Volga German Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic

The Volga German Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (German: Autonome Sozialistische Sowjet-Republik der Wolga-Deutschen, Russian: Автономная Советская Социалистическая Республика Немцев Поволжья) was an autonomy established in the Soviet Union, with its capital at the Volga port of Engels (until 1931 known as Pokrovsk) in 1918 following the Russian Revolution, in the area of compact settlement of the large Volga German minority in Russia, ...

Including:

• Volga German Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic - External link

Read more here: » Volga German Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic: Encyclopedia - Volga German Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic

The earliest German settlement in Russia dates back to the reign of Vasili III in the 16th century. A handful of German and Dutch craftsmen and traders were allowed to establish themselves in Moscow's German Quarter (Немецкая слобода, or Nemetskaya sloboda), providing essential technical skills in the capital. Gradually, this policy extended to a few other major cities. Peter the Great was greatly influenced by the international community located in the German Quarter, and his efforts to transform Russia i ...

See also:

History of Germans in Russia and the Soviet Union, History of Germans in Russia and the Soviet Union - Germans in central Russia and Ukraine, History of Germans in Russia and the Soviet Union - Decline of the Russian Germans, History of Germans in Russia and the Soviet Union - Germans in the Baltics

Read more here: » History of Germans in Russia and the Soviet Union: Encyclopedia II - History of Germans in Russia and the Soviet Union - Germans in central Russia and Ukraine

The Volga river in Western Russia, Europe's longest river, with a length of 3,690 km (2,293 miles), provides the core of the largest river system in Europe. The names of the Volga in the languages of different ethnic populations located along it are: Russian В́олга Tatar İdel, Идел, Chuvash Атăл (Atăl) Mordvin Рав (Raw) Mari ...

Including:

• Volga River - Description
• Volga River - Confluents
• Volga River - Human History
• Volga River - Ethnic Groups
• Volga River - Navigation
• Volga River - Related articles

Read more here: » Volga River: Encyclopedia - Volga River

See also Baltic German The German presence on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea dates back to the Middle Ages when traders and missionaries started arriving from central Europe. The German-speaking Livonian Brothers of the Sword conquered most of what is now Estonia and Latvia (the former Livonia) in the early 13th century. In 1237, the Brothers of the Sword were incorporated into the Teutonic Knights. Over the course of the next several centuries, the Teutonic Order solidified into a regime of mostly German-speaking ...

See also:

History of Germans in Russia and the Soviet Union, History of Germans in Russia and the Soviet Union - Germans in central Russia and Ukraine, History of Germans in Russia and the Soviet Union - Decline of the Russian Germans, History of Germans in Russia and the Soviet Union - Germans in the Baltics

Read more here: » History of Germans in Russia and the Soviet Union: Encyclopedia II - History of Germans in Russia and the Soviet Union - Germans in the Baltics

The decline of the Russian German community started with the reforms of Alexander III. In 1871, he repealed the open door immigration policy of his ancestors, effectively ending any new German immigration into the Empire. Although the German colonies continued to expand, they were driven by natural growth and by the immigration of Germans from Poland. The Russian nationalism that took root under Alexander III served as a justification for eliminating in 1871 the bulk of the tax privileges enjoyed by Russian Germans, and after 1874 the ...

See also:

History of Germans in Russia and the Soviet Union, History of Germans in Russia and the Soviet Union - Germans in central Russia and Ukraine, History of Germans in Russia and the Soviet Union - Decline of the Russian Germans, History of Germans in Russia and the Soviet Union - Germans in the Baltics

Read more here: » History of Germans in Russia and the Soviet Union: Encyclopedia II - History of Germans in Russia and the Soviet Union - Decline of the Russian Germans

After the Russian Revolution, the Volga German Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (Autonome Sozialistische Sowjet-Republik der Wolga-Deutschen; Автоно́мная Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респу́блика Не́мцев Пово́лжья) was established from 1924–1942 with the capital in Engels (known as "Pokrovsk" before 1931). As the Nazis advanced into the USSR towards Volga, Joseph Stalin became worried about the possibility of Volga Germans collaborating with them. On August 28, 1941 ...

See also:

Volga German, Volga German - Catherine the Great, Volga German - The twentieth century, Volga German - The present day, Volga German - Volga Germans in North America, Volga German - Volga Germans in South America

Read more here: » Volga German: Encyclopedia II - Volga German - The twentieth century

Organised persecution of ethnic Germans - Australia. Persecution of ethnic Germans was much the same in Australia as it was in the United States during World War I. Many were interned for the duration of the war and others faced hostility from their fellow citizens. To avoid persecution, many Germans changed their names into anglicised or Francophone variants. Organised persecution of ethnic Germans - Germany. The book Other Losses by James Bacque (ISBN 1551681919) alleg ...

