Siberian Germans - Orientation



Identification. Approximately 400,000 Germans live in the southern regions of western Siberia today. They consider themselves an ethnic group and trace their origin to the German people of central Europe. The Germans living in Siberia are divided into groups, named after their place of origin, and include the Schwabs (Suabians), Bavarians, Dutch, Austrians, and others. Before their arrival, three significant groups had already formed in Russia, some of whom later also migrated to Siberia. These were the Ukrainian Germans, the "Volynskie," and those from the Volga region. In 1941, at the beginning of the war between Germany and the Soviet Union, a large segment of the Volga German population was deported to Siberia. Since then, approximately one-half of all the Germans who live in Siberia have now lost contact with their origins, consider Siberia their motherland, and call themselves Siberian Germans.

The extent of German ethnic and cultural consciousness in Russia was conditioned by the fact that they emigrated at a time when Germany consisted of many states and when the general norms for a literary language were being formulated. Settlers leaving at that time often maintained some traditions that had already disappeared in Germany. In Siberia the Germans settled in separate groups and sustained their distinct local characteristics. Because of the great distances between them and bans on marriages between people of different confessional groups, the settlers were isolated from each other, which fostered the preservation of many elements of their cultures and languages.

Linguistic Affiliation. There are strong linguistic differences among the different groups of Germans. According to the Soviet linguist V. Zhirmunskii (1933), "the native language of the Germans appears to be the local peasant dialect, which they use in everyday speech with the family and countrymen; every colony speaks in its own special dialect, transferred by the settlers from Germany or learned in the new land from a mixture of different dialects." These dialects include Suabian; Saratovskii; Zhitomirskii; Volyner; and the language of the Mennonites, Plattdeutsch.

The Mennonites occupy a special place among the Germans. When the Mennonites left the Netherlands in the sixteenth century and resettled in Prussia, they did not see themselves as sharing a common origin. Among them were people of Flemish, Dutch, Frisian, and Lower Saxon ancestry. Two basic types of speech had been maintained by the Mennonitesā€” molochnenskii and khortintskii. However, they took as a common language a Low German dialect (Plattdeutsch). As a result of their religious isolation, the Mennonites did not mix with the local peoples and thus maintained their traditional customs. At times they joined their different confessional groups into one ethno confessional unit. During and since the resettlement the Mennonites have been officially registered as Germans; most scholars think of the Mennonites as Germans. The Siberian Mennonites themselves trace their ancestry to Germans, although they also emphasize their Dutch origins.

All groups of Germans in Siberia are typically bilingualā€”they also speak Russian fluently. The specific dialect of the group is used most, Russian second, and the German literary language third. Only a few people know the last. These are mostly younger people who studied German in school.

User Contributions:

1
Phil Prey
How many Of those folks came to the area from the German Volga Colonies not by choice, Is there any way to trace them? Are there any census data which would identify them?
2
JAMES HEIL
I AM A SECOND GENERATION AMERICAN WITH GRAND PARENTS FROM THE VOLGA REGION OF SARATOV AND THE VILLAGE OF LAUB/ TARLYK . I HAVE DISCOVERED MY GRAND FATHER WAS ADOPTED AND THEREFORE THE FAMILY NAME OF HIS FATHER WAS SCHLAGER . I AM TRYING TO DISCOVER ANYONE WITH HISTORY OF THE SCHLAGER FAMILY NAME FROM THE DATES BETWEEN 1860 AND 1910 . FROM WHAT I LEARNED THAT THERE MAY BE DESCENDANTS IN THE SOUTH CENTRAL AREA OF SIBERIA NEAR BARNAL RUSSIA . ANY INFORMATION RELATED TO THIS REQUEST IS DEEPLY APPRECIATED.
3
Lola Schleger Squyres
#1 Phil Prey - I, too, am interested in the German Volga Colonies; not only if they came by choice but where in Germany they came from and resources that would lead to the answers to these questions. LSS
4
Lola Schlegel Squyres
#2 James Heil - I don't know any Schlagers, but my maiden name was Schlegel if there is a possible connection there perhaps with spelling, etc. I would be glad to share any info I might have that would be helpful to you. My grandmother and great grandmother came to the US on the S. S. Darmstadt in June of 1892 and came through Ellis Island. LSS
5
Inna
I am the second generation since my grandparents were deported from the Volga Republic to Siberia. In the 90es we came back to Germany. If someone read this and know something about the family SchƃĀ¶nfeld (from Bistum Fulda/Germany to Pfeiffer/Saratov/Russia in 1767), Ziegler (from WƃĀ¼rzburg/Germany), Tisch or Falkenstein, please contact me! @Phil: I found a lot of information and maps on cvgs.cu-portland.edu
6
E ZAVODNY
I am related to Heils Wichita,Ks my grandfather Niedens had family that were sent to Siberia about 1941 he arrived in America 1893 but left little info he came from Blumenfeld as did my grandmother she was a Dumler supposedly the 1893 records were lost due to fire as he entered the US My paternal grandparents were the ones related to the Heils they were from Laub/Lauwe,Stahl am Tarlyk they were Bitters and Wegeles. Grandpa Niedens mentioned the ship Fulda that brought him to the US Wegeles originated from Wuertemburg,Germany initially all were German Lutherans Grandpa Niedens sent money to family in Russia because they were starving, when he no longer sent money,the letters stopped
My grandparents were a Volga Russian-German they came to USA they had family still in Germany I have a old picture of the family on a porch.
Their name was grandfather Johann Ritter and grandmother last name was Dorothy Groh they had a daughter born in Russia name Dorothy was 2 months old when they came o USA. Does anyone have any information?

Thank You
Anabel Ritter Harris
8
Kat
I am a descendant of the Black Sea Kutschurgan/ Odessa Russian Germans. I am a SchƃĀ¤fer hoping to find some long lost relatives that were sent to Siberia from Kandel, Russia.

Thank you
Katherine Bentley

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