This collection consists primarily of five diaries written by Heinrich P. Wieler, from 1912 to 1926. Wieler was a German-Russian Mennonite schoolteacher who later emigrated to the United States. The diaries focus on local conditions during the years of World War I, the Russian Revolution, the Russian Civil War and the start of Soviet rule. The diaries are in German and Russian, and later English translations of the diaries are included. The collection also contains official documents, photographs, correspondence, newspaper clippings, notebooks, research notes, ephemera, hand-painted glass mottoes, and other materials. The languages in the collection include German, Russian, and English.

Heinrich P. Wieler, (1891-1984) was a German-Russian Mennonite schoolteacher from Russia. He lived in Mennonite settlements along the Volga River and in Siberia. During the early years of Soviet rule the Wieler family, along with several others, chose to flee Russia due to increasing persecution. The group made their way across Russia and crossed the border into Poland. Through the help of German Mennonite organizations the Weiler family traveled to a refugee camp in Germany and traveled by the SS Muenchen to the United States, arriving in New York on August 7, 1923. In 1924 the Weiler family settled in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where Heinrich Weiler (now Henry Weiler) worked as a watchman for the Armstrong Cork Company as well as starting a hand-painted glass mottos business.

2.2 Linear Feet (4 manuscript boxes, 1 half manuscript box, and 1 card box)

While Special Collections is the owner of the physical and digital items, permission to examine collection materials is not an authorization to publish. These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. Any transmission or reproduction beyond that allowed by fair use requires permission from the owners of rights, heir(s) or assigns. See: http://library.stanford.edu/spc/using-collections/permission-publish.

Open for research. Note that material must be requested at least 36 hours in advance of intended use. Audiovisual materials are not available in original format, and must be reformatted to a digital use copy. Selected video from this collection has been digitized and is available in the Special Collections reading room.