See also:

Organised persecution of ethnic Germans, Organised persecution of ethnic Germans - Background, Organised persecution of ethnic Germans - Specific Locales, Organised persecution of ethnic Germans - Australia, Organised persecution of ethnic Germans - Germany, Organised persecution of ethnic Germans - Soviet Union, Organised persecution of ethnic Germans - Poland, Organised persecution of ethnic Germans - Norway, Organised persecution of ethnic Germans - Italy, Organised persecution of ethnic Germans - United States, Organised persecution of ethnic Germans - Canada, Organised persecution of ethnic Germans - Britain

Read more here: » Organised persecution of ethnic Germans: Encyclopedia II - Organised persecution of ethnic Germans - Specific Locales

Over the last thousand years tens of thousands of Germans emigrated from traditional German lands in Central Europe and settled further east in Russia, present day Romania and other countries. Many Germans settled in the Baltic and parts of present day Poland in colonies established by the Teutonic Knights beginning in the Thirteenth Century. The Knights were also granted rights in Transylvania res ...

See also:

Volksdeutsche, Volksdeutsche - Origins, Volksdeutsche - During Nazi Times, Volksdeutsche - Poland, Volksdeutsche - Bibliography

Read more here: » Volksdeutsche: Encyclopedia II - Volksdeutsche - Origins

The main motives for the apprehension of suspected collaborators were: Trial and, if guilty, punishment of traitors, for example members of the Waffen-SS British Free Corps. Revenge for those killed, especially those killed on ethnic grounds in the Holocaust (principally amongst Jews and Russians) A desire after a bitter war, to see those responsible face justice, and be characterised as criminals under a court of law (See Nuremburg Trials). To ensure that the acts done were brought to light ...

See also:

Pursuit of Nazi collaborators, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - Background, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - Means of pursuit, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - Controversial aspects, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - Pursuit in specific countries, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - Argentina, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - Australia, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - Belgium, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - Czechoslovakia, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - France, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - Netherlands, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - Norway, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - Poland, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - Soviet Union, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - United Kingdom, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - Yugoslavia

Read more here: » Pursuit of Nazi collaborators: Encyclopedia II - Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - Background

Rising in the Valdai Hills 225 m (740 ft) above sea level north-west of Moscow and about 320 kilometres south-east of Saint Petersburg, the Volga heads east past Tver', Dubna, Yaroslavl, Nizhny Novgorod and Kazan (Qazan). From there it turns south, flows past Tolyatti, Samara and Volgograd, and discharges into the Caspian Sea below Astrakhan at 28 metres below sea level. At its most strategic point, it bends toward the Don ("the big bend"). Volgo ...

See also:

Volga River, Volga River - Description, Volga River - Confluents, Volga River - Human History, Volga River - Ethnic Groups, Volga River - Navigation

Read more here: » Volga River: Encyclopedia II - Volga River - Description

In Poland during World War II, Polish citizens of German ancestry, who often identified themselves with the Polish nation, were confronted with the dilemma of whether to sign the Volksliste, the list of Germans living in Poland. This included ethnic Germans whose families had lived in Poland proper for centuries, and Germans (who after 1920 became citizens of Poland) from the part of Germany that had ...

See also:

Volksdeutsche, Volksdeutsche - Origins, Volksdeutsche - During Nazi Times, Volksdeutsche - Poland, Volksdeutsche - Bibliography

Read more here: » Volksdeutsche: Encyclopedia II - Volksdeutsche - Poland

In ancient historical times the Volga was known as the Atil, Itil or Idil, a Turkic name meaning "long river." The arrival of the Turkics, however, postdates the more remote occupation of the region by Indoeuropeans. Specifically, "Volga" is probably a Slavicization of a proto-Baltic name related to Lithuanian Jilga, "long river". The upper Volga was the border of a prehistoric Baltic-speaking population, as attested by river names. Such names as Ilgupe, "the long river", and others like it are frequent in Lithuania an ...

See also:

Volga River, Volga River - Description, Volga River - Confluents, Volga River - Human History, Volga River - Ethnic Groups, Volga River - Navigation

Read more here: » Volga River: Encyclopedia II - Volga River - Human History

The Volga is of great importance to inland shipping and transport in Russia: all the dams in the river have been equipped with large (double) ship locks, so that vessels of considerable dimensions can actually travel from the Caspian Sea almost to the upstream end of the river. Connections with the Don River and the Black Sea are possible through the Volga-Don Canal; connections with the lakes of the North and with Saint Petersburg are possible through the Volga-Baltic Waterway and a liaison with Moscow has been realised by the Moscow Canal ...

See also:

Volga River, Volga River - Description, Volga River - Confluents, Volga River - Human History, Volga River - Ethnic Groups, Volga River - Navigation

Read more here: » Volga River: Encyclopedia II - Volga River - Navigation

During Nazi times, the term "Volksdeutsche" referred to foreign-born Germans living in countries occupied by Germany who applied for German citizenship. Prior to World War II, well above ten million ethnic Germans lived in Central and Eastern Europe. They constituted an important minority far into Russia. Before and during WW2, some Volksdeutsche in some countries like Czechoslovakia, Poland or Yugoslavia, actively supported the Nazis by espionage, sabotage and other services against their countries of origin(see Selbstschutz). Most Volksdeu ...

