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THE GERMANS from RUSSIA TODAY………………..31 Carter Wood

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THE GERMANS from RUSSIA TODAY………………..31 Carter Wood Editor CHRISTINE CLAYTON Editorial Board IRMGARD HEIN ELLINGSON PETER J. KLASSEN Bukovina Society, Ellis, KS California State University, Fresno ARTHUR E. FLEGEL TIMOTHY KLOBERDANZ Certified Genealogist, Menlo Park, CA North Dakota State University, Fargo ADAM GIESINGER GEORGE KUFELDT University of Manitoba, emeritus Anderson University, Indiana, emeritus NANCY BERNHARDT HOLLAND LEONA PFEIFER Trinity College, Burlington, VT Fort Hays State University, emeritus WILLIAM KEEL HELMUT SCHMELLER University of Kansas, Lawrence Fort Hays State University, emeritus On the cover: The Journal of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia is published quarterly by AHSGR. Emblem of the International Festival of Members of the Society receive the Journal, a quarterly Newsletter, and an annual genealogical publication, Clues. Members qualify for discounts on material available for purchase from AHSGR. Membership categories German Culture along the Volga in 1994. are: Individual, $40; Family, $40; Contributing, $50; Sustaining, $100; Life, $500 (may be paid in five annual Courtesy of Landsmannschaft der installments). Memberships are based on a calendar year, due each January 1. Dues in excess of $40 may be tax- Wolgadeutschen. deductible as allowed by law. Applications for membership should be sent to AHSGR, 631 D Street, Lincoln, For an account of the festival see JoAnn NE 68502-1199. The Journal welcomes the submission of articles, essays, family histories, anecdotes, folklore, book Kuhr's article, starting on page 1. reviews, and items regarding all aspects of the lives of Germans in/from Russia. Alt submissions are subject to review by the Editorial Board. Manuscripts should be typed double-spaced with endnotes. Computer fan-fold paper should be separated before mailing. If written on computer, please include a diskette containing a copy of the computer file. We can accept IBM-compatible ASCII or WordPerfect™ files. Our style guide is The Chicago Manual of Style, 14th ed. revised (Chicago; University of Chicago Press, 1993). Please indicate in your cover letter whether you have photos or illustrations to accompany your article. If you wish your submission returned to you, please include a stamped, self-addressed envelope with adequate postage. Unless you instruct us otherwise, submissions not published in the Journal will be added to the AHSGR archives. The International Foundation of AHSGR is a non-profit organization, which seeks funds to support the needs of the many operations of the Society. The Foundation accepts monetary gifts, bequests, securities, memorial gifts, trusts, and other donations. Gifts to the Foundation may be designated for specific purposes such as promoting the work of the Aussiedler Project gathering information from German-Russian emigrants recently arrived in Germany, the AHSGR/CIS Project of research in Russia, or supporting the Society's library or genealogical work; gifts may also be designated for use where most needed. All contributions help further the goals of AHSGR: to gather, preserve, and make available for research material pertaining to the history of Germans from Russia. For information and to make contributions, contact the International Foundation of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, 631 D Street, Lincoln, NE 68502-1199. Telephone: (402) 474-3363. Fax: (402) 474-7229. Donations to the International Foundation are tax deductible as allowed by law. Opinions and statements of fact expressed by contributors are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Society, the Foundation, the Editor, or members of the Editorial Board, who assume no responsibility for statements made by contributors. Published by the American Historical Society of Germans From Russia 631 D Street • Lincoln, NE 68502-1199 • Phone 402-474-3363 • Fax 402-474-7229 © Copyright 1995 by the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia. All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A. ISSN 0162-8283 CONTENTS THE INTERNATIONAL FESTIV0AL OF GERMAN CULTURE ALONG THE VOLGA ........................................................................................……………1 Jo Ann Kuhr SUSTENANCE....………………………………………………………………12 Ronald Vossler NEW RESEARCH ON THE STATUS OF THE GERMAN LANGUAGE IN THE SOVIET UNION ............................…………………...15 Peter Rosenberg Translated by Christine Clayton CULTURAL MAINTENANCE AMONG THE VOLGA GERMANS IN WESTERN KANSAS..............................................................................