THE TRAIL OF THE HANNUSCH FAMILY FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES

While the family record in one line of Noah's sons, through the efforts of Moses and his successors, continues in tact for four thousand years; the other descent of that son, the other sons, and the daughters is almost completely lost. Their line blends into recorded history from time to time, but offers little to establish a consistent family record.

For most nations, including the Germanic peoples, history must be left to the rare writings of an ancient society (preserved through the ages); the archeologist (who uncovers new evidence every day in his diggings); and, the historian (who puts these fragments together). A national history, let alone a family genealogy, beyond the Biblical lines, before the Christian Era, is indeed rare.

Our "Hannusch Family" lines are hardly different from the majority, the name not uncovered to date in ancient history. There is the suggestion of a probable Slavic mixture along the way, but most indications point toward our beginnings in the development of the Germanic peoples.

Though early settlers drifted onto the European Continent subsequent to the last "Ice Age," these first settlers were not of Germanic stock, but mainly of a Celtic lineage. Earliest accounts of the Germanic peoples are obscure, even the experts differing on what they have exposed. Their ancient history has been lost in legends of Africa, India, Greece, the army of "Alexander the Great," along with several additional random theories. Bits and pieces of this ancient period have and continue to be put together by the experts, but in general; German history does not open until the 2nd Century AD.

Central Europe, prior to the advent of the Christian Era, was a region occupied by a hunting society split into small tribes; in many ways their life lived much like that of our own American Indian. They were a people in almost constant migration that, in their movements and settlements, spread across the face of Europe. The Celtic peoples slowly gave way to this invader or were driven west. The German language soon extended its boundary to the Vistula River to the east; the Rhine River to the west; and, from the North Sea south to the Alpine boundary that separated them from Rome.

Most historians establish the Celt, Teuton, and Slav as the basic cultural division of ancient Central Europe. At the time of the development of the Roman Empire, Celtic tribes were spread across the face of the Continent; the Teuton were just beginning to press south and occupy lands in Northern Germany; while the Slav remained centered in the Carpathian Mountains.

The Boii (a Celtic tribe) inhabited the lands of Eastern Central Europe, Bohemia having derived its name from this early tribe. Weakened by several wars between l00 and 30 BC, the Boii control finally had to give way to the Teutonic Marcomanni and Quadi Tribes.

Northwest of Bohemia, traveling south along the waters of the River Weser, were the Teutonic Chatti; Cherusci; and Angrivarie tribes. It was these three tribes, along with their other Germanic neighbors, on the East Side of the River Rhine, which proved impossible for the Roman armies to complete their quest for world power.

In 275 AD, Rome's control in Europe was weakened as it gave way to the demand for her soldier's back home. With this slow removal of Roman authority, the modern map of Europe gradually began to take shape. By the 2nd Century AD the Teutonic Saxons inhabited the neck of the Cambric Peninsula, in Northern Germany, and quickly developed into the feared pirates of the North Sea; with settlements in Gaul, Britain and northwest Germany (including the lands along the River Weser). In 332 the Franks overran the lands on the West Bank of the Rhine River, while the Huns, Goths, and Visagoths made substantial gains elsewhere. In 410 the Goths turned on Rome and the balance of the Roman Legions were recalled. Despite this revised military concentration of her troops, Rome fell in 476 AD.

In Bohemia the Marcomanni, badly weakened by the Romans, were now engaged with the Hun invasion. This latter struggle allowed the Slavic peoples to enter Bohemia, and when the Hun menace had declined, with the death of Attila, in 453 A.D, the Slavic peoples were solidly in place.

The Franks, under Peppin "the Short," unified France and crossed the Rhine River to gain control in many of the German states. Under his son, Charlemagne, the work continued with the submission of the Lombards in 774, the defeat of Saxony in 782, and the collapse of Bavaria in 796. Most of Europe now came under the wing of the Frank Empire.

In Bohemia, under Charlemagne, came the first seeds of internal discord as civil war broke out between the Germanic and Slavic settlers.

With the death of Charlemagne, in 813, the Frank Empire fell to his son Louis, who, in turn, divided it among his four sons. "Louis the German," grandson of Charlemange, was given control of Germany. In 882 Charlemange's empire was again brought together, but by now the power lay in the hands of the local lords. The world, in the meantime, had slipped into the beginnings of a feudal social system.

