The FREI Family - Can you say Donauschwäben?
Since I began my family quest in ernest in 1996 I have suspected that my Frei family was not simply German as we had long supposed. I found that at least three generations were born in Futtak - a town now called Futog in present-day Serbia which before 1916 was part of Hungary, later became part of Yugoslavia, and is now a suburb of Novi Sad in Serbia. My grandfather, Frank Frei, was born in Neu Futtak, Hungary on July 03, 1905. His father, Josef Frei, was born in the same place and baptised at the Catholic church there February 26, 1876. Josef's baptism record reports that his father, George Frei, was also born there.
I also found records from the same Catholic Church which indicated that the Marx and Fischler families also lived there. Aunt Anna, Frank's sister, was said to have been born in Ennigerloh, Germany, and her family has a birth certificate which appears to support that claim. There was much evidence to contradict that fact, however: first was the 1911 immigration record of their arrival at Ellis Island which listed her birthplace as Hungary. The same record indicated that their last address was in Hungary, not Germany, and it listed next of kin as Mary Frey (Josef's mother) and gave her address as Futtak. In addition, knowing that the family had come to Futtak at least 100 years earlier, it was unlikely they would have had a place to return to in Germany. Investigation of the Ennigerloh area showed no sign of our Frey/Frei family except for that baptism record at the Catholic church -- very circumstantial.
Now, thanks to two cousins of Steve Fischler, the husband of Anna Frei, I have come to learn a new word: Donauschwäben - Danube Swabian. The term refers to the Catholic people of German origin who settled the eastern Danube valley in the early to mid 1700s at the encouragement of the Habsburg monarchs of the Austro-Hungarian empire. Many of the early settlers were from the Schwäbish area of Germany, thus the term Schwäben - but the term came to apply to all German Catholics in the region.
Mary and Rosina Forhans, cousins of Steve Fischler, were born in Futog, Yugoslavia, and came to Canada early in their lives, but returned to Futog in 1938 -- just in time to be caught in World War II. They shared the fate of many Donauschwäben after that war and were disposessed of their property and their freedom. They were placed in concentration camps, but managed to escape to Hungary, and finally to the English sector of Austria where they sought asylum as British subjects because they had lived in Canada. These sisters remember Futog very well, and have much information about it. I will certainly post more information as it becomes available.
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