furrow in bristly, overgrown earth with a wooden plow that has weak traction. How long would one have to work a field until even 1 joch is plowed! So, of course, all family members capable of working had to help in the field. In the beginning, they could not even think of plowing the grounds every year. The sowings took place mostly in the clod-filled soil where the seed grew with difficulty. When the time came for the maize to be harvested, they performed this chore with a hoe, for the chopping plow was still unknown at that time. And when the harvest time came, again all work-hardy members had to work the fields. Thunderstorms and hailstorms threatened to blast the earth, and so haste was necessary. The lord of the manor could demand at any time that the prescribed manual labor be performed on his property; then everyone had to stop and leave their work in order to meet their obligations to the manor lord. When one realizes that they cut their crop with a sickle — in the beginning the scythe was still unknown — then one can conjecture how long the reaping lasted. When the crops at the manor and and at home had been brought in, then the toilsome labor of treading began. Treading on the threshing floor with horses, if there was no rain, often lasted from 3 in the morning until 9 o'clock at night. As long as the wind blew, the well-trodden corn was flung on

famine and the manor lords had provisions distributed to the people to relieve their destitution. On September 23, 1886, there was a fire in the house of Michael Schulz, Number 131. The rapidly spreading flames reduced 40 houses to ash along with a large amount of supplies and animal feed and brought the greatest misfortune to everyone involved. Again in 1904, several houses on Neuen-Gasse were sacrificed to flames.
    The years before World War I saw the inhabitants growing stronger and they seized the opportunity to enlarge their properties. The first opportunity was in the Serbisch-Zerne meadow. Up to 32 joch fields were purchased here. In 1905, the Deutsch-Zerne farmers received those fields as a replacement, but only 17 joch, not 25. The clover garden was eliminated (140 joch) and the meadows, still 7 joch, remained under lease until 1911; until then the lease was paid and slave labor was rendered. For 17 joch, the purchase price was 13,000 crowns, and this amount was amortized for 65 years. The manor lord built the Sándor-major farmhouse on the former meadows.
    It should also be mentioned that the Deutsch-Zerne grazing pasture (140 joch) that spread out to the west of the community was sold in 1908 to poor people (1-2 joch), leaving merely 30 joch for community use as a cattle and soil pit.
    In 1906 the property of the Ernö von Kiss family was parceled out – he was one of the Honvéd generals executed October 6, 1849 in Arad – as was the property of the Duke of Parma, the family of the later Austrian Empress Zita, in 1911. So it was necessary for the farmers to take every opportunity to expand their property, of which they freely availed themselves. The latter property belonged to the communities of Mastort and Toba. At that time, farmers purchased a 1,200 joch field. This newly acquired property was located some distance away from their existing property, which would have made cultivation difficult. For this reason, the property owners constructed farm inns (Puszta, Sallasch, Hodaja) with the requisite servant quarters, stables, working quarters, and everything else that was necessary for husbandry. They even provided lodging for the summer stay of the farm owners.
    In 1944, Zerne inhabitants owned farm inns in the following communities: Ittebe, Mastort, Toba, Topola, Vojvoda-Stepo, Klarija, and Deutsch-Zerne.

     The heavy and difficult work our ancestors had to perform during the time of settlement and the primitive tools with which they accomplished it demonstrated to us their very early ingenuity. However, development and progress did not stand still. In time, more practical tools, implements, and machines became available for their use. Around the year 1865, the iron plow displaced the wooden plow. Several years later there were even sharper plows. This not only made their work easier, but it also enabled them to work the fields more efficiently, plow in the manure, and attain better crop yields. Since they previously cut the grain with scythe and sickle, which took a lot of time and hard work, the reaper and sheaf binder soon found application. The former began to be used in 1905. The crops were no longer trodden laboriously with horses. By 1880 there were two steam-run threshing machines, owned by Johann Tabar (Ferenc-utca) and Nikolaus Frauenhoffer (House Number 197). The threshing was initially done on the common pastures because they feared fire since many houses had a reed roof. After the turn of the century, they were also allowed to thresh on their own farmland. Also at this time they used straw elevators. In 1900, the first self-propelled threshing machine was also put into operation. The owners were the locksmiths Kremm and Frauenhoffer.
    Before World War II there were 14 threshing machines that also threshed outwards. At first, the grinding of corn took place in horse-powered mills. The first one was built by the married couple, Franz Franz and Annamaria, née Burghardt. Even a windmill stood on the Serbisch-Zerne property. Its owner was Josef Krettler, and later Anton Krettler. Locksmith Johann Tabar built the first steam mill. It was shut down at the turn of the century because the owner moved away. Its site was at the southern end of Ferenc-utca (Ott Franz).
    Great significance was attached to corn cultivation. Right after settlement in the Banat it was seeded with a hoe since they did not have enough time to work it around and had no special tools to do this. Since they had iron plows then, the field was worked beforehand and the corn was

place in furrows so that the plants always stood in rows. Soon the light plow was also used. This lightened their workload immensely and saved them much time. The corn was hacked 2-3 times and finally accumulated. During the year, the corn crops involved little work. When it was ripe, it was broken and placed for drying in the corn sheds (Hambar, Kotarko). It had to be gathered for use as animal feed. While this was done at first by hand, the chore was later accomplished with a manually operated corn-gatherer, and finally with a motor-run corn-gatherer. Oats, barley, rye, were planted only to a small degree, vegetables and potatoes only for home use. Clover, alfalfa, millet, and root vegetables served as cattle feed. Rapeseed was less often produced, also hemp but not very often, to the extent that the demand in one’s own house necessitated.
    Wine growing found its way into our village at a very early stage. Even during the settlement, the settlers were provided with wine garden parcels. They were planted with European grapes that they brought in themselves. Toward the end of the 19th century, the wine pest appeared, and bit by bit it demolished all the wine gardens. For this reason, they began to plant refined grapes with American support. Wine growing soon came to be produced to cover their individual needs.
    At the time of settlement, the settlers had been required to raise silkworms and, for that reason, to plant mulberry trees. It was thought that the settlers could improve their income with this source of revenue. It never developed into anything significant. The fruits were used for making Schnapps.
     To make their work easier to handle, in the course of time more and more practical implements and machines were brought into use, besides those previously mentioned. These were: sowers, wind-operated grain separators, wheat-seed sorters, grass mowers, two- and three-share plows, harrows, steamrollers, hay stackers, grinders, root cutters, chaff cutters, grape crushers, grape mills, wine presses, etc.
    Stockbreeding was of no less significance from the farmer’s viewpoint. The half-caste horse belonging to the Nonius breed served as a draft animal. It was a tenacious horse with swift gait. Cattle breeding was also of great importance. Dairy cows served not only the need for milk and

