Hermine Diwald

Hermine Diwald - photo by Nigel A. JAMES

Connecting the Good


There are some people who have an enormous reserve of deep inner passion; they have a certain “peace” about them that provides strength and meaning to those that they meet - and one such person is Hermine Diwald. But, Hermine’s strength didn’t come about by chance, it grew out of cunning and stealth!

It all began at the end of the 2nd world war. All over the world, people were returning to their homes, not so for the Donauschwaben, they were being driven from theirs! And, amongst them were Hermine and her family, they were from Werschetz in the Banaat, and they, like thousands of others had been sent to a transit camp! They had a choice - and it was simple, stay put in internment and end up somewhere in Russia (and possibly even dead), or escape and take your chances. And so it was, that the 13 year old Hermine, her family, and others as well, left through a gap in the fence and started their sometimes hard, but always dangerous flight to the west!

Hermine’s family ended up in Vienna where they all succeeded very well. Other Donauschwaben went further a field, and some of them didn’t stop until they had reached America, or, in some cases, even further.

People don’t flee from places, they flee from people; and people who have fled and survived have one very big thing in common, the place that they came from, and the place that they came from will always be home!

And home needs keeping alive! From Vienna, Hermine and others are still busily producing and sending out the Werschetzer Zeitung, a periodical journal containing all that is of interest to this group of very unique survivors. Its news is interesting and factual, but there is one thing that will never be found amongst its pages, and that is bitterness. Yesterday was yesterday, now is now, and Werschetz will always be Werschetz; and the Werschetzer Zeitung will always continue to connect!

The Werschetzer Zeitung is a very big part of Hermine’s life, and, thanks to her efforts, an important tradition has taken on the importance of historical reality, not only “abroad” but “at home” in Werschetz as well!


If you wish to drop me a line, my e-mail address is the following, njmailboy@gmail.com