United German-Hungarians is an American social club, founded in 1910, as the Banater Männerchor. Although the club has been home to various auxiliary groups, the primary activities of the club remain soccer and cultural dancing. The first team was started in 1922, playing exhibition games only. The current German Hungarian Cultural Group was founded in 1965.
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Representation.
Nomenclature.
The original name of the organization, the Banater Männerchor, comes from the Hungarian birthplace (Banat) of the founders and many later members. The meaning of the current nomenclature, The United German Hungarians, refers to the fact that Banat Swabians were Germans living in Hungary, and not a union of 'Germans' and 'Hungarians.' Although the hyphen is no longer used, its purpose was to show that these are one people, not a conglomeration of two groups.
Shield.
 The shield is the group's logo. The official shield represents the unity of German Hungarians through their traditional values. The "1910" Represents the founding year of the organization. The "keystone," represents the Keystone State of Pennsylvania. Collectively the "stars" represent members of the United German Hungarians and honor their individual and collective accomplishments. The stars also represent national honors, particularly: US National Soccer Championships in 1965, and 1999 and the Gauverband Nordamerika Preisplatteln Competition Gold Medals in 1999, and 2007.
Flag.
The flag of the German Hungarians was obtained and blessed in 1994. It was purchased from a company in Germany and created according to the specifications of the club. Emily Fricker served as "fahnenmutter" for the flag.
Design.
The flag's contrasting sides represent the past and present. One side recognizes those who came from the original homelands of central and southeastern Europe. It depicts a fictional village and the common landscapes found in the farming regions of southern Germany, Austria, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. The natural resources, architectural renderings and geographic details evoke life in the old country. The region's common flowers – Kornblumen, Rosmarein, Edelweiss, MohnBlumen and Enzian – complete the circle topped by the flag's motto: "Treu, der Sitte, treu der Tracht, treu der Heimat" ("Faithful to the traditions, faithful to the costume, faithful to the homeland").
The second side of the flag represents members today. Their roots are depicted at the top by a trio of national symbols. Philadelphia is home to the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, and is where William Penn's "Holy Experiment" began.
A "flag fund" was begun and members began collecting for the fund. On May 8, 1913 many members and friends celebrated at a festive "fahneweihe". The Arbeiter Maennercor served as a "taufpate" and Margaretha Friedrich served as "fahnen-mutter".
Little is known about the circumstances that led to the purchase of the Vereinigte Deutsch-Ungarn Flag. This flag was carried proudly for 55 years. It was replaced when the club's name changed in 1939.
History.
Founding.
In 1906, a group of nine men from the Banat region of Hungary founded the Banater Arbeiter Verein. They had a choral section (Gesangs-Sektion), which for reasons now unknown, was suspended by the parent organization on November 13, 1910. The suspended section met three days later on November 16 to discuss its future and it decided to form the Banater Maennerchor. A temporary eight man board of directors was appointed for a three-month period. Peter Schock was elected president. August Beuchse was unanimously elected musical director and the first rehearsal was set for November 23, 1910 in Fred Schnabel's "saloon" at Germantown Avenue and Oxford Street. On November 27, 1910, Banater Maennerchor with forty eight members, was accepted as a member by the Vereinigte Arbeiter Gesangverein von Nord Ost Staaten (The United Workers Singing Society of the North-Eastern States). The new organization (Banater) acquired temporary quarters in the hall an Eighth Street and Columbia Avenue, occupied by Maennerchor Rheingold and on December 9, 1910, they held their Founders Day Festival with the Karpathan Saengerbund and the Arbeiter Maennerchor Philadelphia as guest performers.
1910–1930.
From 1910 through October 1939, the organization was called the Banater Männerchor. In 1922, the Bannater Athletic Club was formed and operated under the "mother club."
Banater Maennerchor grew swiftly and the final result was that Banater Maennerchor purchased the hall at Eighth and Columbia from Rheingold and also swallowed up its membership. Banater very quickly became the rendezvous for German Hungarians of Philadelphia, and the site at Eighth and Columbia remained their "home" until 1923. In 1911 a school-section was created to teach the children the German language, mathematics, basic sciences, and mechanical drawing for the boys, and sewing and embroidery for the girls. Also, a children's choral group participated in a mass choral festival held at the Old Metropolitan Opera House at Broad and Popular Streets. All instruction was provided freely and willingly by the members of the organization. In 1912 a female choral group was assembled under the name "Banater Frauen-chor”. On May 8, 1914, amid much fanfare, a "fahnenweihe" of the new club flag was held. The officials of the Arbeiter Maennerchor of Philadelphia served as the godfathers. The flag made its first public appearance in 1914 at the Singersfest of the United Singers of Northeast United States in Baltimore, Maryland. On December 10, 1922, the Banater Athletic Club was organized. In March 1923 the Banater acquired the premises at 2007–13 N. Second Street and the former Columbia Hall became the Banater Maennerchor Hall. A library, was instituted in this period, and had been accumulated over the years. The sport group changed its name from the Banater Athletic Club to German Hungarian Sport Club nine years before the parent group changed its name along similar lines.
1930–1938.
In 1930, the "mother club" stood firm as the Banater Männerchor. The sport group changed its name from the Bannater Athletic Club to the German Hungarian Sport Club.
During the early Thirties, having little extra spending money, many people sought entertainment at home, and consequently attendance at social clubs dropped sharply. In some cases this attendance was never regained and organizations disbanded. Banater Maennerchor membership dropped during this period, but club activities continued.