…24 Helmut J. Schmeller Ronald J. Fundis WANDERINGS: THE GERMANS FROM RUSSIA TODAY………………..31 Carter Wood AHSGR Journal/Spring 1995 THE INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF GERMAN CULTURE ALONG THE VOLGA Jo Ann Kuhr When Dr. Johann Windholz of Moscow attended the 1994 AHSGR convention in Lincoln last year, he told about a festival of German culture, which was being planned for 4- 12 September 1994. The participants and guests of the festival would be housed on a cruise ship and would travel down the Volga River with stops at Samara, Ulyanovsk, Volgograd, and Saratov, where gala concerts would be given, portraying various aspects of Russian-German cul- ture at each of these cities. Dr. Windholz invited those in- terested to join the festival cruise. A month later several individuals received specific invitations to participate in the festival as guests of the Landsmannschaft der Wolgadeutschen (Association of Volga Germans) in Saratov, the sponsor of the festival. Leona Pfeifer, an AHSGR board member from Hays, Kansas, and Jo Ann Kuhr, a member of the AHSGR staff in Lincoln, accepted the invitation. The Landsmannschaft der Wolgadeutschen under the leadership of Yuri Haar had been planning this festival for a long time. As it became obvious that not all of the Ger- Yuri Haar, director of the Landsmannschaft der mans in the former USSR wanted to or would be allowed to Wolgadeutschen in Saratov. immigrate to Germany, it became equally obvious that measures must be taken to strengthen the knowledge and use of the German language as well as to maintain the rich heritage of German customs and culture in Russia. As a result of the deportations of 1941, the anti-German hostility, which is very evident even today, interethnic mar- riages, the emigration or death of persons who could speak German and who could pass on to their descendants the Russian-German traditions, the German culture in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is rapidly dis- appearing. There are no German schools; German is taught as a foreign language, not as the mother tongue. Many of the ethnic German dance and singing ensembles as well as those writing of the Russian-German heritage have emi- grated from the CIS and now live in Germany. If the heri- tage of the Germans in Russia is to be more than history, if it is to be an active part in the lives of the ethnic Germans in Russia today and in the future, efforts must be JoAnn Kuhr is AHSGR's Research Director. Musical director of the festival Elena Shishkina, from Astrakhan. AHSGR Journal/Spring 1995 The group "Heimatland" from the village Aleksandrovka, Azovskii raion, Omsk oblast, on board the ship. made now to promote and further the knowledge of the Krause did their work well. The end result was stupendous. German language and the German traditions. This was the Some of the groups selected to participate in the festi- intent of the festival. val were housed aboard the festival ship Konstantin Many hours of negotiations followed the decision to Korotkov and performed at each concert. Many of these host a festival. Supported by the Ministry of Culture and came from other regions of the CIS such as Tyumen, the Ministry of Nationalities of the Russian Federation, the Alma-Ata, Kazan, Moscow, Omsk, and Astrakhan. Other organizers experienced months of planning and consulting groups were located in and around the cities where the ship with the officials in the four cities as well as with the stopped and performed only at the concerts in their area. regional authorities. They traveled extensively to audition Some of the more notable groups from the Volga area also and interview various groups of performers, to decide traveled with the ship. which artists and writers could best represent German Prior to each concert there were displays of ethnic culture. Artistic Director Johann Windholz, Music Director crafts, ethnic foods, the art works of Russian Germans, an Elena Shishkina, and General Director Stanislav Performances and art displays prior to the gala concert in Samara AHSGR Journal/Spring 1995 exhibit from the German display in the Saratov Museum, The theme which connected the various parts of the an exhibit of the exquisite, decorative metal artwork of concert—especially in the second half—was the argument Zlatoust, and performances by dancers and singing groups between "summer" and "winter," as to which season had indigenous to each particular area. At this time the visitors the best traditions and customs. The audience was treated to could see close up not only local German groups but also beautiful religious choral music, fast-paced folk dances to the folkloristic groups of Tatars, Russians, Chuvash, the accompaniment of a polka band from Kronach, Bavaria, Mordvins, and Kazakhs, Local church choirs also per- and colorfully costumed ensembles singing well-known formed religious music. The hallways and foyers of each German folk songs. Two individual performers were conceit hall were a virtual potpourri of music and color, an received with particular
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