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History > Famine 1921-1924 > Letters > ​March 13, 1924

Headline:

Norka, January 7, 1924
​
To: Mr. Johannes Dick
Charleston, Washington

Dear uncle and aunt Johannes and Barbara:

This letter is being written by your deceased sister Elisabeth's youngest son, Georg Weidenkeller. I wish you aunts Annamaria and Louise to know that I and my family are still in good health but we find ourselves ever increasingly in a greater emergency. The harvest last summer helped quite a bit and hunger has been somewhat quieted, but with clothing items things are very bad and then also with the house. If you were here and glimpsed our situation for an instant you would certainly say: "Yes, our sister's children are poor and to be pitied," and I believe your hearts would melt, as they say. We have often wished that we were already in America among you but because this cannot be we must patiently carry on.

Dear uncle and you three aunts: the $50 that you sent us through Mr. Val. J. Peter, publisher of Die Welt-Post, was received by us with great joy. On the 9th of January we took a pass and drove to Saratov and had the bank check cashed. How thankful we and our innocent children are that you have helped us! A thousand thanks and with my best greetings I remain your nephew,

Georg Weidenkeller


Norka, 20 January

Dear uncle and you other aunts:

You should know that we safely received the $50- which you sent to my name. We all cried from great joy and thankfulness. I, as the eldest son of your deceased sister, distributed the money as you ordered, namely: $20 for myself, $15 for my brother Georg, $10 for sister Luise's orphaned children, and $5 for the four sisters, who were however, not pleased about it. They want to complain to you themselves about their emergency.

As Georg has already written you, I went with my pass to Saratov and exchanged the check of $50 and received eleven billion, five hundred million ruble for it. My cost to get the money in Saratov was about $2. In the main, hunger has been quieted but there are still people who are starving and freezing due to the shortage of food and clothing. In a word, dear uncle and aunts, you have our deepest heartfelt thanks for your help, and do not forget us in the future.

With greetings from our house to your house, your sister's son,

Heinrich Weidenkeller

Sources

Die Welt-Post, March 13, 1924, page 5.

​This translation provided courtesy of Hugh Lichtenwald.
Last updated March 7, 2016.
Copyright © 2002-2023 Steven H. Schreiber
  • Home
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    • Reviews
    • Contact
  • People
    • Founders
    • Personal Histories
    • Notable Norkans
    • Stories
    • Photo Identification
    • Photo Gallery
  • 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