|
 Homeland
Book of the Bessarabian Germans
By Pastor Albert Kern
Published by the Germans from Russia Heritage Collection
North Dakota State University Libraries, Fargo, copyright 1998,
356 pages, softcover and hardcover
Pastor Kern preserves the Bessarabian German culture, customs
and heritage with history of these former villages including stories
of 126 years of German families in Bessarabia. There are lists of
government officials, prominent leaders, clergy and school teachers,
along with accounting of war dead and missing Bessarabian Germans.
The book includes many photographs of villages, churches, families,
agriculture and village life.
Book review by Janice Huber Stangl, Sterling, Virginia, native
of Bowdle, South Dakota. Her ancestral German villages are Arzis,
Alt Elft, Borodino, Fundu-Sarazika, and Neu Elft, Bessarabia. Thomas
and Janice Huber Stangl do extensive genealogy research of the families
of Bessarabia and the Glueckstal Enclave villages.
Homeland Book of the Bessarabian Germans by Albert Kern, now translated
into English, is a must read for anyone whose ancestors were born
or lived in Bessarabia. Those Germans from Russia whose direct line
does not stem from Bessarabia will also benefit from the insight
written by many people of the area. The descriptive writings about
the history, immigration, and then the resettlement during World
War II, grips you with the smell of the earth, the blue of the sky,
and the wrenching sadness, when they must leave their land, home,
animals and all they possess. The narratives often remind me of
our experiences during our June, 1998 visit to the villages of Arzis,
Alt Elft, Neu Elft and Schabo.
The articles on more than 100 colonies and estates, are written
by the people who lived and served in various capacities in the
area. The voices of experience and daily living provide reading
of such interest, one can hardly put the book down. Hours can be
spent studying pictures of homes, churches, and colony life. The
format of each parish, and its colonies and estates, makes the material
easily accessible. It includes one of the best lists of site locations
of German Parishes in Bessarabia, that I have seen. The complete
list of sources, index of pictures, place name index, and subject
index, all provide specific information at your fingertips in a
matter of seconds.
The Honor List of Missing in Action and Deaths in WWI and WWII
lists hundreds and hundreds of names of sons and fathers of all
the various colonies. The names seem to read like almost any telephone
book in the Dakotas, or any community with a large Germans from
Russia contingent. This newly translated and published book by the
Germans from Russia Heritage Collection, North Dakota State University
Libraries, Fargo, will become a valuable addition to your library.
Photographs included in Homeland Book of the Bessarabian
Germans.
 |
 |
 |
| Church in Neu-Elft |
View of Leipzig |
Werner School in Sarata |
 |
 |
 |
Church in Wittenberg |
Youth group house in Krasna |
Church in Beresina, Bessarabia |
Related Articles:
Cantlon, Cleo. "Rev.
Albert Kern's new Book Follows Journey of Germans
From Russia to North Dakota's Villages." Minot Daily News, 1 December 1998, 1D.
Homeland
Book of the Bessarabian Germans: Personal Name
Index
New
book published on Germans from Russia
Homeland Book of the Bessarabian Germans
$58 for the softcover and $80
for the hardcover plus Shipping & Handling
Download Order
Form
|
