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History > Famine 1921-1924 > Letters > ​April 3, 1924

Headline: ​Balzer, 10 February

Much beloved brother-in-law Jacob Volz:

Be many times greeted by me, your brother-in-law Heinrich Schwabauer.

So far we are all still healthy and also the old mother; but with a heavy heart I must tell you that my wife is very ill.

Sascha and one of the girls would like to come to America if uncle Jacob and aunt Molly come to their aid.

Much beloved brother-in-law and sister-in-law Amalie, a warm greeting from me your sister-in-law Amalia: With tears I must write you and tell you briefly that I am sick. My sickness is a serious women's ailment. Tomorrow at 9 o'clock in the morning I will be operated on her in the hospital. I am standing before a high, high mountain. I am so afraid!

Also know dear brother-in-law, that Konrad Spady, from Norka, is ready with his family to journey to America. He has finished all the paperwork and everything of importance for the journey. He has 23 souls (members in his family- translator).

Brother-in-law Johannes Grasmick has gotten his house back. (Grasmick, like many others in the famine year of 1921, traded his house for a couple of pounds of flour and left to live among the Russians. He spent the winter among them and later returned home again. In the winter of 1923 the government issued a decree that those who fled during the famine but remained in this country should be given back their houses; he had a bit of a battle before receiving the judgment. Thus many such "down and outers" got their homes back but they had to pay back double--J. Volz).

Otherwise things are going pretty well. The livestock are in Kraft.

Heinrich was taken into the Army and has not yet returned.

Greetings, your brother-in-law

Heinrich Schwabauer, No. 895

(Enclosure)

Most esteemed uncle Jacob and aunt Molly:

You are curious as to whether little Wanna is still alive. Yes, here he is. I have already written you 2 letters but have still not received an answer. My family is also healthy and things are going fairly well--but earnings are very poor.

Greetings to you, your Johannes Klein, No. 1015

(This Klein is the son of the well known Joh. Klein, a shoemaker like his father and lives in "Klein Messer." Joseph Zieg was the mayor, now called "Predsedatjell." Klein was twice the mayor. I once lived near a judicial office where Klein artfully cross examined concerned parties like a judge. He visited me often when I was in Balzer.---J. Volz)

Sources

Die Welt-Post, April 3, 1924, page 2.

​This translation provided courtesy of Hugh Lichtenwald.
Last updated March 7, 2016.
Copyright © 2002-2023 Steven H. Schreiber
  • Home
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    • 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