Tips & Tricks to Tracking Your German Russia Ancestors...Tip # 4 KEEP CALM AND LEARN THE HISTORY

If you google Germans from Russia, you get over 24,400,000 results (in 0.55 seconds). That's an astronomical number of sites to cover to learn about our unique history.

If I were starting to learn my family's history now, I would read some of the fantastic books that analyze our history in depth.

While all of the sites I mentioned earlier as sources share some of the history of Germans from Russia, I believe that to get an in depth understanding, we need to read books.

These books below will help you learn the history of Russia, and better understand our ancestor's experiences. The books are non fiction and historical fiction, but all are based on facts. When you read, you learn the history, and you realize the impact of the then "current events" on your ancestors. This is what helps you create a portrait of what your ancestors were like and what issues impacted them. These books are:

• From Catherine to Krushchev by Adam Giesenger
• Catherine the Great by Robert K. Massie
• Russka by Edward Rutherford
• Nicholas &Alexandra Fall of the Romanov Dynasty by Robert K. Massie

Depending on when your family left Russia, some families may have been in the Americas longer than they lived in Russia. Those who left Russia in the 1870s have an entirely different history than those who left in the early 1900s. to those who stayed behind and may have been transported to Siberia.

Consider these three books to help you learn the history of Germans from Russia in America.

• The Black Sea Germans in the Dakotas by George Rath
• The Volga Germans, In Russia and the Americas from 1763 to the Present by Fred C. Koch
• Second Hoeing by Hope William Sykes

One of the best books to read is the Origin, Development and Dissolution of the German Colonies on the Black Sea via the Example of Kandel, from 1808 to 1944.  This book tells the life of a colony in Russia, and although it specifically describes the village of Kandel, its story is the true story of every German from Russia colony. It was originally published by Landmanschaft der Deutschen aus Russland.  It was translated into English and published by the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia thanks to my friend, Tim Geiger. 

As you continue to KEEP CALM AND LEARN THE HISTORY, you never know what treasures you may find. You may just discover a connection to your own family in these books as I did.

While reading Wir Wollen Deutsche Bleiben The Story of the Volga Germans by George J. Walters, I found this passage about the settling of Balzer:

"On November 1765, George Merkel, a blacksmith, and Jacob Herzog, a farmer from Kurpfalx brought their families."

Jacob Herzog was my fifth great grandfather! So this book is now one of my favorites.

These books are a great start, and more books are published every year. As are the quarterly magazines from AHSGR and GRHS. These quarterly journals cover up to date information and will help you learn the history from all perspectives.

So, there are many ways to learn the history and make sense of what of our ancestors live. You'll be amazed how much you can learn.   Start today.