milk products by the population but also the needs of the cities. In 1911, Deutsch-Zerne already had a milk cooperative that delivered 130 liters of milk to Temesvar daily. Fat stock and calves were also supplied to the cities. Another good source of income for our people was pig breeding. The most popular pig breed was the native Mangolica. They served not only as required fat and meat needs of the family but also brought substantial sales revenue. In the last period before World War I, English Berkshire and Yorkshire pigs became widespread in our community.

    Earlier there was much interest in sheep farming. The sheep — winter months excluded — were given over to shepherds for care. During the year they supplied milk and a certain amount of cheese and gave up their wool, and in late autumn the sheep and lambs returned home. For this reason, sheep were of great importance because our ancestors made various articles of clothing out of the wool during the winter months. Later, because there were no more pasture areas left, sheep farming was completely given up.

    Fowl covered their demand for eggs; their flesh found good use in the kitchen, their quills found use as bed feathers. The rest of the fowl brought welcome sales revenue.

    Small business also demonstrated a steady improvement. They were never lacking in the necessary new blood. After an apprentice completed his years of indenture, he took to wandering. His traveling years led him into neighboring cities, and often all the way to Budapest or Vienna. This gave him the opportunity to strengthen his vocation and expand his mental horizons. Many of them remained away permanently, established their own foreign business, became self-sufficient, and started a family. Those who returned to their homeland many years later, after fulfilling their military obligation, established their own business there. The tradesmen were united together in a guild. Industrious traders provided for the needs of the people with products to offer.

    The brick works were founded in 1880. The founders were the locksmith Nikolaus Frauenhoffer, the razor craftsman Kern, the merchants Anton Hönig and Josef Kiefer. They were located in Serbisch-Zerne and gave many inhabitants a livelihood.

    So much was done for them, even for their health. While at first they took drinking water from their house wells, later deep-seated wells were built for the community; these were followed by artesian wells. The number of artesian wells before World War I was 6. In case of sickness, there was a doctor at their disposal. The first doctor was Dr. Muraközy Dezsö. He also attended the sick in the leasehold farms of the manor and received from them payment in kind. The nurses of the convent gave valuable service in the care and nurturing of the sick. In our fond memory was Sister Sarolta of the Sisters of the Cross, who left our area in 1922. Also in the health service were the midwives: Katharina Spitz, Maria Engel, Emilie Koch.
    In the last century before World War I, the upgrade of transportation contributed in a special way to the welfare of the community. In 1887, they built the Hatzfeld-Betschkerek highway, and on October 19, 1898 the narrow gauge railway was brought into operation. In like manner, it connected Hatzfeld to Betschkerek and passed through our area.
    For the thrifty and credit-wise they established a credit cooperative in 1900; it was a member of the country’s credit cooperative in Budapest. Its first accountant was Franz Zahradnyik, a schoolteacher, later Josef Kreps; the cashier was Franz Kremer, a schoolteacher. After the crash, the cooperative ceased business. Earlier they had built a warehouse at the train station. It served the members and retail market as storage for crops. The private banking business of merchant Nikolaus Schleimer also should be mentioned.

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the Austro-Hungarian ultimatum from the Serbians resulted in the declaration of war by Austria-Hungary against the Serbians on July 28, 1914. The war lasted 4 years, from 1914 until 1918. With few exceptions, all countries of Europe and a considerable number of countries outside of Europe were involved. Naturally, this war had its own impact on the relations in our homeland and our sister communities. On July 26 followed the area mobilization, and all conscripts up to 40 years of age had to report. Due to the rapid enlistment of many nations in the war, nationwide mobilization was ordered at once, and a grueling battle flared up on all fronts. In the first year of the war, horses and vehicles were requisitioned. Soon a relief mobile for the wounded was set up in many communities, in 1916 also by ours. On April 30 of the same year, the clock was advanced by 1 hour to save electricity and lighting. In August 1916, the Romanians entered the war on the opposing side, and the people of Siebenburg [Kronstadt] fled in the face of invading Romanian troops. Siebenburg Saxons soon marched; however, they trekked home shortly after their homeland was purged of foes. The longer the war lasted, the more difficulties people had to bear. Church bells were melted down for the manufacture of war materials; the people were called upon to subscribe for war bonds. To prevent the steady rise of the cost of food, they created price ceilings and issued food ration cards. In most instances, food was confiscated so that they could feed the armies and the city people. Only 10-18 kilograms of wheat was allowed each person per month, and 50% corn meal had to be mixed into bread flour. Wheat could only be ground in the mill with a meal pass. Naturally they tried to get around these orders; for that reason, many bread grains were hidden and ground by moonlight. Since the men of 18 to 52 years were serving in the campaign, the old men, women and children at home had to perform superhuman feats. To relieve them, Russian prisoners of war were assigned to them as workers. Due to fear of the depreciation of money, gold and silver coins disappeared; even nickel and copper coins were hoarded, which led to a change shortage. Hardly anything could be bought at the ceiling price. The black market

