American Historical Society of Germans from Russia

Research Saturdays
2024-04-06 09:00 - 16:00, 2024-03-02 09:00 - 16:00 (America/Chicago) | AHSGR Headquarters, 631 D St., Lincoln, NE, 68502, United States
AHSGR will be open 9am to 4pm on the first Saturday of each month to allow people to conduct research outside of normal museum hours. Appointments are not required but are encouraged, and you can schedule one here!

Outside Buildings Open
2024-04-01

BKDR exhibit: The Religious Life of Russian German
2024-03-28

Treffen Tuesday
2024-03-26 17:30 - 19:00
The Murray Method
Treffen Tuesday; March 26, 2024
Marilyn (Reh) Murray
Marilyn will share a background history and an audio-visual explanation of the Murray Method.
This method is described as an effective approach to becoming a Healthy Balanced Person – physically, intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually. It is a guideline for living and provides a clear and concise explanation for the consequences of difficult and painful experiences. The Murray Method enables wholeness beyond trauma, abuse, neglect, and addiction.
Since its inception in 1981, the Murray Method has been widely taught and employed internationally, especially in the former USSR. During this time, the main therapeutic emphasis dealt with moving beyond childhood trauma and also addressing present day issues such as relationship problems, addictions, financial difficulties and so forth.
However, with the arrival of the war in Ukraine, the Murray Method now has been effectively utilized by psychologists, therapists, and clergy (who were previously trained in the method) who now are working with war trauma victims. They are using the Murray Method in individual and group sessions held in person, and in online sessions with refugees throughout Ukraine and Europe. Murray Method videos in Ukrainian are also now available with a wide audience.
In response to the great need for more intensive therapy, the Murray Method War Trauma Rehabilitation Center was established in early 2023 and is located in a large, 4-story house on acreage in a suburb of Poltava, Ukraine. A two-week inpatient, intensive therapy program is provided here twice monthly at no cost for 25 war survivors. Approximately 700 women and men have received this special gift thus far.
A high percentage of Ukrainians suffer from PTSD. Almost everyone is grieving the loss of a family member and/or a close friend as a result of the war. Many have lost their homes and their possessions. It is a huge national tragedy, and the results will remain for generations. The Murray Method is helping reduce the long-term effects of this trauma.
The method also is being applied with survivors of the present war in Israel as well as persons impacted by recent school shootings in the States. (More detailed information regarding the Murray Method is available on the website: www.murraymethod.com )
MARILYN (Reh) MURRAY
Recognized internationally as an educator, theorist, author, and psychotherapist, Marilyn was a pioneer in the treatment of trauma, abuse and deprivation, and their correlation with addictions. She began creating and teaching her Murray Method theory and treatment modalities starting in 1983 including the widely used Trauma Egg and Circles of Intimacy. She has taught her method for universities in the US and internationally with students from 40 countries.
From 2002 to 2018, she lived and worked nearly half-time in Russia where she presented her method to over 4,000 health professionals and clergy in the former USSR. She also has been a guest professor at major Russian universities including Moscow State University. There are Murray Method International Centers in Russia, Ukraine, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.
Her paternal grandparents were born in small villages near Saratov and immigrated to America. Unfortunately, their families who remained in Russia suffered greatly under the Stalinist terror and repression. Marilyn has visited her family villages numerous times and has a special love for this country. She also has cousins in Siberia and other parts of Russia.
She has been a life member of AHSGR since 1998 and has shared her knowledge of Russia at several AHSGR conventions.
Register Here

Genealogy Workshop - Helpful genealogical resources in The Archives/Library
2024-03-11 18:00 - 19:30 | Zoom
Join us on Zoom to learn about the different resources that are offered in our Library/Archive from Amber Mikkelsen, Archival Research Coordinator. Gain a better understanding of what we have to offer so that you can start your journey of learning about your family’s past. Free for Members and $20 for non-members.

