Jenny De Mayer's Unshakable Faith: Letters from the Gulag
Presentation Type
Poster
Presentation Type
Submission
Keywords
Letters, Missionary, Religion, Russia, Soviet Union, Gulag
Department
History
Major
History
Abstract
The research project that is the subject of the poster at the symposium is related to a woman by the name of Jenny De Mayer. Jenny De Mayer was an ethnic German from Russia who dedicated her life to serving God by becoming a missionary. In the 1920s, Jenny De Mayer traveled to Turkestan, then part of the Soviet Union. While in Turkestan, she was caught by Soviet authorities amid Stalin’s consolidation of power and sent to a gulag. The digital transcriptions of letters Jenny De Mayer wrote to family and friends while in prison from 1927 until 1935 will be presented at this symposium. The main points that will be highlighted are Jenny’s faith in God (including how she uses that faith to cope with loss), her financial difficulties, and the devotion she shows toward her friends and family. That devotion helped her remain grounded during her imprisonment.
The research will be presented in the form of a poster, with a map being the main focus of the poster. Screenshots of some of the most important letters will be scattered throughout the map, with lines pointing to the cities in which the letters were written. The screenshots will include the original letters paired with the transcription done by a member of the research team. The graphics for the presentation will be created through Google Slides.
Matthew Weldon
Hannah AlNemri
Faculty Mentor
Sharyl Corrado
Funding Source or Research Program
Academic Year Undergraduate Research Initiative
Location
Waves Cafeteria
Start Date
24-3-2023 2:00 PM
End Date
24-3-2023 4:00 PM
Jenny De Mayer's Unshakable Faith: Letters from the Gulag
Waves Cafeteria
The research project that is the subject of the poster at the symposium is related to a woman by the name of Jenny De Mayer. Jenny De Mayer was an ethnic German from Russia who dedicated her life to serving God by becoming a missionary. In the 1920s, Jenny De Mayer traveled to Turkestan, then part of the Soviet Union. While in Turkestan, she was caught by Soviet authorities amid Stalin’s consolidation of power and sent to a gulag. The digital transcriptions of letters Jenny De Mayer wrote to family and friends while in prison from 1927 until 1935 will be presented at this symposium. The main points that will be highlighted are Jenny’s faith in God (including how she uses that faith to cope with loss), her financial difficulties, and the devotion she shows toward her friends and family. That devotion helped her remain grounded during her imprisonment.
The research will be presented in the form of a poster, with a map being the main focus of the poster. Screenshots of some of the most important letters will be scattered throughout the map, with lines pointing to the cities in which the letters were written. The screenshots will include the original letters paired with the transcription done by a member of the research team. The graphics for the presentation will be created through Google Slides.
Matthew Weldon
Hannah AlNemri