price, which naturally was significantly higher, was driven by the buyers themselves out of fear that the goods would not be generally available. It finally happened that they devolved to barter. The result was that trains were crammed with villagers going to the cities and people with something to barter traveled in the opposite direction. The city inhabitants needed mostly food, while the country inhabitants were generally in need of textiles, basic commodities, especially petroleum. It came to the point that in many houses they were forced to use tallow lights for illumination.
    The great privation in the cities, which rose to a real famine, led to the city children being sent to the country for recuperation.
    Finally, after tremendous war fatigue and signs of decay emerged in the last years of war, the war was ended in November 1918 with the defeat of Austria-Hungary, Germany, Bulgaria, and Turkey. The Serbian army possessed the whole of the Banat. In 1919, the Austro-Hungarian crown was discounted by 20%. In the same year, the Serbian army evacuated the eastern Banat, which was occupied by Romania. The line of demarcation ran past the communities of Grabatz, Gertianosch, Grosskomlosch. Ostern and Hatzfeld remained Serbian.
    According to the Treaty of Trianon of June 4, 1920, Hungary had to surrender the Banat.
    That same year followed the currency exchange. Four crowns were exchanged for one dinar.
    In 1924, Ostern and Hatzfeld also fell to Romania, and the land boundaries passed 3 kilometers north of our sister community. While, as a result of World War I, we had no war devastation to lament, we did have the excruciating loss of 104 battle fatalities.

    The end of World War I brought enormous changes in all respects. After the truce in November 1918, the first Serbian occupation troops appeared and took possession of our sister communities. Even before their entry, there were a few transgressions by the Serbian section of the population. They robbed and plundered the leasehold farms of Count Csekonics. But that lasted only a very short time, and soon peace and order reigned. In 1920, the Peace Treaty of Trianon awarded the western part of the Banat to the newly founded nation, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenians, to which both of our sister communities belonged. Tremendous changes were heralded and undertaken. First, the property of Count Csekonics was confiscated; it was later distributed to Serbian war volunteers and colonists and the poorer ranks of the local Serbian population. For Count Csekonics there remained only 500 joch in Julia-major, the stud farm, 82 joch with the attached house, and Konstancia-major with the Hunter’s Forest. The other leasehold farms were cleared away, sold as building materials, and used in other ways. In Leona-major, they founded a new settlement named Vojvoda-Stepo with 720 home sites. The settlers, war volunteers, came from Bosnia, Herzegowina, and Lika. Every family received an 8¾ joch field. The poor local Serbian population, who had no house and field, were settled at Julia-major. The settlement was called Vojvoda-Bojović. Those who settled here received 3 joch per married couple, 1/2 joch for every child under 12, and 1 joch for youths from 12 to 18 years. Both settlements belonged to the community of Deutsch-Zerne (Nemačka-Crnja). They experienced a swift recovery due to massive support of the state. The number of inhabitants soon formed the majority in the community. At the community election in 1934, the Serbians obtained the majority on the community council; Jovo Milić of Vojvoda-Stepo was elected town judge. On February 2, 1935, they moved the seat of the community to the colony of Vojvoda Stepo, 7 km. away – on the grounds of a community counsel decision made by the administration within.
    Now arose the grotesque situation that Germans were made to pay taxes while Serbians – who for the most part were free of taxes and assessments – administered the community. In 1936, after a long, difficult struggle our community was separated from the community of Vojvoda Stepo by

decree of the king, and it again became independent. Implementation had to wait until March 1937. In this reorganization, the community received 3,000 joch of land according to the land register. Vojvoda Bojović, with the regions of Klein-Julia, Szöllös-major, and the German wine gardens, was attached to Serbisch-Zerne. The territory of Sziget-major and Klein-Sziget fell to the community of Klarija because Serbians from Klarija owned the fields.
    The fortune and development of the community was tumultuous after World War I, but the political change had a disastrous effect on the fate of Germans in our sister communities. The livelihood of many men was abolished or at least complicated. People who had earned their living at the manor estate now had nothing. The politics of the state was arranged thereafter solely to improve the position of the Serbian element, to make things easier for them, and so to strengthen them. For the national minorities, including Germans, their livelihood was taken away after the indifferent distribution of estate property in the name of agrarian reform. They deliberately made them beggars and, in many cases, drove them to emigration, which brought about great bitterness. In large numbers, they left the homeland where they were treated like step-children and sought the advantages of life in North and South America, the United States, Canada and Argentina. Of course, the estate farmer had the advantage that he could easily pay back his debts because of the depreciation of currency. It soon happened, though, that he came into great difficulty because of a worldwide economic crisis, the fall of crop prices, a property levy, and the war profit tax, which was collected with rigorous cruelty. They were forced to break new ground and to carve out a better means of existence for themselves. The ever-increasing shortage of labor forced them to acquire more and better tools and machines with which an intensive cultivation of the earth would be possible and, thereby, larger yields could be achieved. They applied these yields — since the prices were very low — in their own agricultural enterprise; in stock farming; fat stock, especially fat pigs, brought them good revenue. While before World War I they generally bred native Mangolica pigs, which was an excellent fat pig, they now switched to the more highly sought

trade meat pig breeds, like Yorkshire and Berkshire, and later, to the refined German country pig. These suited their taste and the desire of the times for better marketing opportunities. Corporate organizations cared for the breed and exploited the agricultural and animal products. The cooperatives also provided for the thrifty and credit-wise. In our home location were the following cooperatives:

    Credit Cooperative. Founded 1900. Re-established 1923. At the re-opening of the agency, Anton Stiebel, Sr. especially exerted himself. He was also the first chairman of the administrative board. After his death, Gustav Schmidt took his place. Employees were Josef Kreps as bookkeeper, and Hans Tabar, the schoolteacher, as cashier. The depository trustee was Johann Stuprich, afterwards Josef Mayer.

    In 1928, the German cooperative “Agraria” was founded with the help of Bauernhilfe [Farmer's Help] and other sister cooperatives. Presiding over Agraria were Kaspar Schweininger, bookkeeper, and business leader of Bauernhilfe, Josef Wirth, Sr., and cashier Anton Kampf.

    Pig Breeding Cooperative. President Peter Stein, Secretary Peter Kampf.

    Egg and Poultry Cooperative. Purchasing agent Philipp Rausch.

