“The cultural heritage of the Black Sea Germans has not disappeared despite the trials and tribulations of history. It lives on in the rustling of leaves from centuries-old trees, in the architecture, in the silence of old photographs, and in the stories passed down from generation to generation. And as long as we remember it, it continues to live, inspire, and remind us of the power of work, the value of peace, and the importance of hope.”
— from “Schwarzmeerdeutsche: Menschen. Kulturerbe. Zukunft” (Black Sea Germans: People, Cultural Heritage, Future).
A new online documentary film premiered this morning from the Council of Germans in Ukraine and the Virtual Museum of the Germans of the Black Sea Region: “Schwarzmeerdeutsche: Menschen. Kulturerbe. Zukunft.” This new video footage from expeditions in 2025, “filming historical settlements, cultural heritage sites, meetings with memory bearers, and living testimonies about the past and present of the Germans of the Black Sea region.” If you have visited Odesa and your ancestral Black Sea German villages in the past, either by private tour or with one of the Journey to the Homeland heritage tours (photo albums from 1996-2019) with the Germans from Russia Heritage Collection, you may find the places and faces familiar.
Turn on closed-captioning (CC) and auto-translate in the settings to whatever language required to enjoy this short film.
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