From Toleration to Expulsion

On April 6, 1948, a significant portion of the population of the village of Ecsény in Somogy County, Hungary, was expelled from their homeland. This was the result of Protocol XIII of the Potsdam Declaration of 1945 calling for "the orderly and humane transfer of German populations now living in Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary." The families involved were descendants of German settlers who began to arrive in what would become the village of Ecsény as early as 1754. They formed an Evangelical Lutheran congregation at the outset that would survive as an underground movement until the Edict of Toleration promulgated by the Emperor Joseph II of Austria in 1782. These two governmental actions taken centuries apart, play pivotal roles in the lives and destinies of the families who would call Ecsény their home. The families that were expelled were sent to the then Russian Zone of Germany from which large numbers later escaped into the American and British Zones. Numerous families were successful in emigrating from there to Canada, the United States, and Australia. This publication is addressed to their English-speaking descendants, providing them with genealogical information about their forebears. In addition, the families associated with the various affiliated congregations in Hács, Polány, Ráksi, Somodor, and Vámos are included as well as information about the families that emigrated to Slavonia, the United States, and Canada prior to World War II. There are also introductory articles to assist the reader in having a basic knowledge of the history, lifestyle, and origins of their families. This work is published on the 260th anniversary of the founding of Ecsény.