Albert & Lucy (nee Henkel) Pospischil 1919 >
Joseph & Marie (nee Wolf) Kornfeind family about 1924
September 20th, 2007 the preparation ended and the adventure began. My goals were modest and the time was not excessively abundant. With exhuberant energy this 56 year old plunged forward into his heart's desire, a quest of seeking out the further development of his family's ancestry. The travel was made easier by my travel companions, Otto
our cousin and Helmi his wife and capable travel companion. This was our table setting on my first evening in Germany. Their home is certainly a home away from home, while I visit my ancestors' homeland. Once I settled in during that first day, we perpared for our various ventures during my three weeks. The first was to pick up my rental car, which I had reserved from the USA. After wading through the misinformation I received in America, I ended up having to change rental companies. For a time I had visions of nightmarish problems and my budget being blown to pieces, but it all turned out well after the initial problems! So we were all set to travel in the "poor man's" Mercedes!September 22, Day in Frankfurt
On the 22nd of September, we met with others of my mother's cousins at a nice restaurant in
Frankfurt. Anni is one of my favorite relatives for I have known her since 1974 when I made my first visit to Europe. Anni is now a number of years without her best friend and husband Roland. It was so nice to get together with her and Horst and his daughter Ulricke. Horst was married to one of Otto's sisters. We had a lovely afternoon together until the music played "It was time to go".September 23rd and our travel to Rupprichrothe and Köln & Bonn
I can assure that not all the work in the area of Cologne is done by the Heinzelmaenchen. My good friends Wolfgang and Andrea Eilmes and their family were most gracious to us during our stay. We were taken to see numerous sights in the Bonn and Cologne communities. Their rural community is most quaint. A visit to the Grandhotel Steigenberger at Petersberg was most
impresive. I was able to take in the great Catherdral of Cologne, which was not expected, but very much appreciated. We were able to see the artwork of the Catherdral, labeled the "Magi" , whether borrowed or stolen!The contruction of the Cathedral dated from so many centuries ago and it certainly makes one wonder how they did that with its immense spires piercing the sky! The Cathedral Square is next to the Roman Museum and that also inspires awe with its ancient tiled floor and many other antiquities. Certainly the variety of people populating the square at any one moment is an amazing site in itself. You are just a few moments walk from the Bahnhof (train station). On the opposite side of the Cathedral from the Bahnhof, right next to the monument to the Heinzel -maenchen, we took the liberty of enjoying a glass of Früh. In it tall thin glass with foamy top is a welcome refreshment, product of Privatbraurei - Kölsch - a Cölner Hofbrau. Coming from my Germanic and Austrian roots in Freeport, Illinois, I could not help but notice a Pretzel bakery and retail shop on our way to the parking garage where Wolfgang's auto was parked. The Freeport Public High School in my hometown has a mascot of the Pretzel! Wofgang and Andrea's daughter Daniella attended there one year as an exchange student. She obviously understands what it is to be a Pretzel!
Again, I thank Wolfgang and Andrea for their graciousness and also for their working with my cousin Otto and his wife Helmi to assist my Phoenix friends Patsy and her husband Fred in their attempt to locate her brother. I am sure we will meet again on a musical trail, somewhere between Germany and America.
September 24th and our Trip to the Hochsauerland Kreise in Search of the Hockl Roots of my Father's Mother .
The house itself is now remodeled and used as an apartment building. The house and the farm land are still held by decendents of the Huckel/Hockl family. This house replaced a much older structure (see the last picture in this segment). The last Huckel resident of Berghausen passed away in 1949. See his picture attached to the photo of the older structure. All this information came from Herr Franz Schmidt. Herr Schmidt is a retired farmer, but his first love (after his lovely & gracious wife) is the history of the region around Berghausen.
My understanding is that the Catholic Church of
Berghausen is around 800 years old and is the oldest of its style, Romanesque, in Germany. It is also my understanding that it was also the site of gun battle during World War Two between the German Army, German citizens and the American Army. Fortunately, on the day we visited international relations were much calmer!
Pictured below is Herr and Frau Schmidt in their home in Berghausen. They were most gracious and generous for our spur of the moment drop in visit! If I had not had the curiousity to see the "Hocklhof", we would not have had the opportunity to hear all the wonderful stories and become familiar with some of the history of my grandmother Marie Hockl's ancestors and the village these ancestors came from in the 18th century. Herr and Frau Schmidt, thank you again.
