Bestselling author Ernst Fischer chatted about his book “Pioneers and Refugees: A Danube Swabian Saga.”
Book Description
It is the late 18th century in feudal Germany when 12-year-old Karl Schuler becomes orphaned and is sent to live with a local miller where he learns a trade and becomes a young man. He learns of a government-sponsored program to settle a new frontier along the Danube River, almost 1,000 miles away.
With his new wife, Inge, they begin the long and arduous journey to their new life. Miles away in Eastern Bavaria, Peter Mueller struggles to support his family in the wake of failed crops and high rents.
Peter, his wife Katherine, and their four children leave their home in secrecy and set out to settle the new frontier, hopeful of a fresh start for their family. Both families become part of a considerable German immigrant community known as Danube Swabians.
Six generations later, the descendants of these two families and their communities find themselves facing a new challenge, the onset of German fascism which creates deep divisions in their once peaceful and congenial towns. Initially insulated from the conflict, they cannot escape and become drawn into the war with devasting results.
This is the story of two families whose ancestors participated in the great migration of the late 1700s and their descendants living in Yugoslavia during the years leading up to the Second World War. It follows the families through the war years and the impact it had on their lives.
It is a story of proud, hardworking people and their determination to survive during very turbulent times. It is a work of fiction, but many of the historical events are accurate and the lives of the people depicted are largely based on stories told and recorded by the people that experienced them.
Biography
Ernst Fischer is a first-generation, American, born from parents who fled their homes in Yugoslavia during the Second World War and spent over a year as refugees, trying to evade the ravages of war. He is a retired social worker that now enjoys time with his wife, children, and grandchildren.
Q & A interview
‘Pioneers and Refugees: A Danube Swabian Saga’ has been a favorite with readers. All books have a backstory about its creation, what’s the story behind this epic read?
I grew up as a first-generation American citizen. My parents emigrated to the US in 1955 after having spent ten years in a DP (Displaced Persons) Camp after the Second World War.
The first part of the book is a fictional account of my parent’s ancestors living in 18th Century Eastern Europe. It describes how these families yearned for a better life for themselves and their children and how they undertook an arduous journey to settle new lands, pioneers, in what eventually became Yugoslavia.
Throughout my life, my parents, especially my mother, would tell me stories about their lives as children growing up in Yugoslavia before, during, and after the Second World War.
Many of these stories serve as a basis for the second part of the book. I wrote the book as a legacy to them, and for my children and grandchildren, so they could appreciate what my parents went through to provide them with the lives they have today.
While writing ‘Pioneers and Refugees’ did you learn anything new about yourself? What was one of the challenges you faced, and conversely one of your successes?
I didn’t appreciate what my parents had gone through as children and young adults. Doing the research and writing this book was daunting at times, but it also provided me with great insights into what these people endured in order to provide a better life for themselves and their children.
In this book the Danube River and the land around it plays an important role, what is it about this area and the people who settled there that intrigued you so much?
The people of that area were called Donuaschwaben (Danube Swabians). They were of German heritage but had a unique culture. They were known as hardworking, family-oriented people who carried their culture with them when they settled in their new lands in areas by the Danube River.
They endured hardships, tragedies, and war, much like the American settlers and pioneers that ventured into the untamed lands of the United States during this same period in history.
You are gifted at creating compelling and engaging characters. If you could hang out with any of the characters in ‘Pioneers and Refugees’ which one would you choose and why?
I never knew, or even met my maternal grandfather. He was drafted into the German Army in late 1944 and was declared ‘Missing in Action” after the Battle of Budapest in early 1945. His fate was never learned.
His character in the book, Klaus Mueller, represents my idea of what he was like based on my mother’s description and stories as well as those of my own creation. I would have very much liked to know him and listen to stories of his family and life.
I’m sure your fans are dying to know if you are working on another book – do you have one in the works you can tell us about?
The book ends with Jana and Johann having a brief encounter as they arrived at Camp 65 in Linz, Austria. As I mentioned, my parents met in Camp 65 and spent ten years there before emigrating to the United States. I’m sure there are a lot of stories during those ten years.
“Pioneers and Refugees: A Danube Swabian Saga” is available on Amazon.