See also:

Volksdeutsche, Volksdeutsche - Origins, Volksdeutsche - During Nazi Times, Volksdeutsche - Poland, Volksdeutsche - Bibliography

Read more here: » Volksdeutsche: Encyclopedia II - Volksdeutsche - During Nazi Times

The indigeneus population of Upper Volga were Finnic Merya, that were assimilated to Russians. Some theory sees Volga as a Finnic word valka to be translated as water. Another Finnic ethnic groups are Maris, Mordvins of Middle Volga. Turkic population, appeared in the 600s and assimilated some Finnic and Indo-European population at the Middle and Downer Volga, later were formed to Christian Chuvash and Muslim Tatars, also to Nogais, that was supplanted to Daghestan later. Mongolian Buddhis Kal ...

See also:

Volga River, Volga River - Description, Volga River - Confluents, Volga River - Human History, Volga River - Ethnic Groups, Volga River - Navigation

Read more here: » Volga River: Encyclopedia II - Volga River - Ethnic Groups

The Volga Germans never returned to the Volga region. After the war, many settled in the Ural Mountains, Siberia, Kazakhstan (2% of todays Kazakh population are recognized as Germans - approximately 300,000), Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan (appr. 16,000 = 0.064%). Decades after the war, some talked about resettling where the German Autonomous Republic used to be, but this movement met with opposition from the population resettl ...

See also:

Volga German, Volga German - Catherine the Great, Volga German - The twentieth century, Volga German - The present day, Volga German - Volga Germans in North America, Volga German - Volga Germans in South America

Read more here: » Volga German: Encyclopedia II - Volga German - The present day

In ancient historical times the Volga was known as the Atil, Itil or Idil, a Turkic name meaning "long river." The arrival of the Turkics, however, postdates the more remote occupation of the region by Indoeuropeans. Specifically, "Volga" is probably a Slavicization of a proto-Baltic name related to Lithuanian Jilga, "long river". The upper Volga was the border of a prehistoric Baltic-speaking population, as attested by river names. Such names as Ilgupe, "the long river", and others like it are frequent in Lithuania an ...

See also:

Volga River, Volga River - Description, Volga River - Confluents, Volga River - Human History, Volga River - Ethnic Groups, Volga River - Navigation, Volga River - Related articles

Read more here: » Volga River: Encyclopedia II - Volga River - Human History

This pursuit takes many forms, both individual and organised. Several organizations hunt for and pursue individuals they believe complicit in Nazi war crimes. Others were due to after-war spontaneous retaliation committed by populations within occupied countries. Some of the main ways this pursuit took place were: Individuals who reported they saw someone that they recognised, who had now assumed an identity and were slipping back into civilian life undetected. Specific individuals named and sought by g ...

See also:

Pursuit of Nazi collaborators, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - Background, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - Means of pursuit, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - Controversial aspects, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - Pursuit in specific countries, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - Argentina, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - Australia, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - Belgium, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - Czechoslovakia, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - France, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - Netherlands, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - Norway, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - Poland, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - Soviet Union, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - United Kingdom, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - Yugoslavia

Read more here: » Pursuit of Nazi collaborators: Encyclopedia II - Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - Means of pursuit

Historically, the persecution of German-speaking communities in Central and Eastern Europe was due to many causes. In most cases as in the Sudetenland and Poland, such German-speaking communities had to face a hostile environment after annexion of their formerly German or Austro-Hungarian territories by newly created states such as Czechoslovakia or Poland as a sanction of the Treaty of Versailles. After World War II, many such Volksdeutsche were killed or driven from their homes in acts of vengeance, more often in order to conquer and to ethnically cleanse those territo ...

See also:

Organised persecution of ethnic Germans, Organised persecution of ethnic Germans - Background, Organised persecution of ethnic Germans - Specific Locales, Organised persecution of ethnic Germans - Australia, Organised persecution of ethnic Germans - Germany, Organised persecution of ethnic Germans - Soviet Union, Organised persecution of ethnic Germans - Poland, Organised persecution of ethnic Germans - Norway, Organised persecution of ethnic Germans - Italy, Organised persecution of ethnic Germans - United States, Organised persecution of ethnic Germans - Canada, Organised persecution of ethnic Germans - Britain

Read more here: » Organised persecution of ethnic Germans: Encyclopedia II - Organised persecution of ethnic Germans - Background

Volga Germans emigrated to the United States and Canada and settled mainly in the Great Plains; Alberta, eastern Colorado, Kansas, Manitoba, Minnesota, eastern Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Washington,Saskatchewan, and often succeeding in dryland farming, a skill learned in Russia. Many of the emigrants who arrived after between 1870 and 1912 spent a period doing farm labor, in northeastern Colorado and Montana in the sugar beet fields. Bernhard Warkentin, a German Russian, was born in a small Russian village in 1847, ...

See also:

Volga German, Volga German - Catherine the Great, Volga German - The twentieth century, Volga German - The present day, Volga German - Volga Germans in North America, Volga German - Volga Germans in South America

Read more here: » Volga German: Encyclopedia II - Volga German - Volga Germans in North America