A33 Expulsion from home I

Narrator: Josefa Baumgarten, born in 1911
Reporter: Karoline Samm

Until the Second World War I lived with my family, 2 daughters, my mother and my sister in the village of Romau, now a destroyed village in the Czech Republic. It is situated about 3 km from the border to Austria. At that time I was 34 years old. My husband was imprisoned in France.

One day in May 1945 my nephew Rudi told us that soldiers had started to expulse German speaking citizens (“Sudetendeutsche”) from the village called Artolz. Some hours later they were already here in the village of Romau. The soldiers gave us two hours to leave our home country in the direction of Austria with a luggage of 50 kg at the most.

There was no time to think too long. I took the pram and put in all the things my hands could hold, pillows, and clothes for the kids, a jar with sugar and a pendulum watch. My mum, who wanted to stir butter, took a milk pot with her. My brothers and sisters and relatives and all the people of the village were expulsed, as well.

After a long walk we reached the village of Triglas where I had bought a house a year ago. So we and our relatives had a place to stay. Four families slept in the stable, some neighbours in the barn; the entire house was full of people.

The mayor of Triglas decided where to put the refugees. Since my husband was Austrian we were allowed to stay and so could my mum and my sister. Four of my sisters had to go to Satteldorf in Germany and one had to go to Linz.

That was a horrible experience which I will never forget. The old milk pot is the only thing left from my old home.