September 25th in Frankfurt
This was a slower day for us. I tried to make it to the local bank for currency exchange only to find that it was going to be very expensive to exchange my travelers checks. I spent most of the day photographing family pictures to add to my Pospischil collection. In the evening we went to Otto and Helmi's daughter and son-in-law's home in Frankfurt. Sabine and Jörg had other Pospischil cousins over for a lovely evening of good food and conversation. With the Frankfurter Käse we had the sauce that allowed us to hear the music!
September 26th Uncovering our Connections to our Henkel Family Ancestry in Soisdorf 
We spent the morning driving up through the Fulda area up to Treischfeld and Soisdorf. Above you see pictures of the tiny village of Treischfeld, Catholic Church and the all seeing eye of God.
these two communities hold the origins of my mother's grandfather on her mother's side. Joseph John Henkel and his brother Albert came from this community in the early 1880's. They of course traveled by ship to Philadelphia. After spending a short time there they migrated to northern Illinois and to my hometown/Heimat of Freeport, Illinois.
The building above is the Gasthof - "Zum Goldenen Stern." We were so graciously welcomed by Gernot Walk and his brother Richard Walk. Gernot with his wife Susanne and children carry on the Walk family business of this Gasthof. Gernot is a master Chef and above was the beautiful Pork Tenderloin meal, I was served. This business has been in their family for many generations. Gernot was so gracious to give me a chronicle of his family in Soisdorf. I realized later on after taking a tour of the village with Richard and my cousin and his wife, that my Henkel and Stark ancestors and the Walk ancestors were neighbors in previous generations. I also see from their Walk family chronicle that there were some marriages between Walk ancestors and Henkel ancestors. So goes the world of a small village. The other picture above is of Richard Walk and my cousin Otto Bier and his wife Helmi. We got to Soisdorf late enough that the Henkels and Starks had been to the Gasthof and then returned home. So Richard Walk, who is a teacher in Fulda and President of the village history society, took us on an adventure to the Soisberg. The Soisberg is an ancient extinct volcano and the local communities of the area have
built a very tall tower on the top of the mountain. So for one, who has the stamina to reach the top, there is a very excellent view. This area in the "cold war" era was very close to the border with the former West and East Germanys.
Since we made it to the top here is the view we had! I hope you enjoy. Soisdorf and Treischfeld are below along with other tiny villages.
Upon our return to the village of Soisdorf we a very nice meal and the families started to come. We looked at pictures. We asked questions back and forth. Eventually, we went on tour, saw homes and ended up at the 1,000 year church, cemetery and the 1,000 year old protective wall that surrounds these. Josef and Margarette Stark today live in the house where the 9 Henkel children were born. It is known under the old numbering system as house/Haus # 15. The house below is the birthplace of the Henkels. It does have a given name "Hans Mertens". There was some damage by fire a few years ago, where the out buildings were destroyed along with neigboring structures. The people of the town refer to it as the "great fire". It has a different exterior today, but the basic structure is in place.
All these pictures involve the Henkels and Starks of Soisdorf. Josef and Maria Henkel to the left are the last remaining Henkels of Soisdorf. They provided me with the photo to the right. Johann Phillip was the eldest child of the 9 children and my great Grandfather was the 4th child of this family. Josef & Maria's Grandfather Konrad was the 2nd child. When Johann Phillip and his wife died childless, (the older woman to the left) Anna Catherina (nee Biehl) Henkel moved in with their family in Haus # 12 named "Gottschalke". The woman on the right of the photo is Elizabeth, the 3rd eldest child of the family. Albert who traveled with my Great Grandfather to America was the 7th child of this family.
Joseph A. and Margarethe Stark are the current householders as of 2007 of Haus # 15. Josef's older sister Theresie Stark resides with them. Theresie is of similar age as my mother Helen (nee Pospischil) Kornfeind.
The Starks wondered why the Henkel decendents stopped writing from the USA to Soisdorf. Though I did not have an exact answer, I did explain that Joseph John Henkel died in 1916 and Albert died in 1917. These were the days before Social Security, before women had the right to vote in the America and World War One was in progress. In my opinion, it was that the families were struggling to survive with the loss of their primary income earners and keeping in contact with their in-laws most likely was down the priority list. The 3 pictures below were shown to me and I immediately knew their identity. They include my great uncle Anton, the picture with the glare is my grandmother Lucy and the third photo is my great aunt Edith (Ida). The photos were identified with markings from the photographer from Freeport, Illinois. Small World isn't it? We met at the Gasthof in the evening.
We exchanged information and stories till late. Richard Walk and I swapped pictures and information on our computers. Gernot Walk and I shared good conversation till very early in the morning. I enjoyed this very much.September 27th Soisdorf continued and onto Grebenau with our Pospischil Cousins
We woke up to a cold rain on our second day in Soisdorf. We had a very good breakfast at the Gasthof. We went to the Cemetery and I took pictures of the exterior of the Church, the beautiful graves and the ancient wall. While we were there we were met by Marita Jost and her mother Frau Ritz.
