Torsello, Davide - Pappová, Melinda: Social Networks in Movement. Time, interaction and interethnic spaces in Central Eastern Europe - Nostra Tempora 8. (Somorja-Dunaszerdahely, 2003)
Time and social networks
Destinies of the post-war colonists in the village of Trate 103 1905; Gawalowski 1914; Mell and Pirchegger 1914; Janisch 1979, 1980; Grafenauer 1994). After a relatively peaceful first decade of the twentieth century, with only some latent conflicts provoked by the attempts of the recently emerged German- and Slovene-speaking elites from the area to impose general education either in the German or Slovene language, the First World War ended with the disappearance of the Austrian/Hungarian Monarchy. In the region, many new states and borders emerged. The northern border between what remained of the Austrian part of the Habsburg monarchy and the new Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (preceded for two months in October and November 1918 by the State of the Slovenes, Croats and Serbs) was finally determined in the Treaty in St. Germain in 1920. The new border at the river Mura (German Mur) cut the borough Cmurek (German Mureck) from its southern surroundings, and, of course, broke the ties between relatives and inhabitants on both sides, affecting the German and Slovene speaking population the same way. Until 1923, the villagers from Trate still went to the parochial Catholic church across the river in Cmurek, but later they were incorporated into the parish Marija Snežná in Zgornja Velka. Communications and contacts across the river remained lively, but the state border was a new, crucial fact. Some German-speaking people of the region became anxious because of the newly established South-Slav state, especially regarding military service in the “Serbian" army. With the uncertain economic and political situation, the anxiety grew. Therefore, some German-speaking farmers sold their property and moved to Austria or Germany. People from Prekmurje, the nearby region which was annexed to Slovenia (The Kingdom) after the WWI from the Hungarian part of the empire, bought the property and began to resettle the region. In Trate, some eight families (from 50 altogether) sold their property in the twenties and thirties. Nevertheless, the majority of German-speaking farmers remained in the village of Trate and the surrounding area. In
