August 2020

The Johannes and Christiana (Ehni) Schock Letter and Photograph Collection contains 368 letters and 134 photographs sent to Johannes and Christiana from relatives in Germany and Poland between 1936 and 1996, with the bulk sent during the post-WWII years of 1947 to 1951. The letters shed light on the plight of the Bessarabian Germans who struggled to survive after the war and gives an in-depth look into their lives and the living conditions they endured. The collection is transcribed and digitized; the photographs and full-text searchable letters can be accessed online at Digital Horizons. The collection finding aid can be accessed here.

The Germans from Russia Heritage Collection (GRHC) received this historic and noteworthy donation in October 2014 from Martin Schock, grandson of Johannes and Christiana (Ehni) Schock.

For questions about this collection or other topics related to the GRHC, contact Michael Miller, Director and Bibliographer, GRHC, or Jeremy Kopp, Outreach & Operations Coordinator, GRHC.

This envelope was used to send a letter to Johannes Schock on April 12, 1947. The Civil Censorship stamp and resealing tape on the left indicate that this letter (and most others in the collection) were read by government officials prior to delivery to check for suspicious content.
Germans from Russia Heritage Collection, NDSU Libraries, Fargo (153.1.197.01)