THE MANSFIELD LIEDERKRANZ   

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HISTORY

    Our Liederkranz was originally formed in 1906 as the German-American Singing Society. The members met at the Ritz Bar. In 1926 the Society rented the third floor at 102 North Main Street in downtown Mansfield, Ohio. It was then reorganized and renamed the German-Hungarian Singing Society. The club reorganized again in 1936, merged with the Mansfield Männerchor, and became known as the Mansfield Liederkranz. At that time the club joined the Eastern Great Lakes District, Workers Singing Societies of America. A ladies chorus was organized in 1927 and was active for many years. This was disbanded and later became the Ladies Auxiliary in 1975/76. We stayed in our Main Street home until December 1952 when we moved into our own building at 55 East Fourth Street. We stayed there until 1980. We purchased the land for a new and larger facility in July, 1979. Ground breaking began in April, 1980. After 7 months we moved into our current home at 1212 Silver Lane, Mansfield, Ohio. On November 22, 1980, we held our first dance in our new building. Our clubhouse was built with the volunteer labor and generous support of our members.

   In 1983 the Mansfield Liederkranz joined the National Donauschwaben Organization after the Great Lakes Singing Society dissolved.

    From the original German-American Singing Society to the present Mansfield Liederkranz we have continued to evolve, grow, and bring to our American culture some of the best from our homelands. The Mansfield Liederkranz has been a leader in promoting soccer for area youth and adults. We promote our German culture and heritage with our Ladies Auxillary, our youth, adult, and senior dance groups, and our German language classes for adults and children.

    Throughout our ninety-six year history we have been the center of German culture for north central Ohio. We look forward to another century of bringing the best of German culture to all German Americans.

Danube Swabian Coat of Arms

    The coat of arms of the Danube Swabians was originated by Hans Diplich in 1950. The imperial eagle is a symbol of the Holy Roman Empire under Germanic kings. The wavy line symbolizes the Danube River, on which or along which, the German settlers traveled to Hungary. The crescent moon is the symbol of Islam, representing the Turkish occupation of Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries. The sun is the symbol for Christ. The fortress represents the city of Temeschburg (Timisoara), located in Romania today. Its six towers represent the six main settlement regions for the Danube Swabians: Swabian Turkey, Slavonia, Syrmia, Batschka, Banat and Sathmar. The fortress stands on the fertile farm land made arable and productive by the Danube Swabians. The inscription reads, 'The Danube Swabians - Forever Free and Undivided.' (This motto probably refers to the fact that the Donauschwaben were free persons and no longer peasants bound to a lord. Undivided refers to their feeling of being one people despite being separated into different countries after WWI and after the diaspora around the world after WWII.)

(The material describing the Donaschwaben Coat of Arms was copied intact from the source listed.)

History of the Donauschwaben- Official Landesverband der Donauschwaben, USA Website

http://donauschwaben-usa.org/history.htm

History:
Sue Clarkson has written a compelling and informative History of the Donauschwaben Migrants and Their Descendants (26 kilobyte text file).