Eist, Katharina. 2018. Fragmented Histories and Belonging: Intergenerational Memories and Experiences of Germans from the Former Soviet Union in Contemporary Germany
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Eist, Katharina. 2018. Fragmented histories and belonging: Intergenerational memories and experiences of Germans from the former Soviet Union in contemporary Germany. Doctoral thesis, Goldsmiths, University of London [Thesis] https://research.gold.ac.uk/id/eprint/24706/ The version presented here may differ from the published, performed or presented work. Please go to the persistent GRO record above for more information. If you believe that any material held in the repository infringes copyright law, please contact the Repository Team at Goldsmiths, University of London via the following email address: [email protected]. The item will be removed from the repository while any claim is being investigated. For more information, please contact the GRO team: [email protected] Fragmented histories and belonging: Intergenerational memories and experiences of Germans from the former Soviet Union in contemporary Germany Katharina Eist Goldsmiths, University of London Thesis submitted to obtain the degree of P.h.D. in Sociology November 2017 1 I declare that the work presented in this thesis is my own. _________________________________________ Katharina Eist 2 This empirical study is based on qualitative interviews with three generations of ethnic German families, who migrated to Germany after the disintegration of the Soviet Union. The grandparents in these families lived in German settlements until their expulsion to the far East of the SU. Their children grew up in these places of exile in the shadow of their parents' histories, striving to become model Soviet citizens in an effort to escape the stigma associated with their parents' fate. The grandchildren in these families were youngsters at the time of migration to Germany. This thesis explores experiences around migration, post-migration life and integration. It examines these experiences through a framework of (post)- Soviet and German cultural memory, investigating, on the one hand, how in both societies public memory (or the lack thereof), along with social discourses and state policies, have shaped, framed and homogenised this group; and, on the other hand, how memory and the forgetting of the repression of the grandparents shape identity, belonging and intergenerational dynamics today. The memory of the persecution leads people to frame their migration to Germany in terms of homecoming. This homecoming narrative is, however, extremely contentious. Not only has the adoption of this narrative created a hierarchy of migrants, leading to an unequal immigrant society, the idea also exerts social and self-imposed pressures to be perceived as ‘authentically German’. Especially younger interviewees often conceal their background by ‘passing’ for ‘real Germans’. These young people appear to follow in the footsteps of the ‘generation of parents’ who concealed their German backgrounds in the SU. This cross-generational concealing and the underlying shame are often unaddressed. There are still many silences, and very little dialogue across the generations about their traumatic history. All of these aspects make it difficult, particularly for the young, to recognise their complex and diasporic identity. 3 Table of Contents Acknowledgements .............................................................................................6 Preface: An intimate introduction .......................................................................7 Chapter 1. Russian-Germans past and present: Historical overview, context of repatriation and introduction to the field of study. ...........................................17 Introduction...................................................................................................17 Diverse historical trajectories......................................................................20 Looking at repatriation and repatriate identity .............................................31 Mapping the Chapters...................................................................................43 Chapter 2. Memory Matters?! Russian-Germans between (post) Soviet and German cultural memory. .................................................................................48 Introduction ..................................................................................................48 Cultural memory in (post)-Soviet Russia versus Germany .........................50 Homogenised collective memory.................................................................59 Memory studies: An interdisciplinary approach...........................................67 Conclusion....................................................................................................80 Chapter 3. Between strained and intimate encounters: Doing research with Russian-Germans. ............................................................................................82 Introduction...................................................................................................82 Generational and gendered experiences........................................................85 Framework of the project..............................................................................94 Conducting interviews and analysing data.................................................103 Conclusion ..................................................................................................112 Chapter 4. ‘For my grandparents this has always been their Heimat’. Painful homecoming and the personal, historical and academic struggles around the homecoming narrative. ...................................................................................114 Introduction ................................................................................................114 Three generations’ motivations of 'coming home'......................................116 Shifts in public and academic perception and discourse............................124 Resurfacing past hurts.................................................................................129 Conclusion..................................................................................................136 Chapter 5 ‘Everyone thinks I am German and it needs to stay like that’. Germanised Russian-Germans and difficulties with assimilation...................139 Introduction ................................................................................................139 Assimilation: From the general to the particular........................................141 Young women and ‘passing’.......................................................................150 Costs of assimilation and perceiving this loss............................................161 Conclusion: Towards a diasporic identity? ................................................164 Chapter 6. ‘She always wanted to be nothing but Russian and I wanted to be nothing but German. Just not to stand out’. Exploring habits of concealing ‘shameful histories’ pre and post-migration....................................................168 Introduction ................................................................................................168 Family life in Russian-German families post-migration............................170 Patterns of concealment and the role of shame...........................................180 ‘Discredited’ Soviet family history and the perpetuation of shame............186 Conclusion..................................................................................................196 Chapter 7. ‘I can’t ask, so grandpa how was it in Russia!’ How families speak about painful memories...................................................199 Introduction.................................................................................................199 4 Legacy of oblivion: “A silence that does not know its name”...................201 Ambivalent legacy: Drawing from ‘encounters beyond narrative’............213 Conclusion:.................................................................................................228 Conclusion: A call for a more complex and diasporic understanding of Russian- Germans...........................................................................................................232 Bibliography....................................................................................................245 5 Acknowledgements This thesis would not have been possible without the patience, continued support and words of encouragement of my supervisor Vic Seidler. Thank you very much for always believing in this project. I would also like to thank colleagues and friends at Goldsmiths, University of London, who read and re-read drafts, made remarks and helped me in many other ways. I feel very privileged to have been able to be a participant of the wonderful and supportive research groups, Embodied Narratives and the Nylon network. Not only have I found support there, but also much intellectual stimulus. I would also like to extend a big thank you to Brian Alleyne and Nirmal Puwar for providing me with a wonderful upgrade examination and helping me to think through many questions. Many thanks go to my friends, partner and family, who supported me through all these years without a single day of doubt. Thank you for all your sacrifices. Lastly of course, this project would not have been possible without the voices of my interviewees. Although talking was not always easy, you shared your stories with me. Thank you for letting me into your homes, thank you for the cooked meals, the