Books and Books on Diskette or CD

Updated May 2003

The books offered by AHSGR can be purchased through the online store or by contacting AHSGR.  All pricing for manual or electronic orders can be found on the store pages.

Please also see our Interlibrary Loan page under the Services Menu for a complete list of Family History Books.

List by Author
with description

List by Title
with hyperlink to description

List by Subject
with hyperlink to description

[ Autobiographies and Biographies ] [ Bessarabia ] [ Black Sea Region ] [ Books in German ] [ Fiction ] [ General History ] [ German Russians in the United States ] [ Mennonite ] [ Miscellaneous ] [ Non-Fiction ] [ Research ] [ Volga Region ] [ Volhynia ] [ Wars & Revolution ] [ Written For Youth ]

Autobiographies and Biographies

Alla Lizzie  by Helen Eichstaedt

Life Story of Dr. Karl Stumpp by Arthur E. Flegel

Wind In The Face by Eugen N. Miller

Bessarabia

Bruno: A Young Boy’s Survival in War-Torn Europe  by Bruno Reule

Escape by Troika by Oskar Zimmerman as told to Worth Lawrence Nicholl

Extended Relationships of the Kulm, Leipzing, Tarutino Communities in Bessarabia, Russia by Arthur E. Flegel

Black Sea Region

The Black Sea Germans in the Dakotas  by George Rath

The Germans By The Black Sea Between The Bug And Dnjeste Rivers by John Philipps

Homesteaders on the Steppe by Joseph S. Height

Memories of the Black Sea Germans: The Odyssey of a Pioneering People by Joseph S. Height

Paradise on the Steppe by Joseph S. Height

That’s the Way It Once Was: So Hen Mers Amohl Kaht  by Arnold H. Marzolf

Books in German

Das A B C Buch. Buchstabir, Schreibe und Lesebuch

Einwanderung in das Wolgagebiet, 1764-1767 (Immigration to the Volga Region, 1764-1767) Vol. 1  by Dr. Igor R. Pleve

Einwanderung in das Wolgagebiet, 1764-1767 (Immigration to the Volga Region, 1764-1767) Vol. 2  by Dr. Igor R. Pleve

Einwanderung in das Wolgagebiet, 1764-1767 (Immigration to the Volga Region, 1764-1767) Vol. 3  by Dr. Igor R. Pleve

Erstes deutsches Lesebuch für amerikanische Schulen

Gebet büchlein besonders für Kinder

Herald Reader Part I: First German Reader

Herald Reader Part II: First German Reader and Song Book, Zweiter Teil

Landes-und Kulturgeschichte des früheren ysenburgischen Gerichtes Spielberg  by Karl Schmerbach

Fiction

Following Mariana  by Wayne Schnell

Gottlob Lerch: A Story by F. B. Urban

Her Golden Door  by Calvin E. Nuss

Sabina's Dream  by Mary A. Bartholomew

Second Hoeing  by Hope Williams Sykes

The Story of Johann: The Boy Who Longed to Come to Amerika  by Mela Meisner Lindsay

The White Lamb by Mela Meisner Lindsay

Why I Never Called Death the River And Other Voices from the Valley of Hope: A Prairie Album by Ron Vossler

General History (various areas)

The Emigration from Germany to Russia in the Years 1763 to 1862  by Karl Stumpp

From Catherine to Khrushchev: The Story of Russia's Germans  by Adam Giesinger

The German-Russians: Two Centuries of Pioneering  by Karl Stumpp

The Germans By The Black Sea Between The Bug And Dnjestr Rivers by John Philipps

The History of the Zhirnovsk Region Chapter 5  by V. I. Gomulov

The Odyssey of Escapes from Russia: The Saga of Anna K  by Wilmer A. Harms

Secret Criminal Proceedings Against the Last Volga German Government during the Years 1944-46 by Dr. Viktor Krieger, University of Heidelberg, translated by Alex Herzog

German Russians in the United States

All Things Decently And In Order  by Edna Boardman

The Black Sea Germans in the Dakotas  by George Rath

The Changing Village: A History of Antonino, Kansas 1905-2005 by James Leiker

Conquering the Wind  by Amy Brungardt Toepfer and Agnes Dreiling

The Germans from Russia in Oklahoma by Douglas Hale

Heritage of Kansas Special Issue: The Volga Germans Vol 9 No. 2 & 3 by Emporia Kansas State College

Russian-German Settlements in the United States by Richard Sallet 

A History of the Volga Relief Society  by Emma, Schwabenland Haynes

In the Far Country  by Warren E. Schwartz

My First Grade 1932 by Dr. Edward Keller

My Mother's Apron by Dr. Edward Keller

A Social Study of the Russian German  by Hattie Plum Williams

Mennonite

All Things Decently And In Order  by Edna Boardman

In the Far Country  by Warren E. Schwartz

Miscellaneous

Anna Marie and Other Tales of the Germans in the USSR by Joshua S. Walker

Autumn Thoughts Under Ruin & Snow by Samuel D. Sinner

Cookbook for Germans from Russia by Nelly Däs

Dakota Kraut by Ron Vossler

Favorite Recipes by AHSGR, Southern Nevada Chapter

In the Far Country  by Warren E. Schwartz

German Food & Folkways, Heirloom Memories from Europe, South Russia & the Great Plains by Gueldner, R.M.H.

The Germans Under the Tsars, Lenin and Stalin by John Philipps, translated by Alex Herzog, edited by Stephen M. Herzog

Küche Kochen  by AHSGR (cookbook)

Lost Shawls and Pig Spleens by Ronald J. Vossler

Maggie Visits Grandpa by Anna Dalhaimer Bartkowski

Marta's Promise by Jeanne Dennis and Sheila Seifert

Memories - Humor of a Second Generation Volga American  by Calvin E. Nuss

My Home on the Crimean Steppe  by David Weigum

Prisoner of Another War  by Marilyn Murray

Sara's Trek  by Florence Schloneger

Sei Unser Gast Cookbook by Northern Star Chapter

Ships of Our Ancestors by Michael Anuta

Songs of the She-Bear  by Frank Edward Leddusire

Surviving Siberia by Floyd L. Seher

That’s the Way It Once Was; So Hen Mers Amohl Kaht  by Arnold H. Marzolf

The Pitiless Wave by Duane Schrag

The Rhubarb King by Sharon Chmielarz

Twelve German Tales from Russia by Samuel Sinner

Waiting for Otto by Ron Rude

We Remember: Stories of the Germans from Russia complied and edited by Timothy J. Kloberdanz and Rosalinda Kloberdanz

Non-Fiction

The Colony of Grimm compiled by Henry L. Schmick

The German Colonists in Georgia (Elisabethal-Asureti: 1818-1941) Translated by Milo Bauder

Hide Me Within Thy Wounds: The Persecution of the Catholic Church in the USSR by I.I. Osipova

Historical Sketch of St. Peter's Parish and the Founding Colonies of Rastadt, Kathrinenthal and Speier by Rev. Father H. Metzger

I Heard My People Cry by Elizabeth Lenci-Downs

Language Contact and Shift in the Soviet German Speech Community by Kerstin Somerholter

Memories of the Aussiedler by JoAnn Kuhr

Though My Soul More Bent: Memoir of a Soviet German by Maria Kreiser

Through the German Colonies of the Beresan District and Colonist Tales by Hermann Bachmann

Treasured Tales - Stories of the Germans from Russia  by Velma Jesser, Compiler and Editor

Why Are You Still Alive? A German in the Gulag by Georg Hildebrandt

Wind In The Face by Eugen N. Miller

Research

1798 Census of the German Colonies Along the Volga  by Brent Alan Mai

AHSGR Library - Family History List

AHSGR Resource Kit, Vol. 1

A Bibliography on the Germans From Russia: Material Found in the New York Public Library  by Marie Miller Olson

Einwanderung in das Wolgagebiet, 1764-1767 (Immigration to the Volga Region, 1764-1767) Vol. 1  by Dr. Igor R. Pleve

Einwanderung in das Wolgagebiet, 1764-1767 (Immigration to the Volga Region, 1764-1767) Vol. 2  by Dr. Igor R. Pleve

Einwanderung in das Wolgagebiet, 1764-1767 (Immigration to the Volga Region, 1764-1767) Vol. 3  by Dr. Igor R. Pleve

The German Colonies in South Russia 1804 to 1904, Volume I & II by Conrad P. Keller

The German Emigration From the Volga Region to America in the 1870s: Preconditions, Reasons, and Results by Dr. Elena V. Ananyan

German Migration to the Russian Volga 1764-1767: Origins and Destinations  by Brent Alan Mai and Dona Reeves-Marquardt

