From Gulag to Freedom : The Indomitable Spirit of the Volga Germans
People everywhere have heard of the illustrious Catherine the Great. Now readers will learn about the indomitable Katharina Grushova and how her engrossing story mirrors the sorrows and struggles of the Volga German people. This third book in "The Volga Flows Forever" trilogy is masterfully and superbly done. --Timothy J. Kloberdanz, North Dakota State UniversityThis is a searing portrait of individual determination in the face of overwhelming political and social forces. Weidenweber vividly conveys the reality of life in Stalin s USSR, the tragedy it inflicted, and the culture shock of encountering the Western capitalist world in the aftermath of the Second World War. --Brian J. Els, University of PortlandUsing a subtitle "The indomitable Spirit of the Volga Germans" Sigrid Weidenweber weaves a narrative of the "impossible"struggle the Germans in Russia endured through the intended famine of the 1920s, the capricious and sadistic Stalin years of collectivization during the 1930s, deportation and imprisonment to the gulags in the 1940s, and to the riches of California in the 1950s a beautiful, correct, thrilling exposé. --LaVern J. Rippley, St. Olaf College