Melissa Petersen has just finished her freshman year at Stevens High School. She plays softball and piano and is very involved in band at school. She enjoys kayaking, canoeing, and camping. Melissa comes from a predominately German family, with some Danish, Austrian, and Bohemian heritage. Both of her older brothers took German in high school, which was part of motivation to take German classes. She feels education is highly important and maintained a 4.0 GPA this past year. Though she has considered many fields after college, her top picks at this time would be teaching or geography. 

Running

     I was just sixteen when I started to understand where we were at. I was born in Russia, along with my little sisters, Sophia and Addie. My parents were also born in Russia. However, my family's homeland was Germany. I thought to myself, why would you leave your home? Why would you leave that beautiful country?

     They said, “Princess Catherine, may she rest in peace, promised them opportunity, freedoms, and exemptions. They could practice our own religion, build farms and communities. It sounded great, so we guess they just packed up and left. Germany was in a troublesome state back then, just as it is now. Granted it was a long journey but it was well worth it. They sat up here and we have lived here ever since. We've had some troubles especially now with this leader, Stalin, but we're still glad we live here instead of in Germany.”

     I knew they weren't satisfied though. This self-righteous monster who they'd just mentioned had fought his way to the top of our country and was now transporting our fellow country mates all the way to lonely Siberia. Every day, his Red Army moved closer and closer to our small corner of Russia and I was growing worried. Though we went hungry sometimes because our land didn't always perform well, I'd lived a good childhood. I had many friends within the village and  we went to church every week to praise my Lord Jesus Christ. Our village was small but comfortable and I was content with where we were, that is until that horrendous man, Stalin, sent wrenching news to our village. My mom told me the news that night after she had put my sisters to bed.

     “Labor camps. He's got us going to labor camps,” she whispered through tears. My head dropped to my hands and my own tears began to fall. You never seem to realize a grim situation until it hits close to home and this had fallen right in our laps. There was no time to think, to do anything. No time at all.

     I sunk into a restless sleep that night. I think I dreamt and I remember being horrified yet I don't remember what happened that made me dread going back to sleep after I woke up crying early that next morning. I was absolutely frozen with fear. With nothing else to do, I went out into the kitchen to talk to my parents about our circumstances. I set foot on our stone floor and cringed. It was much cooler today. I grabbed my shawl off its hook and tenderly wrapped it around me. I saw my parents gathering our stores together, the potatoes, some wheat, and I became curious. They were packing our things. Frantic, they seemed, as they nearly threw their suitcases into the wagon. I'd heard some stories about families packing up and leaving to go back to Germany, their long-ago homeland, with the Russian Army in pursuit of them. I slipped on my shoes and ran unhindered out into a weak rain. Before I could confront my parents for their intentions, they turned and my mother voiced them quickly, hushed.

     “We're leaving, Gabriele, tonight. We can't let those Russians take us to their slave labor camps. What would they do with Sophia and Addie? And what about you; would they work you to a premature death? We can't let that happen to our children. We're leaving tonight. Pack some clothes, then come out and help us finish packing.”

     With a quivering voice, I replied, “Yes, Mama,” trying to sound confident, but I didn't feel the part. I was scared out of my wits, but I had to be strong, not only for my sisters, but for my parents also. Trying to outrun the Russian Army would be almost impossible considering they had soldiers everywhere. I packed the essentials, because how do you know what you will need when you don't know where you are going or what might happen? I then hurried out of my room to help my parents. My sisters were playing in the main room, playing “house” as I recall, but when they saw me rushing by them, Addie asked, “Where are you going?”

            “Outside,” I replied simply.

            “To do what?” she insisted, as four year olds will.

            “To help Mama and Dad.”

            “Can I come?” she asked, pleasantly.

            “Not right now, just keep playing with Sophia, we'll be in later,” I responded, wisely and continued outside. When I saw my parents, I queried, “How is it coming along out here? Can I do anything?”

     With a helpless look on his suntanned face, my father said, “Can you stop the Russian Army from coming?” but then relented, saying, “No, I'm sorry. I know you're just anxious. We all are, but we've pretty much got it covered. Can you go make some dinner?” I agreed and trudged back inside.

     That night, I made supper and we ate it quietly knowing a long, difficult journey was ahead of us, all of us that is except for my sisters and when my parents told them we had to leave home, they just didn't understand.

     “Why do we have leave, Daddy?” Sophia asked.

     “Because a very powerful man is doing some very bad things. We're leaving because we don't want those bad things to happen to you and your sisters. I don't want those things to happen to Mama, either.”

     “Okay,” she murmured, still unsure of why she had to leave her friends, her carefree lifestyle, and her favorite climbing tree down by the river. Truth be told, they all wondered why they had to leave. Why should they leave their homes just because some prejudiced man said they had better? It was unfair, but establishing this didn't keep them home. We still had to leave and so we did. In our modest wagon, Mama and Dad tucked in their sleepy, young children and secured very few personal belongings and set off into the night and into a growing list of unknowns.

