A Great Success

Email and the Internet keep the memory of the „Auswanderung" alive.

The Province of Burgenland has a long history but little is written in English. There are many American descendants of Burgenländers who emigrated to the United States, but very few know the language or villages of their ancestors. Villages now have German names and church and civil records have moved as parish and district and offices changed.

After a trip to the Burgenland in 1993, I decided to address these problems and share what I found with others. Meeting with Dr. Dujmovits and reading his work, sowed the seeds. Those who do ethnic pioneering work can become mentors and share information. This is the premise on which our group was formed.

In 1995, I began using the Internet. Replying to bulletin board queries or placing postings in genealogical sites, I developed a list of people interested in the Burgenland. We were just ten people, but I was soon forwarding copies of email to many more. An ad hoc group was then formed in January 1997. I called the group the „Burgenland Bunch" - a „bunch" (Bündel), a loose collection. Members were asked to provide information about their Burgenland ancestors. I served as coordinator and began a newsletter. It is now published monthly in four sections. Our archives now contain 97 newsletters, with about 2000 pages of Burgenland material.

Hap Anderson (Minnesota) established a Burgenland Bunch website and helped by others, he maintains it. It averages 400 contacts a month and there is more English language Burgenland material available from that site than anywhere else.

It attracted our first Austrian members. Albert Schuch was one of the first and soon became Burgenland editor due to his expertise and frequent articles. Later Klaus Gerger also joined the staff. Other learned correspondents in the United States found our site and we now have 15 dedicated editors. We’ve linked to other websites and have contacts with some ethnic clubs. Recently we began to share English articles with the BG and also translate some of their web site articles into English. We have over 700 members and are still growing. Anyone interested in the Burgenland can reach us via the Internet. Our organization has created new interest in the Burgenland and some of our members are now visiting the „Heimat" for the first time, learning about their heritage or seeking and finding „lost" relatives.

We have compiled a data base of emigrants, filling in the gaps in the history of the great Burgenland migration. Our members live everywhere. We have no way of meeting except through our computers and the newsletters, but some local groups have formed. The Minnesota Group has had three annual picnics and are planning a fourth. The Austrian Group has met once and will meet again at the BG picnic in July.

We do this because the soil of Burgenland contains our roots, it is the „Heimat" of our ancestors. We honor them and memorialize their courage in coming to America, for had they not done so, where would we be? Our work and our archives are available in the libraries of the Internet. Ancestors will not be forgotten and descendants will be able to understand their ethnic heritage and trace their lives. Although we are natives of where we were born, we are also Burgenländers. Now, aware of our origins, we are part of a greater family.

Our data base now contains 3000 family names of „Auswanderers" and their villages as well as the descendants who are researching them. We have archives of early village „chroniks" in which these names are featured. A good place to start, you can see what we have at: http://www.the-burgenland-bunch.org

If you like what you see, follow the instructions to join us. Contact BB Editor Gerald (Gerry) J. Berghold at <Gberghold@AOL.com> or at 327 Walker St., Winchester, VA 22601, USA if you wish to learn more.

Gerald Berghold