    There were good times for industry and commerce at the end of World War I. Brisk building activity, colonization of the former property of Count Csekonics, immigration of numerous colonists all increased the need for various goods and furniture. The annexation of Hatzfeld to Romania in 1924 also benefited this development. In spite of the depression, an upward movement was noticeable to meet larger demands and to keep pace with the times.

    Besides biweekly markets, 4 yearly markets also took place.

    In 1928, the Trade Corporation was founded for the people of Deutsch- and Serbisch-Zerne, and, to claim secondary growth in trade and industry, a new school for apprentices emerged. Acting as teachers were: Pavle Zadera, Hans Tabar, Mirko Mitrović, and Michael Kremer. In 1941, it was shut down.

    The growth of industry made even further progress between the two World Wars. A new steam mill arose near the train station. The builders were Nikolaus Frauenhoffer and Josef Stiebel. Later it was owned by the brothers Franz and Josef Kremer, except that soon after it was destroyed by fire.
    In 1928, electrical lighting was introduced. The family of Nicka assumed ownership of the operation.
    In 1932, the Lenhardt Kunstmühle [grist mill] was built on Neuen-Gasse. Not only did they deal with mill duty but they also exported into the territory of Yugoslavia and abroad. The owners were Martin and Magdalena Lenhardt, née Hemmert.
    Health service progress was also noticeable. After the death of Dr. Muraközy, Dr. Karl Németh was his successor. After him, Dr. Markus Steiner and later Dr. Nikolaus Gerhard took up residence. The dentist was Dr. Darvas. At the end of World War II, the following doctors were active in our sister communities:

Dr. Branko Milić,
Dr. Hans Nicka,
Dr. Karl Németh, Jr.,
Mrs. Dr. M. Németh,
Pharmacist: Franz Pronievicz,
Midwife: Emilie Koch,
Veterinarian: Dr. Hans Szilágyi.

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Causes of Population Fluctuation

    a) The large decrease in German population is based on the break-up of the landed property of Count Csekonics. A large overseas emigration wave followed. The one-child inheritance system also contributed.

    b) Hungarians worked mostly for Count Csekonics. After the erosion of the economy, they emigrated.

    c) The number of gypsies rose due to a high birth rate and strong immigration. If there was a marriage to a gypsy, and one of the marriage partners originated in our community, the married couple would, in almost all cases, become residents here. In this manner, over time, their number reached as high as the population of a small village.

    What these lazy scoundrels then implemented in the worst hours of our homeland people by plundering, crimes, and brutality will be partially gleaned from this document.

    The ravaging of the churchyard, knocking over gravestones, breaking open crypts and the coffins within them, for the most part, goes back to these contemptible barbarians.

    Altogether 6,158 land registered joch. That means that the property more or less doubled.

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the parish received a priest, and on October 18 the church was blessed in honor of St. Josef by Bishop Ladislaus Köszeghy von Remete. Its benefactors were the lords of the manor at that time. They were Josef von Csekonics, Count Johann von Csekonics, and the last one, Count Andreas von Csekonics. The rights and responsibilities of the benefactor were specifically documented. The priest received yearly payment in kind from the benefactor, and the benefactor assumed upkeep of the church. The priest also received smaller payments from the community, and the community paid the organist and sacristan. After World War I, the newly founded church community undertook the responsibilities of the political community. The question of the pastor’s stipend and the upkeep of the church remained outstanding for years, for after World War I the ownership of the property of the manor lord was, of course, divided between Serbian war volunteers and colonists. Because of this, they were unable to satisfy their patronage obligations. After extensive negotiations, the agrarian authorities agreed to relinquish a 50 joch field in the vicinity of the brick kiln for the organist in compensation for the loss of income from the manor lord.
    In 1811, the stone cross and statues in front of the church were built at the expense of the people. In 1847, the church was robbed and considerable damage was done.
    The inside of the church was beautiful, particularly the magnificent main altar and Marian altar. Over the course of the years, the inside of the church became even more exquisite through new spending by the faithful; the statues built by the Lichtfuss family and Nikolaus Tines also contributed considerably.
    At infrequent intervals, missions, sponsored more recently by the Redemptorist fathers, took place for the strengthening and deepening of the faith. The mission cross at the church entrance commemorates the mission held in 1908. Missions also took place in the 20th and 30th anniversary years. On prayer days, they led processions to the field crosses. One stood in the vicinity of the brick kiln, south of the village, a second on the west side, and the third on the north side. The latter was made of marble and was built by the married couple, Franz and Pauline Kremer.
    Although a certain indifference to religion, awakened and nourished by outside influences, has become noticeable in the decades after World War I, there was still a large flock of believers who

followed the call of the bells for worship. How festive were the church services at Christmas and Easter, but also on other feast days with the church choir, later the glee club, and brass band participating.
    What an impressive picture the Resurrection and Corpus Christi processions presented! In front of the cross and organized by flag colors, the school children marched with their teachers, the singers; the priest followed them under a canopy with the Holy of Holies, the Marian maids, and the community and corporate leaders. The fireworks were always excellent. Finally, during Holy Week, an honor guard was formed and pretended to be guarding the tomb. Hundreds of believers participated in the processions, and it was impressive when the closing song in the church resounded:

Great God, we praise Thee,
Master, we glorify Thy strength:
Before Thee the earth bends
And marvels at Thy works.
As Thou were before all time,
So shalt Thou remain in Eternity.

    Yes, there are wistful memories when we think back on all of this! Our church remains for us the most beautiful because it was our church in which our ancestors, in their need, afflictions, pains, and worries, sought and found comfort and relief.
    On its altar we received blessings at the most significant events of our life. From the cradle to the grave, she stood open to us; she was the intermediary of grace.
    Among the names of our pastors, the following were ascertainable:

Dr. Johann Engels until 1883, later canon in Temesvar,
Michael Kaplar, 1884—1901,
Alois Geiger, 1901—1931, later Ecclesiastic Councilor,
Franz Brunet, 1932—1944.

