Wir Wollen Deutsche Bleiben: The Story of the Volga Germans

The story of the Volga Germans. Easy-to-read book, in English, packed with photos, poems, songs and stories of Volga Germans; both in Russia and the U.S. The complete history of a people that helped settle and create the agriculture of the Midwest. A poignant glance at what life would be like if your forebears hadn’t migrated.

George J. Walters was born April 11, 1920, in Catherine, Kansas, and passed from the scene January 11, 1982, a few days after approving the corrected pages of the first edition of this book. He was well acquainted with the language and customs of the Volga Germans. His interest in what happened to the Volga colonies took form at the end of WWII, when he was stationed in Berlin. Here he saw thousands upon thousands of refugees passing through the city. He was in almost daily contact with the Soviet forces then occupying one sector of that divided city. In due time George J. Walters left the 208th Engineer Battalion, where he was Sergeant Major, to return to school. When interest in the Russia-based roots of many Americans surfaced, George Walters became a member and finally an officer in the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia.

Preview the book