Russian Germans in Search of their Identity – Doomed to Be StrangersBook Review: Denisova-Schmidt E. (2015) Russlanddeutsche. Geschichte und Gegenwart. Zeitzeugen erzählen über Heimat, Migration und Engagement, Stuttgart: Ibidem-Verlag.

Abstract

El’vira Leont’eva – Doctor of Science in Sociology, Associate Professor, Head, Department of Sociology, Politology and Regional Studies, Pacific National University. Address: 136, Tikhookeanskaya St., Khabarovsk, 680035, Russian Federation. E-mail: elvira.leontyeva@gmail.com

This book by Denisova-Schmidt is an attempt to reconstruct the formation of the ‘Russian Germans’ ethnic group by drawing on the actual stories of families who moved to Germany in the late 20th century. The author shows how the typical features of the biographies of these people (life in the USSR – work in labour camps – migration to Germany) influenced their self-identification and adaptation patterns in a new social environment. The book immerses the reader in a world of people with uncertain national identity, who were doomed to experience life as outsiders, whatever the environment they were in. Russian Germans living in Germany are often mistakenly referred to by many native Germans as ‘Russians’. One reason for this is that there is a lack of knowledge about these people, their life stories and their current situation. This kind of knowledge was also lacking in the USSR – from which most Russian Germans came to Germany – in the USSR they were often called ‘fascists’. But who are these people really? Why do they have German surnames and yet speak German with a Russian accent? These and other questions are thoroughly examined in the book. The study is based on 15 biographical interviews with Russian Germans currently dwelling in the region of Upper Rhine/Black Forest (Baden-Württemberg). Interviewees talk extensively about the stories of their families, their lives in the USSR, their resettlement and reintegration in Germany. In addition to the common biographical pattern, these people share a common pattern of participation in community service: all of them are volunteers in the German Chernobyl Initiative. As part of this activity they frequently host children and young people from the Chernobyl area during summer holidays; they go to Belarus to help renovate a school building in a local village; on various other occasions they also help as interpreters, translators and experts on Russian culture. Without their valuable contribution the Initiative’s activities would scarcely be possible both in Germany or Belarus. The book is valuable not only in filling some knowledge gaps about the Russian Germans, but also in explaining their motivation for volunteer work – the type of activism which did not exist in the USSR. In addition to the desire to help those in need, especially children, such volunteering also provides the Russian Germans with an opportunity to get to know native Germans better, to understand their mentality, to find a new identity and to gain recognition as experts linking the Russian and the German languages and cultures. It turns out that the double identity (‘Germans’ in the USSR and ‘Russians’ in Germany) is not as relevant for their successful reintegration in Germany, as is their involvement in charity work and community service. Denisova-Schmidt makes a good argument by concluding that this could be viewed as an efficient strategy for integrating other minority groups in the country.