John F. Kennedy wrote a book entitled A Nation of Immigrants. A vital reminder from him:
“Every American who ever lived, with the exception of one group, was either an immigrant himself or a descendant of immigrants.”
It is true, yet how many know our immigrant story? I wish I knew mine better.
My great-grandparents migrated from Neu Glückstal, Russia — the Odessa area near the Black Sea. They were German farmers who migrated to Russia because they needed good farmers. Germans were known to be good farmers. While I did not know my great-grandparents, my grandfather was a young teenager when they lived in Neu Glückstal and eventually migrated to South Dakota.
The history of German farmers in Odessa, Russia, dates back to the late 18th century, when Catherine the Great, a German-born empress of Russia, invited them to settle in the newly conquered lands along the Black Sea. She offered them generous privileges, such as autonomy, religious freedom, and exemption from military service. The Germans established colonies that preserved their language, culture, and farming traditions. They prospered for over a century until the Russian government began to revoke their rights and assimilate them into the Russian Empire. This sparked a wave of emigration, especially after the outbreak of World War I, when the Germans faced persecution and violence. Many of them sought refuge in America, where they hoped to find land and freedom.
My great-grandparents were among those who left for the United States. They found their way to Bowdle, South Dakota, and re-started farming on the prairies there. While I am sure they welcomed the freedom, I know my great-grandmother wasn’t happy with the move, missing friends and probably much more.
While I am a fourth-generation American citizen, I wish I knew more about our personal history. I wish schools or others encouraged family members to discuss their memories of moving to the United States. The stories would give me more of a sense of my family’s history, struggles, and opportunities.
The reason to bring this up now is partly because of our immigration mindset and policies today. We seem to forget that most of us have a connection to immigration. By knowing our personal story, we might be able to relate to the story of those seeking a better life in our country. It may lower the rhetoric and raise our empathy and understanding. At some point in time, our great-grandparents or grandparents experienced immigration, and we have benefited from these moves.
If you want to learn more about the history of our immigration policies, Freakonomics is exploring it through a series of podcasts. Just as our personal stories can give us context, these podcasts can begin to widen the lens of our views and understanding.
If you can, my encouragement is to ask your family what they remember about how their family arrived in the United States. Do it to connect to your story and understand why people emigrate and how we can develop better policies toward immigration.
It is a part of our story.
