American Historical Society of Germans from Russia

06/01/2026

A summer kitchen is a separate cooking space often located away from the main house, used primarily during warm weather. It helps keep the house cooler by allowing cooking outside the primary living area. Such kitchens typically featured their own cooking facilities, sometimes including brick ovens for baking and preparing meals and preserves for the winter.

John George Riedel Family in front of a house with summer kitchen. Anna, Lydia, Anna, Marie, Jacob, George, John and a cousin Alex.

Online Collections Database https://ahsgr.org/research/archives-and-special-collections/

05/29/2026

Napoleonic Soldiers Join the Volga Germans

In 1814, approximately 180 soldiers that had been captured by the Russians during Napoleon’s invasion were settled among the German colonies along the Russian Volga River. These former soldiers joined a very vibrant and unique Volga German culture. Descendants of many of these soldiers later migrated to the Plains of Kansas. This presentation will delve into this topic with a discussion about who these soldiers were and how they came to be a part of the Volga German diaspora.

Dr. Brent Mai currently serves as the Dean of Libraries at Wichita State University. He is also the director of the Volga German Institute (VolgaGermanInstitute.org). He has spoken worldwide about the history and culture of the Volga Germans. Dr. Mai has also written extensively about the history and culture of Volga Germans, authoring numerous books and articles for AHSGR and translating hundreds of Russian documents that are used by Volga German researchers around the world. Dr.Mai holds degrees from Bethany College (Kansas), George Washington University, the University of Texas at Austin, and Vanderbilt University. Dr. Mai has been a Life Member of AHSGR since 1982.

Register Today: https://ahsgr.org/convention-2026/

AHSGR (American Historical Society of Germans from Russia) is dedicated to the preservation and continuation of German Russian heritage.

05/28/2026

AHSGR has created a virtual tour of the historic German-Russian neighborhood, the North Bottoms, in Lincoln, NE! We invite you to tour Lincoln’s North Bottoms Neighborhood and learn about the influence of German Russian immigrants on this neighborhood. We would like to thank the Nebraska State Historical Society Foundation for funding this project.

View this and other virtual tours at: https://ahsgr.org/virtual_tours/

05/28/2026

Do you have a recipe you would like to share?
https://ahsgr.org/recipes/

05/28/2026

Today is Give to Lincoln Day! Donate to the AHSGR and your donation will receive a match from generous G2LD sponsors.

Thank you for your support.

Donate here: https://givetolincoln.com/nonprofits/american-historical-society-of-germans-from-russia

05/27/2026

Remember AHSGR on Give to Lincoln Day Tomorrow!
Your generous donation will be used for campus improvements, preserving our space, enhancing visitor experience, and creating a more welcoming environment in our historic South Bottoms community.

Every donation to the AHSGR through G2LD makes a bigger impact because nonprofits also get a proportional share of a $650,000 match fund made possible by the Lincoln Community Foundation and generous G2LD sponsors.

Donate here: https://givetolincoln.com/nonprofits/american-historical-society-of-germans-from-russia

05/26/2026

The Irony of It All
Presented by Randy Entzminger

Follow Private John Mayer, a young German-Russian immigrant, as he goes through Basic Training, Infantry Training, and into battle in France near the end of WWI. John’s letters home give us insight into his military training, his love of God and Family, and his feelings as he prepares to go to Europe. The story ends with his death on the battlefield in France, on November 10th, 1918, the day before the armistice.

The irony of it all… John’s death was less than 150 miles from the village that his family left in 1817 to avoid conscription.

This presentation is a family effort. John is my wife’s great-uncle.

About the speaker

Randy Entzminger is a retired electrical engineer from Gackle, North Dakota. He served more than five years in the U.S. Air Force and spent over 35 years in the electronics and electrical fields. He and his wife, Julie, have been married nearly 47 years and have two married daughters and two grandchildren. Randy has presented at GRHS conventions and to German-Russian and historical groups across North and South Dakota. He is a member of the North Dakota G-R Tri-County Tourism Alliance and is the adjutant/historian for the Mayer-Morlock Post 250 of the American Legion in Gackle.

Register Here: https://ahsgr.org/event/treffen-tuesday-13-18-6/

05/25/2026

05/23/2026

My Family’s Life in Siberia: Germans in the Soviet Union, 1940s–1960s

This presentation shares the story of the speaker’s Volga German family in post–World War II Siberia, where they were exiled following the 1941 deportations. Drawing on family archives, photographs, and documents, the session provides a personal and historical perspective on life in Siberia during this challenging period. Passages from the speaker’s mother recount her experiences growing up under these circumstances, offering intimate insights into daily life, traditions, and resilience.

To conclude on a lighter and interactive note, Tanja will lead a brief quiz featuring Volga German dialect words, such as “Pedder” (godfather) and “Goht” godmother). She will also share a short video featuring Maria Reichel, a 100-year-old Volga German from the village of Dittel, Russia, whom she had the opportunity to visit, providing a vivid connection to living Volga German heritage.

Dr. Tatjana “Tanja” Schell was born and raised in Russia in a Volga German family whose roots trace to the village of Seewald (family names: Schell, Arzer, Mari) and Rothammel (Lechmann). In September 1941, her family—along with the entire Volga German population—was deported to the Omsk region of Siberia. After decades in exile and a return to the Volga region, her family emigrated to Germany in the late 1990s, where she now resides.

Dr. Schell holds a PhD in English from North Dakota State University. Her doctoral dissertation examined a private collection of letters sent from the Soviet Union to a Volga German family in the American Midwest. She has been actively involved with the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia for nearly twenty years and has presented at national conventions and numerous AHSGR chapter meetings across the United States.

Register Here: https://ahsgr.org/convention-2026/

05/22/2026

A new ancestral record is available for the village of Eckheim!

Get a copy at : https://ahsgr.org/product/eckheim-russia-birth-records-1897-1907