trotzdem da! 
Anton Model grew up on an orchard and winery in Hagnau on Lake Constance. As a nature-loving child, he helped out at an early age. He loved singing and was a committed boy scout. When he was 12 years old, he found documents in his parents’ bedside table revealing that he had been adopted and that his biological mother was Varga Taran from Ukraine. Anton was confused, but kept his discovery to himself. He trained as an orchardist, got married, and took over the parental farm. It was not until the 1980s that Anton began searching for his biological parents. With the help of various organisations and archives, he found their addresses. To his astonishment, his father lived not far away. Soon Anton had the courage to visit him. Anton’s father was delighted with the visit and officially acknowledged his paternity in 1984. Anton’s search for his mother in the Soviet Union was much more difficult. It was not until 1993 that he found her in Ukraine with the help of his Polish friend and colleague Bogdan Dziwanowski. Anton still remembers the overwhelming feeling when his mother embraced him, then aged 50, with the words, “My child, my child!”.
The picture shows Anton at the age of 11 driving a tractor with the family dog.
Photo: unknown. Private property Model
Because he was born on 31 December, his mother Varga gave Anton the middle name of Silvester. He received his surname when he was adopted by the Model couple in 1950.
Private property Model
Varga Taran died in 2004 at age 78.
Photo: unknown. Private property Model
Varga Taran was deported to the German Reich for forced labour at age 15. She had to work for Anton’s father, who was a widower and looked after his farm and the children on his own. Little is known about Anton’s parents’ relationship. When Varga became pregnant, she was arrested and interrogated by the Gestapo, but released shortly afterwards. After the end of the war, she registered as a displaced person and returned to her home country. It is unclear why Anton stayed in Germany. His mother later told him that the German authorities had forced her to leave him behind. Even before Anton was born, his father was stationed in France as a Wehrmacht soldier, where he was taken prisoner of war in August 1944. After his release, he returned to his farm in spring 1946. He never looked for Varga or his son.
“I have many friends and supporters. Without them, I would never have managed to find my mother.”
Apart from the three years she had to work as a forced labourer in the German Reich, Anton’s mother lived in Voronivka in Ukraine, which was part of the Soviet Union until 1991.
Photo: unknown. Private property Model
Photo: unknown. Private property Model
Anton Model was able to build up a close relationship with many of his relatives. Until their death, he was in contact with both his adoptive parents and his biological parents. He also had regular contact with his German and Ukrainian half-siblings. Anton and parts of his German family repeatedly visited Ukraine. For Anton’s children, growing up in a bi-national extended family was a matter of course. As a child, his son Franz, who accompanied Anton to Ukraine several times, was even surprised that other children did not also have three grandfathers. Anton still regularly calls his half-sister Tanya Kiyan in Ukraine. Her son spent several months with the Models in 2022 and visited Anton for his 80th birthday.
Photo: unknown. Private property Model
The picture shows Anton at the age of 11 driving a tractor with the family dog.
Photo: unknown. Private property Model
Photo: unknown. Private property Model
