The
Immigration of Ethnic Germans
The Danube Swabians
The Danube Swabians
The American
Aid Society of German Descendants has supported more than 17,000 immigrants
to Chicago since its founding in 1944. The biggest group of those belongs
to a wave of immigrants that was enabled after 1953, when 300,000 refugees
and deportees were allowed to enter the US according to the Displaced Persons
Act” of 1953. Most of those belonged to the so-called Danube Swabians,
who a long time ago settled in areas of Rumania, Yugoslavia, and Hungary.
The name
was introduced during the Weimar republic in 1930, when the Foreign Office
officially acknowledged their German origin. After World War II most of the
Danube Swabians fled the then Communist controlled territories to many Western
countries, among them Germany and Austria, that were hardly able to accommodate
their large numbers.
So pressure mounted on the US to allow their immigration. The American Aid Society of German Descendants has, since the 1950s, seen it as one of its major tasks to help integrate the newly arrived immigrants into their social and professional environment.
So pressure mounted on the US to allow their immigration. The American Aid Society of German Descendants has, since the 1950s, seen it as one of its major tasks to help integrate the newly arrived immigrants into their social and professional environment.
It also
made sure that the old traditions and folksongs did not die out and that the
newcomers at the same time became familiar with their new surroundings and
culture. In this context, an old people's home, a children- and youth-group,
and a soccer club were founded. In 1987, the old people's home was closed
and converted into a museum. It was opened in a ceremony on Memorial Day of
1990. This museum houses original exhibits in the cultural center of the American
Aid Society of German Descendants in Lake Villa, Illinois. These exhibits
demonstrate the rich cultural heritage of the Danube
Swabians.
625 E. Seegers Road
Des Plaines, Illinois, 60016
www.donauschwaben.com
Books:
De Zayas, Alfred-Maurice. A Terrible
Revenge. The Ethnic Cleansing of the
East European Germans, 1944-1950.
New York, 1944.
Lohne, Raymond. The Great Chicago
Refugee Rescue. Rockport, Maine, 1997.
Lohne, Raymond. German Chicago. The
Danube Swabians and the American Aid
Societies. Charleston, South Carolina,
1999.
