Elisabeth Grob-Hugel has translated Johann Achtzehner’s history of Zichydorf.
History of the Village of Zichydorf
by Elisabeth Grob-Hugel
translated to English from
Geschichte der Gemeinde Zichydorf
and
Nachtrag zur Geschichte der Gemeinde Zichydorf
by Johann Achtzehner
The history of Zichydorf is detailed in the German book Geschicte der Gemeinde Zichydorf published by Johann Achtzehner in 1975. It includes an earlier work by Banat historian Felix Milleker published in 1924. Achtzehner published an addendum to his book a few years later. This total package covers history, customs, religious life, education, and daily life in the village throughout its history. An authorized English translation is available from Elisabeth Grob-Hugel at bhugel@accesscomm.ca.
Elisabeth’s family lived in Zichydorf until November 1944, when the population was dispersed to forced labour camps in Russia and Yugoslavia and brutal internment camps in Yugoslavia. She was born after her father, a prisoner of war, and her mother and brother were released from the camps. Released in 1948, her father had to sign a two year contract, working to build approximately 50 homes for Serbs. Following this they moved to Belgrade where her father worked to earn funds to pay for their release from the country. They came to Canada in 1952.
Elisabeth grew up hearing stories of the Old Country. When she married in 1976, she received Johann Achtzehner’s German History of the Community of Zichydorf as a wedding present.A few years later she received the Addendum. She decided to translate the books to ease her own reading and that of her family. The dialect and the many borrowed foreign words complicated the project. Life and family got in the way. Finally, in 1999, Elisabeth published her translation.
Index to
History of the Village of Zichydorf
Many years ago I read Elisabeth’s work with great curiosity. After completing it, I often wanted to refer back to it, but had great difficulty finding the things for which I was searching. I decided to create an index. Life and family got in my way too. It has probably been more than ten years since I began this project, lurching along in fits and starts, but I have finally completed it!
Download the index below in the Excel spreadsheet format. There are almost 3,450 entries of terms of interest and names. For each entry there is, of course, a page number, but also a brief description of what the entry is about, and often also a time frame. A second Excel sheet summarizing many statistics from the book is also included in the file. The file can be downloaded below and sorted to suit your needs.
Glenn Schwartz
January, 2013