German-Bohemians: The Quiet Immigrants

"For the first time in print, a chronicle of the German-Bohemian immigrant's journey to the new homeland in America..." " A rich cultural tradition translated to the U.S. by a quiet, gentle people..." from the Preface: East Side The German-Bohemian Immigrant monument in German Park, New Ulm, Minnesota was erected in 1991 by the German-Bohemian Heritage Society to commemorate the immigrants to this region from the German speaking western rim of present-day Czechoslovakia. They emigrated from the counties of Bischofteinitz, Mies and Taus in the Province of Pilsen, as shown on the European map, and settled in the townships sketched on the U.S. map. Around the base in the granite slabs are inscribed the over 350 immigrant family names as they were approximately spelled when the families departed their old homeland. Known at the time of their departure as Bohemia, a crown colony in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, this region in the 20th century was included in the larger periphery of the Czech nation designated as the Sudetenland. More locally it was called the Bohmerwald, Bohemian Forest, a ridge of high hills that forms a natural border with Germany. The immigrants came mostly from small villages, with the largest numbers from the village centers of Hostau, Muttersdorf, and Rons-perg. These were farm communities where the people lived and housed their stock, going out daily to work their scattered non-contiguous fields. Most villages had Catholic churches or chapels and the residents spoke a Bohemian dialect of German. From New Year's Day to Christmas each year they observed special traditions, spiced with large wedding celebrations and funerals attended by the entire communities. Music in every form - bands, singing societies and choirs - permeated all aspects of village life...