Free to members and $20 to nonmembers; Sign up is required

Treffen Tuesday
2024-02-27 17:30 - 18:30
Presentation
Marilyn will share updates regarding the Ukraine/Russian war. She has a Murray Method International Center in Ukraine and also one in Russia, so she is in constant contact with her colleagues/friends in both countries. She will share their personal responses regarding the current war crisis.
Photos and videos from her colleagues in Ukraine will be shown.
Biography
Recognized internationally as an educator, theorist, author, and psychotherapist, Marilyn was a pioneer in the treatment of trauma, abuse and deprivation, and their correlation with addictions. She began creating and teaching her Murray Method theory and treatment modalities starting in 1983. She has taught her method for universities in the US and internationally with students from 40 countries.
From 2002 to 2018, she lived and worked nearly half-time in Russia where she presented her method to over 4,000 health professionals and clergy in the former USSR. She also has been a guest professor at major Russian universities including Moscow State University. There are Murray Method International Centers in Russia, Ukraine, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.
Her paternal grandparents were born in small villages near Saratov and immigrated to America. Unfortunately, their families who remained in Russia suffered greatly under the Stalinist terror and repression. Marilyn has visited her family villages numerous times and has a special love for this country. She also has cousins in Siberia and other parts of Russia.
She has been a life member of AHSGR since 1998 and has shared her knowledge of Russia at several AHSGR conventions.
www.murraymethod.com
Register Here

Bockfest
2024-02-24 11:00 - 18:00 | Kinkaider Brewing, 201 N 7th St #108, Lincoln, NE, 68508, United States
Want to enjoy a classic German tradition? Come on down to Bierhaus Maisschaler. There will be beer-poking, games and classic German food! Make sure to bring a warm sweater and your ID.

AHSGR Book Club
2024-02-12 14:00 - 15:00
Do you wonder what day to day life in Russian Villages? Learn about culture and traditions from the perspective of a young boy. You can compare his immigration story to that of your own ancestors.
Get your copy half-off today!
https://ahsgr.org/…/the-story-of-johann-the-boy-who…/
Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/…/tZUkf–hqD0vH9HK6v-J7xeTvqn9…

FRÖHLICHE WEIHNACHTEN! GERMAN CHRISTMAS SERVICE
2023-12-10 14:00 - 15:30
Hosted by FRIEDENS EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH
540 D STREET
LINCOLN, NEBRASKA

FRÖHLICHE WEIHNACHTEN!
GERMAN CHRISTMAS SERVICE
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2023
2:00 PM

JOIN US AT THIS FREE FAMILY EVENT AND CELEBRATE THE CHRISTMAS STORY WITH WORD AND SONG
IN BOTH GERMAN AND ENGLISH!
FELLOWSHIP WILL FOLLOW THE SERVICE WITH
TRADITIONAL GERMAN CHRISTMAS COOKIES!
The service will be live streamed at facebook.com/friedenslincoln

CONTACT THE CHURCH OFFICE AT 402-476-3888 OR EMAIL US AT office@friedens.org FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.

Holiday Open House and Harp Concert
2023-12-09 13:00 - 15:00
AHSGR will be hosting a harp concert in the chapel by of the Great Plains Harp Chapter. Learn more about German Russian holiday traditions, enjoy holiday music, cookies, crafts, and light refreshments. The event starts at 1:00 PM and will go to 3:00 PM CST.

AHSGR Book Club-Anna's Red Purse
2023-12-08 14:00 - 15:00
Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAodOCvrz8oEtbyF1mwmHpsjzR-fbqtdu2Y
Buy Anna’s Red Purse: https://ahsgr.org/product/annas-red-purse/

Treffen Tuesday
2023-10-24 17:30 - 18:30
October – Maggie Hein, “Is This Really My Ancestor?”
Presentation:
Are you using genealogy web sites to research your Germans from Russia ancestors? Is your family tree online? The big genealogy web sites (Ancestry, Family Search, My Heritage) can be wonderful tools for locating records and making connections to your ancestors. They can also offer you misleading, unproven and false information. How do you sort out the good information from the bad? What is unique about Germans from Russia research that results in so little accurate data online?
In this presentation we will talk about how to assess the accuracy of the genealogy data you find online. We will discuss what records the big web sites have and more importantly what records they don’t have. We will talk about the reliability of different types of sources and how to steer clear of unproven data. The goal of this presentation is to give you the information you need to confidently use these web sites and accurately document your family history.
Biography:
Maggie Hein is a volunteer AHSGR Village Coordinator for the Volga German village of Frank. She is one of the administrators of the Volga Germans web site (www.volgagermans.org). Maggie’s genealogy research focuses on Germans who migrated to Russia in 1766 to settle in the lower Volga River region. She has used German church records to document hundreds of the German families who settled in Volga German Villages between 1763 and 1773, identifying previously unknown origin locations for many families. When she isn’t doing genealogy research, she is a tax accountant and co-owner of a CPA firm in the Chicago suburbs.

