Ron Fuhrmann, a former club member who’s joined us again, has kindly donated two books to our club library:

• Paradise on the Steppe (1973, 411 pages);
• Homesteaders on the Steppe (1975, 431 pages).

Both are by the same author, Joseph S. Height. The first covers the Catholic colonies of Kutschurgan, Beresan, and Liebental from 1804 to 1972, and the second Evangelical Lutheran colonies near Odessa, 1804 – 1945. All their settlers were German-speaking and came to Russia at a time of turmoil in other parts of Europe. Clicking on the titles above will take you to detailed reviews. The books are shelved in Foreign/Russia. Thanks, Ron!

There’s a Germans from Russia Heritage Society website that may also be helpful to anyone interested in these books.