MEMORIES OF SOVIET GERMANS AS A SOURCE FOR STUDYING THE HISTORY OF DEPORTATION AND SPECIAL SETTLEMENT (1941-1956)

Abstract

The article analyzes the information potential of personal sources (memories, memoirs) as a tool for reconstructing the history of Soviet Germans during the period of deportation and special settlement (1941–1956). The relevance of this study stems from the need to introduce new historical sources into scholarly circulation to supplement the official picture of the past with a “human dimension” ‒ the emotional experiences, everyday practices, and survival strategies of the deported people. Based on unpublished materials from the family archives of Russian Germans who found themselves in Siberia, the authors identifies three chronological stages recorded in the memoirs: deportation and the journey to Siberia (1941‒1942), mobilization into the labor army (1942‒1948), and life in a special settlement (until 1956). Particular attention is paid to the problem of the subjectivity of memories, conditioned by traumatic experience, temporal distance, and age characteristics of the authors. The article shows that, despite factual inaccuracies that require clarification through critical comparison with archival documents, the memoirs contain unique information about working and living conditions, interethnic relations, the psychological state of the special settlers, and their struggle to preserve their identity. A conclusion is drawn about the high value of personal sources for studying the socio-economic and culturalpsychological aspects of the history of Russian Germans. The author states that, despite their subjectivity, this type of source is important for understanding the history of not only Russian Germans but also the entire Soviet period of the country's history, as these sources contain unique information about the lives of these individuals. The article is based on previously unpublished memoirs of Russian (Soviet) Germans, collected by the Kemerovo Regional Association of Public Organizations “Coordinating Council of Germans”, and the author. In addition, it includes materials from Russian scholars who have studied memoirs as a historical source