    The last priest died during the disorders after the collapse.
    Our cemetery was on the west side of the village and enfolded a plain of 4 joch. It was enclosed by a brick wall; entry was through two iron gates. The main paths were paved; they provided order and tidiness for the tombs of the dead; their location was near the north entrance. Our God’s acre,

the site where our deceased found their final peace, always presented an impression of being cherished. In the middle of the churchyard stood a large cross, not far from the chapel built by the Hönig family.
    After World War II, heartless and soulless barbarians savagely disgraced this place of peace, broke up and destroyed the crypts, and knocked over the marble crosses. According to eyewitness accounts, today the cemetery is a desolate site, overgrown with weeds, the cemetery wall eroded.
    To us survivors there remains only the possibility of loving thoughts of our deceased and prayer for their salvation. Not only on them will we ponder but also on everyone who fell in the wars or found death far from their homeland as prisoners and displaced persons. Last but not least, our thoughts and prayers will be applied to everyone who lost their lives to the partisan mob and its thugs in such a gruesome manner and who were hastily buried in the oppressor’s area or in extermination camps or other unknown places.

Lord, give them eternal rest
And may the perpetual light shine upon them;
Lord, may they rest in peace!

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    Immediately after the settlement, a school was opened for the children. The school building was first constructed in 1808. Where the children were instructed up until this point of time is not ascertainable. They placed much value on the education of their children, but especially upon their religious education. Our school had a denominational character until 1921, when it — like all the others — was nationalized by order of the Education Administration and control of the school passed into the hand of the state. Before this point in time, the local parish priest was also the school director and the school was subject to his supervision. The children were taught by a schoolmaster. This person did not have any special professional education. The qualifications were

basic.  He must be able to read, write, and do arithmetic. In addition to his teaching duties, he had to provide the customary service of the sacristan and ring the bells. His pay was marginal. In the early days, they used the schoolmaster like an adopted non-commissioned officer or a better-educated tradesman. Consequently, educational achievements were very moderate, yes low. At the time of the settlement, school regulations from the year 1774 were in force. After this there were:

    The 6 to 8 year old children attended summer school. It began after Easter and lasted until Michaelmas [September 29th]. During harvest time, there were 4 weeks of recess. There was no school in winter because the paths were too bad for the smaller children. Besides, most of them could not attend school because of their poor clothing.
    The children from 9 through 12 years attended winter school from December 1 until Easter. In the summer months, they were available to assist their parents.
     For the older children there was refresher school.
    The school ordinances, school laws respectively, changed repeatedly in the course of time. The educational results increasingly improved, especially after the introduction of compulsory education and better training for the teacher. The first rudiments for the betterment of teacher education occurred in 1774 in Temeschburg where they instructed the teacher – now no longer a schoolmaster – in a modern manner. In 1844, this school was closed, but after the events of the Revolution in 1852, they established the Werschetzer Catholic College of Education from which many eminent personalities emerged for the Banat German nationality. With gratitude, the older 

    The headmasters of the Deutsch-Zerne School were:

     Schoolmasters of the Deutsch-Zerne school were, as far as could be determined:

    With gratitude should the works of the school sisters be recognized.  In 1888 the convent was built by the lord of the manor and occupied by the Sisters of the Cross.  The sisters undertook instruction in the girls’ school; they provided private instruction in handicrafts for the female youth who had left school, also music, especially piano instruction.  The nursing sisters carried on a beneficial service in the care and nurture of the sick.  The convent was under the direction of Oberin Gonzaga until 1922.  Then the religious order recalled the sisters.
    The most renowned sisters (instructors) were:

    At the German school in Serbisch-Zerne, Michael Kremer worked as headmaster until 1919.

     The following worked as teachers:
                        Kern                                                                       Hans Tabar
                        Michael Kremer                                                      Michael Horvath
                        Franz Kremer

44

                 After World War I:

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    The most beautiful feast was Christmas. On the afternoon of Christmas Eve, a group of girls dressed in white trekked from house to house accompanied by the white (a youth dressed like a white rider on horseback) and the black (Krampus, with a sack full of [whipping] rods) and gave gifts to the children after they sang the Christ child song, which, unfortunately, was never recorded. After they left the house, they began searching under the Christmas tree for gifts. They had to see for themselves whether the long-anticipated wishes were fulfilled. At the evening meal, there was wine soup and afterwards poppy seed noodles and poppy seed or nut strudel. At midnight, the group went to early morning service. On the first or second day of Christmas, the children also received gifts from their godfathers and godmothers. To ward off sickness from the house, no laundry could be done between Christmas and New Year’s Day.
    New Year’s Eve was spent in inns, clubs, or private houses. The earlier tradition of probing into the future with emptied coffee cups, card pitching or melting lead over a flame no longer took place in the later times. At midnight, they turned out the lights for an instant because the New Year was here.
    On New Year’s Day, making wishes for the New Year took place. Everyone wished himself health and long life. So that the wishes would be fulfilled, the grown children doused him. The children received gifts.
    On Three King’s Day [January 6th], crullers were baked in almost every home. A coin was baked into one cruller, which the mother placed in front of the smallest child so that he was king for the day. On Three King’s Day, three boys dressed as kings trekked from house to house and sang the Three King’s song. For this they received gifts.
    At Mardi Gras, various organizations presented dance events whereby married couples were offered the opportunity for dance and amusement. The grown youth had dance events every Sunday afternoon and evening at the inn with so-called free music. During Advent and Lent, and also at harvest time, these events did not take place.
    During Holy Week — from Maundy Thursday noon until Holy Saturday morning — even the bells fell silent; the peal of the bells was replaced by the chanting of the altar boy. Then on Saturday morning they trekked from house to house and received eggs or spending money.

