Vrsac is a city with a Donauschwaben community traditionally and prior to WWII there were also large Jewish communities in Yugoslavia. Mixed marriages combined with political preferences and ethnic backgrounds were a nightmare for some. The fear for persecution was real so I understand her reluctance at telling the truth.

For my information; Jakob is your great-grandfather?
Do you have any pictures of them from that era?
Is "Pfundstein" the way they wrote themselves their surname or did they use an alternative spelling?
Which camps did they stay?
The baptismal certificate, is it Catholic or Orthodox?
What did they list or do you have the immigration records on which it would state the maiden name of your ggm?

Hi Sergej, and thank you for your reply. Jakob was my step-great grandfather as he was my great grandmothers second husband. I don’t know if Paulina did divorce her first husband (was divorce legal/ possible?) I didn’t meet him as he died before I was born, but I saw my great grandmother once a year when she visited from Australia to New Zealand.

Pfundstein is the spelling on the passenger list when they travelled from Naples Italy to Australia. The passenger list records that they came from Lahr camp in French controlled Germany and it also says Orth under religion. My grandmother Katharina was Catholic; she told a story of being put in the camp initially as a Jew but her biological father securing their release after proving they weren’t Jewish. I’m not sure how come they ended up in the camps again.

When my grandmother applied in the 1970s to be naturalised as a NZ citizen, they could not find her birth certificate as all records were lost in the camps. They did manage to get a baptismal certificate but the NZ government did not keep it - it was returned to my grandmother Katharina but cannot be found.

I have a copy of her file from the NZ government and there is a sworn statement from Jakob which states Paulina’s maiden name is Rasovan and she and the children (Katharina and Stefan) were born in Vrsac. I know that Paulina had two sisters, one called Anna and the other was Wilma/ Vilma. Auntie Anna also moved to Australia while Vilma remained in Germany. Both have also passed. Another document within the same file states that the parents are Urkop and Pola Pfundstein. Her brothers name is normally spelt Stefan in documents but on this page it is spelt Steko. I’m not sure how much is a language issue (from Serb to English) and how much is a genuine mistake. The file says that they were in camps from about 1940, and were in Salzburg for a long time.

My grandmother always referred to Vrsac by it’s German name, Werschetz, while Jakob has called it Versecz. My great grandmother Paulina spoke German, Hungarian, Polish, French and a little Italian. Her Polish was very old fashioned and used some odd words (my own husband is Polish).

Divorce was possible but frowned upon just as pretty much all of Europe. As for the usage of German, the border regions used both languages so that is not weird. Inter-religious marriage wasn’t that common, so they most likely just arrested her under the assumption. In order to get into the camps again is also possible, either by the same process or they were politically active. Also, Lahr was a POW camp. Do you have items that might hint at a military connection?
Did you contact the Catholic church in Serbia?
Rasovan is more Romanian and this is possible because Vrsac is close to the border and even holds a Romanian community until today. Do you have more info on Vilma? Where in Germany she lived etc?
Stefan would be spelled as Stefo, which is a nickname.

Vilma’s daughter is still alive and living in Koln/ Cologne; my great uncle Stefans first wife is in contact with her, and I’ve asked to be put in touch to hear what she knows. Vilma died not too long ago, maybe 2013.
One of the other explanations for the name change to Pfundstein is that Jakob was a criminal. My great grandmother Paulina wouldn’t tell family information but sometimes she would confide in family friends... but you cannot always tell if she is telling the truth. Two family friends recall Paulina saying she was half gypsy.
I’ve requested copies of the various files from the New Zealand and Australian governments; each has a different reply date so I can expect all files by August 1st. I have held off contacting the Church until I receive all the copy documents as I hate the idea of wasting lots of people’s time.
I have access to a Family Search office (LDS) within ten minutes drive but I’m not sure if they would hold anything on Serbia, Hungary, Romania etc.

Germany has very accurate archives so I would pursue the Vilma link for sure. In contrary to Serbia where frankly its a mess.

Calling someone a Gypsy, is even today an insult and derogatory. And it still happens.

The LDS archives have some data but not all. I would advice contact the Catholic Church. They have separate archives and by Serbian state law these are private archives. So do please write them, there is a letter template that you can use in the Download section.

Let me know if you need help with that.

Hi Sergej,

I’m still hoping the family member who is in contact with Vilma’s daughter will pass along my details, but I must be patient. I remain waiting on the Australian records. I’ve received everything from the NZ government now, and there was nothing extra in the last items received. There was a letter sent to the Yugoslav government in the seventies advising she had taken NZ citizenship but the surnames remain confusing.
Hopefully the Australian government files will provide extra information.
I started looking at the excel spreadsheet of the Kalocsa Archbishopric ( Kalocsa-Kecskemét Archdiocese) but I couldn’t figure out which area vrsac or cerevic are from.
http://archivum.asztrik.hu/sites/default/files/letoltesek/dig_dok_nyilv_plebania.xls
Thank you very much for your help, and listening. This feels very lonely as so many of my friends are searching the U.K. and Ireland for their ancestors, whereas mine are very different.

Hi Sergej,

I’ve received some more information and I’d be grateful for your help.

I need to locate any records of a Jewish rabbi home /synagogue in Cerevic in the late 1930s or 1940s. I’ve been told my great grandmother was a maid or domestic servant in the rabbis house, and that’s how she met her second husband, the rabbis son.

Also my great grandmothers sister (so my great aunt), her married name was Keschenski, but I’m sure that spelling is wrong.

Any help / suggestions gratefully received

Let me get back to you later this week. I am looking into something.

This is the address of the only active Synagogue these days:

Sinagoga
Maršala Birjuzova 19
11000 Beograd (Stari Grad)

As for the other surname that could be: Kuschensky
There is also a large Slovak minority in that area.
Ill check out the spreadsheet and please let me know when you get those documents. Right now I would contact the Synagogue if I were you. Did you also check the online phonebook to see if there are still people living there with the same surname?

Hi Sergej,

I have more information on my great grandmother Paulina. There were lots of siblings - Anna, Eva, Hilda, Liza, Irma, Wilma and Maria, plus a brother Peter. The list of the sisters might not be in the correct order. Eva passed during WW2. The maiden name of my great grandmother (last name at birth) is printed on the certificate as ‘Rasovan’.
I checked the whitepages, but no Rasovan is listed. I’m still waiting on more documents from the Australian government.
I’ll write to the synagogue and try my luck about Jakob.

I received another certificate; Paulinas father was listed as Nikolai Rasovan and her mother was Emilia Tirjung. This makes them my great-great-grandparents. At least there is a consistency in the place of birth, Vrsac.

Here is a list with civilian casualties during WWII in the region. It lists Tirjung
http://vojvodinakom1941.org.rs/lt/okrug/02/80152.html
http://vojvodinakom1941.org.rs/lt/okrug/04/80349/29795.htm
http://vojvodinakom1941.org.rs/lt/okrug/05/80381.html
http://vojvodinakom1941.org.rs/lt/okrug/04/80349.html

Rasovan is Romanian. Which is possible due to the location, Vrsac.
Please let me know if you recognize the names, places etc. in the links above.

Hi Sergej,

no those names are not familar, but they may useful when I have got more information. I had seen the site before, but had only searched with Rasovan and Pfundstein before.

The first release of papers arrived, but there was nothing new apart from a photo of my great grandmother. The next two lots of files should be released in mid June and then late July, so I guess I need to be patient.

The next file has arrived, and it appears to include a statement in Croat? Is it possible to ask for translation help?