German Villages in the Ukraine, A Key to a Microfilm of the Captured German Documents  by Adam Giesinger

The Glückstalers in New Russia and North America by Glückstal Colonies Research Association

The Glückstalers in New Russia, the Soviet Union, and North America by Glückstal Colonies Research

A History of the Colony of Linevo-Ozero (Hussenbach) in the Volga Area: 1768-1941 by N.E. Vashkau and I.V. Kukhtina

Index to Place Names Found in From Catherine to Khrushchev by Adam Giesinger  by Margaret Freeman

Index to Stumpp Maps

Leaving Russia Forever AHSGR Monograph 2008-3

Letters from Hell: An Index to Volga-German Famine Letters Published in "Die Welt-Post" 1920-1925; 1930-1934  Compiled by Samuel D. Sinner

Researching the Germans from Russia  Compiled by Michael M. Miller

Transport of the Volga Germans from Oranienbaum to the Colonies on the Volga 1766-1767  by Brent Alan Mai

Volga Region

1798 Census of the German Colonies Along the Volga  by Brent Alan Mai

Conquering the Wind  by Amy Brungardt Toepfer and Agnes Dreiling

The Czar's Germans  by Hattie Plum Williams

Einwanderung in das Wolgagebiet, 1764-1767 (Immigration to the Volga Region, 1764-1767) Vol. 1  by Dr. Igor R. Pleve

Einwanderung in das Wolgagebiet, 1764-1767 (Immigration to the Volga Region, 1764-1767) Vol. 2  by Dr. Igor R. Pleve

Einwanderung in das Wolgagebiet, 1764-1767 (Immigration to the Volga Region, 1764-1767) Vol. 3  by Dr. Igor R. Pleve

Frank: A German Village on the Volga  by Dr. Igor R. Pleve

The German Colonies on the Lower Volga  by Gottlieb Beratz

The German Colonies on the Volga: The Second Half of the 18th Century by Dr. Igor R. Pleve

Germans in the Land of the Volga  by Peter Sinner

German Migration to the Russian Volga 1764-1767: Origins and Destinations  by Brent Alan Mai and Dona Reeves-Marquardt

History of the Volga German Colonists by Jacob E. Dietz

A History of the Volga Relief Society  by Emma, Schwabenland Haynes

Kolb: A German Colony on the Volga  by Dr. Igor R. Pleve

Norka: A German Village in Russia  by Marie M Olson and Anna M. Reisbick

Return To Berry Meadow  by Dr. Richard Scheuerman

Thunder on the Steppe: Volga German Folklife in a Changing Russia  by Dr. Timothy J. Kloberdanz and Rosalinda

Transport of the Volga Germans from Oranienbaum to the Colonies on the Volga 1766-1767  by Brent Alan Mai

The Volga Germans in Old Russia and in North America: Their Changing World View  by Dr. Timothy J. Kloberdanz

Wir Wollen Deutsche Bleiben: TheStory of the Volga Germans  by George J. Walters

Volhynia

Expropriation of Land from the Germans in Volhynia 1915 by Brent Alan Mai

Wars & Revolution

Bessarabian Knight: A Peasant Caught Between the Red Star and the Swastika by Immanuel Weiss and George F. Wieland

The Dark Abyss of Exile: A Story of Survival  by Ida Bender

Escape by Troika by Oskar Zimmerman as told to Worth Lawrence Nicholl

The Experiences of Soviet Citizens of German Ethnicity During and After the Second World War by Stephanie Hoffman

Gone Without a Trace: German-Russian Women in Exile  by Nelly Däs Compiler and Editor

Marienberg: Schicksal eines Dorfess Fate of a Village  by Johann Bollinger and Janice Huber Stangl

Memories of Kazakhstan  by Berta Bachmann

The Old God Still Lives: German Villagers in Czarist and Soviet Ukraine Write Their American Relatives: 1915-1924 translated, edited, and an introduction by Ronald J. Vossler and Joshua J. Vossler

The Open Wound  by Samuel Sinner

We'll Meet Again In Heaven: Germans In The Soviet Union Write Their American Relatives (1925-1937) by Ronald J. Vossler

Why Are You Still Alive?  A German in the Gulag by Georg Hildebrandt

Wir Wollen Deutsche Bleiben: The Story of the Volga Germans  by George J. Walters

Written For Youth

Germans in the Land of the Volga  by Peter Sinner

The Story of Johann: The Boy Who Longed to Come to Amerika  by Mela Meisner Lindsay

Trixie, My Shetland Pony by Dr. Edward Keller

List by Author

AHSGR Family History List. Lincoln, Nebraska. A listing of the family histories in the AHSGR library. AHSGR Store - Resource Items

AHSGR Monograph 2008-3.  Leaving Russia Forever. Lincoln, Nebraska. These documents were obtained for AHSGR from Saratov, Russia, the Saratov Oblast State Archive, by Dr. Igor R. Pleve, Professor of History, Saratov State University. They were translated and prepared by AHSGR headquarters staff. Stumpp, Sallet, Giesinger, Wentzlaff, and others have described the overall process of immigration from Russia. Family stories, histories, and anecdotes of leaving Russia abound, but the bureaucratic process of preparation for departure has not been extensively researched. The following documents, only a small part of the thick files of those first 100 families or individuals forever abandoning Russian citizenship and traveling to America in 1875-1876, can help us to understand this process. Their dry, conceited format and details conceal the true emotional content of the decision to "leave home and hearth." In keeping with current policy of the Russian archives, AHSGR was able to procure only 10 percent of each of these extensive files, which includes Nos. 1, 2, and 3. Restrictions placed on the documents by the archives prevent us from providing copies of the documents themselves, but it is hoped that this problem will be overcome on future installments. Future installments, also in quantities of 100 families or individuals, will be subsequently published by AHSGR. AHSGR Store - Resource Items

AHSGR, Southern Nevada Chapter.  Favorite Recipes. Old family recipes, cherished from generation to generation and handed down to us by our grandmothers. They reflect a combination of German, Russian and American influences. Many of the recipes were written from memory with accurate measurements for the first time. AHSGR Store - Miscellaneous

AHSGR Resource Kit, Volume 1. Lincoln, Nebraska. This kit lists some resources available at AHSGR Headquarters which enable patrons with genealogical research, including surname references, village information, and passenger ship information. AHSGR Store - On CD & Resource Items

Ananyan, Dr. Elena V. (Volgograd State University). The German Emigration From the Volga Region to America in the 1870s: Preconditions, Reasons, and Results. AHSGR Monograph 2007-1. The history of the Russian Germans’ emigration is divided into the following periods: the first period covers the 1870s up to 1914, the second is concerned with the years of 1917 to 1928, and the third period began at the end of the 1980s to the 1990s. AHSGR Store - Non-Fiction

Anuta, Michael. Ships of Our Ancestors. Reprinted by Genealogical Publishing Co, Inc. Pictorial collection of nearly 900 steamships which were employed in transporting immigrants to the United States during the wave of mass migration during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. AHSGR Store - Resource Items

Bachmann, Berta. Memories of Kazakhstan. Lincoln, Nebraska, 1983. A report on the life experiences of a German woman in Russia. The memoirs reveal many facets of life in the Soviet Union during war years. Especially compelling is a description of the dejection of the German Russians when they were not immediately freed as they expected following the end of the war, but instead were required to remain for another ten years. A memorial to the German wives and mothers who had to live through dark times. AHSGR Store - Non-Fiction

Bachmann, Hermann. Through the German Colonies of the Beresan District and Colonist Tales.  Fargo, ND. GRHC, 2003. Originally published under the title: Durch die deutschen Kolonien des Beresaner Gebietes, and Kolonischtegschichtla, by Verlag Volk auf dem Weg, Landsmannschaft der Deutschen aus Russland, Stuttgart, 1947. Herman Bachmann's account of his fieldtrip with Victor Schirmunki through the Beresan colonies was published in 1929 by the Zentralverlag der Völker der USSR in Kharkov in the series known as the "German Farmer's Library" (Deutsche Bauern Bibliotek). AHSGR Store - Non-Fiction

Bartholomew, Mary A. Sabina’s Dream. Sierra Vista, Arizona: Banner Printing, 1996. A journey back in time to the land of the Tzars and Tzarinas. A young girl and her family endure the hardships in a strange place near the Volga River. A small gold "horseshoe" ring is her dearest possession. See what happens when that ring travels through time with several girls and becomes a part of their lives. AHSGR Store - Miscellaneous