Introduction to Germans from Russia Genealogy II
2023-10-23 13:00 - 16:00 | AHSGR Headquarters, 631 D St., Lincoln, NE, 68502, United States
Join us October 23, 2023 for a zoom genealogy event!
Cost: Free to members and $20 to nonmembers; Sign up is required
Virtual Only
This workshop will provide an overview on how to start your journey to discover your German Russian roots by showing you how to find your ancestors’ Russian village. Attendees will also have an hour and a half to tour the library and archives, familiarize themselves with what is available onsite and online, and talk to the Archivists and the presenter. Make sure to sign up by October 15, 2023. (Presentation will be filmed and placed on website for members-only access after November 1)

Registration Now Closed

Preserving Your Family Photos and Archives Workshop (Celebrating Archives Day)
2023-10-21 13:00 - 16:00 | AHSGR Headquarters, 631 D St., Lincoln, NE, 68502, United States
Let’s Celebrate Archives Day! AHSGR’s Archivist Karen Keehr will present a workshop on how to care for, preserve, and organize your family photos, papers, and other items. This is a Virtual Event on Zoom.
Cost: Free for member, $15 for non-members

Registration Now Closed

Neighborhood Oktoberfest
2023-10-14 14:00 - 17:00 | AHSGR Headquarters, 631 D St., Lincoln, NE, 68502, United States
Join AHSGR and it’s partners for a South Bottoms Neighborhood Oktoberfest. Kinkaider Brewing will host a beer garden with some of their best brews on tap (must be 21 to partake) and Group Therapy will offer pedal car shuttles between AHSGR and the Haymarket. Additional activities for all ages will include: music, games, museum tours, a bouncy house, and more. Food and non-alcoholic beverages will be available for a free will donation thanks to our generous donors.

Temporary Exhibit: Beer Steins
2023-10-01

Treffen Tuesday
2023-09-26 17:30 - 18:30
September – Dr. Hans-Christian Petersen, “Dr. Karl Stumpp (1896-1962)”
Presentation:
Dr. Hans-Christian Peterson presents a special presentation about Dr. Karl Stumpp (1896-1962). Remembered posthumously as the “patriarch of the Germans from Russia,” Stumpp is perhaps the most influential person of transnational Russia German diaspora activism and belonged to the ‘grand old men’ of the German “Landsmannschaft der Deutschen aus Russland”.
Biography:
Hans-Christian Petersen is a research associate at the Federal Institute for Culture and History of the Germans in Eastern Europe and a lecturer at the Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg (Germany). Together with Victor Dönninghaus (Lüneburg) and Jannis Panagiotidis (Vienna), he edited the volume Jenseits der ‘Volksgruppe’. Neue Perspektiven auf die Russlanddeutschen zwischen Russland, Deutschland und Amerika (De Gruyter, 2018). He is working on a critical biography of Karl Stumpp, the “patriarch” of the Russian Germans, and his völkisch legacy. Together with Jannis Panagiotidis (RECET ViennaI he is currently writing a monograph on the history and present of racism against East Europeans which will be published in 2024. Together with Aleksandra Lewicki (University of Sussex) they are also running a project on the discrimination of East Europeans on the German labor market.

AHSGR Book Club
2023-09-18 14:00 - 15:15
September 18, 2023
2:00 pm CDT: Book Club.
We will be reading From the Steppes to the Prairie: The Germans from Russia migrations told by the Zahl and Schissler families by Kara Louise Hefner.

These are stories of her Germans from Russia great-grandparents, told in their own words from diaries, interviews, photos, scrapbooks, historical records and family accounts. This book is a companion to Gumma’s Recipe Book: Celebrating Germans from Russia food and memories from the Zahl family.

Click Here to Register

Purchase Book Here

Treffen Tuesday
2023-08-29 08:00 - 17:00
August – Marilyn Murray, “Ukraine and Russia – a Family at War updates”
Presentation:
Marilyn (Reh) Murray will share updates regarding the Ukraine/Russian war. She has a Murray Method International Center in Ukraine and also one in Russia so is in constant contact with her colleagues/friends in both countries. She will share their personal responses regarding the current war crisis.
Photos and videos from her colleagues in Ukraine will be shown.
She also worked with a group of Ukrainian war refugees in Chicago recently and will share regarding that experience.
Biography:
Recognized internationally as an educator, theorist, author, and psychotherapist, Marilyn was a pioneer in the treatment of trauma, abuse and deprivation, and their correlation with addictions. She began creating and teaching her Murray Method theory and treatment modalities starting in 1983. She has taught her method for universities in the US and internationally with students from 40 countries.
From 2002 to 2018, she lived and worked nearly half-time in Russia where she presented her method to over 4,000 health professionals and clergy in the former USSR. She also has been a guest professor at major Russian universities including Moscow State University. There are Murray Method International Centers in Russia, Ukraine, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.
Her paternal grandparents were born in small villages near Saratov and immigrated to America. Unfortunately, their families who remained in Russia suffered greatly under the Stalinist terror and repression. Marilyn has visited her family villages numerous times and has a special love for this country. She also has cousins in Siberia and other parts of Russia.
She has been a life member of AHSGR since 1998 and has shared her knowledge of Russia at several AHSGR conventions.
www.murraymethod.com

