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 Speyer
im Beresaner Tal der Südukraine: 1809/1810 - März 1994 heute Pestschanyi
Brod
By Johannes Philipps
Published in the German language by the Germans from Russia Heritage
Collection, North Dakota State University Libraries, Fargo, ND,
1996, 85 pages, German langauge
German
Johannes Philipps reports his experiences as a native of the former
colony of Landau. While studying agriculture at the Agrotechnikum
of Landau, Beresan Enclave, the agricultural division of the district
sent him as a student specialist to Speyer to further educate about
agriculture.
After he graduated in 1937, he obtained a position as an agronomist
at the MTS of Waterloo; later the community of Speyer became his
district for which he was responsible. Philipps became acquainted
with the village of Speyer, beyond the career vocation, to contact
knowledgeably with the village families and made many friends. He
continues to correspond with some families even today.
The author provides a historical overview, before then describing
the maturing prosperity of the colony of Speyer. Also, he does not
omit the economic and political development, especially occurring
from 1917 to 1941.
In this 85 page narrative with numerous pictures and maps, he
describes the lives of the ethnic German farmers when they were
still independent with their lives in the colchose. He reports in
detail the phases of deprivation of "colonist" rights and about
the bureaucratic persecution from the Soviet Empire.
At the end of his chronicle, he describes the disintegration of
the colony of Speyer, and before their resettlement to the Warthegau
(Poland). Meanwhile, he lists families going back to 1944.
Philipps comments about his memoirs, "So, now dear book, enter
into the world archives and acquaint all the descendants of Speyer,
wherever they are, and inform them about the heritage and history
of their grandfathers and their grandmothers."
About the author
As a German Russian, Johannes Philipps has experienced all the
sorrows shared with his countrymen. His youth was overshadowed by
poverty and hunger, despite he came from a well-to-do farming family.
He experienced the deprivation of citizen rights and brutal deportation
of his family; fortunately, he was captured by the British troops
and finally classified as a homeless person. Thus, he petitioned
his emigration to the United States of America.
Philipps arrived in New York in 1952, where he adjusted in transition
to a new life. In 1955, he re-located to California, where he accepted
U.S. citizenship and was grateful to start a more stabilized life
in this country. He based his book's authority on his own knowledge
of East European history, interjecting his experiences which he
had witnessed while living in the former Soviet Union.
Speyer im Beresaner Tal der Südukraine: 1809/1810
- März 1994 heute Pestschanyi Brod
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