Bartkowski, Anna Dalhaimer.  Maggie Visits Grandpa. A 30-page book written for kids of all ages with twenty-two pages to color. The reader is led through an adventure, a German-Russian history lesson, a genealogy lesson, and finally a sense of respect and pride for his or her own family ancestry and history. There is a page for filling in your own family tree. The author is an avid reader, artist, and, of course, a writer who has traced her own family ancestry and history to the 1740s. Parents and Grandparents will enjoy this book along with their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. AHSGR Store - Miscellaneous

Bauder, Milo, translated by. The German Colonists in Georgia (Elisabethal-Asureti: 1818-1941).  Published by Milo Bauder.  This is work is dedicated to one of the most important questions of the history of Georgia, Transcaucasus, Russia, that of the settlement of foreigners, in particular the German Colonists of nineteenth and twentieth centuries, in Georgia. by using the example of a German settlement, namely, Asureti (Elisabethtal), the author discusses the settlement of Germans in Georgia and their life in Russia in the nineteenth century and the beginning the twentieth century. AHSGR Store - Resource Items

Bender, Ida. The Dark Abyss of Exile: A Story of Survival. Translated by Laurel Anderson and William Wiest. NDSU, 2000. Ida Bender relates her story of deportation and exile to Siberia at the beginning of World War II in 1941. She and her family lived in the lower Volga region of the Soviet Union, along with 400,000 other ethnic Germans. These people were descendants of 18th Century settlers invited by Czarina Catherina II from Western Europe to convert barren Russian steppes into productive farmland. Bender and fellow ethnic Germans were subjected to inhumane conditions in Soviet concentration camps. Many persons perished from starvation, freezing, and brutal treatment. Ida Bender, who also describes acts of kindness by some Russians, expresses the hope her book will help replace hatred with understanding between peoples. The book includes photographs and sketches depicting Volga German village scenes and life in the forced labor camps. AHSGR Store - Non-Fiction

Beratz, Gottlieb. The German Colonies on the Lower Volga. Lincoln, Nebraska. This English translation is a must for those interested in the proud Volga German heritage. First published several decades ago, it has been described as the most reliable work on the early years of the German Volga Colonies, based on materials in the Archives at Saratov and in the Colonies. Offered by AHSGR since mid-1991, The German Colonies on the Lower Volga has become one of AHSGR’s bestsellers. AHSGR Store - Resource Items

Boardman, Edna. All Things Decently and In Order. Minot, North Dakota: North American Heritage Press, 1997. A brief history of the Germans from Russia Mennonite Brethren in North Dakota, including a personal account of religious ways, family structure, and work ethics. AHSGR Store - Non-Fiction

Bollinger, Johann and Janice Huber Stangl. Marienberg: Schicksal eines Dorfess Fate of a Village. Fargo, ND: GRHC, 2000. Marienberg was founded in the early 1860s. It was a German colony located in a northwesterly direction from Odessa, South Russia. The colonists were farmers, and education and religious training were highly valued by its people. The dream of the parents was for a better future for the next generations. The advancing Russian army aborted all this in 1944. When they had to flee, the colonist had only their memories of home. The extermination of most of the heads of households led to my desire to create this book in remembrance of them. AHSGR Store - Non-Fiction

Chmielarz, Sharon. The Rhubarb King.  Loonfeather Press. The author searches the old country with love and longing for family she knew in today’s world and a way to understand a people, which she expresses in this 60 page book of 43 poems. She presents to the reader stories of family long ago and far away through her poetry. AHSGR Store - Miscellaneous

Das A B C Buch. Buchstabir, Schreibe und Lesebuch. Hawley, Minnesota: Spring Prairie Printing, 1982. This book provides opportunities for practicing reading, writing, and spelling using the German Gothic script (printed and handwritten). AHSGR Store - In German

Däs, Nelly, Cookbook for Germans from Russia. Fargo, ND: GRHC, 2003. Nelly was born in 1930 in Friedental, Ukraine (at that time, also called Russia, especially by Germans living there). Her farmer ancestors had migrated in 1811 from the village of Friedrichsfeld near Heidelberg to the Black Sea region. Her cookbook was translated by Alex Herzog and has a weights and measures conversion insert to aid in creating her delicious traditional, as well as updated, recipes. It also contains generous helpings of food related stories of German Russian history sprinkled throughout. AHSGR Store - Miscellaneous

Däs, Nelly, Compiler and Editor. Gone Without a Trace: German-Russian Women in Exile. Translated, with additional materials, by Nancy Bernhardt Holland. Lincoln, Nebraska, 2000. A compilation of memoirs and memorials based on the recollections of German-Russian women who experienced the terrors of Stalinism first hand—from the "dekulakization" of 1929 through the years of Siberian exile. The volume traces the horrific consequences for ethnic Germans—even those who had been living in Russia for generations—after the outbreak of war between Germany and Russia. Condemned to forced labor in the snow, ice, and bitter cold of Siberia without adequate clothing, always at the brink of starvation, and subject to the brutalities of sadistic overseers, German-Russian women describe their valiant efforts to survive. The shattering scenes are recreated in highly detailed prose that reads like fiction and in several examples of vivid verse. AHSGR Store - Non-Fiction

Dennis, Jeanne and Seifert, Sheila. Marta's Promise.  Kregel Publications. Marta Ebel leaves her German homeland seeking a better future in Russia, her life becomes entwined with two unlikely companions - an orphan named Hans and a handsome stranger named Carl. Completely alone and faced with imprisonment as an illegal immigrant, Marta has no one she can trust and is forced to put her safety in the hands of Carl. Amid the danger, Marta holds on to the hope of owning her own land in Russia.  AHSGR Store - Miscellaneous

Dietz Jacob E.  History of the Volga German Colonists.   Published by American Historical Society of Germans from Russia.  Originally written in Russian, translated into German and now English. The author, a German Russian himself gives the reader an insight into how the colonists lived and the many challenges they faced. This book is a fascinating documentation of the history, lives, economics and politics of their times. Historians have long known of the existence of the manuscript of Jacob Dietz, which has been included in a series of bibliographic guides, but its location was long unknown. It was found only a few years ago in the Engels branch of the State Archive of the Saratov Oblast. AHSGR Store - Non-Fiction

Eichstaedt, Helen. Alla Lizzie. Ann Arbor, Michigan: Kennedy Associates, Inc., 1995. A gripping narration of the love and strength of a German-Russian woman and her family as they survive pre-Communist Russia and struggle to start a new life in early twentieth-century America. AHSGR Store - Non-Fiction

Erstes deutsches Lesebuch für amerikanische Schulen. Hawley, Minnesota: Spring Prairie Printing, 1985. Revised for home and private school instruction, this primer gives preference to the Schreiblesemethode. It includes reading exercises, which are arranged to form the basis for writing and object lessons as well as for reading. AHSGR Store - In German

Flegel, Arthur E. Extended Relationships of the Kulm, Leipzing, Tarutino Communities in Bessarabia, Russia. Desktop Publishing Harold Ehrman inquiries to NDSU - GRHC 2005.  Excellent history of Bessarabia and of the Bessarabian villages of Klum, Leipzig and Tarutino. A preface for genealogical information and a guide for genealogical information. The contents cover the thousands of family names beginning with Ackermann to Zynalewsky with a detailed child index of family names. AHSGR Store - Resource Items

Flegel, Arthur E. Life Story of Dr. Karl Stumpp.  Desktop Editing by Harold Ehrman 2005. A publication of Arthur Flegel's personal interview with Dr. Karl Stumpp taken from tape recordings on June 7, 1979. AHSGR Store - Non-Fiction

Freeman, Margaret. Index to Place Names Found in From Catherine to Khrushchev by Adam Giesinger. Lincoln, Nebraska, 1986. A 41-page booklet that is useful to anyone needing to locate places quickly while using Dr. Giesinger’s book. AHSGR Store - Resource Items

Friend, Neita O. Christmas Keeping Germans. Colored illustrations by Martin and Vera Murk. Hartland, Wisconsin: Eagles’ Nest Publications, 1981. This delightful picture book tells of German Christmas customs in the United States, particularly in Wisconsin. Five favorite holiday recipes conclude the book. AHSGR Store - Miscellaneous

Gebet büchlein besonders für Kinder. Favorite prayers in old German print, including table, evening and morning prayers, school prayers and prayers for the holidays. Also includes the Apostles’ creed and the Lord’s Prayer. AHSGR Store - In German

