Ethnische Identität bei den Deutschen in der Sowjetunion: Ergebnisse einer Befragungsstudie mit deutschen Spätaussiedlern aus der Sowjetunion

Abstract

1. This paper analyses the ethnic identity of Soviet Germans, based on a survey study with Soviet German emigrants. 2. Almost all interviewed emigrants were of German nationality defined by the following three criteria: German passport nationality, ethnic (German) self-identification, descent from German parents. Passport nationality played an important role for the respondents. The overwhelming majority voted for keeping the category nationality in the Soviet passport, although belonging to the German minority has sometimes caused problems for them in the past. 3. Endogamy was wide-spread among the questioned emigrants, presumably much wider than among the average Germans in the Soviet Union. Age, education and gender influenced endogamy only marginally, whereas religious belief and German mother tongue had an impact on endogameous behaviour. This indicates that endogamy plays an important role for ethnic identification. 4. The mother tongue of almost 90% of the respondents was German. In contrast to this statement, the German language was rarely used as a daily means of communication with the spouse, friends or colleagues. Only few said, German was the language they knew best. 5. Certain German traditions - like celebrating Christmas or easter - were still common for the majority of the respondents. According to soviet sources, these celebrations were also observed by the German population in the Soviet Union. It was found that the celebration of the above cited ceremonies was not primarily an expression of religiosity but of ethnicity. The overwhelming majority of the respondents belonged to a confession. However, certain religious practices - like individual prayer or reading the bible - were not common anymore among younger people. On the other hand, practices, like Christian marriage or baptism were also important for younger respondents. 6. As to the relations between different nations in the Soviet Union, the majority of our respondents did not see any improvements. They cited job competition, unequal living conditions and discrimination of the respective mother tongue as reasons for increasing ethnic tensions. Younger persons in our sample were more open towards Russians than the older ones. It was found that ethnicity played the most important role inside the family. 7. More than half of the respondents thought that Russians had the best carreer prospects, including the possibility of becoming a member of the Communist Party. It is interesting to note that most respondents did not feel discriminated because of their ethnic or religious background. 8. Our study indicates that Soviet Germans have not accepted any of the territories where they live now, i.e. after having been deportated, as a new homeland. At least for the older generation the lost homeland seems to be an important factor for their ethnic identification. 9. The reasons for leaving the Soviet Union did not vary a great deal among the respondents. The most important motives were religious and ethnic by nature. These were followed by the desire to stay with their families.