Voices from the Gulag: The Oppression of the German Minority in the Soviet Union

"Voices from the Gulag" draws on a wealth of available sources to tell the story of the German settlements in Russia, from their beginning during the reign of Empress Catherine the Great, to their accomplishments and, finally, their destruction under Stalin. It relates the harsh living conditions of the survivors in Siberia and Central Asia under subsequent communist governments and, finally, with the collapse of the Soviet Union, their return to their ancient homeland. Their personal stories tell of their suffering, as well as their ability to overcome the hardships of the Soviet Union. Author Ulrich Merten was born in Berlin, Germany, and came to the United States as a small child before the Second World War. His family were political refugees because his father was a lawyer in the Prussian Ministry of the Interior, active in prosecuting the Nazi Party. He was fired immediately when Hitler became Chancellor of Germany in 1933, and sent to Oranienburg Concentration Camp, charged with high treason. Mr. Merten grew up in New York City and after the war, returned to Europe, studying at the University of Zürich, Switzerland and the University of Zaragoza in Spain. He subsequently earned his BA degree at Columbia College, Columbia University and M.A. at the Graduate Faculties, Columbia University. In his professional life he was an international banker, a senior executive of the Bank of America, working almost exclusively in Latin America and the Caribbean, over a period of 38 years. His book, "Forgotten Voices; The Expulsion of the Germans from Eastern Europe after World War II " was published in 2012. There have been eight editions of the book, including soft cover and e-book editions. The author lives in Miami with his wife.

About the Author :
Author Ulrich Merten was born in Berlin, Germany, and came to the United States as a small child before the Second World War. His family were political refugees because his father was a lawyer in the Prussian Ministry of the Interior, active in prosecuting the Nazi Party. He was fired immediately when Hitler became Chancellor of Germany in 1933, and sent to Oranienburg Concentration Camp, charged with high treason. Mr. Merten grew up in New York City and after the war, returned to Europe, studying at the University of Zurich, Switzerland and the University of Zaragoza in Spain. He subsequently earned his BA degree at Columbia College, Columbia University and M.A. at the Graduate Faculties, Columbia University. In his professional life he was an international banker, a senior executive of the Bank of America, working almost exclusively in Latin America and the Caribbean, over a period of 38 years. His book, "Forgotten Voices; The Expulsion of the Germans from Eastern Europe after World War II " was published in 2012 by Transaction Publishers. There have been eight editions of the book, including soft cover and e-book editions. The author lives in Miami with his wife.

Review :
"Merten's gulag voices are those of Germans in 1763 invited by Empress Catherine the Great to tame Russia's vast steppe. Unable to understand his guests, the Russian peasant derisively dubbed them "Nemtsi," from the root word "nemet," meaning tongue-tied or mute. That term has stuck and is still embedded in official Russian parlance. Catherine's well-intentioned venture-initially a success-floundered in the next one and one-half centuries under succeeding monarchs. It eventually spiraled into a Soviet-style abyss of isolation and repression for a once welcomed people. With an utter sense of irony, Merten chooses a title that totally belies the misnomer that the Nemtsi were mutes. With a wealth of documented eyewitness accounts scattered around the globe, he lets the victims expose a little known episode in history to the light of day. This work engages the reader. It is a "must-read." -- James T. Gessele, Instructor of German and German Language Translator; Translator, Germans from Russia Heritage Collection, NDSU Libraries, Fargo