Person:Adam Binder (5)

Adam and his brother Konrad owned a grain mill in Petrovcic, Yugoslavia where they operated the mill together from 1927 to 1937. In 1937 Adam decided he no longer wanted to live in Petrovcic, a town inhabited primarily by Serbians. Adam was fearful that his twelve year old daughter Katie might develop an interest in a Serbian boy, rather than a German boy. Adam moved the family to Dobanovci, Yugoslavia, which had a higher ratio of German boys and Adam opened another grain mill. Katie went to school in Dobanovci and was instructed in the German language. After a year the instruction was moved to the Serbian language and Katie had to attend a private school after regular school to learn German.

In 1939 World War II started and soon the Germans occupied Yugoslavia. During the occupation the Serbians were active against the German occupation, while the Croatians generally cooperated with the Germans. The German population welcomed the German occupation and completely cooperated, including serving in the German armed forces. The local Serbian population was not happy with their former neighbours.

Adam ran his mill until October 1944 when the German occupation ordered all the German people to leave their homes because of the advancing Russians. Some people left by train and others left by horse and wagon. Those leaving with wagons could carry more of their personal possessions. Adam related many times that in the heat of the moment he left his home with some amount of gold sitting on the kitchen table. The family was able to leave in two two-horse wagons, one driven by Adam and the other driven by Katie. The individuals leaving in the wagons were: Adam (40), wife Katherine (37), daughter Katie (19), Katie's boy Gunter (2), son Mike (12), daughter Mary (8), son Reinhold (2) and an apprentice (15) who was not related to the family.

The convoy of refugees headed north to the Hungary-Germany border. As luck would have it, they ran into a German army officer from their hometown. He asked Adam to stay and run the grain mill. Adam agreed and they stayed in that town until the Russians advanced and they had to move again. By this time many of the refugees who left the same time were able to find temporary housing in what was to become the American occupied zone. Austrian farm families were required to take in the German refugee families. Adam, however, could find no one to take in his family so he pressed on to the west.

He would have to cross the mountains on his journey to his son-in-law's (Heinrich Wolf) family, who were expecting them. As he was traveling to the mountains he saw a girl playing by the road. She was from his home town and recognized Adam. She greeted him but Adam did not recognize the girl. She told him who she was and ran to get her parents. The parents pleaded with Adam not to cross the mountains as winter was setting in and he would never make it. Adam's brother Johann was in the next village, and the parents took Adam's family back to their house and sent someone for Johann.

Between the parents and Johann they convinced Adam not to cross the mountains. Adam and the family would not enter the parents house because they were so dirty and lice infected from traveling. The parents prevailed, and finally the Adam Binder family went into their home.

The parents secured a hanging blanket for privacy where each one of the Binder family took turns disrobing and scrubbing themselves, while their clothes were boiled in hot water to kill the lice. After the nice encounter with the parents, Adam continued his search for an Austrian family to take his family in. This was not an easy task and Adam was refused many times. Finally, in exasperation, he told one Austrian family that if they did not take him in, he would shoot his family and himself. He showed them his pistol to reinforce his threat. It is not clear if he was serious but Katie was sure it was a last ditch effort to secure lodging for the winter. It worked and the winter was passed with that family. Next spring he and the family joined the Wolf family.