We were invited back to their home in the driving rain. So she called her daughter who came with a second automobile. Frau Ritz is a Stark by birth and related to Josef and Theresie. They were very happy to have us to their home. They shared their photos with us. Below is one that
I like it very much because it shows a town band at the gates of the 1,000 year old Catholic Church. The picture is of the collection of Frau Ritz.
To give the reader an idea of the proximity of the houses and the church, the photo with the flower boxes and the rainsoaked street illustrates the Kirkegasse. "Gasse" is a German word for a very small street. It would be for one that is very localized. Franz & Margarethe Stark's home (for my purposes the original Henkel home, # 15) is the one you see the corner of to the right in this photo. Josef and Maria Henkel's home you can see in the backround of this photo. Finally, just beyond the Henkel home is the Catholic Church. It was a very nice visit and one of the major highlights of my 2007 trip!
From Soisdorf, we traveled north, then to the west to the village of Gebenau. We met up with some of the nieces of Otto my travel companion, our Pospischil cousins. Otto's family and some of my grandfather Albert's sisters settled in this region and in particular Gebenau after the expulsion of the Sudeten Germans at the end of World War Two. Some of the deceased of the Pospischil, Bier and other related family members are buried here in Gebenau. In the home of Chrystel we were served a wonderful feast on a very grey, cloudy, kind of miserable weather day. Afterwards we talked about ancestry and above you see them looking at my 24 foot long Pospischil ancestry chart. From there we went onto see another niece Liesl and 
her husband Fritz. Liesl does wonders as a baker and I really appreciate her talent. You can see some of her handiwork to the right. Below you can see them with their daughter Gabi. We spent time reviewing family history.
Then it was back to the Frankfurt area, that evening.
September 28th bei Friedberg
See Marie Hockl in studio photograph take in Budapest in about 1903 to the right above. Twenty years ago my parents and I had no idea where Keglewich was located. It was one of these bits of family knowlege lost to history. You see us above in a picture taken in 2003. My father really knew very little about his mother for she
died in 1921 when he was about 3 years old, his brother Joe was 6 and 1/2 years of age and sister Helen was about 5 years of age. In fact very little of this changed for the first 15 years that I was searching for my various family histories. That has changed in the past 5 years. I decided to become proactive in reconstructing what I could of her history and her family. Some very helpful people on both sides of the Atlantic have played roles in this effort. I thank them very much for their contributions. In 2006, I joined the Donauschwaben Village Helping Hands project. If you want to know anything about the Donauschwaben experience, please visit:http://www.dvhh.org/
Visiting the DVHH site is very revealing and if you like things that are Donauschwaben or German it could be ery addicting! My child Taka (Mayumi) and I decided to do a webpage for Keglewich. You can find our webpage at:
http://www.dvhh.org/keglewitschhausen/
H.O.G President Dr. Arnold Marschang with Herr Franz Becker and myself. The picture with the 2 gentlemen below includes Herr Michael Roth and Herr Lorenz Hockel. The picture across from it on the right side with 2 women includes the sister of Hilde Sendef, whom I have made the acquaintance of in the west Chicago suburb of Mount Prospect. Hilde has been most helpful and she introduced me to Joe Kunst of Arlington Heights, Illinois who turned out to be the grandson of Peter Hockl of Keglewich, who witnessed and sponsored my grandfather Joseph Kornfeind in becoming an American citizen. I have the feeling that Peter was a relative of Marie my grandmother, but have yet to uncover the proof positive on this suspicion.
Above you can see the Gasthaus in which the Treffen was held. The picture in the lower right is my friend Herr Michael Roth and Herr Walter Heinrich. Of the people I spoke with at the Treffen at the time, these were the only 2 individuals who has viewed my website on Keglewich.
We arrived in Amsberg in the early evening. As we walked to the town center, we passed this Sushi restaurant. I did not see to many Japanese restaurants in the smaller to moderate sized towns of the central European countries. So this was the one opportunity I had to take a picture of a Japanese restaurant, so thet I might encourage my wife Makiko to come some day to Germany, Right?
Into the Czech Republic...
In the event that the reader wishes to know more about Sudeten Genealogy, see (in German / auf Deutsch):
http://list.genealogy.net/mailman/listinfo/sudeten.bms-l
Along the autobahn in the Czech Republic we stopped for refreshment. It looks like these wagons stopped many year prior. 