Giesinger, Adam. From Catherine to Khrushchev: The Story of Russia's Germans. Lincoln, Nebraska, 1981. Professor Giesinger’s book is the most complete, authoritative, and well-written history of the Germans from Russia to have appeared in English. He deals in detail with all German settlements in Russia and all religious groups among them from 1553 to the present. The final chapter covers emigrants from Russia to the Americas. The book includes a useful chapter locating individual colonies within their geographical and governmental districts, twenty-seven pages of maps, and a bibliography of nearly 200 items. AHSGR Store - On CD and Resource Items

Giesinger, Adam. German Villages in the Ukraine, A Key to a Microfilm of the Captured German Documents. Lincoln, Nebraska, 1977. Key to microfilm of materials found in Boxes 146-154 of the Captured German Documents at the Library of Congress. The material concerns reports that were gathered in 1942 and the early months of 1943 in the German occupied Russian Ukraine by an organization headed by Dr. Karl Stumpp. AHSGR Store - Resource Items

Glückstal Colonies Research Association. The Glückstalers in New Russia and North America. Glückstal Colonies Research Association 2004. Beginning as a village research project of both Germans from Russia Heritage Society and the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia and over seventeen years of exchanging information through telephone, letters, meetings at conventions, email and newsletters and many other research sources a wealth of information was produced. This book celebrates the establishment of our group of colonies. Included with the book is the video Heaven Is Our Homeland on DVD or VHS.  AHSGR Store -  Resource Items

Glückstal Colonies Research Association. The Glückstalers in New Russia, the Soviet Union, and North America. Fargo, North Dakota, 2008. The latest offering of the Glückstal Colonies Research Association is 756 pages of well researched and translated material purchased and prepared since the publication of the GCRA Bicentennial book in 2004. New subjects this time around are: articles on the Polish period en route to Russia, the migration to Russia, the early arrivals to North America, several articles on individual memories of the trek from those who survived the experience, articles on trips to Russia over the years, an exhaustive listing of recently available martyrology records, numerous post 1885 church records, more EWZ records, passenger lists, and GEDCOM lists organized by family names, and much more. Some of this data is on the searchable DVD bundled on the back cover of the book. AHSGR Store -  Resource Items

Gomulov, V.I. The History of the Zhirnovsk Region Chapter 5. Translated by Erna Razgulina and edited by Clarence D. Kissler. Zhirnovsk, Russia. AHSGR Store - Non-Fiction

Gueldner, R.M.H. German Food & Folkways, Heirloom Memories from Europe, South Russia & the Great Plains. Fargo, North Dakota: NSDU, 2002. AHSGR Store - Miscellaneous

Hale, Douglas. The Germans from Russia in Oklahoma. Published by University of Oklahoma Press.  One of a series entitled "Newcomers to A New Land" which analyzes the role of the major ethnic groups that have contributed to the history of Oklahoma. The history of each of these groups is unique, and well worth remembering. AHSGR Store - Miscellaneous

Harms, Wilmer A. The Odyssey of Escapes from Russia: The Saga of Anna K. Hillsboro, Kansas: Hearth Publishing, 1998. The dramatic accounts of thousands of German Russians fleeing Russia, and escaping through China to the Americas. AHSGR Store - Non-Fiction

Haynes, Emma, Schwabenland. A History of the Volga Relief Society. Lincoln, Nebraska, 1982. This is an important work for the individual seeking to understand the terrible famine in Russia during the 1920s and the help extended to their families and friends by relatives in the United States. It describes how money and goods were collected in the United States and distributed among the German colonies along the Volga. The time span covered is from August 1921 until November 1922. AHSGR Store - Non-Fiction

Height, Joseph S. Homesteaders on the Steppe. 2nd printing. Bismarck, North Dakota: Germans from Russia Heritage Society, 1987. This vividly descriptive account of the history and customs of the seventeen Protestant mother colonies of the Odessa Region relies on diaries, letters, and eyewitness reports. AHSGR Store - Non-Fiction

Height, Joseph S. Memories of the Black Sea Germans: The Odyssey of a Pioneering People. Bismarck, North Dakota: Germans from Russia Heritage Society, 1979. This new book contains a rich variety of topics comprising documentaries and diaries, reports and reminiscences, historical and cultural essays, stories in dialect, poems in both German and English, and a comprehensive history of a large German-Russian settlement in Western Canada. Among the important historical documents included in this book are the complete texts, in English translations, of Catherine’s famous manifesto and the rescripts of Czar Alexander I. AHSGR Store - Non-Fiction

Height, Joseph S. Paradise on the Steppe. 5th printing. Bismarck, North Dakota: Germans from Russia Heritage Society, 1989. Illustrated 400-page book detailing the history of the Catholic colonies of the Odessa Region. Chapters on folklore and customs are of particular interest. Includes folk sayings, songs, and maps of the villages, including identification of private homes. AHSGR Store - Resource Items

Herald Reader Part I: First German Reader. Hawley, Minnesota: Spring Prairie Printing, 1985. A beginner’s lesson book for learning to read and write German. Standard word lists are provided. AHSGR Store - In German

Herald Reader Part II: First German Reader and Song Book, Zweiter Teil. Hawley, Minnesota: Spring Prairie Printing, 1985. This primer is a continuation of the book listed above and provides intermediate steps in learning to read and write German from forming sentences to mastering easy-reading compositions. It includes 22 German songs with words and music. AHSGR Store - In German

Heritage of Kansas Special Issue: The Volga Germans Vol. 9 No. 2 & 3. Emporia Kansas State College 1976. This 93 page History of the Volga Germans in Ellis and Rush Counties, Kansas is a collection of history, songs, customs, and food. AHSGR Store - Miscellaneous

Hildebrandt, Georg. Why Are You Still Alive? A German in the Gulag. Published by GRHC. The title originated from a cynical question asked by a KGB office to the author, Georg Hilderbrandt, a German Russian, suffered persecution and detention camps during Stalin's dictatorship. He describes in detail his path through life which led him to the Urals and to Siberia to end up in the notorious detention camps of Kolyma. His fate, which one could avoid only by escape or suicide, represents that of thousands of fellow-sufferers. AHSGR Store - Non-Fiction

Hoffman, Stephanie. The Experiences of Soviet Citizens of German Ethnicity During and After the Second World War. Senior Thesis, April 2002, Claremont McKenna College, Claremont, CA. AHSGR Store - Non-Fiction

Index to Stumpp Maps. Lincoln, Nebraska, 2000. This index was compiled as an aid in identifying the locations of German colonies in Russia as found on the maps drawn by Dr. Karl Stumpp. The map on which the colony is located is in the next-to-last right-hand column, and the specific quadrant is given in the last column. There are times when Dr. Stumpp listed a village on his index but did not show the location on the map and hence gave no quadrant number. AHSGR Store - On CD & Resource Items

Jesser, Velma, Compiler and Editor. Treasured Tales - Stories of the Germans from Russia. Lincoln, Nebraska, 2008. The stories in Volume II are from the annual AHSGR Storytelling Contest and include winners and additional entries from the years 2003 through 2006. We Remember - Stories of the Germans from Russia, compiled and edited by Timothy J. Kloberdanz and Rosalinda Kloberdanz is the first volume containing the stories from the AHSGR Storytelling Contest for the years 1999 through 2002. Our ancestors have a reputation for telling entertaining stories, a method of preserving their histories and family traditions. Some stories are historical and recreate actual events from the past; others remember comical and entertaining or sad and heartbreaking situations that happened in the lives of the ancestors. The stories document how tasks and activities were performed in the past when lives were so much different from today. These stories create cherished documentation of historical and cultural events lived by the Germans from Russia. AHSGR Store - Non-Fiction

Keller, Conrad P. The German Colonies in South Russia 1804 to 1904, Volume I & II. Translated from German by A. Becker, Lincoln, Nebraska, 1980. 

The German Colonies in South Russia 1804 to 1904, Volume I. This second edition has revisions by Adam Giesinger. The 239-page volume depicts the circumstances and history of the first German colonies in south Russia. It provides a historic geographical overview of all the Black Sea mother colonies, with a more detailed account of the Liebental colonies, particularly the Catholic villages of Kleinliebental, Josephstal, Mariental, and Franzfeld.