    On Easter Day, children eagerly decorated Easter nests. The Easter bunny laid his colored eggs, sweets, etc. in these nests.
    On May 1, children stuck elder tree branches on windows and doors.
    In the evening on May 1, there was Maypole dancing. This was the privilege of army recruits at the time. After the young men gathered together, they would decorate previously selected wooden bars, several meters high, with greenery and ribbons, and displayed them in front of the church, community house, school, rectory, the judge’s house, and the homes of other distinguished citizens. The Maypoles remained standing for several weeks, then they were unwrapped by the youths while music played; for this, the youths received a sum of money from those honored, which was used to finance the entertainment.
    The most beloved folk festival in all of the Banat was, of course, the

    It was celebrated in our sister communities in November on the Sunday after Martinmas [November 11th]. The reason for a feast on this date is thought to be that there should be a feast of joy and thanks for the harvest of the year since it was brought in with such pain and effort. The bouquets and ribbons on the hats of the Kirchweih boys and the wine bottles were symbols of the rich harvest. On these days visitors streamed in from all directions. After the rigorous days of work, it was the most appropriate time for relatives and friends to meet each other again, share joy and sorrows, counsel each other, and dedicate time to cheerfulness, fun, and conversation. The Kirchweih lasted three days; on this occasion, youth played the starring role. For weeks beforehand, the boys would search for a girl (Kerweimensch) for the Kirchweih. The Kirchweih fellows (Kerweibuwe) gathered together in an association and elected two treasurers, a hall and music was sought, and the cost was agreed upon between the host and musicians. On the Friday before the Kerwei, every Kerwei boy brought his hat to his Kerwei girl to groom (decorate). On Saturday afternoon, the youths gathered with the musicians in the courtyard of the community house to fetch the Kirchweih tree. With the brass band, they marched to the church square and set up the tree in front of the rectory. Afterwards, they went to pick up the decorated Kirchweih bouquet

from the shopkeeper. It was rosemary, decorated with nosegays and silk ribbons, which they brought to the first treasurer’s Kerwei girl. Then on that same evening, the first dance took place, this time, however, without the decorated hat. On Sunday morning, every Kerwei fellow visited his girl and received his decorated hat. Wearing this hat and with the wine flask in hand, he then called on relatives and godparents and offered them tickets for the drawing of hat and cloth. Upon this opportunity, he received spending money for the Kirchweih days. From the inn, the Kirchweih party then marched to the church in front of the two treasurers. There they formed a receiving line for the priest. During Mass, the fellows stood in the main corridor of the church. The priest gave a sermon suitable for a festive occasion. After the Mass, he was again honored through the receiving line. Afterwards, honored guests were received: the pastor, schoolmaster, municipal administrators, judge, and notary.
    On Sunday afternoon, the Kirchweih associates left the inn with the musicians and girls to pick up the second treasurer, then his girl, then the first treasurer, and finally his girl. There the bouquet was picked up. Now marched the Kirchweih train with the first treasurer in front with his girl, who carried the bouquet, to the church square where an auction of the bouquet took place. During Kirchweih days, they stopped at every street corner and the musicians played a so-called corner song. A large group of people waited around the Kirchweih tree. At first, the second treasurer climbed on a barrel previously placed there and officiated at the drawing for hat and cloth. With jesting words, the attendees were encouraged to offer higher amounts for the soon-to-be auctioned lottery tickets. The drawing of the winning ticket was done by a child. During a short recess, the musicians played.
    Following this drawing was the auction of the bouquet. These were exciting moments for the fellows and girls, but also for their parents, even if their daughters or sons were not the owners of the bouquet. The drawing happened in the following manner. The first treasurer climbed on the barrel and gave his Kirchweih speech — while the musicians played a march. For many years this speech was arranged by the Schoolmaster, Michael Kremer — who died tragically. The speech consisted of humorous allusions and hilarious occurrences of the day, to put the audience in good  

humor. After each stanza, the musicians played a corner piece. Note here that Kirchweih members had to pay the full declared price plus one-tenth of the difference between the declared price and the cut-off price, whereas a successful bidder from outside of the group had to pay the full cut-off price. It turned out that there was never a bidder from outside of the association, for that would truly have been an expensive amusement.
    At the end of the auction, the successful bidder presented the bouquet to his girl. Now the lead pair of dancers performed three short dances around the Kirchweih tree, and after this the other fellows led their girls to dance. Then the whole group marched from the church square — in front of them was the pair of lead dancers with the bouquet — to the notable dignitaries and nearest relatives, to honor them with a rosemary sprig tied with silk ribbons, whereupon they were presented with money. The evening meal on Sunday was taken at the home of the female lead dancer, on Monday in the house of the male lead dancer. After the meal, they marched with the musicians to the dance hall. The first dance (three pieces) now belonged to the pair of lead dancers; also on the succeeding Kirchweih days these members of the group were picked up from their homes and led to the dance hall.
    On Wednesday morning the fellows removed the Kirchweih tree and buried a sealed flask of wine at the spot where the tree had stood, where it remained buried until the next Kirchweih. They took the Kirchweih tree on their shoulders and, to the sounds of a funeral march, brought it to its place in the community courtyard. So ended the Kirchweih feast.

    After military service, it was time to think of marriage. If a fellow was not promised to a girl before that, then he looked around at the available girls. If his choice was agreed upon, then the parents got together. The parents on both sides met in the house of the chosen one and negotiated the dowry. If they agreed, then the promise (betrothal) of the young was made. This happened in close circles; only the parents on both sides and their counsel (marriage witnesses) assisted. The

betrothal took place in the house of the bride’s parents, and on this occasion the agreed-upon dowry was put into writing in the presence of witnesses. The transfer of the dowry usually followed the marriage ceremony.
    Usually the marriage took place three weeks after the betrothal. It was celebrated with more or less pageantry according to the means of the parents. If the number of guests was small, then the marriage would be celebrated in the house of the bride’s parents; if the number was large, then it took place at an inn. The marriage at the registry was usually done in the morning just in the presence of the witnesses, but the church marriage took place in the afternoon. It was a large wedding, 200 or more persons participating, when the marriage train marched to the church with music. The children went in front, then the bridesmaids with their partners, the bridal pair, after them followed the marriage witnesses, the married women, and finally the parents of the bride and groom. The pastor performed the marriage, gave a speech, and gave the blessings. Usually while still in the church, the elated participants wished the young couple well, the train was formed again, and they marched to the house or inn for the wedding meal. At the meal, the bridal pair sat at the head of the hall, next to them, the witnesses. During the meal, speeches were given in which best wishes were expressed for the bridal pair; children also recited poems on this opportune occasion.
    At the bridal dance, the bridegroom first led the bride in dance; then all of the guests asked the bride for a dance. At midnight, the veil and crown of the bride were removed and then the bridal pair symbolically stepped into the circle of those who were married. An earlier custom, to steal the bride’s shoe or to kidnap the bride herself, no longer happened in recent times. Either before or after the wedding, guests presented the bridal pair with a wedding present.
    The wedding — offering the finest food and beverages — lasted well into the early morning, frequently until the afternoon hours of the next day.