AHSGR 2023 Annual Convention Registration
2023-08-03 - 2023-08-05 | Doubletree by Hilton Greeley at Lincoln Park, 919 7th St, Greeley, CO, 80631, United States
https://ahsgr.leemediagroup.com/?post_type=tribe_events&p=24646

AHSGR 53rd Annual Convention
2023-08-03 - 2023-08-05 | DoubleTree by Hilton at Lincoln Park, 919 7th St, Greeley, CO, 80631, United States
https://ahsgr.leemediagroup.com/?post_type=tribe_events&p=21820

Treffen Tuesday
2023-06-27 17:30 - 18:30
June – Dr. Mila Koretnikov, “Tracing Our Volga-German Heritage: A Comparative Look at Tours to Ancestral Village in Germany and Russia”
Presentation:
In 2016-2019 the Volga German Tour group – Dr. Mila Koretnikov, Sergey Koretnikov and Dr. Brent Mai, took approximately 250 people from the USA, Canada, and Argentina on tours to the Volga German Colonies of their ancestors in Russia. Although they planned to expand the tours to Siberia, the current situation in Russia made it impossible to do so.
People continued to ask about future travel and the Volga German Tour group decided to take interested people to their ancestral homes, their German origin homes, in Germany. In 2022-2023 forty-four people visit their villages of origin in Germany.
Although Mila and her group thought that the tours would be very different from the tours to Russia, they were in for a surprise. What they found was that the trips to villages in Russia and Germany were more similar than expected.
Join us on June 27, at 2:30 pm as Dr. Mila Koretnikov shares the similarities and differences they found doing numerous tours to both Russia and Germany.
Biography:
Dr. Mila Koretnikov is a lecturer and coordinator of the Technical English program at the University of Applied Sciences in Karlsruhe, Germany, and a lecturer in intercultural communication at the Cooperative University of Baden-Wuerttemberg in Karlsruhe, Germany.
Dr. Koretnikov grew up in Saratov, Russia in a Volga-German family and holds degrees from Saratov State University. She did her post-doc study at the University of Wyoming and taught summer courses for K-12 teachers at Otero Junior College, La Junta, Colorado.
Mila Koretnikov has been doing research in Russian archives for more than 20 years helping hundreds of individuals from the USA, Germany, Argentina, Brazil, and Canada find information on their ancestors. In 2016-2019 together with Dr. Brent Mai she led tours to Volga-German ancestral villages in Russia and starting with 2022 – to Volga-German ancestral villages in Germany.
She has lived in Germany since 2006.

AHSGR’s Bunnock Day and Launch of South Bottoms Historic Tours
2023-06-24 10:00 - 14:00 | AHSGR Headquarters, 631 D St., Lincoln, NE, 68502, United States
Visit AHSGR’s campus in the Historic South Bottoms District in Lincoln, Nebraska, for a day of fun and learning! Try your hand at the classic German-Russian game, Bunnock, and go on our new walking tour of the historic neighborhood and learn about the influence of German-Russian immigrants in its development. Enjoy light refreshments, guided tours of campus, and instruction in the game of Bunnock.
Cost: Suggested Donation

AHSGR’s Technology “Office Hours”
2023-06-09 13:00 - 15:00 | AHSGR Headquarters, 631 D St., Lincoln, NE, 68502, United States
AHSGR’s technology staffer, Jonathan, will be available to assist members with basic technology questions and training relating to our website, online resources, signing up for events and purchasing tickets, using our online store, and other skills that will help our members interact with us. Office hours are in-person or online but sign-up is required for 15-30 minute appointments. To reserve your time slot, please contact egengenbach@ahsgr.org or call 402-474-3363, ext. 101
Cost: Open to Members Only-donations accepted

Temporary Exhibit: Bunnock
2023-06-01 | AHSGR Headquarters, 631 D St., Lincoln, NE, 68502, United States

