The Toth Family's Migration - Sydney Wagner
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Images above from beginning to end: Karl Toth (Opa), Maria Toth (Oma), Karl Toth Jr., Franz Toth, Steve Toth, Nick Toth, Slavko Toth, photo of The Statue of Liberty in 1956, maps showing migration path.
My great-grandfather (Opa), Karl, was born in Nasice, a city in former-Yugoslavia (currently Croatia). Great-grandmother (Oma), Maria, was born in a neighboring town of Seona. Together the couple had five boys. Karl Jr., Franz, and Steve were the three eldest boys.
This family of five started the migration route by heading to Brazil in search of better jobs. Unfortunately, Oma could not accept the 'wild' environment and announced that she was moving back to Yugoslavia. Opa walked one week to get tickets back to Yugoslavia but only had enough money for four. As a result, Oma and the boys went back and Opa stayed another year to earn more money. Once the family was reunited in Yugoslavia, Oma gave birth to Nick and my grandpa, Slavko. Although my grandfather cannot remember exact dates, this initial movement happened before World War II. Once Nazi Germany invaded Yugoslavia, they rounded up young men from every neighborhood with guns to their heads. Initially, the German troops took all six men from my Oma. With a gun to her head she took the two youngest boys off the truck and told the soldiers that they were too young and they have enough of her boys. Nick and Slavko were allowed to stay with their mother while Opa and the eldest three were taken to the battlefield. Opa, Karl, and Franz were stationed on various lines across German territory. Steve was stationed in a concentration camp. We do not know any details about his service because he refuses to talk about it. At the end of the war, only two men returned. Karl's body was never found and Oma always wondered what had happened to her first born. Franz's body was found and the Germany military confirmed his death. Opa returned just as he had after the Great War. The camp that Steve was stationed in was invaded by Americans or Russians. They freed the people in the camp and forced all the German soldiers in to the cells to get a taste of their harsh treatment. We do not know how long the Allies kept the German soldiers in the camp. However, we can confirm that it happened to Steve because the Allies gave the Germans tattoos of identification numbers just like the original prisoners. Steve had one on his forearm after he returned from the war. The Toth family was worried about Steve because he returned as a broken man and refused to talk about what happened. They feared that he would not live long after that.
After the heavy losses of the war, the Toth family fled Yugoslavia in 1944 to Austria. They were concerned that staying would result in death or imprisonment since four family members served as German soldiers. Additionally, communism was starting to spread through war-torn Europe and my family wanted none of that. In Austria, my grandfather learned his trade as a butcher. He still uses his skills today for various family events. In 1956, when my grandfather was 23 years old, the Toth family boarded the Langfit in Bremen, Germany for a five day voyage to Ellis Island. From New York, the Toth's were sponsored by a Quaker family in Des Moines, Iowa and eventually made the move to Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
In the remainder of this project I will compare the Toth family's migration experience with those of Nuovomundo, Christ in Concrete, and Rocco and His Brothers. Please follow the link to the next page.
