Using DNA to find Goths

[faltin2001]

> that country had experienced and, finally, the rolling firewave of 
> the German front in WWII which came very closely to the Upper Don 
> region in 1941 causing a lot of people seek refuge and probably 
> never return... well, all I can do is to wish you good luck and to 
> hope for some positive results. BTW, sorry to mention these guys 
> here, but the nazis were searching for probable Gothic descendants 
> in South Russia until they proclaimed Don Cossacks to be somehow 
> related to the Ostrogoths. I think it was nothing more than a 
> propaganda trick.


Hi Ualarauans

The example of the German army is a good one also in a different 
sense. The Goths were essentially army groups. Sometimes serving the 
Romans, sometimes serving the Huns and sometimes fighting on their 
own account. The Visigoths who entered Gaul and Spain were a federate 
army of the Roman empire, which according to historical sources was a 
colourful mixture of different ethnic and social groups. 

Now, the German army that invaded Russian in 1941 was also in many 
sense an ethnic mixture. To start with, many Germans have also Slavic 
and Baltic ancestors. What is more, the German army of WWII directly 
included volunteer divisions, recruited from among the French (e.g. 
Division Charlemagne), Russians, Ukrainians, Kossaks, Kroats 
(Handschar and Kama Divisions), Danes, Norwegians (e.g. Nordland etc. 
divisions), Dutch (Nederland division), Flemmings (Wallonia and 
Langemarck Divisions), Albanians (Skanderbeg Division), Hungarians 
(Hunyadi Division), Ruthenians, Italians (Roma division), Latvians, 
Estonians, Rumanians and more. 

The attempt to trace the DNA of the Gothic armies appears to be as 
futile to me as tracing the DNA of the German armies of WWII. Both 
were ethnically mixed, but united only in their allegiance to one 
political leadership.

Cheers,
Dirk









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