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Alsace, France
Encyclopedie de L'Alsace, Volume 5, Pages 2695-2698

Article by Professor Jean Schweitzer, Strasbourg, France

Translation from French to English by Michele LeBoldus, Ottawa, Ontario

Danubian Countries and Russia

As it happens, two pertinent phases

can be noted to explain the endemic
phenomenon of immigration rather
than its’ spontaneous expression.

Emigration to Danubian Countries

in the 18th Century Shown here are only the villages of Alsatian immigrants.
All these villages have German names.
After the Treaties of KARLOWITZ
(1699) and PASSAROWITZ
(1718) sealed victory over the
Turks, Austria-Hungary acquired
vast tracts of land at the southern
end of its’ Empire.

From then on,Vienna struggled to

populate these devastated and
deserted lands. Charles V broached
the task in 1720 and wanted to
confer the challenging role of
colonization to the Catholic
inhabitants of the Empire.
General view of the village of Selz, near Odessa, Ukraine.
Circa 1927. For additional information, consult the book,
Paradise on the Steppe: A Cultural History of the
Kutschurgan, Beresan, and Liebental Colonies 1804 - 1972,
by Joseph S. Height.

But it was mainly during the reign

of Marie-Thérèse that these
privileged colonists prospered.
Most of these came predominantly
from Lorraine, Sarre, Luxembourg,
the electorates of Treves and
Mayence- with a few from Alsace.

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The largest emigration from Alsace

and Lorraine occurred between
1765-1771.

A census list shows 279 families in

transit from 25 August to 31
December, 1770, from Kehl to
Hungary. Two hundred of these
families were Alsatian, originally
from 79 different areas. Map shows Hungary, Romania and Yugoslavia. The lined
area represents a density of Lorraine immigrants from
From 1753, the Bursar of Alsace, Alsace. Because of an ongoing in-depth study, it is not yet
despairing of the spreading possible to establish a definite picture of immigrant
destinations in countries bordering the Danube River.
departures, took swift restrictive
measures to stop it. Finally, all
subjects were forbidden to leave the
Kingdom for foreign lands without
official authorization. Fueled by
this political tension in Alsace-
Lorraine, immigrant agents
exploited the rural miseries there
and swept the countryside to recruit
peasants for Hungary by offering
them tempting terms of passage. Itinerary A: Grossman, Jean, Catholic, originally from
Lauterbourg, with his wife and eight children: two
Those embarking on the adventure brothers, one sister. Passport # 2488. Visa stamps and
dates: Regensburg (Ratisbonne), 16 October 1808. Linz,
crossed the Rhine at Kehl, Selz and 21 October 1808; Vienna (Wien), 25 October 1808; Brunn
several other locations to reach (Brno), 30 October 1808; Brody, 15 November 1808.
Ulm by road, on foot or by cart. Destination: Elsass (Selz colony in Ukraine).
Boarding at Ulm, they traveled the
Danube via Vienna and Bratislava, Itinerary B: Koch, Joseph, Catholic, originally from
to their destination. Meager daily Hohwiller (Canton of Soultz-sous-Forets), with his wife
allowances barely covered the trip’s and three children. Passport # 1989, issued by Consult
Bethmann in Frankfurt, 6 May 1809. Visa stamps and
expenses. dates: Erfurt, 29 May 1809; Weimar, 30 May 1809;
Altenburg, 5 June 1809; Liegnitz, 22 June 1809; Babuce,
Most of the Alsatians, as with those 9 July 1809. Destination: Rastadt, Beresan colony in
from Lorraine, were settled in the Ukraine.
areas of Temesvar ( Timisoara,
Temeschburg) between Budapest To establish these two above routes, passport records
were researched originals of which are in the Provincial
and Belgrade but mainly in Archives of Dniepropetrovsk, Ukraine. Copies are also in
Batschka and the Banat. the State Archives of Berlin, Germany. Dr. Karl Stumpp
reproduced these lists in his important work,
To give these settlers a chance to "Auswanderung", pages 993-1014.
begin a new life in less than
hospitable conditions, the Imperial
Government of Vienna provided a
house, farm animals, agricultural
implements and some basic
household goods. Land was of

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course transferred to these new

tenants. Fifteen hectare lots ( about
30 acres) were commonly allotted
and exempted from all taxes for 10
years.

But the reality was one of futile

dreams in a promised land. Large
numbers of these colonists were
hardly settled when they were
struck by death or faced less than
healthy conditions. Added to that
were a tortuous climate, fevers,
epidemics, native hatred of the
colonists and incursions by the
Turks. And as well, a negligent
political administration existed.
Only the strongest, most
resourceful survived being
transplanted to these barely
habitable lands. Distanced from
their homelands, problems in
communicating, the tediousness of daily labors were all factors that led to the hardship of
maintaining ties with the “old country”.