Weekly Singstunde were held. Two bowling alleys were installed in the city clubhouse, and a league was started. In 1932 the club provided several days food and shelter in the clubhouse for a few hundred “hunger marchers" who were passing through Philadelphia on their journey to Washington, D.C.
1938–1959.
At a directors meeting on October 2, 1938, it was reported that membership had dwindled. Changing the name of the organization would convince at least 300 members to renew. A motion was carried unanimously that all chartered German-Hungarian clubs in the area be contacted to discuss a general merger.
At a special meeting on June 29, 1939, a committee proposed that all German Hungarians join in one organization to be known as the United German Hungarians of Philadelphia and Vicinity. After a lengthy discussion, the decision was made to join the new organization. At a special general membership meeting on October 24, 1939, it was also decided that Banater Maennerchor would accept the name United German Hungarians of Philadelphia and Vicinity, which has remained since that time.
During the early 1940s, while many of the young men fought in World War II, only the junior section of the sports club was active. Wrestling and weight-lifting groups were formed, and a girls’ section was organized. In 1945, a soccer team, composed mainly of products of the junior section, was placed in the first division of the Philadelphia Soccer League where representation was maintained until 1959, when the organization left this league along with other area clubs and founded the United Soccer League of Pennsylvania.
In January 1946 the first issue of the "Monthly News" (now the “Monthly Progress”) appeared. In May 1946 the German-Hungarian Business Men's Association merged with the United German Hungarians of Philadelphia and Vicinity and the club acquired its current property. Many of the relatives of club members, mostly women, elderly, and children, still living in Banat, were starved and beaten to death in the years after the war (1944–1948). In Romania, the Germans lost their property and means of production without compensation. The "landsleit" (people from the same town) in the U.S.A. contributed material and moral support to their relatives and friends. Many escaped their homelands to Austria and Germany. From there, tens of thousands went abroad, mainly to the U.S. and Canada, while others went to Brazil, Argentina and Australia. Many of these new immigrants joined the club.
The 1950s immigrants brought with them renewed dedication towards success in a changing world. Further development by members of this group together with the existing members led the organization and community to flourish for the ensuing generations.
1960s.
The 1960s were possibly the club's golden years. In 1961, the property at 2nd and Norris streets was sold and the organization moved to Neshaminy Falls in Oakford, where it resides today. In 1962 work began on a new constitution that was adopted on March 2, 1963. The ground was broken for the current clubhouse on March 28, 1965. On June 27 the soccer team won the National Amateur Soccer Championship and a few weeks later the team won its fifth successive championship in the United Soccer League of Pennsylvania.
On January 29, 1966, the new building formally opened.
In 1968 Werner Fricker became president, succeeding Frank Kirsch. Fricker had been involved in many of the club's projects (in addition to captaining the National Amateur Championship soccer team) and the club acquired an additional six acres of adjoining ground for future development.
1970s.
In 1971 the major soccer team won the Eastern United States Amateur Championship and the youth soccer program won many awards and trophies. In 1972 the club celebrated "Fifty Years in Sports and Soccer”.
In 1973 the club chartered a plane to Germany with approximately 150 people planned for this trip. In the same period, a fire destroyed the clubhouse. It was rebuilt and opened in on May 5, 1973.
In 1975 the club formed its first girls soccer team.
In 1977 the major team reached the finals of the National Challenge Cup and the U.S. National Amateur Cup competitions and the reserve team won their first championship of the United Soccer League of Pennsylvania.
The club's first annual three-day "Kirchweihfest" was held in September 1978.
Soccer history.
On December 10, 1922, the Banater Männerchor social club formed the Banater Athletic Club which included several sports, with soccer as the main emphasis. The original soccer team, which played only exhibition games during its first season, consisted of Mayersfeld, Ehing, Striefter, Halper, Kaitor, John Hof, Schnieider, Sadler, Koeller, Schuster and Gehweiler. The team entered the Football Association of Eastern Pennsylvania and District and in the fall of 1923, they joined the Allied League Third Division. By this time, the club had over 400 members and a reserve team was formed. In 1926, the club purchased land on the corner of Frankford Avenue and Robbins Street for home games. The club played its first game away from Philadelphia with the Baltimore Kickers.
In 1927 the first team entered the Second Division of the National Soccer League of Philadelphia, earning promotion to the First Division in 1928. In 1930, the team became known as the German-Hungarians. In 1932, the first team moved up to the Pennsylvania League. In 1936, the club formed a third team which entered the Philadelphia Workers League and three years later a youth system was established which tended to compete against the Lighthouse Boys Club. In 1939, the team changed its name to The United German Hungarians of Philadelphia and Vicinity, better known as the United German-Hungarians. World War II caused a significant decline in the club's fortunes which persisted into the 1950s.
In 1954, Werner Fricker joined the club, playing for fifteen years in addition to filling several administrative positions. In 1959, the club was instrumental in forming the United Soccer League of Philadelphia which operated as an "outlaw" league until 1962. The league attracted several top Philadelphia teams despite the refusal of the United States Football Federation to recognize it. The German-Hungarians finished second in 1960, then won six consecutive championships. In 1965, the club purchased a facility in Oakford, Pennsylvania, where it has since played its home games. That year, the team won the 1965 National Amateur Cup. The German-Hungarians also finished second in the 1977 and 1993 U.S. Open Cups.
Grounds.
United German Hungarian Club – Bristol Road, Oakford PA.
The property in Oakford has had two clubhouses: "The Shack" and the main clubhouse. The