The German Colonies in South Russia, Volume II. Translated by A. Becker. Lincoln, Nebraska, 1983. A 289-page volume describing the ecclesiastical, political, geographical, and statistical situation of the Catholic German Berezan villages (Landau, Speier, Sulz, Karlsruhe, Katharinental, Rastadt, München). The book provides information of value for genealogists of the Berezan colonies, since it includes detailed information about the original settlers. The thirteen final pages relate Berezan folklore and customs. AHSGR Store - Resource Items

Keller, Dr. Edward. My First Grade 1932. U.S. 2003. A story of Dr. Keller's first year in school. The trip to school across the prairie in Strasburg, North Dakota and memories of siblings and neighbor children and the events of a typical school day. AHSGR Store - Miscellaneous

Keller, Dr. Edward. My Mother's Apron. U.S. 2001. A story of Dr. Keller's mothers apron she wore daily. The apron was more than just a garment to be worn it was an incredible tool. AHSGR Store - Miscellaneous

Keller, Dr. Edward. Trixie, My Shetland Pony.  U.S. 2005. A story about Dr. Keller' first horse and the learning experiences they shared on the prairie. Exceptional for young readers.  AHSGR Store - Miscellaneous

Kloberdanz, Timothy J., Dr. and Rosalinda. Thunder on the Steppe: Volga German Folklife in a Changing Russia. The authors collected numerous examples of modern Volga German folk traditions in Russia, and many of these are described in Thunder on the Steppe folksongs, folk medicine, proverbs, nicknames, poetry, dialect stories, drinking toasts, and food ways including recipes for Volga style vegetable soup, Gatletta (meat patties), Grebbel, Trockne Nudel, Riwwelkuche, Petschenya (cookies), and other dishes. Shortly after their arrival in Russia, the Kloberdanzes witnessed a country undergoing rapid political and social changes, culminating in a frightening military coup and thunderous collapse of Soviet Communism. A vivid description of the events surrounding the Second Russian Revolution as personally experienced by the two authors in a Volga German village also is included in the book. AHSGR Store - Non-Fiction

Kloberdanz, Timothy J., Dr. The Volga Germans in Old Russia and in North America: Their Changing World View. Lincoln, Nebraska, 1979. This 14-page reprint of an article originally appearing in Anthropological Quarterly in October 1975 carefully documents the historical and cultural background of the Volga Germans and the changes that their values and attitudes have undergone in the New World. AHSGR Store - Non-Fiction

Kloberdanz, Timothy J. and Kloberdanz, Rosalinda, complied and edited by.  We Remember: Stories of the Germans from Russia.  Published by American Historical Society of Germans from Russia. Stories from AHSGR's annual storytelling contest at our annual conventions 1999-2002. AHSGR Store - Miscellaneous

Kreiser, Maria. Though My Soul More Bent: Memoir of a Soviet German. The true story of German-Russian Magdalena Hecker, born in 1928 in München, Ukraine. It tells her family’s struggle for survival during the forced starvation years, their dangerous and difficult journey back to Germany in 1944 and the horrors of being trapped there by the war. Magdalena and her father are then deported to the forests of the Urals to face hardships and degradation of forced labor there for thirty years. Their suffering is nearly unimaginable; but their strength, faith in God, and determination are truly admirable. Everyone with an interest in Germans from Russia should read this story. AHSGR Store - Non-Fiction

Krieger, Dr. Viktor, University of Heidelberg, translated by Alex Herzog.  Secret Criminal Proceedings Against the Last Volga German Government during the Years 1944-46 (monograph series). AHSGR 2005.  It is well known that in an official decree dated August 28, 1941, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet (Prezidum Verkhovnogo Soveta - PVS) of the USSR raised extremely serious accusations against the Volga Germans: "According to reliable reports received from military authorities, among the German population living in the region of the Volga exist thousands and tens of thousands of subversives and spies which are now awaiting a signal from German that they should explode bombs in the region settled by Volga Germans." These assertions would soon be grounds for dissolving the Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic of the Volga Germans (ASSR de Wolgadeutschen - ASSRdWD) and to deport and deprive of all basic rights all Soviet citizens of German ancestry.

But what were the facts concerning this vast number of traitors against the State? On September 9, 1941, Serov, head of "German" operations and Deputy People's Commissar for Internal Affairs (Narodnyi Komissariat Vnutrennikh Del - NKVD), reported to his chief, Beria, that only 4 agents for the German espionage service has been discovered up to that time. AHSGR Store - Non-Fiction

Küche Kochen. Lincoln, Nebraska, 1973. A collection of old family recipes cherished from generation to generation and placed in this cookbook to preserve them. These recipes reflect a combination of German, Russian and American influences. AHSGR Store - Miscellaneous

Kuhr, JoAnn. Memories of the Aussiedler. Lincoln, Nebraska, 2008. During the 1980s and 1990s the Berlin Wall came down and the USSR fell apart enabling many ethnic Germans living in Russia to finally return to Germany. These people returning are known as Aussiedlers (emigrants). AHSGR Board of Directors established the "Aussiedler Project" to conduct oral history interviews with the people now living in the Federal Republic of Germany for the purpose of learning more about the home villages, i.e., folklore, customs and life-styles, village maps, dialects, and family histories. This project also established a procedure to enable the Aussiedler to find their relatives who immigrated to North America and with whom they have lost contact. This project is advertised through the Landsmannschaft der Deutschen aus Russland. The result is many family reunifications and this collection of memory letters titled and indexed by village. AHSGR Store - Non-Fiction

Leddusire, Frank Edward. Songs of the She-Bear. Seattle, Washington: Self-Published. Poetry. This book is a high tribute to the courageous struggle of multiple thousands of German Colonist who traveled to Russia to find a better life, which trusted the promises of Catherine the Great and subsequent governments, who managed to build a prosperous living on the frontiers of a European empire. AHSGR Store - Miscellaneous

Leiker, James.  The Changing Village: A History of Antonino, Kansas 1905-2005. Printed by Northwestern Printers.  A compilation of Volga German-Russian Catholic family histories that evolved from circa 1905 in Overland Park, Kansas. A beneficial resource for German Russians in Kansas and the USA with many photographs included. AHSGR Store - Non-Fiction

Lenci-Downs, Elizabeth. I Heard My People Cry. Fountain Hills, AZ: Lenci Studios Inc., 2001. The story of one Dutch-German family's escape from Russia. Love of family, faith and determination bonds two uncles and 120 women and children into a spiritual force that empowers them to escape Russia with the help of German soldiers. It is also the story of childhood sweethearts who reunite in freedom in 1949. AHSGR Store - Non-Fiction

Lindsay, Mela Meisner. The Story of Johann: The Boy Who Longed to Come to Amerika. Journey back with Johann to the steppes of Russia in the early 1890s. Visit the Old World as it was then, and learn Johann’s dreams, joys, and disappointments as he makes his way to Amerika. A book of inspiration for all. AHSGR Store - Miscellaneous

Lindsay, Mela Meisner.  The White Lamb.  Lincoln, Nebraska, 1989. A fictionalized account of the life of the author's mother during the troubled early 1900s in Russia and the trying times of pioneer life on the Kansas prairies. In addition to its story, the book provides a wealth of detail about daily life and folk customs among the Germans from Russia in the old country and the New World. AHSGR Store - Miscellaneous

Mai, Brent Alan. 1798 Census of the German Colonies Along the Volga. Translation of 1798 Census information, including narrative of economic, religious, educational and structural makeup, colony movement, agricultural information. Lists 38,800 individuals by name (including maiden), age, colony of original settlement, and household. Complete with indexes, including surname, colony, movement by surname and movement by colony. 2-volume set. AHSGR Store - Resource Items

Mai, Brent Alan. Expropriation of Land from the Germans in Volhynia 1915. AHSGR, 1998. A land expropriation listing, including an index by surname, identifying those people affected by a 1915 Russian law providing for the liquidation of land ownership by Russian subjects of Austrian, Hungarian or German descent. AHSGR Store - Resource Items

Mai, Brent and Reeves-Marquardt, Dona. German Migration to the Russian Volga 1764-1767: Origins and Destinations. This book is the culmination of several years work by the authors locating, translating, and transcribing manuscripts to verify the previously published compilations and to look for additional clues about the origins and destinations of the Volga Germans…In addition to translations of the marriage lists previously published in part Büdingen, Danzig, Lübeck, Roßlau, Schlitz, and Wöhrd, an additional 72 marriages from St. Jacob’s Lutheran Church in Lübeck were located, 3 in Fränkisch-Crumbach, and 57 in Friedberg will also be included…The book includes three indices: (1) by name of individuals; (2) by German origin place name; and (3) by Russian colony destination. The gazetteer of the Volga German colonies that was published in the 1798 Census of the German Colonies along the Volga: Economy, Population, and Agriculture (pages 11-30) has been updated and will also be included in the new book. It is also possible that a set of maps will be provided with the publication. This new book cross references the newly available Russian manuscripts with those from German sources. The corpus of the new book is the translations of the German manuscripts already discussed. However, since the disintegration of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, many manuscripts from Russian sources have been made available to researchers of the Germans from Russia. The 1767 census documents, often called "Original Settler’s Lists," are available for 57 of the 104 colonies extant at that time…This book is a valuable update for genealogy researchers. AHSGR Store - Resource Items