Cut off from the Motherland, these Alsatians, following the example of the Mosellans,
ended up melting into the larger group of German communities-collectively, but falsely
called, Swabian Danubians. By an understandable irony, they spoke nothing more than a
Frankish-Mosellan dialect. With the passage of time, prosperity came to the villages along
with an air of affluence which lasted for almost 150 years .

The First World War would radically change the political climate. The Treaty of Trianon
(1920) would have Banat being parcelled between Hungary, Romania and Yugoslavia: the
larger regions of Batschka and Baranya were handed to Yugoslavia. The Second World
War brought its’ own particular trials which easily annihilated the work of two centuries
which had transformed at the outset, a vast swamp into being at the end, the bread basket
of Central Europe.

By War’s end, intervention by Alsace and Lorraine government officials- notably Robert
Schumann, Pierre Pfilmin and Gabriel Hocquard- allowed for the repatriation of many
survivors whose ancestors had fled our provinces two centuries earlier. These descendants
were able to return to France initially settling in the Colmar area.

A happy set of circumstances allowed dozens of Banat families to get established in the
Rocque-sur-Pernes (Vaucluse) area. But the majority of these families now reside in the
diaspora of Eastern Europe or in North America. More of a rarity are the survivors- as an
outcome of WWII- who succeeded in returning to the Danube plains cleared by their
forefathers. These in turn had come from the borders of the Rhine but mostly from
neighboring Moselle.

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Emigration to Russia at the Beginning of the 19th Century

Following Austro-Hungary’s lead, Russia under the Czars tried to attract settlers to clear
the vast territories of the Steppes- land formerly under Turkish control. Once again,
Alsatians responded to the lure of a foreign land. But as in the past, they were part of a
grander migration scheme which would once more affect all the Rhine provinces.

Using the same tactics as the Vienna Court several decades earlier, the Czarist
government-now at the dawn of the Napoleonic era- delegated agents to the Rhine to
recruit colonists for the Ukraine area. Highly praising the new country in a bid to recruit
new settlers, the immigrant agents sold more lots than were available. As a result, success
was a long time coming. Thus at the dawn of the 19th Century, nearly every village in the
North of Alsace lost dozens of families- in search of a better life whether in Podole,
Tauride or the Crimea. But rarely were they aware of their final destination.

The Original Villages

It has been established that Alsace at this time experienced two waves of mass migration
which essentially affected a specific region:

a) Between 1804 and 1810, the arrondissement (district) of Wissembourg, in particular the
cantons (townships) of Seltz and Lauterbourg, were the most affected. Curiously, this
geographical area covers roughly the same locations as the Great Flight of 1793. These
poor catholic peasants found themselves excluded from the Ecclesiastical tenant farms
and the erratic national social programs thus losing their limited means of existence.

Of all the communities hurt by this emigration were the cantons (townships) of Seltz with
a loss of fifty families and Neewiller-Lauterbourg with forty-five families leaving for
Ukraine. Other close areas affected were the outskirts of Landau and Bergzabern and the
region of Rastatt on the opposite side of the Rhine.

b) In 1817 however, a year of misery and poverty, departures essentially occurred in the
Protestant villages of the Saverne district which a few decades earlier had already lost
entire families- now firmly ensconced in Danubian countries.

A difference in time and space but also in the administration’s attitude to those leaving
caused some changes. In the first decade of the 19th century, because of the official
decree forbidding departures from France, they took place clandestinely. During the
restoration however, emigration was authorized by request.

As to the global outcome of these two chaotic time periods, over a thousand families-
3,500 Alsatians, mostly from the Lower Rhine-leave for Russia.

By a unique paradox, the established colonies of the clandestine emigres of the first wave
of departures are well documented. But the precise destination of those emigres of 1817-
who left with official authorization- is still a perplexing enigma for historians.

Routes and Stopover Points

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From 1804 to 1809, the departure route started on the Danube to Vienna. After crossing
the Rhine secretly at Seltz, the Alsatian emigres were assembled at the small gathering
centre of Steinmauren. Those leaving Baden- in equal numbers to the Alsatians-were from
the Rastatt district. At Ulm, the travellers were put under the charge of the Russian
Immigration Officer. Barges had been hired for the 10 day voyage to the Austrian capital
of Vienna.

There, heads of families were presented to the Russian Ambassador and obtained official
entrance visas. Then the journey resumed via the Austro-Hungarian postal route- which
crossing Gallicia then ran along the border of the Czarist Empire. This was a considerable
detour because the political map of the day once again saw Bessarabia under Turkish
domination.