In 907, Magyars (Hungarians) pressed the Saxon borders (Saxony now in its modern site), but by 933, Prince Henry I., of Bavaria, had successfully repelled them.

Henry's son, Otto I. (crowned in 936), journeyed to Rome where he met with the leadership of the church, returned home to defeat the Magyars, and, on a second trip to Rome established himself as the, "Holy Roman Emperor."

From this point: German rule was tied in a struggle, first for the power of the church, and then for the power of politics and crowns. Holy Roman Emperors dethroned by Popes, Popes threatened by Holy Roman Emperors, and exile was not unheard of in either case.

Medieval Germany was a highly religious society with a fierce military prowess as part and parcel. Chivalry influenced knights in the pursuit of honor and fair maidens, a way of life glorified in word and song. These feelings stimulated the birth of the Crusades, the First Crusade launched in 1096. Many tales of glory, victory, as well as defeat came from these religious efforts, but none more notable to German history than that of the; "Teutonic Order of Knights."

In March 1198, "a number of Germans, the relics of Henry VI's projected (3rd) Crusade, these great men of the army of the kingdom raised the brethren of the "German Hospital of St. Mary's," to the rank of "Order of Knights." This Teutonic Order "began with charity, developed into a military club, and ended as something of a chartered company, exercising rights of sovereignty on the troubled confines of Christendom. In 1229, the order began the conquest of Prussia and rapidly increased their territories. . . . They had opened a movement of German colonization in which farmers from the low countries, merchants from Lubec, and monks from the Cistercian Order spread the German influence from the River Odor to the River Vistula to include Prague as well as many of the great towns of the day. By 1291 the new Prussia was well established.

Today the Hannusch family name appears, in several variations, among the peoples of some Arab nations. Did these names develop among their own peoples, or was it possibly carried into these lands by German soldiers and merchants during the Crusades. Proof of any connection would be near impossible, but it could set ones imagination in motion.

Bohemia took long strides in the direction of national unity only to watch it collapse in the face of its enemies, internal and external. When Moravia was defeated it gave Bohemia independence, an independence that was lost to the Magyars, in 907, regained briefly, only to collapse again at the close of the century. In the 12th Century German interference increased and by 1169, the King of Bohemia no longer came from a local family, but fell under the authority of German Electors. Heavy German colonization followed.

To this point in history, the origins of the Hannusch family have remained lost in the various Germanic settlements of Bohemia. Did they come from the ancient settlements of the Boii, Marcommani or Quadi tribes; from the settlements along the River Weser; or were they a part Germanic immigration into 12th Century Bohemia. These offer us the most obvious suggestions. Still, one guess is as good as the other. In any event, the family and name surfaced in that general region: first in tradition and then in fact during the next few centuries.

German scholars and historians make the point that the epic of, "The Pied Piper of Hameln," was a story created from actual events, passed on to us through history and tradition. One German scholar suggests; "we know neither the day, the place of birth, nor the mortal death of this people, and know not what historical truth lies behind the old and symbolic story" of the Pied Piper, only, "that in 1284, in Hameln, something unusual occurred, with the departure of 130 towns children." A script of 1430 reports: "that the town was free of a rat plaque; here only by the step of a piper, that the flute sound saved the Hameln children and deprived them not . . . . and that all the children that heard the piper, almost 130 in number, followed him eastward." The story was repeated in an investigation held in 1600. In 1900 researchers made another attempt to explain: "Here toward the last third of the 1300's the Bishop of Olmutz enlisted local young people out of Hameln to colonize." Whatever the truth, this story received notoriety in a German television sketch and a German .50 DM postage stamp, struck May 22, 1978. This story was immortalized for the English-speaking peoples by, the labors of the famous English Poet, Robert Browning.

There are German scholars and genealogists who suggest the Hanus-Hanusch-Hannusch-Hänisch-Hanisch-Hannisch-Hantsch-Janusch family, had emerged from one those 130 children who vanished that day in the town of Hameln.

Europe was devastated with bubonic and other strains of the plague from 1347 through 1351. A germ carried by Asian fleas, on the back of rats, followed the trade routes to Europe. In 1347 the disease swept across Italy. The following year it struck France and moved across the face of Europe. By the year 1351 the "Black Death," as it was to be known to history, had subsided, but heavy population losses were left in its wake. Many bazaar tales evolved from this epidemic, some true, some half true, and others complete imagination.