Mai, Brent Alan. Transport of the Volga Germans from Oranienbaum to the Colonies on the Volga 1766-1767. AHSGR, 1998. Translation of nine early transport lists, with information on German families traveling to the Volga in 1766 and 1767, although exact dates of transport are not indicated. Includes information on the number of people traveling within groups to new villages, as well as surname and religious affiliation. AHSGR Store - Resource Items

Marzolf, Arnold H. That’s the Way It Once Was: So Hen Mers Amohl Kaht. Bismarck, North Dakota: Germans from Russia Heritage Society, 1995. Stories about the Black Sea Germans from Russia, their lives and experiences, told in an insightful, moving, and down-to-earth manner. AHSGR Store - Non-Fiction

Metzger, Rev. Father H. Historical Sketch of St. Peter's Parish and the Founding Colonies of Rastadt, Kathrinenthal and Speier. Fargo, North Dakota: NSDU, 2004. This book was written on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the first settlers, June 3, 1930. Contains numerous photos and maps, etc. AHSGR Store - Non-Fiction

Miller, Eugen N.  Wind In The Face.  AHSGR Monograph 2008 – 4.  Lincoln NE.  This autobiographical narration of the tragic fate of Volga-Germans is shown through the childhood and youth of a man, beginning at the time of mass exile in 1941, then through war years and Stalin tyranny. The narrative gives modern perspective on the events long past. Not withstanding all the hardships and terrors the main character goes through, being a stranger in his own country, he is still confident and ready to learn the values of humankind. This helps him achieve the goals he sets, though sometimes it is very difficult. Included are numerous illustrations.

Included are many illustrations: portraits of Catherine II (the Great), Peter the Great, Karl Marks, F. Engels, V.I. Lenin; numerous drawings showing the events described in the book; the map of the Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic of Volga-Germans and the route of German migration from Germany to Russia; family pictures. The book also contains German folk songs with notes: O Tannenbaum, Schoen ist die Jugend, Die Gedanken sind frei, Du, du liegst mir im Herzen; Nun ade, mein lieb’ Vaterland and others.

Miller, Michael M. Compiler. Researching the Germans from Russia. Fargo, North Dakota: North Dakota Institute for Regional Studies, 1987. A bibliography guide on the Germans from Russia who settled in North Dakota. AHSGR Store - Resource Items

Murray, Marilyn. Prisoner of Another War. Berkerly, CA: PageMill Press, 1991. Prisoner of Another War is Marilyn Murray’s dramatic story of pain and healing. Her insight into the healing journey will touch and encourage anyone who has known trauma, or who had tried to help others with trauma. AHSGR Store - Non-Fiction

Nuss, Calvin E. Her Golden Door. Written by a World War II veteran who served in the Pacific theater, Her Golden Door stands as a novel of the Volga Germans who followed their dreams to America. AHSGR Store - Miscellaneous

Nuss, Calvin E. Memories - Humor of a Second Generation Volga American. Short stories, church oddities, and humorous anecdotes from life in America. As one of the fictional characters says, "The best thing about getting old is being able to sing while I brush my teeth."

Olson, Marie Miller. A Bibliography on the Germans From Russia: Material Found in the New York Public Library. Lincoln, Nebraska, 1976. The bibliography provides a key to materials in the collection, which may be requested in photographic reproductions. AHSGR Store - Resource Items

Olson, Marie M. and Anna M. Reisbick. Norka: A German Village in Russia. Lincoln, Nebraska, revised 1986. A description of Norka and some reminiscences of individuals who lived in the village during different time periods. This is not a definitive work, but a compilation of research done by these village research coordinators. AHSGR Store - Non-Fiction

Osipova, I.I. Hide Me Within Thy Wounds: The Persecution of the Catholic Church in the USSR. Fargo, North Dakota: NSDU, 2003. This book utilized material from criminal investigation and labor camp files. Work was undertaken as part of a project of "Memorial's' Research & Education Centre on 'Repression of the Clergy in the Period 1918-53'." AHSGR Store - Non-Fiction

Philipps, John. The Germans By The Black Sea Between The Bug And Dnjestr Rivers. 2000. Philipps presents a brief, historical overview as well as description of the geographical location and climatic conditions of the mother colonies of the Beresan, Glückstal, Kutschurgan, and Liebental districts, South Russia. 202 pages. AHSGR Store - Non-Fiction

Philipps, John. Herzog, Alex, Translator and Herzog, Stephen M., Editor. The Germans Under the Tsars, Lenin and Stalin. Published by GRHC, NDSU Libraries.From the Sixteenth century until the Second World War, a substantial German minority made its home in the lands that once constituted the Russian Empire. Much of this population lived in distinct communities, maintaining their own language, culture and religion. This book traces the formation of these communities and highlights their relationship with Russia as a whole.  AHSGR Store - Miscellaneous

Pleve, Dr. Igor R. Einwanderung in das Wolgagebiet, 1764-1767 (Immigration to the Volga Region, 1764-1767) Volume 1. Edited by Dr. Alfred Eisfeld. This book addresses the earliest period of German settlement in the Volga Region of Russia for which information is available. These detailed lists of the first settlers who responded to the Manifesto of Catherine the Great include information about their ages, occupations, families, and PLACE OF ORIGIN in the German states. Volume I, contains the long-awaited lists of original settlers to the Volga Region as compiled in 1767-1768 for the following villages:

This is groundbreaking research, containing information never before published. This book printed is in German and Russian. AHSGR Store - Resource Items

Pleve, Dr. Igor R. Einwanderung in das Wolgagebiet, 1764-1767 (Immigration to the Volga Region, 1764-1767) Volume 2. Edited by Dr. Alfred Eisfeld. This book addresses the earliest period of German settlement in the Volga Region of Russia for which information is available. These detailed lists of the first settlers who responded to the Manifesto of Catherine the Great include information about their ages, occupations, families, and PLACE OF ORIGIN in the German states. Volume I I, contains the long-awaited lists of original settlers to the Volga Region as compiled in 1767-1768 for the following villages:

This is groundbreaking research, containing information never before published. This book printed is in German and Russian. AHSGR Store - Resource Items

Pleve, Igor. Einwanderung in das Wolgagebiet 1763-1767 Volume 3. Edited by Dr. Alfred Eisfeld.  Detailed lists of the first settlers who responded to the Manifesto of Catherine the Great. Includes information about their ages, occupations, families, and place of origin in the German states. Volume three cover the following villages . 

AHSGR Store - Resource Items

Pleve, Dr. Igor R. Frank: A German Colony on the Volga. Compiled by Dr. Pleve, this monograph consists of the family lists of 1798 and census revisions of 1811, 1816, 1834, 1850 and 1858. Introduction by AHSGR staff. AHSGR Store - Resource Items

Pleve, Dr. Igor R. The German Colonies on the Volga: The Second Half of the 18th Century. Translated by Richard Rye. Lincoln, Nebraska, 2000. This book traced the history of the Germans on the Volga in the second half of the eighteenth century, and it presents a rich source of archival material.. Special attention is paid to the development of the mechanism of inviting and settling foreign colonist on the Volga. The economic situation of the colonist is examined in detail. The causes of the initial situation of the immigrants in their first years of residence in the Saratov region and their successful economic activities during this time are revealed. The system of government in the colonies is also researched in detail. Presented for the first time is one section of one of the so-called "Kuhlberg Lists" (for the ship Anna Catharina), which list passengers arriving in May, June, and August 1766. Also presented for the first time are the lists of first settlers of ten German colonies on the Volga: Seewald, Kautz, Schuck, Leichtling, Kamenka, Vollmer, Preuss, Merkel, Rothhammel, and Kratzke. Many situations presented in this book allow us to look anew at the history of Germans on the Volga. It is a fascinating book for a wide audience who are interested in the history of the Volga Germans. AHSGR Store - Resource Items

Pleve, Dr. Igor R. Kolb: A German Colony on the Volga. This volume lists information on various German Russian families from the Volga colony of Kolb, based on censuses from 1798 to 1858. The material has been gathered, compiled, and edited by Dr. Igor R. Pleve of Saratov State University, Saratov, Russia. AHSGR Store - Resource Items

Rath, George. The Black Sea Germans in the Dakotas. A history of the Black Sea Germans, beginning briefly with their migration from Germany to the Black Sea area and their migration to the United States. The main emphasis is on their settlement in the Dakotas, including areas, place names, churches, and German language publications and literature. AHSGR Store - Resource Items

