My Family Story, and It's "Wandering" Genes
This is the story about my family: my ancestors, my diverse clan, and it's road through the 20th century. I was brought up in the multicultural family: my father's family was absolutely German with no other lineage,but they also spoke Dutch, and my mother's ancestors were Russians, but had very unusual skin and hair color for the typical blond or wheat color hair and grey or light shaded eyes. After inquiring by my mother about the reason of it's color, she told me a long story about it's heritage. This story begun many generations ago, when the Russians were leaving in clans, some of which had beautiful smooth brown or dark chocolate skin color and wavy black hair. One of my ancestors (her father's side, because he had the same skin color and wavy hair) stole himself a clans chiefs daughter, and made her his wife. Since then some of our Russian generation continued with the ability to retain this part of genealogy as far as darker skin and dark wavy hair. My Mom is the only one in my Grandparents generation who received brown eyes, which was very surprising to all of them, because they almost forgot the story. With time, my Mom's hair also turned more dark into black and became wavy. I noticed that my hair also becomes wavy after shower, which never appeared before. The genes obviously carry a very strong expression and have a long memory.
You would probably ask, how then did my parents meet? It is a very interesting story, which started with my father's clan. His ancestors, such as his great grand grandparents immigrated to Russia after the invitation from the Queen Katharina The Great was announced in Germany, calling for her natives to go to Ukraine and promising them many acres of land to occupy and to farm there for free. Since the farm land in Germany was limited, my ancestors decided to begin their journey and left Kronach, Bavaria for a better opportunity and more land. They built their farm there in Blumenfeld, by Odessa, where many Germans settled and built their new communities. They were very happy, tending their animals and enjoying life, able to provide their families and all people around them with their agricultural talents. They had a big house and many acres of land. There was my grand father who was born in 1917 and his 5 siblings. All of them spoke only German language. At the same time tensions between the Czar and Bolsheviks begun and escalated in 1924, where Bolsheviks killed the whole Czar Nicholaj family. Eventually, after the Czar rein was overthrown, the Bolsheviks came to the established German villages in 1931 and took everything away, displacing the families to the Ural Mountains, giving them only things they could carry, robbing them blind, because they had everything needed for living and more, and this everything needed to be divided between everybody in Russia and to Russians only, no matter who they were and what they did in life. That's was the plan of Communism Collectivism.
Very similar to the "Trail of tears" with Native Americans, Germans moved to their new special designated place in the Ural Mountains. On the way his 2 siblings, his sister Anna and brother Joseph died, and with them the other 70 percent of peoples families who had to move to Karpinsk. When they arrived to the little city called Karpinsk, it was winter. They had to build their homes or some kind of shelters, because otherwise more would die not only from hunger, but from the freezing temperatures. My Great Grandfather went to the next city Verchotur'e in 1932 through Tajga forest and, as my Grandfather told my Dad, fall asleep or got a stroke. He found his father sitting on a tree stump and not moving in the morning. My Great grand father was around 52 years old. His wife was struggling with reality and eventually lost her mind, but by that time her kids were already able to tend for themselves and work. My Grand father and the rest of his siblings survived and lived in the "Barb wired Community" for many years to come. Many Germans had to come to the Commendatory and sign a paper every month that they are still there, failure to do so will cause the Government to pronounce them an enemy of the state, find them and sent away to Gulag in Siberia in this new Stalin regime. They weren't allowed to leave their premises, especially when Hitler's Army attacked Russian cities and Germany declared war with Russia. Similar things happened to the Japanese, when their country attacked Pearl Harbor. Only difference was that Japanese did not starve, but from Russian-Germans only 30 percent survived the camp conditions and returned home.
Germans were of Roman-Catholic faith, but could not practice it or get baptized openly. They had sermons only in incognito places, such as somebody's house in their Community. The Communist's ears were everywhere. If the information about God would leak out, the people could face life in prison (in worse conditions, they already live) or be sent to Gulag in Siberia, which is a little harsher than Ural Region, where they would have to start from the very beginning again. Before Hitler broke Russian-German Peace Treaty, my Grandfather's brother Franz and sister Milli left Russia and moved back to Germany. One of his brothers joined Vermacht, German Army.
You would probably ask, how then did my parents meet? It is a very interesting story, which started with my father's clan. His ancestors, such as his great grand grandparents immigrated to Russia after the invitation from the Queen Katharina The Great was announced in Germany, calling for her natives to go to Ukraine and promising them many acres of land to occupy and to farm there for free. Since the farm land in Germany was limited, my ancestors decided to begin their journey and left Kronach, Bavaria for a better opportunity and more land. They built their farm there in Blumenfeld, by Odessa, where many Germans settled and built their new communities. They were very happy, tending their animals and enjoying life, able to provide their families and all people around them with their agricultural talents. They had a big house and many acres of land. There was my grand father who was born in 1917 and his 5 siblings. All of them spoke only German language. At the same time tensions between the Czar and Bolsheviks begun and escalated in 1924, where Bolsheviks killed the whole Czar Nicholaj family. Eventually, after the Czar rein was overthrown, the Bolsheviks came to the established German villages in 1931 and took everything away, displacing the families to the Ural Mountains, giving them only things they could carry, robbing them blind, because they had everything needed for living and more, and this everything needed to be divided between everybody in Russia and to Russians only, no matter who they were and what they did in life. That's was the plan of Communism Collectivism.