In the year 1346 King Charles IV, of Luxembourg, settled in Bohemia from where he was elected as the "Holy Roman Emperor." This was the beginning of the "Golden Age of Bohemia."

This now powerful nation contained mountain range and forest, filled with rich mineral deposits that created a natural wealth. With the "Golden Age" came a new university, at Prague, and many added cultural advantages. But two things held it back: first the internal struggle between German and Slav inhabitants, and second, it was a country separated from the sea and the markets of the world. Being dependent on its neighbors for access to the water trade routes, Bohemia's history was governed by this physical position.

In 1437 Charles IV. died and Sigismund was elected the "Holy Roman Emperor." In dispute with the two internal factions, Sigismund soon departed from Bohemia. Within a Century the "Golden Age" was over. Soon after the center of Bohemian political life moved from Prague to Vienna.

Though there is evidence of some surname practice previously, it wasn't until the 14th Century that this second name emerged into permanent usage throughout Europe. Kings and national rulers, continually in search of new funds to finance their wars and personal expenses, were in an endless search for new revenue sources and the ability to hold better control over their regular sources. Thus the surname. Now it became more difficult to hide behind the confusion of a common single name to avoid paying taxes.

It also became less difficult for the genealogist to follow the family line of the common man. In the town of Görlitz, in the year 1390, the name Hanus first appears on the written record with the entry, "Johannes Hanus, a horse soldier of some note." Over the next two decades the names "Johannes Hantsch" and "Casper Hantsch" surface in that same location. Today that spelling is still common in eastern Germany.

John Hus, armed with the religious philosophy of the English reformer, John Wycliff, first initiated reformation in Bohemia and then pressed the government and church to use the Slovak language. The anti-German fires were reignited. His personal efforts were brought to their conclusion when he was burned at the stake, in 1415. His death only made him a Slav martyr and a symbol of independence from both Germany and Catholicism.

Among the followers of John Hus was a decorated and knighted, "Jan Hanus von Saratic." No connection has been found to date, but this subject is still under investigation in Germany.

With the introduction of explosives, at about this point in history, the gun and cannon signaled an end to the heroic lore of "knights and fair maidens." Military operations were revolutionized, while, the printing press opened new lines of communication. It was these two major developments that helped to bring down the curtain on the Medieval World.

Conflict after conflict, the most noted the war with the Turks, blended with the internal Peasant's Revolt, the latter upheaval lasting from 1461 to 1524.

In the year 1490, in the City of Prague, a well-known astronomer and mathematician, called "Magistar Hanusch," built the "Astronomischen," the astronomical workings of Prague's Old City Hall Clock. It is an intricate clock set in an astronomical design, under portals in which ine of the 12 apostles appear on the stroke of the hour. Of this man's life little is known other than this work, and, that he came from the "City of Königgrätz" (about l6 miles south of Skalitz). Several historians and genealogists have worked to establish his family line, but one present day researcher now suggests: Hanusch might have been his given name. On this subject the researchers continue their work.

In October of 1517, in Wittenberg, Germany, Martin Luther set the scene for reformation within the Roman Catholic Church. But in the face of the obstinance from Rome as well as the quest for power by the various German princes, it was not long before war broke out between the Protestant and Catholic States. These religious wars, spurred by the writings of John Calvin and others, quickly spilled over the German borders into the balance of Europe.

French Huguenots (Protestants) fled France in many directions, one destination the small state of Kurhessen. This state was called Hesse Electoral in the early 19th Century and Hesse Kassel by the end of that Century. It is now a part of Hesse Nassau, Germany. It was from Neustadt, in that state, which Conrad, Marie Anna and Frederick Gies emerged in 1832.

The old religious struggle in Bohemia was renewed as Hussites, who, now allied with both the Lutheran and Moravian Brothers, took on the Jesuit reinforced Catholic establishment.

As the feudal society, of the Middle Ages, gave way to the return of national power, it would appear that our branch of the family emerged as members of the "Tailor Guild" (a profession that remained intact, in the family line, until l934).

A family by the name of Hanus-Hanusch surfaced in Sixteenth Century France, later generations living in Meurthe-et-Moselle and Ansauville. Apparently this is a coincidence. Contact was made with this family's researchers, but no connection has been found in theirs or my labors.