Rude, Ron. Waiting for Otto.  PublishAmerica.  In the early 1900s on the North Dakota prairies, young Selma Retzlaff Wollerman learns the ways of her Russian-German ancestry while waiting for her own life to begin. This is a novel based in fact. The Great Depression, a large, mixed family, a murder, cruel neighbors and WWII all threaten to destroy Selma. But, with skill, humor and toughness she does survive, dying at 101 years old, still sound of mind and spirit. Selma’s life is an emotional and uplifting story, especially since she is not a fictional character, but a real-life example of the durable immigrant women of the American prairies.  AHSGR Store - Miscellaneous

Reule, Bruno. Bruno: A Young Boy’s Survival in War-Torn Europe. Portland, Oregon, Ger-Russ Publishing of Oregon, 2000. When Russia takes over the Bessarabia region of Romania in late 1940, entire ethnic German villages depart for the Fatherland in Germany, rather than live under communism. And so begins the odyssey of six-year-old Bruno Reule’s family that takes them to Yugoslavia, Sudentenland and finally German-occupied Poland. AHSGR Store - Non-Fiction

Sallet, Richard. Russian-German Settlements in the United States. Translated by LaVern J. Rippley and Armand Bauer. Fargo, North Dakota: North Dakota Institute for Regional Studies, 1974. Richard Sallet’s book about the Russian-Germans in the United States was originally published in German in 1931 and now available in English. In this form, for the first time, it gives to the general American public a well-organized historical background and an interesting social-political interpretation of the way of life of this large group of German immigrants. AHSGR Store - Non-Fiction

Scheuerman, Richard, Dr. Return to Berry Meadow. A colorful collection of stories about the dramatic experiences of the Germans from Russia, gleaned from the writings of the author and other historians. Contains the account of Scheuerman’s remarkable journey to the Volga region in the fall of 1990 as the first Westerner since the1920s allowed to visit the old German colonies. AHSGR Store - Non-Fiction

Schloneger, Florence. Sara’s Trek. Newton, Kansas: Faith and Life Press, 1981. This illustrated book details a Mennonite child’s flight through Poland to Germany in the Winter of 1944-45. AHSGR Store - Miscellaneous

Schmerbach, Karl. Landes-und Kulturgeschichte des früheren ysenburgischen Gerichtes Spielberg. Dorfbuch Editions, Manfred Steinberger, Germany: 1997. AHSGR Store - In German

Schmick Henry L., Compiler.  The Colony of Grimm. Lincoln, Nebraska 2008, AHSGR Monograph. This is a compilation of data concerning the Volga Colony Grimm (Lesnoi Karamysch, Kamenskij) established July 1, 1767. Maps and photographs are included. While some of the data is redundant, it comes from different sources and different points of view. Also, it comes from various points in time in the history of this German-Russian colony that includes settlement of the colony, years of prosperity, effects of overcrowding, failures of communism, and horrors of deportation. AHSGR Store - Non-Fiction

Schnell, Wayne. Following Mariana. Lincoln, Nebraska. This is the story of a remarkable woman, her relationships with family and friends, and the world events that so dramatically affect their lives. In October 1868, Marianna Weiss, the daughter of a wealthy estate owner, meets Stefan Kohl, the son of a peasant farmer. They live in a German colony on the steppe of southern Russia, a place settled sixty years earlier by their grandfathers and others who came from a troubled central Europe. When Mariana marries Stefan, her father disowns her and declares that the couple will not receive "one dammed ruble" from him. The new couple leases farmland, begin a family, and eventually build a modes house - all on their own. During this period, the Russian czar implements reforms including universal military service for all young men - even the German colonists. When the oldest son, Peter, received notification that he must report for military duty, Marianna decides it is time they go to America. Following Marianna is a unique view of world events occurring during the late 1800s through the early 1900s. This view -- through the eyes of a young Black Sea German Russian Woman -- is not only educational, but also an exciting and intriguing tale of an entire families triumphs and tribulations during difficult times. AHSGR Store - Miscellaneous

Schrag, Duane. The Pitiless Wave. Lincoln, Nebraska, 2008. Based on many facts and incidents in the history of the German-Russian experience during World War II, this book is a novel with conscientious care given to accuracy and detail. AHSGR Store - Miscellaneous

Schwartz, Warren E. In the Far Country. Lincoln, Nebraska, 1984. The author is a great grandson of Jacob Schwartz, one of the Swiss Mennonite immigrants to the United States in 1874. Warren’s grandfather, his father and their relatives and friends are the characters in his stories. This book is an episodic history of three generations of Swiss Mennonites who came to America from Volhynia and settled first near Freeman, South Dakota, then later in Montana. AHSGR Store - Non-Fiction

Seher, Floyd L. Surviving Siberia. An AHSGR Monograph publication 2007-03. A chronicle of a typical German-Russian family, banished to Siberia during the time of communism. In respect of their still lingering fears, certain names and the depiction of a few events have been altered, other than that, this story is true. The author was able to follow his dream of locating his uncle in Russia although it took 30 years. In 1993 he was able to visit Viktor in Siberia and Woldemar in Saratov, just four years before his death. AHSGR Store - Miscellaneous

Sei Unser Gast. Bloomington, Minnesota: North Star Chapter of AHSGR, 2001. A collection of German-Russian, German and Russian recipes. AHSGR Store - Miscellaneous

Sinner, Peter. Germans in the Land of the Volga. Translated by Dona Reeves-Marquardt. Lincoln, Nebraska, 1989. The Volga German schoolteacher, Peter Sinner, published this collection of short articles, personal reflections, and poems about the history and development of the German colonies in the Volga Region in 1927. It was created expressly for the young people and introduces them to their heritage from the first arrival of Germans on the vast steppe to the establishment of the Autonomous Volga German Republic. The book includes an autobiography of Peter Sinner, translated by Adam Giesinger, and a bibliography of Sinner’s writings. AHSGR Store - Non-Fiction

Sinner, Samuel D.  Autumn Thoughts Under Ruin & Snow.  Fargo, ND.  GRHC, 2003. An experiment in ethnic anthology of two centuries of German-Russian poetry, short stories and essays with translations, commentary and original compositions by Samuel D. Sinner. AHSGR Store - Miscellaneous

Sinner, Samuel D., Compiler. Letters from Hell: An Index to Volga-German Famine Letters Published in "Die Welt-Post" 1920-1925; 1930-1934.  Lincoln, Nebraska, 2000. The famine letters written by some of the Soviet Union’s ethnic Germans during the early 1920s enforced famines and the early 1930s collectivization terror-famines. AHSGR Store - Non-Fiction

Sinner, Samuel. The Open Wound. NDSU, 2000. The Open Wound, a dual-language volume in English and German, carefully and critically examines the available statistical data from Soviet archives released after Glasnost relating to the number of Russian Germans who perished under the Soviets. Based on these and other archival sources from Germany and America, Sinner concludes that between 1915 and 1949, about one million Russian Germans needlessly perished under the last Russian Tsar, Lenin and Stalin. The deaths resulted mainly from mass deportations, executions, man-made famines, and enforced labor in the Gulag. The book also presents numerous gripping eyewitness accounts from Russian-German survivors and genocide victims. These first-hand reports present heart-rending and often near-apocalyptic scenes of mass death and near complete extermination. AHSGR Store - Non-Fiction

Sinner, Samuel. Twelve German Tales from Russia. Twelve Tales of Fantasy and the Supernatural. NDSU, 2003. Only one thousand copies of this limited edition will ever be printed. Hand-numbered from one to one thousand. This is a collection of original re-workings of twelve traditional German-Russian folktales. Gathered from a variety of older written and oral sources, the reader will find memories of ancient, vanished beliefs and practices come to life again. Each tale is accompanied by a full-page illustration, by Melissa Sinner, that brings the words to life for the reader. AHSGR Store - Miscellaneous

Somerholter, Kerstin. Language Contact and Shift in the Soviet German Speech Community. Dissertation May 1999, University of Texas at Austin. AHSGR Store - Non-Fiction

Stumpp, Karl. The Emigration from Germany to Russia in the Years 1763 to 1862. 2 volume set. Lincoln, Nebraska, 1993. Professor Stumpp’s monumental work is the fruition of forty years of research. It is of inestimable value to genealogical researchers, since it contains alphabetical lists of thousands of names of German immigrants to Russia, many with vital statistics, place of origin in Germany, and locality of settlement in Russia. The information is nearly complete for Black Sea immigrants, less definitive for Volga Germans. Most valuable is a list of mother colonies of the Volga and Black Sea, giving both the German and Russian name of each village, its governmental district, religious denomination, year of founding, and population statistics. The book also includes fifty pages of compact and authoritative history of unser’ Leute and a packet of eight 16" x 20" maps. AHSGR Store - On CD & Resource Items