Very similar to the "Trail of tears" with Native Americans, Germans moved to their new special designated place in the Ural Mountains. On the way his 2 siblings, his sister Anna and brother Joseph died, and with them the other 70 percent of peoples families who had to move to Karpinsk. When they arrived to the little city called Karpinsk, it was winter. They had to build their homes or some kind of shelters, because otherwise more would die not only from hunger, but from the freezing temperatures. My Great Grandfather went to the next city Verchotur'e in 1932 through Tajga forest and, as my Grandfather told my Dad, fall asleep or got a stroke. He found his father sitting on a tree stump and not moving in the morning. My Great grand father was around 52 years old. His wife was struggling with reality and eventually lost her mind, but by that time her kids were already able to tend for themselves and work. My Grand father and the rest of his siblings survived and lived in the "Barb wired Community" for many years to come. Many Germans had to come to the Commendatory and sign a paper every month that they are still there, failure to do so will cause the Government to pronounce them an enemy of the state, find them and sent away to Gulag in Siberia in this new Stalin regime. They weren't allowed to leave their premises, especially when Hitler's Army attacked Russian cities and Germany declared war with Russia. Similar things happened to the Japanese, when their country attacked Pearl Harbor. Only difference was that Japanese did not starve, but from Russian-Germans only 30 percent survived the camp conditions and returned home.
Germans were of Roman-Catholic faith, but could not practice it or get baptized openly. They had sermons only in incognito places, such as somebody's house in their Community. The Communist's ears were everywhere. If the information about God would leak out, the people could face life in prison (in worse conditions, they already live) or be sent to Gulag in Siberia, which is a little harsher than Ural Region, where they would have to start from the very beginning again. Before Hitler broke Russian-German Peace Treaty, my Grandfather's brother Franz and sister Milli left Russia and moved back to Germany. One of his brothers joined Vermacht, German Army.
My Dad in the Russian Army
Here my German Grandfather Victor met my Grandmother Anna. She lost her first husband and her newborn daughter in the WWII. He was a Russian Army tanker driver. She was living in Novorossijsk and by evacuation and on the way to Kazakhstan, her daughter died. She started a new family with my Grandfather and had 3 children, including my father, Victor Junior. Russians did not approve of the German settlement, and there were always racial problems between these neighborhoods even after WWII. Even when my father had to join the Army in 1967, because every 18 year old had to, he was wounded by a Russian soldier with a knife, because my Dad was German and got promoted. There was still prejudice against Germans everywhere in Russia in the 60's or 70's. I also found out that my Grandfathers Brother-in-Law, who was German also, stayed in Russia, joined Communist Party, but still wasn't able to get permission to kill Nazi's by Russian Government. Every German was sent to Working Camps in 1941, to Karpinsk or other designated place. All of Germans in Karpinsk worked in a Coal mine there for the rest of their lifes until retired. They kept a good eye on every German citizen in the Russian society and did not trust Germans, even though, they were born in the Soviet Union.
My Russian Grandparents in 2000
On the other side of my family, my mothers side, my Russian Grandfather joined the Russian Army in 1942 when he was 19 years old. He got imprisoned after a very bloody battle by the big Russian city of Charkov and was transported and held in a Concentration camp by Frankfurt on Main in Germany until Americans came and freed everyone in 1945. Even in my childhood, I remember my Grandfather never throwing crumbs from the table away, but giving them to the birds outside instead. He could not waste food and never wished for anybody get hungry. In Germany not everybody supported Nazi's. One time one German farmer came to the Concentration camp and took my Grandfather under his wing, providing him with food, if he would work on his farm. My Grandfather told me once that they ate at the same table. There was one time after the lunch when farmer asked him to give the rest of their bread to their dog, my Grandfather could not bring himself to give the bread away, because he was still hungry. He ate it, and the farmer had seen it. After that day my Grandfather received a double portion at lunch. He remembered it for the rest of his life, even when my Dad moved our family to Germany, my Grandfather asked my Dad try to find him and thank him for this, if this farmer is still alive. My Dad never had the chance. When Americans came and freed everyone, they also offered to take my Grandfather to the U.S., but he wanted to come home to his village, where he later found out that his family had received a letter from the Army stating that he had died in action. It was a bloody battle, and only 3 in every 1000 survived. Russian Government did not allowed my Grandfather to come back to his village and sent him to Karpinsk. His brother also was imprisoned and after was ended sent to Tadgikistan instead of allowing him to return to his hometown. Eventually, my Grandfather had a chance to visit his family in his village. It was a big commotion and celebration in a little village, as you can imagine, when he returned. Statistically, from all the Russian men born in 1922-1923 survived the WWII only 3 percent. He met and married my Grandmother there and brought her to Karpinsk, my hometown. They both retired very early, at 45, because they had worked since they were 13 and 14 years old.