The religious controversy, between Catholic & Protestant, questioning who held the rightful claim to the vacant throne of Bohemia, ignited the "Thirty Years War" (1618 to 1648). This war was fought in Bohemia in its early stages, but after the disastrous "Battle of White Mountain," in 1620, most of the scholars and the nobility began a steady exodus from the country. The German population of Bohemia quickly declined. The war itself moved to German soil and eventually ended there with the "Treaty of Westphalia."

Endless wars continued unabated through the 18th Century, only brief truces between each conflict to allow time to prepare for the next. During these wars, their lands overrun by the contending armies, many German people took serious the pamphlets distributed across Europe by William Penn. It was from Mr. Penn's settlement in Pennsylvania that German Mennonites, followed by Lutheran and Catholic pilgrims, later ventured to the Grand River and north to Waterloo County, Ontario, Canada.

With the treaty of 1763, Prussia held Silesia (including the towns of "Buchau" and "Neurode"), while, Austria held Bohemia (including the towns of "Skalitz" and "Hörick"). In Bohemia: Maria Theresa, of Austria, and her successors, demanded, by law, that the German language be used in all schools, government, courts and churches. Naturally, any attempt to conciliate the German and Slav differences in the 18th Century were now doomed to failure.

With the advance of Napoleon, state after state surrendered to his superior force. Soon, most of Europe came under the thumb of the French army. With German power capitulating to Boneparte's authority, the eight-century-old, "Holy Roman Empire," in 1806, was declared non-existent.

When Napoleon met his fate at Waterloo, an undercurrent of national German patriotism began to spring up. These first attempts to unify the German states failed in the, "Congress of Vienna," held in 1815, but the movement continued to gain strength. Riots were commonplace, but were usually brought under control by the government or power of the state princes. In 1848 an organized German youth movement led the State of Baden to install freedom of the press and courts, but these efforts stalled elsewhere.

It was during this unstable period, in German history, that Conrad and Marie Anna Gies (1832), of Hesse Electoral; and, Johann Straus (1836), of Spechbach, Baden, decided to make Waterloo County, Ontario, Canada their new home.

In 1818, the "Society of the Bohemian Museum," was founded, intent upon the revival of Slav patriotism and traditions. In 1840 they petitioned Vienna, Austria for: "language equality with the German, abolishment of censure, and to alleviate the distress of the peasant." This eventually led to a Slav Congress that met at Prague. After the disastrous military campaign at Lombardy, in 1859, Austria determined to establish representative government in her possessions. The Bohemian Diet met at Prague in 1861, but, with the old election practices still intact, the result consisted almost entirely of German electorate.

Prince Otto von Bismarck, advisor to Kaiser Wilhelm I., of Prussia, in 1862, was moved up to the office of Prime Minister. From this position he worked diligently to make Prussia a strong and unified German nation.

Following the bloody conflict, one battle fought at the town of Skalitz, in 1866, the war between Prussia and Austria was decided at the Battle of Königgrätz, July 3, 1866, and negotiated at the peace accord in Prague. The prewar Austro-Prussian borders remained as they were, Bohemia in the possession of Austria, while, Silesia continued under Prussia. With victory for Prussia in this "Seven Week War," Germany was well on its way toward unity. Bismarck influenced the defeat of France, in l870, to acquire Alsace-Lorrain, and with that final success Prince Wilhelm, of Prussia, was declared Kaiser Wilhelm I. of Germany. Berlin became the capital of this newly organized nation.

The century old German-Slav controversy continued to charge Austro-Bohemian politics through the 1870's. The Slavs were making many gains in the elections by the close of the decade.

The unsettled conditions, constant wars, military demands made on citizens, economic conditions, the "Industrial Revolution," the dream of a better life, and, for a few just plain adventure: all of these could be found among reasons for emigration to America. All were prevalent in 1870 Silesia, and any one of them might have been the reason for Johannes Hannusch departure to Canada. He was not alone, the exodus of many weavers and tailors, at that time, are recorded in the Neurode area history.

POSTLUDE

After the First World War, Czechoslovakia was created from a portion of the ruins of the old Austro-Hungry Empire that included Bohemia-Moravia-Slovakia. The Sudeten land, the German speaking area of Bohemia and Silesia (as it was under Prussia and Austria), was divided between Czechoslovakia (Bohemia) and Poland (Silesia) under the Peace Negotiations of 1921.

In Vienna the foundation was being laid for the "Social Democratic Party," that would one day govern Austria. Ferdinand Hanusch (not in the Canadian family direct line, but possibly a distant cousin of note) was the prime mover in that work.

