THE GERMANS in RUSSIA: THEIR PRESENT SITUATION (AND the ROAD to the FUTURE) Eugen N
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Editor CHRISTINE CLAYTON AHSGR Headquarters, Lincoln, Nebraska Editorial Board IRMGARD HEIN ELLINGSON PETER J. KLASSEN Bukovina Society, Ellis, KS California State University, Fresno ARTHURE FLEGEL TIMOTHY KLOBERDANZ Certified Genealogist, Menlo Park, CA North Dakota State University, Fargo ADAM GIESINGER GEORGE KUFELDT University of Manitoba, Canada, emeritus Anderson University, Indiana, emeritus NANCY BERNHARDT HOLLAND LEONA PFEIFER Trinity College, Burlington, VT Fort Hays State University, Kansas, emeritus WILLIAM KEEL HELMUT SCHMELLER University of Kansas, Lawrence Fort Hays State University, Kansas, emeritus On the cover: Top: Arthur Flegel's grandparents, taken 110 years ago. Left: Frieda Gress and her The Journal of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia is published quarterly by AHSGR. grandchildren. Right: Cleo Flegel and her Members of the Society receive a quarterly Journal, Newsletter, and an annual genealogical publication. great-grandchildren. Clues. Members qualify for discounts on material available for purchase from AHSGR. Membership The Golden Gate Board and Michael categories for 1998 are: Individual, $50; Family, $50; Institutional $50; Contributing, $75; Sustaining, $100; Life, $750. Memberships are based on a calendar year, due each January 1. Dues in excess of $50 may be Schulz designed the cover collectively. tax-deductible as allowed by law. Applications for membership should be sent to AHSGR, 631 D Street, Margaret Freeman and Penney Raile of Lincoln, NE 68502-1199. Southern California also gave special The Journal welcomes the submission of articles, essays, family histories, anecdotes, folklore, book help. reviews, and items regarding all aspects of the lives of Germans in/from Russia. All 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 WordPerfectTM files. Our style guide is The Chicago Manual of Style, l4th 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 a promoting the work of the Aussiedler Project gathering information from German-Russian emigrants recently arrived in Germany, the AHSGR/CIS Project for 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. E-mail: [email protected]. 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 • E-mail [email protected] © Copyright 1997 by the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A. ISSN 0162-8283 $10.00 U.S. CONTENTS THE VISION OF HOPE Donnette Sonnenfeld........................................................................................................................... 1 PERILS OF A JOURNEY Peter J. Klassen ................................................................................................................................. 3 UNITE YOUR FAMILY WITH THE BERLIN DOCUMENT CENTER RECORDS Marianne Wheeler............................................................................................................................. 7 ANNUAL REPORTS....................................................................…………...................................................…………… 12 DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD John Schleicher................................................................................................................................ 23 BEGINNING OF VOLGA-GERMAN EMIGRATION TO AMERICA Dr. Igor R. Pleve Translated by Richard Rye........................................................................................................ 25 THE GERMANS IN RUSSIA: THEIR PRESENT SITUATION (AND THE ROAD TO THE FUTURE) Eugen N. Miller Translated by Ursula Moessner and edited by William M. Wiest.......................................... 27 RECENT GENEALOGICAL FINDS IN UKRAINE Richard Rye...................................................................................................................................... 32 THE LIFE OF THE GERMAN WOMEN IN RUSSIA Leona Wasinger Pfeifer................................................................................................................... 38 ONE HUNDRED AND TEN YEARS OF VOLGA GERMANS IN FRESNO Diana Bell........................................................................................................................................ 40 LISTING OF DONATIONS ................................................................................................................………….. 47 WHEN WE WERE YOUNG Gil Axt.............................................................................................................................................. 53 II Page 1 THE VISION OF HOPE Donnette Sonnenfeld, Society President When AHSGR was first formed, members and chapters eagerly Carl Sandburg once said, "When a society or civilization perishes, one helped gather research to build our repository of records. They condition can always be found; they forgot where they came from." gathered obituaries, typed family group cards, sought church records, When the charter members of AHSGR founded our organization in and all kinds of material vital to the growth and prosperity of AHSGR. 1968, they did so with the intent of never letting our heritage be When members inquired in writing or in person, our staff could assist forgotten. They had a vision that our organization would honor the them in their quest to learn more about their family. Today AHSGR is memory of our ancestors and preserve our history. They had hope we confronted all too often with having to buy records from a chapter, would attract all the descendants of Germans from Russia as members. which many times has restrictions on how they can be used. Village Our ancestors left us an incredible legacy. We owe it to them to never coordinators often have members' records, but these records aren't forget the trials and tribulations they endured to give us the freedom available at AHSGR. When Headquarters is left out of the loop, how we have today. But will the vision our founders had continue well into can we expect to grow and get new members if we have to refer the twenty-first century and beyond, or will AHSGR be a fleeting members to others who have records and we don't? I know so many of memory? The real question before us is what will it take, and will we you have new children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren. I join together to ensure that the future of AHSGR is a reality? have seen the pictures to prove it, but I'm willing to bet the majority of I was looking through the Fall 1991 Journal and I noticed our members have yet to add them to their family group charts at AHSGR President Lee Kraft's keynote address, "Catch the Vision." I Headquarters. I know how proud you are of them. Why not be equally reread his address and would like to refresh you with some of his as proud by including them in your records? presentation. He reminded us that we had to catch a new vision for the We see costs and membership prices rise. One of the reasons for nineties if we were to survive. He went on to remind us that we can't this comes back to our records. So many members who contributed afford to polarize ourselves in negative thoughts, in "us" verses their family information to us did so on paper. Many of these "them" thinking. We had to come together as one organization. members have this information on computers, but have not sent a copy I then read his keynote address for the following year. He of this on disk to Headquarters. In order to include these cards in our borrowed a quotation from the bible as his keynote address, "Where database we have to hire an individual staff member to do this. Having there is no vision, the people perish." He reminded us that without to hire a staff person to do this costs the membership money. Instead immediate action to build our membership we might