Negative Identity of Russian Germans

Abstract

The article is devoted to one of the aspects of the complex ethnic identity of Russian Germans, namely, its negative inversion. Events of the second half of the 20th century. in the ethnic history of the German community (deportation, labor army, special settlement) became factors in the formation of negative identity. It was expressed in public contempt, insults and humiliation towards the Russian Germans. In this regard, the Germans renounced their ethnicity, changed their personal names and surnames, and rewrote their nationality. The Germans turned out to be the only people who were not fully rehabilitated among those who were subject to repression and deportation, since the territorial autonomy, lost in 1941, was not restored. The negative identity of Russian Germans is a situational phenomenon that is associated with the influence on it, firstly, of historical events, secondly, the political actions of the authorities, and thirdly, public mood and opinion. The article is based on materials from field ethnographic expeditions, archival data and sources of personal origin.