The economic, political, and social catastrophe left by the world war required desperate measures and full cooperation. In tough negotiations with the banking institutions he obtained credit to pay wages; push extensive laws for social welfare to the unemployed, and shortened the workday to eight hours. Conditions on the rise, he could now turn his attention to his plan of social politics. In the coalition government of "Social Democrat and Christian Socialism," of October 1920, for Ferdinand Hanusch his life work begun. He won the eight-hour day; the work leave law; forbidden night work for women and children; social insurance; social medicine; and, establishment of a work division. In the latter he created a representative body of both worker and employer. He had stamped a social culture that the Republic of Austria could hold up before foreign countries as a social political model. This was his utopia, however, it wasn't until 1945 that all of it was realized. In the election of October 17, 1920, the Christian Socialists held majority and, he was relegated to the opposition bench. On a proposal of the trade union he was appointed director of the new Work Division for Vienna and Lower Austria. He began his work here with the same ardor: he established a social study library and set the work division on a steady and reliable foundation. December of 1921, he fell sick with an intestinal problem. Though he went through two operations it would not heal, and so, on September 18, 1923, Ferdinand Hanusch died in Vienna. His labors in full operation in 1945, it remains as a shrine to his dedication and hard work. Ferdinand Hanusch rose from a humble weaver to, "Austrian Secretary for Social Administration" and a leader of the "Social Democratic Party." Born, November 6, 1866, in Oberdorf, Silesian, he was raised by his widowed mother. At the age of six he began his career as a weaver and through his experience and the small union library, he learned the problems of the new industrialization. He found the factory work oppressive and finally abandon it for travel. In four trips through the towns of Austria-Hungry; the southern Slav provinces; the towns surrounding Berlin; and, Hungry-Rumania-Turkey; each time he returned home weak, hungry and frustrated. In Trieste he had been robbed, jailed as a vagrant, and sent home. In the fall of 1887, he was again at the looms in Wigstadtl, Silesia. Mentally and physically exhausted, he was in and out of the hospital for almost two years. In 1890 he married Anna Domes, a long time acquaintance. He almost immediately regained his confidence, improved his knowledge and introduced himself to local union politics. After his wife and daughter died of TB, he addicted himself to his work. He married second to co-worker, Julie Gill. By 1897, he was trade union and party secretary in Sternberg. Intent upon party and trade unity, he worked to win the masses struggling with work time, wage agreements and social care rights. He worked to unify the Czech and German workers before it severed the organization. Under the influence of Victor Adlers in the work place, and an untiring representative of the worker's interest. In 1903, he was appointed Chairman of the Central Union Organization, top position in the Austrian labor union. In the four years between 1904 and 1907 wages were set; for many work time was shortened by four hours daily; while 530 collective contracts and Joseph Hybes he worked to form a common national party. In this he succeeded at the Austrian Textile Workers Congress in Brunn, in 1899. On the decision of union leaders, he was sent to Vienna as Central Secretary of the Textile Workers Union. His reputation grew as a restless reformer of social statutes, an expert in the workplace, and an untiring representative of the worker's interest. In 1903 he was appointed Chairman of the Central Union Organization, top position in the Austrian labor union. In the four years between 1904 and 1907 wages were set; for many work time was shortened by four hours daily; while 530 collective contracts were negotiated. His name was now tied to labor union and his politics made him a member of the Social Democratic Party. In the election of 1907 his constituency made him a candidate and offered him a mandate. In the parliament he found very few delegates interested in social politics. Even Kaiser Franz Joseph had suggested: some reforms, but the ministry was not socially minded. He soon realized that he had to be satisfied to advance the realistic and attainable. The World War brought an end to the Monarchy and as State Chancellor, D.R. Renner, in October 1918, in full confidence, called Ferdinand Hanusch into the government cabinet.

In l938, in negotiations with Adolph Hitler, the Sudaten lands were again ceded to Germany. A year later Nazi troops marched into Czechoslovakia and a protectorate was proclaimed. The first volleys of "World War II."

After the war Czechoslovakia (later, after the withdrawal of Slovakia, known as the Czech Republic) reverted to its prewar boundaries but, the bitterness of centuries, the Hitler years the icing on the cake, there was near total expulsion of all Germans from Poland and Czechoslovakia. Today these displaced Germans are spread across the globe.

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