Accession no. 2007.008 and 2012.020
Title and Physical Description
Heinrich Gerbrandt fonds. — 1997. — .5 cm of textual records. – 1 compact disk
Administrative/Biographical History
Heinrich Gerbrandt, 1923- , was born in Halbstaedt, Molotschna Colony, Ukraine. His family were successful farmers and landowners, but most of their wealth was confiscated during the Russian Revolution. By 1929 the Soviet border was closed to emigrants, and the family re-settled in the village of Polinovka in the Caucasus. Heinrich was interned in forced labour camps from 1941 until the end of the Stalin era in 1953. He settled in Oblomowka, a collective farm in Kazakhstan, where he married Anna Martens in 1954. In 1958 he began a new career as a teacher of German in Moscow, which led to a university position in 1968. He retired in 1983, but volunteered for a teaching assignment in the German Democratic Republic. Together with his wife and two children, Heinrich Gerbrandt emigration to West Germany in 1991.
Custodial History
The fonds in digital format was acquired by Frank Martens of Summerland, BC, possibly a relative of Anna Gerbrandt.
Scope & Content
The fonds consists of a 51 page typed copy of Heinrich Gerbrandt’s autobiography, written in German, together with a 34 page (smaller font) English translation by Irene Klassen. and a Compact Disc.
Source of Acquisition
Gift by Frank Martens, 2007 and 2012
Language
The materials are in German and English
Notes
Accession no. 2007.008 and 2012.020
Last updated August 2012 – Jim Bowman