Treffen Tuesday
2023-05-30 17:30 - 18:30
May – Dr. Eric J. Schmaltz, “Our Memories Build Our Future: Germans from Russia Still on the Move in the 21st Century”
Presentation:
This presentation is based on the banquet talk given at the 2022 AHSGR International Convention held in Lincoln, Nebraska. It reflects on the group’s history, including “The Double Stigma” as Germans and Russians during the two world wars and Cold War period, and its overcoming of occasional adversity in the new homelands. It also considers the group’s global success story in many fields of endeavor. It concludes about the ways in which the group has reached an inflection point, “coming full circle” at this time in its development, and reflects on where German from Russia descendants find themselves today.
Biography:
Eric J. Schmaltz earned a Ph.D. in History at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2002. Since 2005, he has taught Modern European, American, and World History at Northwestern Oklahoma State University in Alva and in 2019 began serving as Departmental Chair of Social Sciences. In 2014, he received the John Barton Distinguished Teaching and Service Award at his university and has been nominated for it on four other occasions. His research concentrates on Modern Germany and Modern Russia with an emphasis on ethnic and nationality issues, as well as German migration topics.
Over the past three decades, he has contributed a variety of articles and translations to AHSGR, GRHS, and the North Dakota State University Libraries in Fargo and has given frequent public talks both at home and abroad. His other articles and reviews have appeared in local newspapers, magazines, interdisciplinary journals, and major international edited volumes. From 2010 to 2020, he served as editor of the GRHS Heritage Review quarterly. Since 2008, he has served on the AHSGR Journal’s editorial board as well. He is also co-founder and co-director of the endowed Northwestern Oklahoma State University Institute for Citizenship Studies and since 2021 is the Donovan L. Reichenberger Endowed Chair in History.

AHSGR Book Club: The Last Green Valley
2023-05-22 14:00 - 15:00 | Zoom
Join us in a book club discussing of The Last Green Valley by best-selling author Mark Sullivan. Mark will be speaking at the AHSGR Convention in Greeley, Colorado.

The Last Green Valley is a work of historical fiction, inspired by a true story. The Martels are one of many families of German heritage whose ancestors have farmed in Ukraine for more than a century. But after already living under Stalin’s horrifying regime, Emil and Adeline decide they must run in retreat from their land with the wolves they despise to escape the Soviets and go in search of freedom. Caught between two warring forces and overcoming horrific trials to pursue their hope of emigrating to the West, the Martels’ story is a brutal, complex, and ultimately triumphant tale that illuminates the extraordinary power of love, faith, and one family’s incredible will to survive and see their dreams realized.

Register for book club here: Last Green Valley Book Club Sign Up

More information about convention here: AHSGR 2023 Convention

Treffen Tuesday
2023-04-25 08:00 - 17:00
April – Lena Wolf, “A graphic novel ‘May the Universe be Your Home!’ about the fate of German families in the Soviet Union”
Presentation:
In her presentation Lena will show the coloured pages from her upcoming graphic novel, which hopefully will be available by the end of 2023. Those of you fortunate to attend the 2022 Treffen Tuesday presentation will recall the story of the deportation and how Lena learned of her heritage. This is a continuation of that family history.
Attached below is a page from her graphic novel which depicts German speaking people leaving Russia for North-and South America. Lena’s family stayed behind in the Soviet Union and the graphic novel is their story.
Biography:
Lena Wolf was born in Latvia and grew up in Kazakhstan and later in Germany. Her parents are Germans from the Russian Empire.
Her grandparents along with her parents, who were very young, were deported from German-speaking villages in Ukraine to Kazakhstan in 1941. They were put into special settlements and had to live there until December 1955, 10 years after the end of WWII. They had no rights and were not allowed to leave the special settlements. Leaving their settlement resulted in severe punishment, up to execution.
Escaping the special settlement is exactly what Lena’s grandma Josephine did. Josephine wanted to go back to her village in Ukraine. She took her young son Adam with her, Lena’s father. They were arrested and Josephine was sentenced to 20 years of hard labor in the Gulag, Vorkuta, located 150 km north of the artic circle. Lena’s father was sent to a Ukrainian orphanage.
This is just one of the stories that made Lena want to write the graphic novel about the Germans from Russia, people who stayed behind in the Soviet Union. She wants the world to know what happened to our people.

Spring Open House
2023-04-08 13:00 - 16:00 | AHSGR Headquarters, 631 D St., Lincoln, NE, 68502, United States
April 8th
Cost: Donation
Time: 1pm-4pm
Join us and Friedens Lutheran Church as we resume our tour season of the historic buildings on the AHSGR campus in Lincoln’s South Bottoms. Light refreshments, an egg hunt and games with prizes, and more. Come learn more about the German Russian heritage in your own hometown.

Egg Hunt Starts at 2:00 PM
