We Grew Up Early: Childhood of German Special Settlers in Kazakhstan as Reflected in Deportee Memoirs
Journal: Quaestio Rossica
Year: 2025

Based on interviews and materials from the state archives of Kazakhstan, this article analyses the characteristics of growing up, socialisation, and school education that remain in the memories of the “children of deportation” who were expelled with their parents in 1941. An examination of the history of childhood among German special settlers enables the reconstruction of significant stages in the perception of reality as experienced by German children. The authors examine the influence of soci