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Archiver > GER-VOLGA > 2006-01 > 1136989038


From: Jerry Frank <>
Subject: Re: Books
Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2006 07:17:18 -0700


Ruth:

Since you don't trust even your American history books, you must
suspect all historical material. Certainly you are correct in
recognizing that every history book written has certain personal or
political or religious biases. Books written in Germany in the 1930s
*might* have a Nazi bent to them. Etc. It is our job to sort
through this material to see if we can find common threads that
should lead us to the facts. The stories that have affected GR lore
in North America for the last 100 years are romanticized versions of
the GR migration. In comparing them to historical sources, you can
find the facts and root out the "romance" parts. Reading a variety
of historical sources will at least get us closer to the truth if not
to the actual truth. Unfortunately, some so-called historians have
based their GR history on the lore rather than on solid research so
we have to try to sort out that as well.

And then of course we also have to deal with modern media who don't
bother doing any research. They trust what people tell them and in
the process become a very good medium for distributing and
perpetuating historical error.

Of the two references I offered yesterday, one is a Canadian
Mennonite writing about the entire GR migration through all areas of
Russia. The other is an English University professor writing
generally about foreign migration into Russia. From totally
different perspectives, they agree on many parts of GR history. Add
a few more credible authors into the mix with a similar approach to
historical research, and I think you will find that what we say about
the relationship between Catherine and the GRs is true and the lore
is in error.



Jerry Frank - Calgary, Alberta




From: <mailto:>
Subject: Books
Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2006 18:46:41 -0600 (CST)

I thank everyone for sharing their sources for their beliefs. I am not
easily convinced that these people are experts on whatever. I see most of
the work is in Russian - and we all know that they did not have freedom of
speech as we do in America. I would think that there writings would go
along with what the government wanted to be released. I would have to
know more on their background and the dates etc that they were written. I
know there are many books written in America today, and it is with a slant
as to how they perceive things and absolutely not the truth. I have seen
history changed in schools books in this country- A free America.


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