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History > Famine 1921-1924 > Letters > November 16, 1922

Headline:

r​Under the date of 4 Sept., Georg Feuerstein in Norka writes to his nephew William Feuerstein in Grand Island, Nebraska, and thanks him for a $10 Food-Draft.

When the revolution broke out in 1917, he was in service to Borell's in Saratov, where he had worked for 25 years. When the mill property was seized and everything taken away in 1918, Feuerstein left Saratov for Norka where he worked a year for his brother-in-law Hölzer.

Then he bought a small garden plot from his brother Ludwig and lived there in a shed.

Later he worked 4 years in the local mill which the government had taken over. In February of 1922, the mill was closed and Feuerstein lost his employment. Thereafter he remained at his shed in the garden plot.

Feuerstein complains that the people have become sinful and brotherly love was no longer the rule. Everyone had retreated from their neighbors into a thick shell, etc.

He harvested 19 Pud (684 pounds) of rye and 30 Pud (1,080 pounds) of wheat of which he had to surrender 7 Pud (252 pounds) rye and 11 Pud (396 pounds) of wheat for seed.

In September there was already a punishing raw wind coming in from the north. Then it says: "We have nothing to look forward to. Everyone walks around in rags and when I think about the coming winter my heart aches. No fuel, no clothing, nothing for the feet. The children are all going barefoot. As long as it was warm it was alright, but now it's getting cold. For 8 years now I have not been able to buy any yard goods (material/cloth - translator); One always hoped that things would become less expensive, but today one Arschin (2 1/3 ft.) sarpinka (a gingham cloth - translator) costs a million Ruble."

Then he writes what we have so often heard, that without any help from America, they all will starve. Also the emphasis in all the letters is: Clothing, clothing and always again clothing.

Translator's note: Die Welt-Post editors printed a synopsis rather than publishing the entire letter.

Sources

Die Welt-Post, November 16, 1922, page 7.

​This translation provided courtesy of Hugh Lichtenwald.
Last updated March 6, 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