The major Catholic Church in the town of Politschka, Moravia. Otto spent the first 17 years of his life in Zwittau. Politschka is about 15 km. from Zwittau, however our stop was his first visit to the town. We drove over 400 km this day traveling to Zwittau.
October 1st at Archiv in Zamrsk and Hotel Schindler in Zwittau, Moravia
Zamrsk is to the north of Zwittau. We had to be at the archives by 7:30 AM. We did it and I for one am happy we did it early as my internet friend Thomas Landsgesell had suggested. For the trip to Zamersk we followed or contended with so much truck traffic. These big trucks with their loads come from all over Europe. I guess you would say this is the new economy of the European Union, even though the Czech Republic has yet to receive full admission status. The building above is a former Schloss. When Czecheslovakia went communist the goverment acquired this estate. There is a small chapel that the prior owners had for their family. However the major functions today are as an Archives. There are only so many seats, once the visitors/researchers room is filled no one else gets in, so again I am most pleased we were early. Our tickets said 1, 2 & 3.
I photographed many records of relatives on this trip and on this day. This is for my great grandmother Anna Maria (nee Freisleben) Pospischil. Prior to viewing this no one in the family had ever mentioned that she had had a twin sister. If you may note, there is a little pencil inscribed cross mark over the sisters name. I figured this to indicate that the twin was dead at birth. Someone has kindly marked these particular registers in this way.
October 2nd in Zwittau
Mass Grave site in St. Giles Cemetery (Agidikirke Friedhof) where my great grandmother Anna Maria (nee Freisleben) Pospischil is buried. She was the 630th person buried at the site among more than 900 souls. Her funeral was the last to be conducted by a priest of the Catholic Church in Zwittau. In the ethnic cleansing that took place of the 19 and 1/2 million East European Germans following World War Two, she was among the 2 and 1/2 million who lost their lives in the retribution that took place after the signing of the Potsdam Agreement at the end of the World Conflict!
Anna Maria is the person in the center between her two daughters Lina and Anna Pospischil.
Zwittau Marktplatz with statue for firefighters and the old town Rathaus in the backround.
This photo above was taken of my grandfather Albrecht(Albert) Pospischil somewhere around the time he came to America in 1913. On this visit, I was walking along the Marktplatz when I noticed this display of fruit with bananas. It reminded me of a story my mother tells of her father that when he first came to the USA. He had never seen a banana before, so he had absolutely no idea of what the procedure was to eat the banana, so he tried to eat the peel along with the inner fruit. I could not resist taking the picture for mom and her brother Victor. The below featured pictures are some of the Pospischil children of Franz and Ann Maria the 6 that were in America, picture taken in late 1950's in Janesville, Wisconsin. The other was taken in Czecheslovakia, most likely Zwittau or Brunn, somewhere around the mid-1920's.
Above is the Pospischil home in Zwittau prior to World War Two and the other is the same home some 70 years later in the Czech named community of Svitavy. The Pospischil decendents both in Germany and in America are pleased to know that the house appears to be the best cared for home in the surrounding area. In my own opinion I think the home is occupied by an older family. Seeing the home from both the front and the back, the current residents appear to be very meticulous in their care for the property. They did not appear to be at home on the day we visited.
October 3rd Schönbrunn, Moravia - Birthplace of my Grandfather Albert's Family, onto Bistrau, Moravia, onto Niederhollabrunn, Austria and finally to Hannersdorf, Burgenland, Austria
All the children of Franz and Anna Maria (nee Freisleben) Pospischil were born in this farm structure in what today is the Czech Republic. At the time they were born the land was part of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. With 16 children, the boys ended up sleeping in the barn and the girls were inside with Mama and Papa. What a deal! 
On our way into Austria we stopped at Niederhollabrunn. It is the site where my grandfather Albert's and Otto's mother Albina's youngest sister Aurelia is buried. Her name in her religious life was Sr. Maria Isabella. She was trained as a medical and surgical nurse. Sr. Isabella's order was out of Brunn. Ultimately, she founded another order of Franciscans and their Motherhouse, School and Orphan Home is located in Niederhollabrunn. Above you see her simple grave, along with the 3 other sisters who are important to the order.
We got into Hannersdorf late in the evening on the 3rd. It was a very full day for us. On the 4th I wanted to pick up with my research that I had added to with our visit in 1993. In 1993, as we came to the village, Dad wanted his picture taken with the village sign in that year. I think he wanted proof that he had been there, where his father and ancestors had been born. Ever since I had taken the photo, I have kidded that it was my father doing his best "Christopher Columbus" impersonation. Dad passed on in 2005.