1 Metz), 12 Metz of wheat, 5 Metz barley, 3 Metz of oats, make two long trips on the River Theiss, work 2 joch for free, and still pay for and render 80 days of manual labor to the manor lord.

    On Tuesday, May 2, 1792, Josef Kampf and Maria Barbara Henika, as well as Josef Stiebel of Eichstatt and Anna Kampf, were married. Josef Kampf received from his parents, Johann Peter Kampf and Anna Katharina née Hartenacker, 100 florin in cash, two horses together with cart, a fully equipped wagon, a plow, harrow, and windmill. His bride received from her mother, Maria Elisabetha Henika née Lindenbaum, 80 florin in cash, a cow, a trunk, a table, bench, chest of drawers, iron skillet, iron pot, and a bed. When she went as a settler to Deutsch-Zerne, she had 10 children.

    Anna Kampf received from her parents, Johann Peter Kampf and Anna Katharina Hartenacker, 80 florin in cash, a cow, a trunk, a table, bench, iron skillet, and completely assembled bed. Josef Stiebel had 180 florin when they went as settlers to Deutsch-Zerne. Josef Stiebel died on September 10, 1799 and was 33 years old. His wife, Anna Maria Stiebel, née Kampf, married Peter Tines from Charlevill on January 7, 1800.

    Josef and Anna Stiebel, née Kampf, had two boys and a girl; the girl Magdalena was married to Daniel Koch in Zerne.

The Christening

    This joyful feast was celebrated by the family on one of the Sundays following the birth of a child. On the way to the christening, the godfather and godmother preceded; the midwife with the child followed. After the christening was over, they went home; on the way sugar was given to the gathering children, often joyful shots resounded, fired by relatives or good friends. At the christening feast (child’s party) that followed, the relatives, midwife, godfather and godmother participated. During the first six days after birth, the woman in childbed received a meal brought to

the home alternately from the household of the godfather or of the godmother. It was also customary for the godfather and godmother to give gifts to the godchild at Christmas and Easter.

    When a family member passed away, the dead person was laid out in the parlor. From the time of lying in state until the burial, relatives and acquaintances came to the wake to say their prayers at the bier of the deceased, whereby they expressed their condolences and consoled them. The burial was done within 24 hours after death. After the ceremony in the church cemetery took place, the funeral cortege was set in motion. In front was carried the tomb cross, followed by the cross, flags, altar boys, the cantor, the pastor, in many cases the choir, musicians, then the men and finally, the women. The funeral cortege proceeded on the sidewalk, while the hearse traveled in the street. Behind it went the grief-stricken family. In many cases before the burial, a vesper of the dead for the salvation of the deceased was held in the church; then they continued to the graveyard. When they arrived there, the pallbearers lifted the coffin out of the hearse and carried it to the excavated grave or to the family vault, where the dead were interred after the church ceremony. Usually, six weeks after the burial, a requiem mass was read for the salvation of the deceased.
    Great reverence was shown to the family of a decedent. This resulted in a routine whereby they paid a visit to the grave at every opportunity to offer a prayer. Their graves were marked with marble gravestones, and the grave mount was planted with flowers. On All Saint’s Day, the graves were especially decorated beautifully. The graveyard looked like a flower garden.

    The people of our country were serious individuals, but they were not lacking in humor, and they were always ready to make fun of the weaknesses and mistakes of their fellow men — as well as their own — occasionally in an earthy manner, but not with offensive intentions.

    You all know that Cousin Matz had a vineyard, and you also know that he had wine. But I know that he always liked the wine at the inn better.
    In the spring, Cousin Nani put a young kitten — as we used to do back home — into a sieve — and covered it with an old sweater. Since she had to go to work in the vineyard and did not want Cousin Matz to find her money, she stuffed it into the sleeve of the sweater.
    Cousin Matz was sitting in the Gang, smoking a cigarette, when the kitten suddenly started crying. Cousin Matz went into the stable where the cats were to see what happened.
    The cat was in the arm of the sweater and could not get out. As he was getting the cat out, he found the money.
    Quickly he went to the inn to drink a few glasses.
    In the evening, cousin Nani came home, looked for the cat and also for the money. The money was gone. She went into the house and said, “Matz, did you take the money out of the sleeve of that sweater?"
    Cousin Matz said, “What money? I did not find any money!"
    Cousin Nani said, “But I put it into the sleeve of the sweater!"
    Cousin Matz said, “ The cat must have eaten it.”

    Before the first World War, the Socialists marched through the village on May 1 with a red flag and music. The headquarters of their society was in the Neue-Gasse. The society representative was Comrade Matz. When it was time to march, the chairman, Cousin Mischko, said: “Matz, go out there and count how many are here!” It was known that Cousin Matz could not count very well. He went out, remained there a while, came in and notified the chairman: “You are all here.”

    Mischko was a poor man and had a bunch of children. One of his children became sick and died. He went to the pastor and requested a funeral. The pastor asked: ”Should I come to the burial with the new or the old coat?” Of course, with the new coat a burial costs more.

    Mischko said, “If the new coat pleases you more, you can put it on. I will only pay for the old one.”
    How they came to an agreement, we never knew.

