‘Trial of Strength against the Restive Peasantry’: What the Germans Knew about the Great Famine in the USSR and How They Perceived It

Based on a study of German records—mostly but not exclusively diplomatic dispatches from the USSR—the paper investigates how both German state and non-state actors perceived the Soviet Famines of 1931–33. It first analyzes how information about the famine received through the German diplomatic network in the USSR was spread among the German population. In this context it touches upon the history of the relief operation Brethren in Need, set up by German political and religious institutions to help starving ethnic Germans. The paper then examines the cultural patterns that shaped the way Germans diplomats perceived and made sense of the famines. Finally it inquiries into the lasting effects that this knowledge of the Soviet famines had on the Germans.