Schutzberg, Bosnia
Schutzberg (sometimes given as Glogowatz / Glogovac or Ukrinskilug) was an important German language settlement east of Prnjavor in northern Bosnia between 1895 and 1942.[1]
History
In 1872 Austria-Hungary occupied Bosnia and found the Prnjavor under-populated. Efforts were undertaken to attract settlers from other parts of the empire and consequently the area was settled by Germans, Italians, Ukrainians, Slovaks, Poles and German-speaking folk from Austria, Bohemia and Hungary. The municipality of Prnjavor was nicknamed "little Europe.
The village of Schutzberg was founded in 1895 by a mixture of Danube Swabians and German settlers coming from Slavonia, Galicia, Bukowina, Hungary and Württemberg.[2]
Although these colonists named their settlement Dornenberg ( locally called Glogovac literally "thorn hill", presently called Grabovac )[3] and later Schutzberg (literally "protecting mountain"), it was also called Ukrinskilug and Glogowatz / Glogovac. They introduced modern farming methods and were very successful and prosperous. In 1918 Bosnia was annexed into Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes and German immigration stopped.
Following the collapse of internal security during World War II the Nazis decided to evacuate the Volksdeutsche (ethnic German) population from Bosnia and a treaty to this effect was signed with the Croatian Ustaše regime on 30 September 1942. The Hauptamt Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle organised an SS commando from Belgrade, Serbia, under Otto Lackman and "...went from village to village, accompanied by the military."[4]
By this stage Schutzberg was a comparatively large rural settlement of nearly 1300 souls.[5] In late 1942 the Volksdeutsche were all evacuated to Germany, never to return. The village was repopulated after 1945 with the Communist authorities destroyed or obscured all evidence of German history and heritage here.[citation needed]
References
- ^ Henry A. Fischer Schutzberg (Glogovac) in Bosnia Danube Swabian Resources
- ^ "Regionalseiten offline".
- ^ Philipp Weingartner A Journey of Faith Across a Turbulent Century: Memoirs of a Refugee Pastor FriesenPress, Dec 4, 2020 - Biography & Autobiography - 401 pages ISBN 1525589873 ISBN 9781525589874
- ^ Valdis O. Lumans, Himmler's Auxiliaries: The Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle and the German Minorities of Europe, 1939-1945 (1993)
- ^ "Regionalseiten offline".
Literature
- Werner Conze, Hartmut Boockmann, Norbert Conrads und Günter Schödl: Deutsche Geschichte im Osten Europas, 10 Bde, ISBN 3-88680-771-1 (in German)
- Noel Malclom, Bosnia: A Short History (1994) ISBN 0-330-41244-2
- Valdis O. Lumans, Himmler's Auxiliaries: The Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle and the German Minorities of Europe, 1939-1945 (1993) ISBN 0-8078-6564-8