    Brother Joschko loved to go to the inn. The Schnapps and wine always tasted good to him. One fall evening, he was again at the innkeeper's and carousing happily. Several men from the fire department also showed up at the innkeeper's to drink a Spitzer.* After they drank their wine, they wanted to go home. When they came out of the common room into the vestibule — there were two doors, one that went into the dance hall and the other led outdoors — Brother Joschko came out of the dance hall and says, "It's cloudy and dark like being in a sack, I cannot see the moon or stars."
    He had mistaken the door.
    Surely the innkeeper scolded him like a fishwife.

[*Spritzer: wine with seltzer.]

    Brother Mischko and Brother Jakob were good friends. They both really enjoyed drinking Schnapps as well. Brother Mischko was a blacksmith. In the fall, the farmers delivered the bounty, and since many also had a vineyard, they also brought along a bottle of Schnapps. Sister Amei, Brother Mischko's wife, had set the bottle in the pantry. There was already a whole row of liter bottles of Schnapps. Brother Jakob came to visit nearly every day. Brother Mischko would then let the anvil idle while they drank Schnapps. Sister Amei did not care for this, but she never said anything in the beginning. It eventually became too annoying, and she scolded the "Schnapps Brothers." When this had no effect, she hid a liter of Schnapps in the attic granary.
    Brother Mischko also kept track of the bottles and could not find the missing one anywhere. He finally found it. When Sister Amei went out, he checked the attic, and sure enough, there it was in the grain. Out with it! And since Brother Jakob also came again to visit, it was quickly emptied. Brother Mischko filled the bottle with water and put it back in its place in the attic. The Schnapps was all gone when New Year's Day was approaching, so Brother Mischko asked Sister Amei,

"Did you also bring Schnapps home so that we can offer something to the well-wishers?" "Yes, I have already planned ahead, since you boozers had drunk it all away."
    On New Year's morning, Brother Jakob came to offer his best wishes. Sister Amei goes in the attic, brings the bottle and offers it up. They both drink, look at each other, then Brother Mischko says, "Amei, I think you made a mistake, this is Holy Water." "I think you are drunk or crazy," says Sister Amei.
    "No need to get upset. The bottle was not corked well and the spirits have evaporated," said Brother Jakob.
    Sister Amei did not believe the pair, but what was she to do? She had to go buy another bottle of Schnapps.

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It was also the designated legal representative of academic autonomy, whereby the state transferred sovereign right over the German schools to it. It was intended that the Serbians also possess school autonomy in the monarchy. These rights were even guaranteed to the leading men of our people by the peace treaty. Afterwards, they would hear nothing of it and deliberately hindered the expansion of our school system. The sanctions of the regime at that time narrowed our prospects for making our school system successful. By order of the administration dated July 20, 1920 (through 1921), all schools were socialized; ownership of school property by a community and church was made illegal, expropriated without compensation, and transferred to the hand of the state. Now the state could unscrupulously enforce its criminal intent, of which the chauvinist minister, Pribićević, availed himself. The primary freedoms we had been taught in school were taken away bit by bit, the operation of the Culture League was discontinued, and its property was confiscated. Later, when the Culture League was again permitted to operate as a result of the combative efforts of German representatives, it could no longer fully perform the tasks allowed in our area. There was no other alternative than this in any other organization, respectively, to relocate groups. The Serbians simply would not tolerate Germans continuing to be taught in their own language. They spied on every cultural event, harassed the leading men, made it difficult to get permits, and caused disruptions. Not until the end of 1930 could the Culture League display a healthy activity. Shortly thereafter, it was completely absorbed into a country group.
    The last chairman of the Culture League was Michael Schulz; the country director was Johann Hepp.

   7. Music was also supported in the Hausmusik [Music-Making at Home]. Instruments like the harmonica, accordion, and piano were used. In small groups, the fiddle was also played. In the previous century, there had been a Musikkapelle [music band] under the direction of Bandmaster Müller. They played at dances and various festivals and family celebrations. This band had dissolved and, at the beginning of this century [20th], Bandmaster Johann Konrad started a new band. Soon he succeeded in creating a powerful music group of young fellows. They also played at

dances and at special celebrations. After World War I, they reached the high point in their success. They performed many concerts and were sought after as a dance band. The band was even invited to play on a radio broadcast. Unfortunately, the program could not be aired due to adverse circumstances. Due to disputes, a part of the group separated and formed a new band under the name Männerkapelle [Men’s Band].
    The Leichenverein [Death Benefit Group] had the task of providing proper burials to the deceased and payment of a specific amount to the family survivors. The amount necessary for this was supplied by contributions from its members.
     The president of the group was Johann Stein, Number 86.
    Miscellaneous: 1. In 1898, the Hatzfeld-Betschkerek Schmalspurbahn [narrow-gage railway] was built. After the removal of Hatzfeld [from consideration], Deutsch-Zerne became the terminus. But then in 1920, they extended the line to Klarija, which then became the terminus. This railway kept gaining more importance due to its fast transport of people and goods. To no small extent did the depot of the Credit Cooperative at the railway station contribute to this. The best-known stationmasters were Kardos, Matthias Szigeti, and Josef Fuderer.
    2. In the previous century, there was a Poststelle [post office] in our sister communities. Mail was delivered to us through neighboring Hatzfeld. Later we received our own post office, from which mail to neighboring Hetin was deployed. The managers of the post office were: Irene von Majlath, Emilie Konstantinović, Hermine Harlamov, née Jung, and Nevenka Vinković, née Rajkov. Long-standing employees were: Eva Paul, Antonia Kiefer, Berta Hirhager, and Anna Kampf. Postmen in the final years were: Anton Sehr, Sr., Peter Kampf, and Ludwig Bach.
    3. The Gendarmerie [constabulary or rural police] managed public order and safety and the protection of property. A police station had previously been built in our sister community.
    4. A station of Finanzkontrolle [Finance Control] stood earlier in Hatzfeld. As our community became a frontier town, a station was also built here. It provided a sentry at the border for traffic both ways and battled against tobacco and border smuggling.