     It seemed we rode for an eternity and having no real destination only made it longer. Of course we knew we were returning to Germany, but only generally. We did ride for a long time: resting at night, riding full days into the night sometimes. At least, we could try to make something pleasant out of it.

     I thought about it one morning. The morning was beautiful. The sky was clear except for a few clouds. The grass was that soft summer green that just makes you want to lay down and enjoy it. Oh, how I wish I could! This thought just led to anger though as I realized that I was afraid our loathsome Red Army would come along and stomp all over that too. I guess I could be lucky that we escaped for I'd heard many stories, stories of varying levels of horror. I'd heard of death camps that Germany's chancellor, Adolf Hitler, had put together to eliminate Jews. Then, I'd heard of other senseless murders taking place in streets, but not only in Germany, in all of its surrounding countries as well. I'd heard of these slave labors camps in the uppermost regions of Russia where children and adults froze to death yet it was normal and regarded as such. I could be thankful that my family was not there. On this walk, there was an overabundant time for thought and my mind had many questions right then. I set about trying to answer at least some of them.

     “I left Lisette at home,” realized Sophia, devastated. She had left the doll that Mama had made for her at home. Sophia went everywhere with Lisette and now she'd have to venture cross-country without her, but so it was. As time dragged on, we found ourselves weighted down with despair and fear. My sisters complained endlessly and I found myself losing hope as well. We found food but were hungry nonetheless. Traveling in the sun was tiring. My skin started to peel as it baked in the sun and our horses were plodding along at slower pace than normal. There was no hope here. God seemed so far away and I took no comfort in the fact that Red soldiers had been seen near a village we had passed through not so long ago. Whether or not, they were looking for us, they were bound to find us sometime. We usually tried to find a kindly farmer or willing villager to house us at night, but if we needed we hid ourselves as best we could in the low hills of this area. It wasn't ideal but neither was this whole damned situation in Europe. We did what we could.

     One night, we found a inviting couple by the last name Bauer. They had a decent sized cottage and offered us warm, home-cooked food for no reward or restitution. They told us how they had seen their son swept away by the smooth-spoken words of Hitler. He had run off to join the German Army, yet all they wished was that he was safe and that he wasn't part of the horrific killing spree put on by biased rouges.

     “Too much honest German blood is spent on... nothing,” Frau Bauer confessed.

     At this my parents nodded grimly and sent Sophia, Addie, and I off to bed. I could hear them talking late into the night though. I listened in even though the conversation wasn't mine. What I heard made my heart stop.

     “Please, please keep them safe,” were the shaky words of my mother, “You have a son. You know what it's like. You'd do anything to keep him alive.”

     I made out that our adversaries were indeed close. My parents knew we could run no longer. This was defeat. My parents were giving themselves up. They had children to protect but knew they themselves couldn't do it anymore. We were in the hands of the Bauers. I tried to listen to hear what they were saying now, but couldn't make anything out. I strained my ears further and discovered they had quit discussing matters for the night. My parents' decision was final. I got no rest that night, but instead sobbed until I thought I couldn't feel any more desperate. I cried quietly so that Sophia and Addie wouldn't wake. At least I could grant them a few more hours of perfect childhood life, each asleep with her sisters and Mama and Daddy close by.

     The morning came and things were explained to me. Many of the Ethnic Germans had run from the Red Army and so they had separate ranks trying to locate them. Somehow they had found us. Maybe someone had tipped us off so they could avoid the ruin of the whole village. My parents explained that they had to turn themselves in to save us children.

     “Isn't there any other way? I ju...Oh God, I don't know!” I pled as my voice trailed off into tears.

     As my mama put her arms tightly around my shaking shoulders in an embrace, my dad began, “I... we just don't know what to do either, honey. We believe this is the best choice. You kids can be safe here with the Bauers. I know you want our safety too, but if you were a parent, you'd understand. We love you so much. We love you and Sophia and Addie and we'd never want anything to happen to you especially by the hand of those... detestable Russians. Take care of your sisters for us...” and at this his voice trailed off. My father put his head in his hands and sobbed.

     Later that day, everyone bawled as my beautiful, loving parents left us. They went up to each of us girls and said, “I love you,” and hugged us and kissed us on the forehead or cheek. As all our tears fell to the same somber ground, I sobbed for all of the people cruelty had killed already. I sobbed for God's wayward creation. I mourned the premature loss of my beloved parents, knowing they would probably not live through Stalin's harsh regime. I cried for my sisters and for myself that we'd no longer have parents to run to with problems and meaningless troubles. I cried and cried. With one last wave to my departing parents, Frau Bauer ushered us inside. Life would be different now. My parents were going to become just two more casualties in a frightening death toll.

     I wept more than I thought humanly possible for the next year, but I knew I had to stay strong for my sisters. I was broken, torn, and shattered on the inside, but stayed on firm legs outwardly. All you can do is keep on going, you know. I just kept on going.

 Bibliography

Germans from Russia Heritage Society. Home on the Prairies. DVD 

Beck, Dell. March 2, 2010. German Class Presentation. Stevens High School, Rapid City, South Dakota.