My Parents
My Dad after coming back from the Army was working on a huge excavator in a mine about 60 km. from his hometown. One day he was taking a train to go to his hometown, Karpinsk. My Mom was going with a train to work on a farm in the summer time through her University, she graduated as Mathematic and Physic Teacher later. They exchanged a good conversation, played cards, and my father took my mother's address and name to write her. He still jokes about winning her at playing cards. 3 months later they met again, and he begins official courtship, which lasted 2 years until they got married. Both sides of their families were opposed to this union, and each one of them had their reasons. German clan did not think a Russian women worthy of being my fathers future wife, because there were so many German girls available in the German Community. Russian clan still had some prejudice against Germans, and the fact of my Grandfather being imprisoned in Frankfurt did not help either.
My mom, me, her father, and my German Grandmother
They still got married and are going strong over 40 years. All their ups and downs were visible in my multicultural family. German family never accepted my Mother, and we as kids had a very strained relationship with German Grandparents. Russian Grandparents fell in love with my Dad, and most of our childhood all of us, my brother, sister and me, spent with these Grandparents. I still remember my Dad telling me about his first trip or Honeymoon with mom when they just got married and went to visit her Russian family in the village my Grandparents were from. The Russian relatives looked at my Dad and told him that he does not look like a Devil at all (talking about exaggeration of the Communistic regime and brainwashing of population). Even in my class I was called "German swine" with two other students who shared German heritage 40 years after the WWII.
My Siblings in Chruschev's Apartments in 1985
My Parents and My Father's Sister with Her Husband, Now in Germany
The hell broke loose in our family when my brother graduated University at 1995 as a Forest and Park Engineer and had to join the Army for 2 years. In this time the possibility opened up for us to leave Russia and come back to fathers roots, to Germany Bavaria, where my Grandfather's sister still resided. Otherwise, my brother had a high possibility of going to fight Chechen's in Chechnja and probably get killed. My parents almost divorced about it. I just graduated High school and received a Scholarship for the Medical University. Eventually, after much talking with all family members and weighting pros and cons, we did immigrate, and our life in Germany wasn't easy for about 5 years. After we assimilated, everything fell into place; My mom could not work in Germany as a Math and Physic teacher, because she still lacked the German language, and my Dad was very happy having her home. He found his steady job without a problem and continued to be an asset to it's company. My brother got his degree accepted and is working for the Government in the Forest Department in Mannheim. I graduated from 2 colleges and was working with disabled people as a Special Education teacher and Counselor until I met my husband, who happened to be a German-Dutch American stationed in Germany, Bavaria while serving in the United States Army.
I came here with him, and we got married just after courting about 5 months and without understanding each other much. He did not speak Russian or German. I learned English pretty fast, and found a job in a retail store until I got pregnant and have been a stay at home mom ever since. Since neither of my degrees got accepted, I began college again. The interesting thing about my story is that if you look at the globe, my husband and I were born on absolutely different sides of it, and destiny and God brought us together! Also, our genes are almost the same: I am 50/50 Russian and German, my husband is 50/50 German-Dutch. Our kids still continue to have 50 percent of German genes in them, it is amazing! I sometimes think what could have happened if my Russian Grandfather would have decided to go to America after WWII was over? Interesting, isn't it? There are so many stories to write about family life in Russia, about the regime, about the different cultures I was brought up, but I would have to write a book...
I hope you enjoyed my family story.
I came here with him, and we got married just after courting about 5 months and without understanding each other much. He did not speak Russian or German. I learned English pretty fast, and found a job in a retail store until I got pregnant and have been a stay at home mom ever since. Since neither of my degrees got accepted, I began college again. The interesting thing about my story is that if you look at the globe, my husband and I were born on absolutely different sides of it, and destiny and God brought us together! Also, our genes are almost the same: I am 50/50 Russian and German, my husband is 50/50 German-Dutch. Our kids still continue to have 50 percent of German genes in them, it is amazing! I sometimes think what could have happened if my Russian Grandfather would have decided to go to America after WWII was over? Interesting, isn't it? There are so many stories to write about family life in Russia, about the regime, about the different cultures I was brought up, but I would have to write a book...
I hope you enjoyed my family story.