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 Gone
Without A Trace: Russian Women in Exile
By Nelly Däs, edited and translated by Nancy Bernhardt Holland
Published by the American Historical Society of Germans from
Russia, Lincoln, Nebraska, 2001, 232 pages, softcover.
The Germans from Russia Heritage Collection is pleased to provide
this important book Gone Without a Trace: German-Russian Women
in Exile.
This book is a collection of stories based on interviews with women
who were separated from their families, and is dedicated to keeping
alive their memories of the dire fate of Germans in Russia in the
times of discrimination, persecution, and deportation. These times
started with the communist takeover of Russia and the formation
of the Soviet Union, but continued on well after the second world
war.
Vivid in the book are images of inhuman treatment of human beings
by communist thugs and their collaborators. Under the communist
doctrine, Germans were targets because they were successful! All
for the grand experiment in collectivism which today has left one
of the richest and most productive agricultural regions in a shambles.
Not to be left behind in criticism is our own government that turned
over German-Russian refugees back to the Russians for the sake of
political expediency. However, these inhuman and unthinking acts
are not the focus of the stories related in this book, although
by the time one finishes with the book, the same story line emerges
over and over again. The recollections usually start with families
living together in prosperity and peace in their adopted country,
only to be ripped apart first by "de-kulakization," and
then deportation during the second world war. Many German-Russians
actually returned to Germany during the second world war only to
be sent back to Russia (at the communist government's insistence)
by the allies when the war ended. Men were sent to slave/death camps
and never heard from again in most cases.
Women were torn from their children who were either sent to orphanages
or left to live or die on their own. These women were sent to Siberia
or Kazakstan and forced to work as slave laborers. They had to endure
the harshest winter conditions without proper clothing, shelter,
or food.
Yet out of their misery came a strength and enduring that allowed
them to survive and live to tell their stories. In some cases, families
and relatives were reunited. Their common trait for survival was
a strong belief in their traditions and culture, family, and religion.
It is odd to think that so many continued to have strong religious
beliefs when it appeared that their God had abandoned them. But
they looked upon their experience as a test of their character and
did not abandon their beliefs which eventually was the difference
in their survival. What is truly heartwarming is that not only did
they look after themselves and immediate family, but also others
in need. These stories are ones that all Germans from Russia should
read, not only for the history of the time, but even more importantly
to show us all how strong values and beliefs can serve as a pillar
of strength in times of adversity.
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Gone Without a Trace
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