Red Quarter Moon: A Search for Family in the Shadow of Stalin

by Anne Konrad, Hiroaki Kuromiya (Foreword by)

Anne Konrad's Red Quarter Moon is the gripping account of her search for family members lost and disappeared within the Soviet Union. Konrad's ancestors, Mennonites, had settled the Ukrainian steppes in the late 1790s. An ethno-religious minority, they became special objects of Soviet persecution. Though her parents fled in 1929, many relatives remained in the USSR. Konrad's search for these missing extended family members took place over twenty years and five continents - on muddy roads, lonesome steppes, and in old letters, documents, or secret police archives. Her story emerges as both haunting and inspiring, filled with dramatically different accounts from survivors now scattered across the world. She aligns the voices of her subjects chronologically against the backdrop of Soviet policy, intertwining the historical context of the Terror Years with her own personal quest. Red Quarter Moon is an enthralling journey into the past that offers a unique look at the lives of ordinary families and individuals in the USSR.

368 pages, Hardcover

First published November 30, 2010

Reviews

[Gail Amendt · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the granddaughter of Mennonite immigrants, this book gave me a sense of how very fortunate I am that my grandparents came to Canada. The author sought to find out what happened to the siblings of her parents, and their children and grandchildren, who were left behind in the Soviet Union when her family came to Canada in 1929. Communication had been non-existent for decades before some communication was re-established in the 1960's, and the fate of some relatives was unknown. The author had the good fortune of having a history professor husband who specialized in Mennonite history, spoke Russian, and traveled to the Soviet Union/Russia for conferences and research, and with his help over several decades was eventually able to learn the fates of her parents' lost family members. Their stories are not easy to read, as several were arrested, tortured, sent to labor camps, exiled to harsh and unknown parts of the country, or even executed. Even those who fared better were often hungry, were prevented from practicing their religion, and lived in fear of the Soviet system. There really are no truly happy endings in this book. The author made a good effort at telling this story clearly, but it is convoluted, involves many people with similar names on both sides of her family, and gets pretty confusing at times. It was not an easy read, but I'm glad I read it. There but for the grace of God go I.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A search for both disappeared Mennonite relatives in the Soviet Union, as well as surviving family members. This book begins in the early 1900s and follows some of the family members through WWII, Stalin's era, communism and perestroika. It is fascinating!

[T. Dyck · Rating 5 out of 5]

A haunting set of tales of ordinary people who perished or survived extraordinary circumstances . . .
Compelling and heart-breaking...a unique perspective on the power of the human spirit...