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I, Josef Wiinschl, was born in Deutsch Elemir, Banat, of ethnic German stock, originally from The Pfalz and Elsass Lorraine. My ancestors settled in the Banat at 1770-1800. We lived alongside Hungarians and Serbs, but in 1944 until 1948 we were dispossessed , were put in concentration camps. My grandmother aged 75 and my mother 43, and my father 46, died of starvation and disease in the camp. I escaped to Australia in 1947 aged 19. There i found that too many refugees from Eastern Europe made the place unwelcome, so I decided to apply for migration to Australia, as a joiner and carpenter to erect Austrian pre-cut houses for the WA Housing Commission. This move was a great success. I then became an independent builder, and married my pen-friend Gertrude Sensenstein from Austria. My family now number 3 children and 7 grandchildren, and I am sure they will also prosper in this wonderful country.

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