Stumpp, Karl. The German-Russians: Two Centuries of Pioneering. Translated by Joseph S. Height. Lincoln, Nebraska, 1993. An attractive, large book (8"x11") containing nearly 200 remarkable photographs of German-Russian people, towns, churches, and rare scenes of the life and culture of the colonists. The text, concerned with the history and cultural traditions of the Germans from Russia, includes maps, charts, and diagrams. This edition includes new material on the Germans in the Soviet Union after 1917. AHSGR Store - Resource Items

Sykes, Hope Williams. Second Hoeing. Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, 1982. Timothy J. Kloberdanz’s introduction to the reprint of this once-controversial book enables us to understand better the problems and stress faced by the German-Russian beet workers early in this century. Includes commentary on the social customs, religious faith, work ethics, and harsh life of the German-Russian sugar beet worker. AHSGR Store - Miscellaneous

Toepfer, Amy Brungardt and Agnes Dreiling. Conquering the Wind. Lincoln, Nebraska, 1982. This exciting book deals with the development of the early Volga colonies, particularly with life in the Catholic villages. It also follows some of the families from these villages to the plains of Kansas where they settled in Ellis County. This is a revised edition copyrighted by AHSGR. AHSGR Store - Non-Fiction

Urban, F. B. Gottlob Lerch: A Story. 2003. Gottlob Lerch was a simple, hard-working man who immigrated from the Kuban Region of the Russian Empire to the plains of North Dakota to make a new life for himself and his family. This is a charming little story about the particular experience of a German Russian homesteader, his struggle to economically survive as a farmer on the marginally productive prairies of the Great Plains, and his relations with family and neighbors. 96 pages. AHSGR Store - Miscellaneous

Vashkau, N.E. and Kukhtina, I.V.  A History of the Colony of Linevo-Ozero (Hussenbach) in the Volga Area: 1768-1941. Lincoln, Nebraska, USA, AHSGR Monograph 2007-02. Translated by T.I. Vorontsova, edited by Jerome Siebert. A history of the German-Russian colony of Hussenbach from 1768-1941. Only in the last fifteen years have researchers had the opportunity to access archival materials to collect and write this very informative and interesting history. AHSGR Store - Resource Items

Vossler, Ron. Dakota Kraut. Fargo, North Dakota: Germans from Russia Heritage Collection, 2003. The author characterizes this work as "Collected notes on how I learned to love my accent and my ancestry." An actual recipe for Dakota Kraut is one of the ingredients in this book of reminiscences on the author's childhood and youth. AHSGR Store - Miscellaneous

Vossler, Ronald J. Lost Shawls and Pig Spleens. Fargo, North Dakota: Germans from Russia Heritage Collection, 2002. Folklore, anecdotes, and humor from the oral traditions of Germans from Russia in the Dakotas. AHSGR Store - Miscellaneous

Vossler, Ronald J. and Vossler, Joshua J., translation, editing, and introduction, with illustration by Vossler, Joshua J. The Old God Still Lives: German Villagers in Czarist and Soviet Ukraine Write Their American Relatives: 1915-1924. GRHC, North Dakota State University Libraries. At least three of four ethnic Germans living within the Czarist Empire did not immigrate to the United States. What happened to these German-speaking villagers is the primary focus of this volume of letters, translated from the German, as the co-authors indicate, with "an effort made to retain the distinctive wit and phraseology of the writers." Written by ethnic Germans to their American relatives and friends between the years 1915 and 1924 a companion volume to We'll Meet Again in Heaven.

There is much in this volume to interest the general reader of Russian history, as well as those of German from Russia ancestry, who wish to learn more about villages which were the source of one of the North Dakota's most distinct, and most numerous, ethnic groups. This book also is a valuable source of knowledge about the first years of Bolshevik rule which were, in effect, a training ground for genocidal policies, like using food as a weapon, and which culminated in 1932-1933 in Holodomor one of the greatest human rights tragedies of the twentieth century, starving both German villagers and Ukrainians alike. AHSGR Store - Non-Fiction

Vossler, Ronald J. We'll Meet Again In Heaven: Germans In The Soviet Union Write Their American Relatives (1925-1937). This volume is dedicated to the "Germans in the Soviet Union who were deported, shot, starved, or worked to death under the Soviet regime." At the heart of this book are two hundred letters, arranged in chronological order over a twelve-year period. Includes index. 270 pages. AHSGR Store - Non-Fiction

Vossler, Ron. Why I Never Called Death the River And Other Voices from the Valley of Hope: A Prairie Album. Germans from Russia Heritage Collection, 2003. A work of fiction fashioned on a group of characters, events, and places depicted by the author in a compilation of individual vignettes based on various life experiences. This work grew out of the author’s reflections on his “small town past” while living and visiting abroad. AHSGR Store - Non-Fiction

Walker, Joshua S. Anna Marie and Other Tales of the Germans in the USSR.  AHSGR, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA, Monograph 2008-5 . An Honors Thesis from Wesleyan University. This newly published book, containing twelve short stories represents the creative work of an imaginative and young German-Russian American writer including Author's Notes, and Additional Notes and Source Material. It is a very unusual manuscript, written from a number of different perspectives and in a variety of styles. While the work is historical fiction, it contains some fascinating history and interesting character sketches. AHSGR readers and others might appreciate this kind of literary work. 173 pages. AHSGR Store - Miscellaneous

Walters, George J. Wir Wollen Deutsche Bleiben: The Story of the Volga Germans. Kansas City, Missouri, 1993. This story of the Volga Germans contains interesting new information about the period of the Russian Revolution. It is an account of the history of the Germans who settled the Volga Region from the time of Catherine’s invitation to the banishment to Siberia and experiences of World War II. AHSGR Store - Non-Fiction

Weigum, David. My Home on the Crimean Steppe. Translated by Dona Reeves-Marquardt and Leona Pfeifer; edited by Walter Weigum and Adam Giesinger. Lincoln, Nebraska, 1987. This is a look at everyday life in Ludwigstal, a German village in the Crimea, in the 1880s. The author later became a pastor in the Reformed Church and served in the Black Sea and Volga Regions. Many of his relatives came to America during the years 1891 to 1912. The book includes maps, pictures, and a genealogical appendix. AHSGR Store - Non-Fiction

Weiss, Immanuel, and George F. Wieland. Bessarabian Knight: A Peasant Caught Between the Red Star and the Swastika. Lincoln, Nebraska, 1991. The harrowing tale of a family’s survival during World War II and its aftermath. Danger and adventure follow Immanuel and his family from their farm in Bessarabia through the war and their eventual arrival in the United States. The inspirational perseverance displayed by the Weiss clan makes Bessarabian Knight an excellent addition to any personal library. AHSGR Store - Non-Fiction

Williams, Hattie Plum. A Social Study of the Russian German. Lincoln, Nebraska, 1984. This is a reprint of the work originally published in 1916 as Volume XVI, No. 3 of University Studies of the University of Nebraska. It provides an outstanding sociological study of the Volga German settlements in Lincoln through July of 1916. Mrs. Williams surveys the makeup of the German-Russian population and discusses birth and death rates, marriages and divorce among these people. AHSGR Store - Non-Fiction

Williams, Hattie Plum. The Czar’s Germans. Edited by Emma S. Haynes, Phillip B. Legler, and Gerda S. Walker. Lincoln, Nebraska, 1984. A recent edition of the history of the Germans from Russia (begun about seventy years ago and left incomplete at her death in 1963) by Professor Williams concentrates on the Volga Germans, giving scrupulously researched and highly detailed descriptions of conditions in Germany during the 18th century that made emigration so attractive. Also discussed are the activities of the Russian immigration agents, the trek of the immigrants to the interior of Russia, the difficult early years, eventual prosperity, and final decline following outbreak of hostility against the colonists, their immigration to America, and the difficult pioneer years. The book includes fifty-three rare pictures, two maps, an index, and an attractive dust jacket. AHSGR Store - Non-Fiction

Zimmerman, Oskar as told to Nicholl, Worth Lawrence. Escape by Troika. Fargo, ND: Germans from Russia Heritage Collection, 2003. This book is the story of Oskar Zimmermann and his group of exiled Germans from Russia who settled in Bessarabia, the land between the Prut and the Dniester (Dnestr) Rivers on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea, more than a century before World War II. It chronicles their life in Bessarabia and their subsequent flight to freedom in the West. AHSGR Store - Non-Fiction