"Voices from the Gulag" draws on a wealth of available sources to tell the story of the German settlements in Russia, from their beginning during the reign of Empress Catherine the Great, to their accomplishments and, finally, their destruction under Stalin. It relates the harsh living conditions of the survivors in Siberia and Central Asia under subsequent communist governments and, finally, with the collapse of the Soviet Union, their return to their ancient homeland. Their personal stories tell of their suffering, as well as their ability to overcome the hardships of the Soviet Union. Author Ulrich Merten was born in Berlin, Germany, and came to the United States as a small child before the Second World War. His family were political refugees because his father was a lawyer in the Prussian Ministry of the Interior, active in prosecuting the Nazi Party. He was fired immediately when Hitler became Chancellor of Germany in 1933, and sent to Oranienburg Concentration Camp, charged with high treason. Mr. Merten grew up in New York City and after the war, returned to Europe, studying at the University of Zürich, Switzerland and the University of Zaragoza in Spain. He subsequently earned his BA degree at Columbia College, Columbia University and M.A. at the Graduate Faculties, Columbia University. In his professional life he was an international banker, a senior executive of the Bank of America, working almost exclusively in Latin America and the Caribbean, over a period of 38 years. His book, "Forgotten Voices; The Expulsion of the Germans from Eastern Europe after World War II " was published in 2012. There have been eight editions of the book, including soft cover and e-book editions. The author lives in Miami with his wife.

Introduction, 1-Origins of the German Settlements in Russia; 2-History of the German Settlements from 1763 to 1871; 3-From the Revocation of the Special Privileges in 1871 to the First World War; 4-Revolution, Civil War, Famine and Lenin's New Economic Policy; 5-Years of Fear and Terror; 6-World War and Expulsion to the Gulag; 7-Life and Death in the Gulag; 8-The Impact of the Nazi German Regime on German Russians; 9-The Death of Stalin, Partial Rehabilitation and Emigration to Germany after the Collapse of the Soviet Union; 10-Final Thoughts: Germans in Russia: A History of a Tragic Colonization