During the 1808/1809 massive immigration departures, new routes were needed- another
consequence of the changing political times in Central Europe. Napoleonic troops
occupied part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and thus cut off the Danube route.
Officials were resigned to a rerouting via northern Austria.

Passports were obtained from the Russian Consul Bethmann - a rich banker in Francfort-
sur-le-Main. The lengthy convoys destined for the Black Sea area trudged through
Thuringia, Saxony and Silesia. In Poland, west of Krakow, they rejoined the transverse
arterial route beyond Brody to the Russian border.

After a trek of several weeks, our future colonists finally step onto Russian soil. Upon
their arrival at the outpost of Radzivillov, they are quarantined and spend 3-4 weeks in
makeshift huts. At the end of this forced halt, the immigrants are once again en route. The
seemingly endless journey then extends along Central Europe and shifts abruptly beyond
the border to descend directly to the Black Sea coast.

In all, three months are spent travelling the 2500 kilometres ( about 1500 miles).
Appalling circumstances are their constant companions: non-existent basic comforts,
unhygienic conditions and dwindling supplies. Even personal safety was at risk. More
than one person never sets eyes on Russia.

Settlement Areas in Russia

After a particularly arduous journey, our immigrants have arrived.There they discover one
of their own illustrious countrymen- the Duc de Richelieu (1766-1822), an émigré of the
(French) Revolution and now Governor of new Russia since 1805.

Upon their arrival in Ukraine, the immigrants were parcelled out between the 4 cantons
(townships) of the Odessa Province.The Russian Immigration Office based their
settlement areas on a proven formula. A successful agricultural village made up of various
ethnic backgrounds should have as a common element a common religion. This would
then cement an atmosphere of cooperation among rural centres without forgetting
completely the origins of these new nationals.

One of these cantons (townships) had Selz as its’ seat of government- a designation taken
directly from the Alsace region. And for a very good reason: of the 100 families settled in

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this village, 90 had left this northern area of Alsace. Also significant were the
designations of two other settlers’ villages in the same township- Elsass and Strassburg-
which followed the same place names as in the Palatinate and Baden.

Besides their common faith and customs, they had brought to this Slavic land their
Frankish Rhine dialect from the Wissembourg area- which some of their descendants
wonderfully speak to this day.

The settlers first years were very arduous given the fact they were mainly cast to the four
winds on the vast steppe. But after a long and strenuous beginning, many descendants of
these Alsatian pioneers have become renowned in their larger community. In the religious
community, two illustrious descendants would rise to the highest ranks in the Roman
Catholic Church of southern Russia. Msgr. Anton Zerr, the third Bishop of Tiraspol, had
his ancestry from the Neewiller-Lauterbourg area. Msgr. Alexandre Frison, martyred for
his faith, had his ancestors come from Seebach.

It didn’t take long for there to be a shortage of land given these young dynamic families
had many children. This led to new immigration by the third generation. Little by little,
new communities were founded in the East-even as far away as Siberia. However, at the
end of the 19th century, there appears a unique migration movement towards North
America. This became a providential exit route for the sons in large families cramped by
the exploitation of their fathers. Added to this lack of new land was the increasing
abolition of privileges the immigrants had flourished under for so long.

Slowly opening up the west of North America, the great transcontinental railways found it
hard to be profitable in these huge, deserted tracts of land. An understandable worry
which led to the bringing of settlers to the North Central Plains. Not long behind were the
immigration recruitment offices in Odessa, praising the vast territories overseas.

As such incredible access to new lands was offered to the colonists in Ukraine, sons and
great-grandsons of our Alsatian pioneers leave in substantial numbers. Leaving their
native Russia, they generally travel via Hambourg to board ships for North America. It
was a curious exodus that saw certain villages in Ukraine literally transplanted to the vast
expanse of the Prairies straddling the Canadian and American border.

But in the Czarist Empire, families still loyal to Russia continued to scatter far and wide
even to present-day Siberia.

After 1870, the legal status of these immigrant descendants will change completely. By an
edict on 4 June 1871, St.Petersburg retracts the laws given the colonists. This act hastens
the departure to North America which is then at the ready to welcome new immigrants.
The Russian Revolution of 1917 would sound the death-knell of the autonomous
enclaves- not an unpleasant thought for the moujiks ( Russian peasants ?) who constantly
envied the German colonists prosperity.

For these German-speaking kulaks, history will not be kind to them. The Second World
War will provoke the annihilation of these once flourishing communities, causing the
survivors to be cast to the fours winds of the earth.

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Copyright translation: Michele LeBoldus, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Our appreciation is extended to Michele LeBoldus for translation of this article.

Permission to use any images from the GRHC website may be requested by contacting Michael M. Miller

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