We took the day to explore, visit the Catholic Church and to research in Hannersdorf & the surrounding areas.
The Burgenland Bunch Genealogy Group
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~autbur/bbnlarchx.htm
They said it was still very good. My Aunt Ann tried to go to the Burgenland in the 1950's, but the politics of the time prevented that from happening. {As a postscript to these comments Sister Mary Richard passed away in April 2002 and my Aunt Ann (nee Kornfeind) completed her Faith Journey on this earth December 20th, 2008. My father joined his Lord on April 20th, 2005.}
This wine was produced by Herr Hans Gossy. See his grave. His stone is on the right side as you look at the picture below. He was also the village historian. He passed away due to cancer in 1998. Below see my extraction from my videos in 1993. My father is discussing Kornfeind history with Herr Gossy in front of his home along with my cousin Otto and his wife Helmi.
In the picture is Johann Kornfeind our great grandfather and in the wheelchair is our great grandmother Johanna (nee Volachek) Kornfeind. This picture was taken sometime before 1925. The other woman standing in the backround, we are not sure about her identity, but I believe she may have been a caretaker for Johanna.
mily. (see below)
October 5th, Departure from Hannersdorf and onto Ljubjana, Slovenia
I went for a walk around the village to view how it had changed since my parents, Otto, Helmi and my visit in 1993. I have also been trying to make sense of the other lines of Kornfeinds that I have encountered over the 20 years I have been doing my ancestry search. The Gemeindamt Building sits right next to the former property of our line of Kornfeinds in what was Haus # 36. The first picture on the left was taken from behind this building across the former Kornfeind property looking toward the Catholic Church. There are two other photos of properties below. The one with the vacant lot shows the site of the Haus # 80, also a Kornfeind home. It was a home, back in the 19th century, where Paul and Elizabeth (nee Prangl) Kornfeind birthed their very large family according to the Catholic Church birth records. For my American friends Edith Roberts, Fred Kessler, Rose Mary (nee Petrokovitz) Lamberty, Patricia Jahn, Skip & Joan Kornfeind, Ann Philippini and Carl Anstett (husband of Christine Kornfeind), this is where your or your families ties to Hannersdorf run through. To the east of that property are the homes in the next shot of Hannersdorf houses. It would be my guess that Haus # 80 would have looked something like the homes pictured here which include Haus numbers 82, 83 & 84. My cousin Josephine (nee Kornfeind) Sevik tells me that her father Louis used to say that he, my grandfather Joseph and other siblings were second and third cousins to Mrs. K's (Mary Kornfeind)(mother to Christine and Ann) and to Rose Mary's father Frank Petrokovitz.
In the photo to the left you have Peter Hasler, his mother and daughter. I loved the daughter's inscription on her little shirt. It said in English "Girls, It's shopping time." It was the only Gasthaus, I have ever stayed at where I received a great bottle of wine upon paying the bill.
A view from the Castle which dominates the Ljubjana skyline. Below you can see a video clip of the insides of the castle grounds where the city residents used to take refuge in time of conflict. The weather appears to be very changable and is influenced by the mountains, Adriatic Sea and the Mediteranean Sea.
St. George and the dragon is a very common theme. The dragon in this picture adorns the Dragon bridge of the city. Und das Bier war sehr Gut!
We spent a short time at the home of Metka's parents. They are deceased and Janko and Metka are remodeling. The picture below is Janko showing us the pictures of their children and grandchildren. Somethings are wonderfully universal! From there Janko led us to the Karst Caverns of southwestern Slovenia. They are the most popular attraction in the country. We took a small train to get to the into the caverns at the point where our 1 and 1/2 hour tour commensed. When we were finished we headed for the Austrian border and spent the evening in the small town of Bled. It is a amazingly picturesque town with a unique history.
October 7th Travel from Bled through Austria to Stetten in the Allgau of Germany
Oh boy, did we have a "dog gone" good send off on our way back to Frankfurt & Karben!October 9th
All the activities of the trip did not allow much time for shopping for souvenirs for friends and family, so we headed back to Friedberg. Just a very lovely place to be out among the people and shopping.
Departure Day was upon me. I spent most of the evening and night making sure that everything was packed, correctly. I had to make sure that the cow bell Mitzi gave me in the Allgau made it back to the USA. Everything made it back! However, the TSA inspected and made me repack 2 times in Frankfurt and once again in Cincinnati. They had great interest in disassembling and taking a micro-tour of the insides of my laptop computer. I hope that it was interesting for them, it sure was not for me. I found out in Cincinnati that we had been under an Orange Alert. I truly do not want to know what I would have had to go through on a Red Alert.
