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The Germans from Russia: Children of the Steppe, Children of the Prairie

Although restless, they had deep roots in home. Germans from Russia are agricultural pioneers who are a distinctive group on several continents. Although these people appeared to be, and were often called Russian, they called themselves German. This film begins with a history of Germans immigrating to Russia. The history of German Russians included in this film is very extensive, and compares life in Russia to life in Germany. The immigration of German Russians to America is also discussed at length.

The German Russians often traveled together with people who shared their dialect, religion, and heritage.

I was amused by the some of the stories told about the German Russians’ first contact with America. Many were initially frightened by the Statue of Liberty (a tall woman with large horns coming out of her head), also when they arrived at Ellis Island the immigrants thought they were eating terrible butter on their bread, but really it was ice cream!

The film explains how German Russians mostly settled on the Great Plains. Traditions, the value of community, and hard work are discussed in this film. It is pointed out in the film that German Russians think locally, act globally; examining how hungry for German Russians are for community and identifying with others like them.

The importance of the German language is focused on in the film. It is pointed out that many German Russians thought God couldn’t understand English. I am amazed by how much these elderly German Russians remember about their childhood, and their parents’ childhood. I also loved the way the language is so mixed with many of these German/English speaking North Dakotans. They start the sentence in English, and use some words in German to make a point.

German Russian history and way of life is closely examined in this film. Narrators reminiscing about their lives as German Russians on the plains made the film even more personal.