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History > Famine 1921-1924 > Letters > January 12, 1922

Headline: ​Letter from Alt-Norka (Old Norka)

Norka, October 1st, 1921

To: Wilhelm Deines, Norfolk, Nebraska

Written in the name of the true God.

Dear Uncle and Aunt Deines:

We are happy to inform you that we safely received your letter and we are pleased that you are well. We are also glad to hear that you had a good harvest. We also thank you for the invitation to come to America. That would make us very happy because we have often longed to be with you, if only for a day. The route remains unsafe on account of the poor railway system here and without bread for the trip across country to a foreign land, it is a risky thing.

Ach! How great the emergency is with us. If you were here Uncle Wilhelm, and could see everything as it is, and we could tell you of our experiences then not only would you cry tears of water but also tears of blood.

(Now the writer states the high food prices with which our readers are sufficiently acquainted---Die Welt-Post Editor)

Vetter (uncle) Johannes, Vetter Konrad, Vetter Heinrich Howa (Huwa??) and your Brother-in-law Luka and their families are still well. On the other hand, your parents-in-law are both dead. Your sister-in-law Lisbeth and her husband and children are well. Because of the famine and other emergencies, the death rate is very high; from 5 to 7 people are buried daily. The largest of all complaints is: no bread, no bread! The people eat pumpkins and sugar beets and many do not even have that. For this reason, the bitterest of emergencies, we ask you to send us some food, as other people have received from their friends, flour, sugar and rice.

My parents are not yet drawn to America but I would gladly leave today, this very morning. As soon as travel improves I will write you. You must help me to return to America.

With the best of greetings to you all, I await your answer.

Your brother's child,

Jakob Deines

Sources

Die Welt-Post, 12 Jan 1922, page 5.

​This translation provided courtesy of Hugh Lichtenwald.
Last updated March 3, 2016.
Copyright © 2002-2023 Steven H. Schreiber
  • Home
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  • Community
    • Village Life
    • Entertainment
    • Agriculture
    • Climate
    • Homesites
    • Geographical Description
    • Government
    • Social Structure
    • Health
    • Education
    • A Land of Ethnic Diversity
    • Cottage Industries >
      • Sarpinka
      • Mills
    • Language
    • Population
    • Military Service
    • Crime and Punishment
  • History
    • Timeline
    • Origins of the Colonists
    • Catherine's Manifesto 1763
    • Why go to Russia?
    • Recruitment 1766
    • Planning 1764-1766
    • Marriages Prior To Emigration 1766
    • Voyage to Russia 1766 >
      • Ship Transport 1766
    • Journey 1766-1767
    • Founding of Norka 1767
    • Early Years 1767-1769
    • Norka 1769
    • Pallas Report 1773
    • Pugachev Raid 1774
    • Norka 1775
    • Norka 1798
    • Norka 1811
    • Napoleons Soldiers
    • Norka 1834
    • Daughter Colonies 1850s >
      • Neu-Norka
      • Oberdorf
      • Brunnental
      • Rosenfeld (am Jeruslan)
      • Neu Hussenbach (Gaschon)
    • Privileges Lost 1871-1874
    • Immigration 1875-1924 >
      • To the United States >
        • Colorado
        • Ft Collins Colorado
        • Globeville Colorado
        • Mason City, Iowa
        • Culbertson, Nebraska
        • Lincoln, Nebraska
        • Sutton, Nebraska
        • Burlington, Oklahoma
        • Weatherford, Oklahoma
        • Canby, Oregon
        • Portland, Oregon
      • To Canada >
        • Duffield, Alberta
        • Ponoka, Alberta
        • Spruce Grove, Alberta
        • Stony Plain, Alberta
        • Vegreville, Alberta
        • Arcola, Saskatchewan
      • To Germany
      • To South America
    • Famine 1891-1892
    • Norka 1898
    • War & Turnoil 1904-1906
    • World War 1914-1918
    • Revolution & War 1917-1922
    • Soviet Rule 1918-1941
    • Famine 1921-1924
    • Famine 1932-1933
    • The Great Terror 1936-1938
    • Deportation 1941
    • Repression 1941-1956
    • Cultural Loss 1957-2006
    • A Culture in Peril
    • Recent Times
  • Traditions
    • Food and Drink
    • Clothing
    • Holidays >
      • New Year
      • Fastnacht
      • Lent
      • Easter
      • Ascension Day
      • Pentecost
      • Founder's Day
      • Harvest Festival
      • Jahrmarkt
      • Christmas
      • Anniversaries & Birthdays
    • Crafts
    • Games
    • Folk Medicine
    • Superstitions
    • Nicknames
    • Folk Music
    • Church Music
    • Prayers
    • Baptism
    • Confirmation
    • Communion
    • Weddings
    • Funerals and Burials
  • Religion
    • Planning and History >
      • Norka Reformed Church 1767-1864
      • 1909 Norka Parish Report
    • Pastors >
      • Johann Heinrich Fuchs
      • Johann Georg Herwig
      • Johannes Baptista Cattaneo
      • Lukas Cattaneo
      • Emanuel Grunauer
      • Friedrich Börner
      • Christian Gottlieb Hegele
      • Christoph H Bonwetsch
      • Gottlieb N Bonwetsch
      • Wilhelm Staerkel
      • Woldemar Sibbul
      • David Weigum
      • Friedrich Alexander Wacker
      • Emil Pfeiffer
    • Church Practices >
      • Parochial Certificates
    • Church Buildings
    • Church Organs
    • Bell Tower
    • Brethren Movement
  • Resources
    • Family Research
    • Research Resources >
      • Arrival Records 1766
      • Descendant Charts
      • German EWZ Records
      • Soviet Gulag Records
    • Maps
    • Glossary
    • Bibliography
    • Periodicals >
      • Die Welt-Post Letters
    • Related Links